Tag: managed IT services

Managed IT Service
Managed IT Services

What is Fully Managed Service and Why is it Important?

Written by Layer One Networks Published

A fully managed IT service can be a great option for companies that don’t have the time or resources to manage their servers or are looking for experts to manage and maintain the infrastructure without any hiccups.

A fully managed service can provide everything from proactive IT operations and streamlined ticketing for all IT issues to remote monitoring and management software for key IT infrastructure. It frees up your time from managing the IT-related tasks so that you can focus on your core business. 

In this blog, let’s look at how managed IT services can help you and everything that’s included in it.

How Can a Managed IT Service Provider Help?

Managed IT Service Provider

Streamlined, Efficient Support

We can help you with everything from setting up your new computer, to upgrading your software and hardware, to fixing issues (if they do occur) daily. We’ll take care of all the technical support tasks, so you don’t have to.

One person will be assigned as your primary contact for all IT needs — from troubleshooting an issue in the office or fixing your home network connection at night when you get home from work. This means no more getting passed around between different teams and departments!

Proactive Reporting and Analysis

Fully Managed Service also includes proactive reporting and analysis. This is regularly monitoring your business to ensure that everything is running smoothly and efficiently and identifying any problems before they become more severe. In addition to checking key metrics, our team will conduct in-depth reviews of your business to make sure everything’s on track—or if there are any changes, we can optimize performance.

Vendor Coordination and Management

Vendor coordination is one of the critical foundations of IT managed services. This function ensures that your vendor partners work together to deliver consistent service quality across different areas, such as network operations, customer support, and billing. Your IT consulting firm offering managed IT services will operate as a central point of contact for all issues related to service delivery, including:

  • Vendor selection: Work with an expert in managing vendors to find the right partner for each component of your cloud infrastructure or application stack. This may include setting up contracts with third-party vendors like power companies or Internet service providers (ISPs).
  • Vendor evaluation: Get help from experts who can review your current vendors’ offerings against industry benchmarks and standards. They’ll identify opportunities where you might get better value by switching suppliers or renegotiating contracts on price or other terms of service.

High Availability

As a managed service provider, our goal is to deliver high availability, high security, and high performance.

High availability refers to the ability of a system to be available for use during a specific time period. In other words, it’s the amount of time your service will remain accessible before you have to start worrying about it being down.

We don’t want anything less than 100% uptime for all of our clients so we work hard every day towards making sure that their websites are live and serving customers around the clock without any interruptions whatsoever.

What is Included in a Fully Managed IT Service?

managed IT services

There are several functions included in fully managed IT services, but here are a top few:

Network security & risk mitigation: This service ensures that your network is safe from any kind of attack or intrusion. It also helps you to manage risks by identifying potential vulnerabilities in your network.

Endpoint detection & response (EDR): EDR helps you to detect malware on all of your devices so that you can remove it before it causes any damage or infection to your system.

Desktop virtualization: Desktop virtualization allows you to access your desktop remotely so that you can work from anywhere and everywhere. This also helps to improve productivity by reducing travel time and costs associated with having multiple locations for businesses.

Data backup & recovery: Data backup & recovery ensures that all of your important data is safe, even if something happens to the device on which it was stored or if someone accidentally deleted it accidentally or maliciously deletes it intentionally!

What are the Different Types of Fully Managed IT Services?

Managed Cloud Services

  • Managed Cloud Services: Some businesses prefer to outsource their IT support while others choose to manage it independently. With managed cloud services, your company gets full-service IT support with the flexibility of using a public cloud to have security and cost-effectiveness. You can consult with the provider to find the best plans.
  • Managed Hosting: A managed hosting solution combines web hosting, server management, and disaster recovery into one package. It provides all the necessary hardware and software to run your website or application in an environment where someone else monitors its performance, maintains backups, and patches any vulnerabilities as needed — all at a low cost per month compared to other options like hiring in-house personnel or purchasing expensive dedicated servers yourself.
  • Managed Security: We conduct regular security checks on your system and protect against malware, virus, and other online threats. Each device always has up-to-date protection against viruses, worms, and spyware—no matter where those threats originate.

Hire a Trusted Fully Managed IT Service Provider

As your needs grow, you will look for a reliable and trusted provider. You want to know your provider is dependable. You want a provider with the experience needed to take your business to the next level. An ideal IT service provider can help you through challenges and make sure everything runs smoothly in the background.

