Cloud Concerns: Mobility

This week we want to continue keeping you informed about cloud computing. One of its main benefits is mobility. Both processing and data storage occur in the cloud, which makes smartphones and portables (iPads, netbooks) more ideal. These devices provide a simpler and more efficient way for users to connect within a secure network. This certainly is easier than carrying around a laptop.

If you have a mobile sales force, on-site technician, or other employees that work outside the office, these features can be really beneficial. Think about a nurse in a hospital. If she carries around an iPad, she can have complete access to patient medical records, which then are updated within the hospital’s cloud database. There are tons of industries or organizations that can reap these advantages.

Always remember that in order for this all to work effectively, it is important to choose a cloud partner that has a reliable history. The cloud in which your data resides must ALWAYS be up. It is crucial to research both reliability and security procedures before making your choice.

HIA Trade Show Tomorrow!!

This event is the largest business to business trade show and conference on Long Island. It is a great way to connect, collaborate and reach out to the LI community.

Click HERE to visit the official event page.

Visit CMIT at Booth 126 to enter to win a free mini laptop!

The show is tomorrow!

May 26, 9am-4pm

Suffolk Community College Sports and Exhibition Complex, Brentwood Campus

Industries that will be present at the trade show include:

Economic Development Agencies

Finance

Green Industries

Manufacturing

Technology

Workforce Development

Come to the Merr-Olympics!

CMIT Solutions of South Nassau, along with Therapeutic Solutions, Merrick Kiwanis, and the Professional Performance Athletic Center of Garden City are proud to sponsor the Merr-Olympics!

Merr-Olympics

Sunday June 12th (Raindate June 19th)

9am - 12pm

Chatterton School in Merrick

For more information click here or contact Dr. Rich Seibert at 516.867.8585

Cybercriminal Threats

Cyber threats of any kind are a continuous risk. Various types of malware exist and we want to inform you of these rising threats and also how to protect yourself from them. Over the next two days we will continue to inform you about various threats.

Text-message malware: Smartphone viruses exist, but even more popular is text message spam. Hackers have moved onto attacking mobile devices. This works the same way as it would on a computer—downloading a picture or opening an attachment can install malware on the device. Usually this can charge you per message and even start buying ringtones. You may even receive an invite to download an app for free Internet access, but really will then send text messages from your phone that you will be charged a hefty fee for. Businesses may want to enforce policies that limit who employees can text using company phones.

Social network account spoofing: As the popularity of social networking continues to rise, this makes us more susceptible to scams. Hackers can pose as a friend and trick you into revealing personal information. This could ultimately lead to something serious like identity theft. Social networks provide a new means for con artists and criminals to get close to you. Platforms like Facebook allow hackers to see your interests, which further streamlines their research on how to retrieve information from you. Be sure to look for faulty links or URLs, as shown in the image below.If you click the picture, you will see that the address includes a spelling error.

Cloud Concerns: Data Security

A major concern that business owners have regarding cloud based services involves DATA SECURITY.

When entrusting your valuable data to a third-party, you need to ensure that the company takes the data security very seriously. Below we will discuss two of the main points you should address with a potential cloud-services provider.

Where does my data live? And how is it stored?
Where your data is physically stored has several implications. You'll want to know not only where the servers upon which your data resides are geographically located, but whether multiple copies of your data exist in case of one provider's data centers fails. In case of the Amazon Cloud outages that occurred a few weeks ago, clients who had data mirrored outside of the North Virginia facility were much less affected than those who didn't. Data that isn't replicated across multiple geographical locations is vulnerable to total loss.

Recovery.
In the event of a prolonged cloud outage or data loss, what measures does the provider have in place to restore your data? If data loss is permanent, your business could experience severe consequences, which is why we always urge you to have a disaster recovery plan in place. Another important question to ask is, in the event that data restore needs to take place, in what format will your provider return your data to you? Will it be in a format compatible with widely available software, or in some sort of proprietary format specific to the provider?

We know and understand that data security and cloud computing are important issues, so please feel free to contact us, a trusted IT advisory team, with any questions.

NACHA Scam Makes its Rounds Via E-mail

NACHA is a non-profit financial organization that oversees an electronic payment system called Automated Clearing House (ACH) Network. However, they do not process ACH transactions, and will not send you notifications of any problems with them.

The email scam is an ACH transfer rejection notice that directs you to open up and download an attachment referring to your account which is actually a virus.

It has been confirmed by NACHA that these scams are indeed fradulent e-mails and they advise you NOT to open up any files or documents attached to these notices. Here is an image of the e-mail so you are aware of what it may look like:

Please beware of e-mail scams such as these. Never open up any attachments from email addresses that you don't know. It is better to be cautious about this subject matter because they may contain malware that can compromise your computer system.

Types of Clouds

We’ve talked about cloud computing before and want to continue keeping you informed about it. If you are unfamiliar, cloud computing essentially refers to the usage of resources through a network. A common type includes Google Docs, rather than using Microsoft Office. The obvious benefit is that anywhere you have Internet access, you have your files, which also assists in collaborative efforts. Today we want to inform you about a few different types of clouds that exist and what purposes they serve.

Public: Available to the general public; managed by a cloud services provider

Private: Operated by the organization using it; either the organization or a third-party manages it

Community: Shared by multiple organizations and works together for a common reason; either the organization or a third-party manages it

Hybrid: Consists of two or more of the aforementioned clouds; bound together by a technology that allows data and application portability

As cloud computing continues to be a prominent trend, we will continue to post more information so that you stay up-to-date. CMIT will also be holding a Cloud Computing webinar on May 26^th, 2011 at 2pm EST. If you would like to join us, visit www.cmitsolutions.com/webinars to register.