cyber security Archives - Indianapolis IT Support

What is an IT Master Plan ?

A Master IT plan is a concept of understanding the current system, defining the strategies, and developing a road map to the targeted achievement. Defining an organization’s strategic target is an efficient way to achieve its goals.

In this article, we will learn how Leap Managed IT can offer Ridiculously Helpful Managed IT support for the well-being of a business.

Leap’s Managed IT Services

Imagine John Doe handles everything under the security desk of your organization. He is the one who fixes when everything goes wrong, protects all your systems. Don’t you think this would be quite a hassle and even items can fall through cracks if John is managing it single-handedly?

This is the situation evolving in most organizations. A single person managing everything will leave your organization vulnerable to security breaches and other system problems. This is where the option of outsourcing a managed IT service provider comes into the picture. Leap Managed IT is a one-stop solution for all IT services as their team offers ridiculous support for your IT needs, allowing you to focus on your core business.

Every organization is different and everyone has their own frustrations, requirements, and goals. Leap’s IT services identify what is yours and design a plan addressing each of them. The team of experts from Leap understands your struggles, evaluates your system/policies, and comes up with an IT Master Plan and solution to help you in achieving your goals.

The Process at Leap Managed IT

An overview of Leap’s process of developing an IT Master Plan,

Assess:

Schedule a consultation to understand your current IT status
Perform complete IT audit and analyzes hardware, software, and infrastructure
Conduct analysis and provide a report on your current IT status, including security threats, network problems, server problems, and other related issues
Offer recommendations that will help improve your efficiency and operations

Develop:

Create a roadmap addressing the challenges mentioned in the audit
Create a technology environment to keep you in a controlled state, so that you will be focusing on your improvements and evaluation

Implement:

Help to keep your technology and business ahead of the curve
Either you can own the IT plan or Leap can implement it for you
Schedule an initial review, 30 days after going live
Monthly or quarterly reviews are scheduled to ensure that we are aligned your technology needs to that of your goals, strategy, and budget

Below is the workflow that Leap follows during the development of an IT Master Plan for a business.

Initial Consultation

At Leap, the team schedules an initial consultation with you and any other critical resource from your business. During the consultation, the team learns about the struggles and frustrations that your business is facing. Knowing and learning the root causes of the problem would help in coming up with an effective solution. In addition to this, the team also makes an effort to learn and understand your business goals to have a clear idea in developing a suitable plan for your business.

Onsite Evaluation

After the consultation session, the team takes it further to the evaluation of your IT infrastructure. Here, they will conduct an assessment of your network, devices, and security to identify any vulnerabilities. After the evaluation of the overall infrastructure, the team also reviews your compliance policies and business continuity plan. This would help the team to have a clear idea of what action needs to be implemented for the well-being of your business.

IT Master Plan Development

Once the analysis of security vulnerabilities, weaknesses, security risks, and business targets are completed, the team develops a customized IT blueprint tailoring your business needs. Furthermore, the Leap team will also come up with recommendations on hardware, software, and processes.

IT Master Plan Meeting and Implementation

Finally, the team calls up for a discussion on the vulnerabilities and solutions. Here, the aim of the discussion is to review the IT Master Plan developed and implementation for your business. You can either opt for Leap Managed IT to implement the plan, or Leap can just hand it off to you.

What Can You Expect From Leap Managed IT?

Your business can experience the below if you are hiring Leap Managed IT for managing your IT services,

They thoroughly understand your business with the goal of learning
Performs an in-depth analysis to understand your IT frustrations and identify any threats, concerns, and vulnerabilities
Identify areas that require improved security measures
The team takes care of the managed IT services completely, monitors and also addresses threats and changes if any
Effective communication throughout the entire organization

Are you looking for expert guidance in developing an IT Master plan for your business? Services at Leap begin with an IT Master Plan. Our expert team at Leap Managed IT can help you identify the obstacles, create an IT blueprint, and grow your business.

Want to learn more about having a sustainable approach to IT? Speak with our Ridiculously

Helpful team to learn how we can create a comprehensive roadmap for your technology. This will help keep you on track while you focus on enhancing your business.

See how we help businesses in the Indianapolis area with all their managed IT needs. It all starts with our Master Plan. Click Here to watch, and we look forward to hearing from you.