This is where our IT consultant service shines. We provide managed IT services for our clients in Corpus Christi, helping them maintain their IT infrastructure so that it doesn’t get in the way of their everyday operations.

Want to know more about how we can help you? Reach out to us now to discuss your need for IT services. 

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IT Support
IT Consulting

Which One is Right for Your Business: IT Managed Service vs. IT Support

Written by Layer One Networks Published

Enterprises need to drive their business objectives, such as growth, and IT infrastructure must support these objectives. It is critical for any business owner to ensure that their IT infrastructure is well maintained to run efficiently and reliably. This, in turn, will help the business grow.

This is where the role of an IT service provider comes in. An IT service provider helps enterprises with their operational needs and efficiently manages technology so that it can support the business’s strategic goals. IT service providers offer two types of services: IT managed services and IT support services.

Both IT managed service, and IT support are essential business functions that can contribute to the success of your business. They are similar but also different in many ways.

Both may provide help desk support, but the scope and depth of the services offered vary. The primary difference between the two is how IT managed services and IT support functions.

In this blog, we’ll walk you through everything you need to know about managed IT services and IT support and which option is best for your business.

How Managed IT Services Work?

IT Services

A managed services provider (MSP) manages a company’s information technology systems to improve operational control, reduce costs and increase productivity. Managed service providers monitor your entire network – servers, workstations, network devices, storage devices, and more – around the clock and take steps to address potential issues before they affect your business.

Managed IT service is a proactive approach to information technology. Businesses contract with a managed service provider who handles all of their IT needs. The company pays a flat fee, typically based on the number of computers or employees. The provider works with the business to set up the systems and software needed and then monitors those systems 24/7 to ensure everything is working properly. The provider proactively resolves issues before they become serious problems and makes recommendations to improve performance or security.

How Does IT Support Function?

IT Support Services

IT support includes helping an organization use its IT infrastructure effectively and efficiently by providing technical support for end-users or clients who are using products or services provided by the organization.

IT support is the service of managing your technology systems. This includes your software and hardware, like your printers and computers. They work with you when problems arise, patching up your systems and restoring them to working order via an on-site visit or remote connection. In short, IT support helps you troubleshoot technical problems when they occur. 

It provides you with the assistance you need when something goes wrong with your computers or applications. If someone clicks on a bad link in an email or accidentally downloads malware onto their computer, an IT support team can help remove it and get users back up and running as quickly as possible. When an employee has trouble with their computer or a specific piece of software, they can contact an IT support specialist to resolve the issue quickly. 

Difference between Managed IT Services and IT Support

IT Services Near Corpus Christi

The most significant difference between IT managed services and IT support is that the former is proactive while the latter is reactive.

IT managed service is a long-term solution to the technical needs of your business. A company offering IT managed service provides you with a team of IT professionals who will manage your entire network and all connected systems. They take care of everything from hardware to software, security, updates, backups, etc.

On the other hand, IT support is more like an on-demand service that you call when something goes wrong with your IT infrastructure or you need advice or assistance on specific issues. Different companies offer it and can be tailored to fit your needs.

IT managed services take this a step further. They support your company’s employees and help manage your IT infrastructure. They proactively manage your organization’s technology needs. Instead of waiting for problems to arise, a managed IT service provider will work to prevent them from happening.

When Do You Need IT Managed Services?

If you want to eliminate downtime and ensure that your IT infrastructure is always up and running optimally, it’s better to get an IT managed services provider (MSP). 

Managed IT services are most suitable for small to mid-sized businesses that don’t have an internal IT team. It’s also appropriate for internal teams that want to outsource specific functions, such as security or cloud services. Companies that want to focus on their core competencies without worrying about whether their computer systems are up and running typically find it helpful.

When do you need IT support?

IT support is a good choice when you don’t want to spend a lot of money on maintaining the IT infrastructure. 

Support incidents are often paid on a per-incident or per-hour basis. This can help you keep costs under control if you have a very small business that doesn’t use its technology much or if you already have an IT department that handles most problems internally but occasionally needs assistance with more complex issues. 

If you want to extend the functionalities of IT support further, you can go for proactive IT support rather than reactive IT support. 

Conclusion

When you’re trying to choose between an IT consulting firm for managed IT services or IT support, it’s often best to look at your IT infrastructure, its complexity, and the amount of support you’ll need to manage it.

