Datalyst Blog

As the threat landscape gets more concentrated with serious cyberthreats, new next-generation firewalls (NGFWs) have been developed to help stem the tide of negative outcomes that result from cyberattacks. An NGFW is an advanced network security device or software solution that combines traditional firewall capabilities with additional features and functionalities designed to provide enhanced protection and visibility into network traffic. NGFWs are designed to address the evolving and sophisticated nature of cyberthreats, including malware, intrusion attempts, and other malicious activities.

Any business that depends on its IT—in other words, most businesses—needs to consider the cybersecurity that is in place to protect it. Today, many businesses have started focusing their cybersecurity efforts on protecting their network from the edges, an approach that is fittingly known as edge security. Let’s take a moment to talk about the benefits that edge security can offer you.

There tends to be a few very specific ideas of what a hacker looks like, primarily thanks to popular culture. Whether one pictures a hooded figure furiously typing in a darkened technology haven, or a social outcast that has made camp in his parents’ basement, there is a predisposition (almost a prejudice) that warps our perspective of cyberattacks and those who carry them out. This is perhaps what makes them so dangerous to businesses.

Cybercrime has grown rapidly over the last several years. We’ve seen more and more businesses get hit by crippling ransomware, data breaches, and other types of attacks. End-users are inundated with common, but deadly phishing attacks and other threats that are so easy to fall for, even IT experts could get tricked. Let’s look at these trends for 2023, and how your business can prepare for them.

It’s simple, really: scams are everywhere, so you need to always keep a few important tips in mind to avoid them. Let’s review some of these tips together.

In 2021, FBI Director Christopher Wray spoke out about what he described as “one of the most despicable cyberattacks” he’d seen. It’s little wonder he used such choice words; he was talking about the attack that state-sponsored threat actors had waged against the Boston Children’s Hospital. While the attack was thwarted, it prompted the Cybersecurity Coordination Center of the Department of Homeland Services to release a white paper alert.

As we’ve said time and time again, modern businesses need to be prepared to resist cybercrime and cyberattacks…and as it happens, the Federal Bureau of Investigation agrees with us. How can we be so sure? Simple—the FBI is currently pushing businesses in the northeast to better prepare themselves, including here in Boston.

If you find yourself frustrated with the speed and reliability of your office Wi-Fi, you aren’t alone. Even though the technology has been around for a decade and a half, it hasn’t always been a perfect solution. Modern wireless solutions have evolved a lot over the last few years, so if you are dealing with slow, unreliable connections, it’s likely time for an upgrade.

This is going to start out with a nerdy tangent, but I was watching the classic Star Wars films with the family a few weeks ago. There is a scene in Star Wars: A New Hope where our heroes slip aboard the Death Star, and R2-D2 plunks his little robotic USB cable into a computer and gains seemingly untethered access to the entire battle station.

I was briefly taken out of the fantasy of the moment because my IT brain started firing at full speed, and I thought “Ew. Imagine how insecure the Death Star’s network must be!”

This past year saw a dangerous 86% increase in the most dangerous types of malware out there, so we want to ask you an important question: are you ready to protect your business from the different types of threats you might encounter? We know a technology solution that might help this mission along, and we want to share it with you today: artificial intelligence.

There are a lot—a lot—of cybersecurity issues that modern businesses need to be cognizant of… and, most importantly, prepared to deal with. We’ve put together a brief list of cybersecurity threats you’ll want to keep your eye out for.

When we think about cybersecurity, we usually think about protecting our computers from viruses, right?

I’d imagine a few of our older readers remember a time when you would go to the store and buy antivirus software that came in a big brightly-colored box with a CD in it each year.

As you probably already know, things aren’t as simple anymore.

Since it is our belief that our clients are under constant threat of being the next business hit with a cyberattack, we maintain a pretty aggressive security posture. That’s not to say that all threats are created equal. That’s why it is important to assess risk over the types of attacks and threats you have to confront and plan accordingly. 

Look, we get it—we all like to be able to access the Internet at our leisure, so there’s no doubt that your clients and customers will feel the same and will want a reliable connection as they’re doing so. This much is true anywhere, from airports to restaurants to conference rooms.

However, you don’t want just anyone accessing the same network that your staff uses. A lot of critical, sensitive information is moving back and forth on your office network, and opening your Wi-Fi up to the public means giving the public potential access to your data.

We understand that cybersecurity can be difficult to think about at times because of the terminology thrown around by industry professionals, but we want to do our part to help clear up some of the confusion. Today, we’re going to discuss the difference between vulnerabilities and exploits, as well as how your organization can do everything it can to ensure that both are minimized on your company network.

Your network security is of the utmost importance to your business for numerous, hopefully obvious reasons. However, there are a few errors that are easy enough to make that could easily be the proverbial monkey wrench in the works. Let’s go over what these network security faux pas look like, so you can resolve them more effectively (and don’t worry, we’ll discuss that, too).

Take a moment and consider that some predictions place the amount of data that Internet of Things (IoT) devices will produce by 2025 to be 73.1 ZB… “ZB” meaning “zettabytes,” each of which equalling one billion terabytes. That’s massive, and illustrates how many IoT devices will be around us at that point. Furthermore, it shows how concerned we should be about the potential for something called a “side-channel attack.”

Funds that were stolen through a phishing attack a year ago remain lost to the city of Quincy. Let’s review the situation as it stands now… and determine what you need to do to avoid a similar situation from befalling your own organization.

Penetration testing is a topic that you might often hear and read about on the Internet, but you might not know exactly what it is without having it explained to you by a professional. Today, we want to clear up any misconceptions or ideas you might have about penetration testing and how it relates to your business’ network security, compliance, and regulatory requirements.

We’ve all heard the horror stories of phishing messages—those messages where someone is trying to steal information from you, be it sensitive information or financial credentials. There are various telltale signs of phishing attacks that can be identified, if you know where to look. Let’s take a look at what the FTC claims are the best ways to identify a phishing message.