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Cyber Security Layers & Cyber Security Threats Complete Guide

Cyber attacks are evolving as the technology is improving. Hence, it is essential to protect the data and devices connected to your network with cybersecurity. Without a well-defined cybersecurity program, it is hard for organizations to withstand any types of cyber attacks. This would eventually make your organization an inescapable target for the cyber criminals.

In this article, we, at LEAP Managed IT, are going to share all the necessary information on cybersecurity, different types of cyber attacks and ways to prevent them. Indianapolis cybersecurity experts at LEAP Managed IT are here to help in framing a suitable cybersecurity plan for your organization.

What is CyberSecurity?

Cybersecurity is a practice adopted by organizations and individuals to protect their data and computerized system from unauthorized access. It helps in providing a good security posture that would help in preventing your data from malicious attacks. It is difficult for an organization to survive without the implementation of a cybersecurity plan.

Importance of CyberSecurity

Cybersecurity is on the rise due to evolving cyber threats. It is a proven fact that whether it’s an individual/business, it can no longer entirely rely on security solutions like antivirus software, and firewalls as cybercriminals are getting smarter. Cyber threats can affect any level of organization, hence, it is essential to cover cybersecurity in every aspect. Data leaks could be identity theft, sensitive information, payment information and more. Hence, implementing a powerful cybersecurity plan must be made mandatory to keep your business secure.

CyberSecurity Layers

The International Standard Organization, by realizing the needs for standardization in computer networks, developed the OSI model. The OSI model has 7 layers of cybersecurity that represents the interconnection between various layers on a network.

Mission Critical Assets

This layer would contain the operating system, electronic recorder, software tools, financial records and cloud infrastructure. It is anything that your business would find it difficult to survive without its existence.

Data Security Layer

Data is the ultimate target when it comes to cyber crime. This is the most crucial layer as it contains data that is dependent on your business. It can include information like customer details, payment information, social security numbers, and any other sensitive information. Losing this data disturbs the trust your customers have in your business. It is necessary to keep things safe at this level using regular backups, implementing 2FA, disk encryption and more such secure processes.

Application Layer

This layer is all about the applications and software that are being used by your business. Ensure that the software and applications are always updated to keep things moving securely, and this also helps in fixing the security problems. In addition to this, there are applications with firewalls integrated, usage of sandboxes for browser based applications and also the implementation of restricted policies for software which help in preventing unauthorized access from penetrating your business.

End Point Layer

Any device that is connected to your network is referred to as an endpoint, and there are many. It’s critical to have an effective policy in place to manage and monitor these endpoint devices. At this level, encryption is crucial, to make sure that the devices themselves are operating in secure environments. Another crucial component of endpoint security is mobile device management (MDM). It gives you remote access to devices while also limiting access to specific devices on your network. To stop further damage, this feature can be used to lock down mobile devices and erase all of their data.

Network Layer

This layer is all about who and what devices are connected to your network. It also includes what can be accessed when inside your system. To protect this layer, ensure to provide access to employees and devices only that requires it. This would help in limiting the damage caused by human error and will also reduce the impact on the compromised devices.

Perimeter Layer

This is the outer layer of the network and is all about considering everything that is connected and has access to your data. Get to know how this layer looks and ensure to secure everything that is connected – data and devices and make it a secure zone for an additional layer of protection.

Human Layer

Human error seems to be the driving force behind the majority of cyber attacks that are evolving. Researchers have found that nearly 88% of data breaches have occurred due to employee mistakes. It is the weakest layer, and to secure it, user education is essential. Educating your employees and users on the benefits of well-structured cybersecurity practices can bring in drastic changes to your business.

Different types of CyberSecurity Threats

Some of the most common cyber threats are,

Malware Attacks

One of the most serious cyber threats. Hackers create malware, or malicious software, to encrypt data, steal or delete it, take over a computer’s essential operations, and even monitor user activity. This gets distributed through physical drives, USB external drives and even through internet downloads.

Phishing Attacks

The most frequent and widespread cyberattacks. Here, hackers enter using a fake identity to trick users to give them sensitive and private information, visiting malware pages and downloading malware. Signs of phishing attacks are: odd sense of messaging, unusual request for sensitive information.