At Layer One Networks in Corpus Christi, we offer an incredible IT consultant service to help you decide between both of these options and provide customized plans for managed IT services and IT support. Reach out to us today to get started.

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IT Consultant vs. IT Managed Services Which One is Better
IT Consulting

IT Consultant vs. IT Managed Services: Which One is Better?

Written by Layer One Networks Published

As technology has become a more significant part of our daily lives, so has the demand for technology professionals. This is true for both large and small businesses alike.

While there are many different types of IT professionals available to work with, the two most common types are IT consultants and IT managed services. Both provide different benefits to businesses; however, they each best serve different types of organizations.

It’s important to know which type of professional service your business needs to stay productive and competitive. Here’s some helpful information about the role of an IT consultant and how they differ from IT-managed services.

How Can IT Consultant Services Help Your Business?

IT Consultant - Layer One Networks

The role of an IT consultant is to provide strategic and technical guidance to the business. Through a series of meetings and discussions, they will figure out your business needs, what is currently lacking, and how to strategically approach those gaps.

Through IT consultant service, an outsourced expert offers technical advice to a business about maintaining their IT infrastructure and making new improvements. It can be a single person or a team of professionals who work together to provide services for their clients. 

A consultant is typically hired to provide an objective opinion or advice on an issue related to their area of expertise. They’ll be able to review your current business practices and identify areas of opportunity for improvement. The recommended changes may include upgrading your current technology, implementing new systems, or streamlining processes. A consultant will typically provide guidance, assist with a project or help train employees at your company.

How Can IT Managed Services Help?

IT Service - Layer One Networks

In managed IT services, a group of IT professionals works together to provide support in response to your business needs. Whether that be network maintenance, system upgrades, or simply troubleshooting a problem for you, their role is essentially to fill in the gaps of your existing team.

They ensure that their equipment, software, and systems remain up-to-date and protected from outside attacks. They offer 24/7 monitoring and maintenance support to companies throughout the year while focusing on other business matters. 

Once hired, these companies will become responsible for the smooth operation of all computer systems within their client’s business. They will handle all software updates and upgrades, hardware repairs, network security, and internet connection issues as they arise. This can save you time and money to focus solely on your business operations instead of fixing tech issues all the time.

Differences Between an IT Consultant and IT Managed Services

IT Consulting Firm - Layer One Networks

Involvement in the Everyday IT Operations

An IT consulting firm will work with a company’s staff to understand their needs and develop a solution that meets those needs. Consultants do not get involved in the day-to-day operations of your business. They are hired to assist with long-term planning and recommend process improvements. On the other hand, managed services assist with day-to-day tasks like system monitoring, updates & maintenance, issue resolution, etc.

The role of Managed Services Providers (MSPs) is very different. MSPs are responsible for managing almost all aspects of an organization’s network. From monitoring security on the network to managing email accounts and firewalls, MSPs take care of everything IT-related. In some cases, MSPs can even provide cloud services or help with website management.

Solution for a Specific Outcome

IT consultants are often hired for a specific project or outcome (ex: create a new internal system). Once that outcome is achieved, they are no longer needed. Managed IT services come in as an ongoing support solution to tackle any issues that may arise after the project is completed by an IT consultant, as well as anything else that comes up along the way.

Cost to the Company

One major difference between the two is cost. A company won’t need to hire an IT consultant company full-time; instead, they will only be brought in when required for specific projects. This makes it easier for companies to budget for their services, as they only pay for what they need when they need it.

When Do You Need IT Consultant Service vs. Managed IT Services?

IT Consultant vs Mananged IT Services - Layer One Networks

When You Have New Technologies to Implement

A managed IT service provider helps you maintain your network and servers but would not implement software or hardware systems. This is where an IT consultant can be helpful as they have deep insights into a wide range of technologies and help choose the right ones for your business.

When You Have to Conduct Specific Tasks

An IT consultant will be able to execute specific projects that you may not be able to take up due to a lack of resources or expertise within your organization, like migrating from the on-premises to the cloud or setting up a new office network.​

When You Need Guidance on Specific Tech Stack

IT consultants are hired to provide temporary assistance for a specific project or problem. They can propose a solution for any issues in your business’s IT infrastructure, as well as offer guidance and support to help you get the most out of your systems — which can then be implemented by our in-house IT team.

When You Need to Evaluate Technologies

Let’s say that you want to include new software in your workflow but aren’t sure about the best choice. An IT consultant service is the best option to figure such issues out.