Weak Passwords

Another major risk to any business is the use of passwords that are weak and simple to guess. Small and medium-sized businesses typically have multiple accounts for different cloud-based services. Using the same password across several accounts is comparable to making the data vulnerable to hacking. Having weak login credentials would make the cyber criminals penetrate and access data easily.

Insider Threats

This threat occurs due to action caused by members within the organization. Here, these members get access to critical data which can cause harmful effects through ignorance and carelessness. Employees having access to multiple accounts may put the organization at risk, causing financial damage.

Ransomware

Every year, thousands of businesses are victims of ransomware, a profitable type of cyberattack. In this case, the hacker encrypts business files or data and demands a ransom. This attack spreads through phishing emails or by visiting websites with malware.

Social Engineering

Here, the leakage of confidential information is, due to human error. This is the biggest security threat today. Through this attack, hackers manipulate users into breaking standard security procedures. This attack is mostly carried out in the form of email phishing.

Accidental Sharing

Accidental sharing is always a threat, and it happens whenever information sharing takes place accidentally. It’s not due to malware or hackers. This occurs due to human error. Hence, this can happen through any medium. Any data shared accidentally when misused would create a negative impact on your business.

Tips to Prevent Cyber Attacks

Create strong passwords
Ensure to use a proper password management would help in handling passwords efficiently
Implement two-factor or multifactor authentication
Use spam filters and beware of email attachments
Beware of suspicious links
Keep your software updated
Make use of secure Wi-Fi connections
Keep your software and applications always updated
Train your employees on social engineering attacker
Create cybersecurity awareness through user education
Secure mobile devices
Have a backup and disaster plan
Do not share passwords, access codes, or any digital data with someone you never know
Never share confidential data through emails

Get Secured Today

Every day, businesses of all sizes are exposed to a variety of threats. The best thing a company can do to defend against threats is to put in place thorough security measures and to educate its employees about cybersecurity. This would guarantee that everyone connected to your company works with a consciousness about security threats and respective defense strategies.
To know more about cybersecurity from our experts in Leap, click here.

Are you looking for expert guidance on cybersecurity threats and their prevention methods? Visit our website, Leap Managed IT. We can help you with the best solutions by understanding your requirements. In the same way, we handle Managed I.T, phone, Process Automation, and more. Like us on Facebook and get more Ridiculously Helpful tips for your business.

To learn more about LEAP Managed IT, check out this video.

Indianapolis Cyber Security Best Practices 2021

Year of the Virus

The changes that have taken over our lives for the past year have been challenging. 2020 was the year of the virus, they say. Both biological and digital. Keeping a business or an organization afloat is another. As the Covid- 19 continues to disrupt and threaten businesses, we continue to face these obstacles head-on. We continue to find ways and focus on sales, marketing and services in order to maintain growth and continuity. Along with these changes, comes IT. Due to the pandemic, most employees work from home. Banking, shopping, and almost all activities are done online. This is where Cyber Security Best Practices come in.

Cyber Security is not limited only to those who run businesses. It is not only for organization leaders but for all of us. Those who rely on the internet for work, business, schooling, and everyday activities are all targets for cybercriminals. For businesses, the responsibility of protecting client’s information is vital. In addition, looking out for ourselves, from scams and identity theft is important too.

So, how can a business avoid being a victim of a cyber attack? How can we personally protect our privacy online?

Here are Cyber Security Best Practices that you can use as a guide:

Use a firewall as your first line of defense. It provides a barrier between your data and cybercriminals. It also prevents unauthorized access to your network. In addition to the standard external firewall, many companies are starting to install internal firewalls to provide another level of protection.
Educating your employees. Train all employees who are accessing the network about cybersecurity best practices and security policies. Since the policies are evolving as cybercriminals become more resourceful, it is essential to have regular updates on new protocols.
Enforcing safe password practices. Changing passwords from time to time can be a pain. However, Data Breach Investigations Report found that 63% of data breaches happened due to lost, stolen, or weak passwords. As a responsible business owner, strict password policies should be enforced for protection. Recommend that employees be required to use passwords with upper- and lowercase letters, combined with numbers and symbols. It is also best to require password change at least once every 60 days. Also, explore Two-Factor Authentication options.