When You Don’t Need a Full-Time Staff

Many businesses don’t need a full-time tech staff on hand. Their technology needs are small, and they only need occasional support to keep their computer up and running.

In this case, you can make use of the managed IT services to get the work done at just a fraction of hiring an entire IT team.

When You Need Long-Term IT Assistance

Managed IT services are the better option when you need long-term help but don’t want to hire full-time employees. Managed services companies offer remote monitoring, management, proactive maintenance, and support to keep everything running smoothly without onsite staff.

Are you looking for the right IT service for Your Business?

Reach out to our experts who offer managed IT services to businesses in Corpus Christi! We have the knowledge and expertise you need to keep your business running smoothly.

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security-service-corpus-christi
Security

What is Spear-Phishing And How to Prevent It?

Written by Layer One Networks Published

Spear-phishing is becoming an increasingly common threat. This is due to increased public reliance on the internet and the growing complexity of technology. 

The constantly changing landscape of data security makes it difficult for organizations to institute effective defenses. 

In this blog, we’ll look at what spear-phishing is and how you can protect yourself from becoming a victim.

What is Spear-Phishing? and How is it Different From Phishing?

The difference between phishing and spear-phishing is that the attacker makes a general attempt to obtain sensitive information from random people in phishing. In spear-phishing, the attacker makes a particular attempt to get sensitive information from a specific person.

The motive behind spear-phishing is usually an attempt to steal money and disrupt or destroy the victim’s business. In contrast, phishing is more often a random attack designed to steal money. 

Spear-phishing scams are more sophisticated in that they are targeted, and attackers use social engineering techniques like spoofing. The attackers use social engineering to get the victim to download a malicious application or email attachment. The application or email attachment downloads gigabytes of malware, which harvests the victim’s passwords, and other personal information.

data-security

How Does a Spear-Phishing Attack Happen?

In spear-phishing, the attacker creates a convincing email that appears to be from a trusted source. For example, the phishing email could appear to come from a trusted source such as a bank or a well-known e-commerce company. The email might also contain a link or an attachment. If you click on the link or open the attachment, you could be taken to a website where the attacker has installed malicious software that can capture your information. The captured data could reveal your password, username, and other confidential information.

Spear-phishing can be incredibly dangerous because the attacker can obtain a great deal of information. The attacker can craft a message tailored to the victim by researching the victim, which increases the chances of falling for the attack.

Spear-phishing attacks often appear to come from trusted sources. For example, the phishing email could appear to come from a trusted source such as your bank or a well-known e-commerce company. The email could also contain a link or an attachment. If you click on the link or open the attachment, you could be taken to a website where the attacker has installed malicious software that can steal your information. The stolen information could reveal personal information such as your password, username, or other confidential facts about you.

What Distinguishes Spear-Phishing Emails From Other Emails?

  1. Phishing emails all contain a subject that relates to the topic that the email is actually about. 
  2. Phishing emails all have a link. Links in emails are the easiest way for hackers to trick you into  downloading malware.
  3. Phishing emails all contain an attachment. The most common attachments are Microsoft Word  documents, Excel spreadsheets, and PDFs. 
  4. Phishing emails all look legitimate. They appear as if they came from someone you know.

To avoid spear-phishing attacks, employees should follow these practices:

Never divulge your passwords

Legitimate businesses do not send emails asking for your password. If you receive an email that claims to be from a legitimate business with your username or password as one of the required fields, do not attempt to enter that information on that site. Instead, go directly to the business’ official webpage.

It’s also essential to change your passwords often. Make sure that you use different passwords for different accounts.

Use Two-Factor Authentication

To protect yourself, use a Two-Factor authentication system. This means that you must provide another piece of information that is only known to you personally in addition to your password. Examples of this are a one-time code texted to your cellphone or a one-time pin sent to a landline telephone number.

Read More: An Ultimate Guide on Two-factor Authentication (2FA) for Small Business

Think Twice Before Taking Quick Actions 

Hackers thrive on convincing you to take quick action without taking the time to think.

If you receive a threatening email, call the company directly. Be skeptical of any email that asks you to update your information. For example, an email that tells you “you have to update your information by going to www.something.com.” is more than likely a phishing email. 

Be aware that some phishing scams are clever. For example, an email may ask you to update your information because there has been a security breach, and that update will cost you money. Contact your credit card company or bank to verify any suspicious activity.

Check the URLs of the webpages

Sometimes the emails from phishers look so legitimate that we click on them. 