Here are more Cyber Security Best Practices

Take time to backup all data. While it is important to prevent as many attacks as possible, it is still possible to experience breaches regardless of your precaution. Be one step ahead, regularly backup all important data. Make sure that backups are stored in a separate location in case of flood or fire. It is also important to check your backup regularly to ensure that it is functioning correctly.
Be vigilant for social engineering attacks. Because there is a rise in the volume of social media information, hackers can find ways to reach you through malware via phishing. Be careful about the emails and texts you receive and make sure they are not from those who pretend to be. Avoid opening suspicious files and give zero percent trust when it comes to social engineering threats.

Secure Cyber Management

Owning and running a business or organization, of any size can sometimes be frustrating. Aside from thinking of the sales, we have to realize our responsibility, to our employees and customers. Preventing financial loss, disruption of daily activities, and keeping your reputation is achievable through secure cyber management. This is where Managed IT Service becomes necessary. For more on cybersecurity best practices, remote work assistance, backup, and data security, visit Indianapolis IT Leader leapmanagedit.com today. Feel free to contact us, as we can be ridiculously helpful in all your struggles, IT and beyond.

Tips for Working Remotely by LEAP

Is Working Remotely Safe ?

As companies are scrambling in setting up for business continuity, workers around the world are adapting to the new normal, dubbed as working remotely. One question that always pop up is, is it safe? How can we keep business information protected in a remote set up? Although working remotely has many benefits, it has also become an attraction for cyber criminals to take advantage to find a weak spot. Is safe remote work possible?

First of all, when setting up for a remote work, always remember that not all your employees have the same security measures in place on their home Wi-Fi networks as they do in the office. Because of this, the risk for data breach is higher. Attackers are also taking advantage, as more and more people are working from home. Opportunistic cyber criminals are taking this chance, knowing that business operations are becoming vulnerable. Assisting your remote workforce adapt and comply with security measures is necessary. By these steps, you are able to protect sensitive company data from online threats and hackers. With Cyber Security best practices, you and your employees are one step ahead.

Remote Work Tips

When working remotely, however, choose to work from home with a secure network rather than using public WiFi’s. When employees work remotely in public places, it is better to use a personal hotspot or an encrypt web connection.
Protect devices with antivirus solutions. This range of measures protect computers from malware and other unwanted visitors that can post threat to your stored work documents.
Make sure that programs and operating systems are up to date. Oftentimes, you can find vulnerabilities in apps and operating systems. Cyber criminals can infiltrate this way on people’s devices.
Remind the team to be vigilant about phishing attacks, most especially those that carry a Covid-19 or pandemic theme. Hackers are using these schemes to penetrate and launch cyber security threats.
Secure the corporate perimeter by using VPN. Tie it to an active directory and enable multi factor authentication to make sure the right people have access to networks, apps and data.
Even government organizations fall victim – the Texas Department of Transportation.

Business Continuity by Working Remotely

Businesses should also mandate the use of VPN when public WiFi is in use to avoid opening emails and clicking URL’s from unknown senders.
Remind employees to change router login and password. Some use default passwords that are easily searchable and accessed.
When stepping way from your desk, lock devices. Someone might catch a glimpse on your work correspondence.
When working remotely, it is easier to neglect and be misled by fake requests from people you may know. Train your team on how to spot signs and verify request first. This measure is to avoid spear phishing.
Carry security protocols over to home offices when necessary. Aside from business continuity, it is critical that as users move to working remotely, security team has a plan in place to carry call policies over to ensure home users to be secure like they were in the corporate office.

Securing What Belongs to You

Working remotely or work-from-home has its many perks, looking at it on the brighter side. There is less time spent commuting, higher productivity performance for employees and making better use of technology that we have, just to name a few. However, remote work can also be risky when the setup is taken for granted. Cyber security wise, company network, data and important files are compromised when employees are not careful. Setup may be vulnerable to theft, malware and other cyber threats.\

Lastly, let LEAP Managed IT assist you and your work from home setup to ensure online safety. Transitioning can be stressful, most especially when you are preoccupied in finding ways to improve business continuity plans. Contact LEAP Managed IT today and let us handle the IT side of your business.

3 Minutes to a Stronger Dental Practice

Dental Practice IT Support

Step foot into any dental practice and you will immediately notice the high tech digital advances dentists have put in place. Everything from digital check-in, patient appointment settings, 3D scanning technology to oral x-rays are done digitally. With all of this technology, it is no surprise that having a reliable dental practice IT support is critical to the day to day operations of a dental office.

Keeping your Practice Safe

Dental practice cyber security has become a hot topic. Dental practices have become targets for cyber criminals. These offices hold a vast amount of data including names, addresses, birth dates, health histories and social security numbers. This information can be used in several kinds of cyber crime like as fraud, hacking, online scams and even identity theft. Keeping your practice safe from cyber criminals is a must.

To save you from all the trouble, you need an experienced IT manager or outsourced IT support for dental practice that can evaluate your current IT structure. Through solutions like adding a strong encryption for data transfer and storage. Install firewalls and antivirus that fits with your existing dental practice system. They will provide layers of protection that will keep your data safe. Starting with a strong IT foundation will not only protect vital information. It will help your practice run smoothly and with greater efficiency.

The 3-Minute Guide

LEAP Managed IT offers Dental Practice Managed IT services is solely focused on assisting your practice from the IT side. From hardware integration to HIPAA compliance and data security our experts help aid the successes of your dental practice. We have developed a 3-minute guide to a Stronger Dental Practice to further help you understand and grow your dental practice. In 3 minutes, you will be able to identify strengths and weaknesses within your practice and know what questions to ask of your current provider. Our goal is to help make your practice more efficient through technology.

For more information, visit leapmanagedit.com

Indianapolis Cyber Security

The cyber security world is never dull. Data breach and cyber crime may happen regardless of organization size, management and location. To help carry out business plans and long term strategies, partners from our Indianapolis Cyber Security center are here to share insights on factors to consider in technology planning. To maximize over all performance and grow in the ever changing world of business, staying updated on the latest in technology is an edge.

Expert Indianapolis Cyber Security

A dependable IT partner can thoroughly analyze your IT systems, hardware, framework and general operations. They can create a road map that can turn your operations from good to great. Tech Support can also advance your operations. They will provide up to date technology that will escalate productivity and eliminate downtime. Render assistance in keeping personnel aware of the newest phishing schemes and security breaches and how to address them.

IT Security

Our friends at Network Access can assist you in delivering the next generation of data security before a breach happens. One way to prevent harmful intruders is through penetration testing. Expert companies such as Network Access are trained in helping test your IT environment. They’ll design an evolving solution to help protect your infrastructure.

Off-site backup

Off-site backup: What would happen to your organization if your staff could not access your data? The most valuable asset stored on your computer is the data your company generates everyday. It is important to have it backed up regularly and stored in a safe location. Long gone are days of backing up to tapes and keeping them locked in your desk. Your information needs to be protected and easily accessed by you and your customers. Tier3it.ca has solutions for businesses facing these challenges. They offer customized solutions based on size and need.

When managing your IT seems overwhelming, visit leapmanagedit.com for a free 3 Minute Guide to Stronger IT. It will provide you with a starting point for having a conversation with your provider along with a quick list of do’s when it comes to IT.

Feel free to reach to our Indianapolis Cyber Security experts. Contact our Indianapolis IT Support Center.

Indianapolis Tech Support: Netflix Themed Phishing Attack

In this Indianapolis Tech Support Update we’ll delve into the latest phishing attack and the risk it poses to Indiana businesses. Since nearly 50 million households in the U.S. subscribe to Netflix, the Indianapolis Tech Support Update calculates that the attack has the potential to impact over one million Hoosiers. The Grand Rapids, Michigan Police Department recently uncovered this Netflix phishing attack which tricks recipients into thinking their accounts have been deactivated or suspended. Individuals who click on the email are at risk of having their personal information stolen along with compromising their computer and network.

How your employee’s penchant for ‘Friends’ can impact your business

The confluence of work and personal communications is hard for a company to avoid. Face it, employees are busy and need constant access to important updates of happenings outside of their work life. Receiving continual updates bombard their inbox:

soccer practice update from Team Snap
birthday reminder for that almost forgotten high school buddy compliments of Facebook
a heads up from Netflix that season 4 of ‘Friends’ is about to be removed from the line-up

Besides a productivity drain this can’t cause a big issue for a company, right? Remember the people behind the phishing attacks like the Netflix example are not selective. They will gladly steal your employee’s identify and if performed on a computer attached to your network, they will be more than happy to try to compromise your technology. A hacker just needs a way in and this phishing attack might open the front door they need.