Hackers can make emails look like they’re from trusted companies such as FedEx, your bank, Amazon or PayPal. If you follow the link, you wind up at a web page that looks similar to a trusted businesses website except that instead of “FedEx.com,” it says, “phisher.com.”

The page asks for your login and password, and if you give them away, the phisher has your information. So make sure to check the URLs from the links you click on before you type in your login information.

Conclusion

There are just a few things you can do to protect yourself against spear-phishing attacks. To know more and prevent these incidents, you need a reliable IT consultant service. 

Layer One Networks is an experienced and well-trusted firm providing managed IT and security service in Corpus Christi. You can reach out to our team of IT experts today to get suggestions and guidance on protecting anyone in your organization from spear-phishing attacks.

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IT Consulting Services
IT Consulting

How Can IT Consulting Services Help the Manufacturing Industry?

Written by Layer One Networks Published

Gone are the days when the manufacturing industry involved a lot of manual work. With the implementation of new technologies, automation has become the buzzword in manufacturing. The speed and efficiency of operations in manufacturing right now are growing at an inconceivable rate thanks to data-driven models and simplified tools.

The cutthroat competition in manufacturing has forced all sizes of businesses to align themselves with the digital revolution. With modern IT consulting service and expert development solutions, companies can embrace the new technologies quicker and help their employees adapt to the new working styles.

As a growing manufacturing industry, here is how managed IT services and technologies are helping to scale and improve efficiency.

5 Ways IT Consultant Services Can Transform Manufacturing Plants

There are thousands of ways IT services can bring a change in a manufacturing unit. It all starts with identifying the best technology for your operations and ensuring that it’s compatible with the rest of the plant.

Once you start implementing new IT solutions and technologies in your plant, you need to implement them in all aspects of the plant to achieve uniform growth — and ensure high ROI and operational efficiency. IT consultant service can help your manufacturing unit in many ways:

  • Improve the Efficiency of the Production Cycle

A good majority of a plant’s success depends on how efficient your plant production is. When you get the help of an IT consulting company, they can analyze far behind the production and look at the little details that compromise this efficiency, and suggest quick and simple IT applications and toolkits that can prevent that.

You can also automate various sections of a production cycle, utilize the new tools in the market to integrate with the rest of the process, and make sure that the final output contributes to your ROI.

  • Integration with IoT

You don’t need to visit the location of your measurement tools anymore with IoT devices.

You can install IoT channels with your critical measurement units to make or break your output efficiency and use an automated control system that intuitively manages production levels.

You also need the assistance of managed IT services to deploy these units, set up the IoT network with proper routing, and integrate all of that with fully functional software. This way, you can sit at the control station, monitor the measurements, and let the software modify the input channels to get the desired output.

  • Automate Compliances

A manufacturing plant needs to comply with a lot of regulations. It can be local, state, and central regulations, not to mention the industrial standardization audits. 

With so many regulation guidelines to follow, it can be a real problem to keep track of everything and ensure that the plant is running within the due guidelines. But with automated compliance regulation systems, you can automate the majority of monitoring the compliances. You can set notification alerts when a compliance requirement is deviated and take remedial measures to keep them within limits.

This could save you a lot of time and help your employees focus their working hours on something more productive.

  • Equipment Upkeep & Monitoring

You can detect any equipment troubles ahead of time with the right IT solutions. 

Whenever equipment fails, you need to stop the operation to either fix it or replace it. It can cause significant downtime, which again contributes to loss of production.

To avoid such issues, you can install IT monitoring solutions to keep an eye on the parameters of your critical equipment. Since this system will have all the historical data of the equipment, you can also conduct proactive upkeep before the equipment starts the trouble. This will save you a lot of downtime that goes to waste. Instead, you can still keep your plant running and perform preventive or proactive maintenance to nip the issues as they begin.

IT Consulting
IT Consulting

  • Protection Against Cyber Threats

Every manufacturing plant uses technology to a certain extent. And with the development of technology comes the rise of cyber threats. 

It’s vital to protect your IT systems against cyber threats with the best of the security systems, firewalls, anti-virus programs, malware protection programs and ransomware prevention algorithms.

Just installing these programs on your systems isn’t enough. You need to regularly monitor the communication, network and device usages to make sure that there isn’t any dormant malware present silently feeding on your information. 

Since at least a part of your operation is dependent on digital means, it’s crucial than ever to implement the best security solutions to protect your plant from unwanted online threats.