Must Do’s from the Indianapolis Tech Support Center

We can’t stress enough that nothing will make your network 100% safe from attack. You can with some simple steps, significantly reduce your risk. Here’s what the cyber-security experts at our Indianapolis Tech Support center recommend:

Develop a clear policy for how company owned devices can be used – Can employees use company computers & email for personal use? If so, what are the guide posts?
Deploy Multi Layered Protection – Firewall and antivirus are not enough. If your company is not deploying true multi layered protection you are at risk and trying to fend off sophisticated attackers with 10 year old technology.
Train and Test – Don’t assume your employees know what to click on. Train them and then test them on a monthly basis. We conduct regular testing for our clients and see nearly 50% of all employees fail on initial testing. It takes practice to get good!

How to stay ahead

This Netflix phishing attack is just the latest in what will be many more attempts to get your company’s data. The technology the bad guys are using is changing fast and companies have to keep up to stay protected. Leading Indiana companies know that outsourcing IT support is one of the best investments for keeping an organization safe.

Reach out the Leap Managed IT Indianapolis Tech Support team to get more information.

leapmanagedit.com

4 Common Misconceptions about Cyber Security You Should Know

To look at cyber security in 2017 as an issue only IT ‘nerds’ should care about is a really bad idea. Look around you and you’ll see everything passes in one way or another through the Internet.

Dealing with problems and security breaches is both the customer’s and the provider’s job. It’s one of the reasons why businesses need to follow a strict set of rules to be able to perform online activities like eCommerce, for example.

But the biggest problem consists in a series of misconceptions and myths surrounding cyber security. It’s not their existence which stops progress, but the fact business owners take them as true. So in the following lines, we take four of these misconceptions and debunk them.

Myth #1 Humanity Is Not Ready for This Challenge

Taking into consideration how fast technology and information networks are progressing, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. But it’s nothing new for humanity. The industrial revolution caused similar dilemmas.

In fact, every big achievement in humanity’s history was based on innovation. We, as a species, need the guts to face unique challenges in order to improve our lifestyle.

It’s the same with cyber security and humanity is ready to face it. Most cloud hosting providers offer awareness and education for their clients. They constantly push for measures of prevention and mechanisms which increase data safety.

Myth #2 Million of Cyber Attacks Occur Every Day

Granted, it’s not a myth, but rather a misconception. It surfaced because the press keeps quoting military and intelligence cyber operations chiefs.

While the data is true – millions of cyber attacks occur every day – it doesn’t tell us much. An attack should always be defined by the impact and the source. A cyber attack which is stopped by the first cyber security measure implemented is just an attempt.

Security experts don’t focus on press releases, but on new ways of finding vulnerabilities and securing them. More often than not prevention is the best weapon. It’s why experts focus on analyzing online threats by weighing the risks and prioritizing how and who should address them.

Myth #3 Cyber Security Is Just a Technology Problem

Actually, online security is all about people. Security experts and white hat hackers are the ones constantly looking for new ways of security sensitive data stored online.

It’s more about incentives. If organizations – from SMBs to corporation – and individuals don’t see the point in investing to secure the data they store or process, data breaches are inevitable.

There are plenty of important technical fixes and new tools to adopt. But security policies and configurations need properly designed and implemented security protocols to ensure the network is secured from the inside out.

Myth #4 Cyber Offense Is the Best Defense

Stuxnet was a malicious computer worm identified for the first time in 2010. It attacked industrial computer systems and was responsible for causing substantial damage to Iran’s nuclear program. A digital weapon.

Many have a wild misconception any kid can do something similar from his parent’s basement. It’s completely false. Just think of the advanced knowledge you’d need to create, such an advanced program which is able to disrupt complex processes.

It’s the same with the idea offense is the best defense. When it comes to cyber security, the best defense is… a solid defense.

So any business owner should first stay away from such misconceptions and myths or simply dismiss them. Then, they should search for the right IT services partner.

At LEAP Managed IT, we take a keen interest in everything related to technology and make it work for you, not against you. Working with us gets you a hardworking and proactive team passionate about their field of expertise.

You can always get in touch with us if you’d like to learn more.