Conclusion

IT consultant service can do a lot for a manufacturing plant. From improving operational efficiency to preventing unnecessary downtimes and improving output quality, there’s no limit to the probabilities of including IT solutions in manufacturing. As much as we enjoy the pros of IT services, we also need to safeguard our systems with the proper IT security measures.

At Layer One Networks, we offer security services in Corpus Christi and the surrounding areas that reinforce your digital protection. We also work with manufacturers, helping them to optimize their operations and implement new technologies. If you want to consult us for any IT services, reach out to us now.

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An Ultimate Guide on Two-factor Authentication (2FA) for Small Business
Security

An Ultimate Guide on Two-factor Authentication (2FA) for Small Business

Written by Layer One Networks Published

There are so many things for a small business owner to juggle — everyday operations, new improvements, and employee management are just the tip of the iceberg.

Add to it the scare of IT security, and the whole thing becomes all the more difficult.

Small businesses are more prone to hacking attempts. In fact, 43% of cyber attacks target small businesses. While this statistic may scare any small business owner, there are so many things that you can do to reinforce security — and at no additional cost.

And one of such essential security measures you need to employ is two-factor authentication, commonly known as 2FA.

What is Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)?

Most online platforms are offering 2FA now. Right from Gmail to cryptocurrency exchanges, 2FA has added an extra layer of security and prevented many hacking attempts. If you want to strengthen your protection further, you can enforce zero-force security.

But if you want to start small and slowly add more layers to your data security, then the very first thing you need to enable is 2FA.

2FA is the next level of authentication after verifying your login details. Even if the hacker knows your username and password, 2FA can still stop the hacker from accessing your account.

How Can a 2FA Look Like?

An Ultimate Guide on Two-factor Authentication (2FA) for Small Business

Every platform offers a certain type of two-factor authentication. For example, when you log in to your Google account and enable 2FA, you’ll receive a notification to confirm the login from a new location on your registered smartphone. 

But this is not the only form of 2FA.

A 2FA can be:

  • A security question
  • An instant security number
  • A pre-created pin or security question
  • A fingerprint scanner on your smartphones

While these types of 2FAs can be found commonly on many online platforms, there are also physical forms of 2FA like a card or a key. This is best for physical storage locations of sensitive data or products.

It’s highly advisable that you enable 2FA on the common platforms you use for your small business. If you’re unsure of enabling 2FA on any online platforms, you can reach out to your IT service provider or any other reliable IT consulting firm to help out.

4 Reasons Why Your Small Business Needs 2FA

Every small business needs 2FA, but why? Because there are no drawbacks and lots of advantages. Here are some prime reasons why you need to enable 2FA for your small business right now.

  • You Need to Keep Your Sensitive Information Safe

Can you imagine the repercussions if your sensitive information, including customer’s data, falls into the wrong hands?

This one incident could very well lead to the derailing of your small business. When you don’t want such unfortunate situations to happen, you need to add as much security as possible to your critical platforms. This includes any cloud storage you’re using, your email account, CRM, online banking, and other platforms where you share or store important data.

  • You Need to Give The Hackers a Hard Fight

Let’s face the truth. It’s become very easy for hackers to use malware to access all our usernames and passwords. If there’s one thing that can stop them and give them a hard fight, it is the 2FA. 

If your platforms allow you to get notified of logins from new devices, it’s vital that you enable them. This way, you can be informed when someone tries to hack your account and quickly take steps to prevent it.

  • You Have Nothing to Lose Since it’s Free!

While many other managed IT services and security solutions may cost you at least some money, there’s no investment to use 2FA on online platforms. All you need to do is enable 2FA, test it once, and be assured that you’ve added an extra layer of security. You don’t have anything to lose!

  • You Don’t Need to Spend Time to Implement 2FA

Now that we’ve cleared that it’s free, the next question you may ask is, ‘Should I spend a long time on 2FA?’ Not at all!

It’s as simple as clicking a button on and off. You can switch off 2FA anytime you need, of course, with some password protection and verification. But you still have complete control over your 2FA. You just need to make sure to remember the type of 2FA you’ve enabled and remember it.

Wrapping Up

As a small business starting, you don’t need to pour tons of money for your data security. With just a few simple steps free of cost, you can ensure an additional level of security — with no strings attached.

If you still haven’t enabled 2FA for your critical applications, then it’s high time you do it. It can make all the difference between a successful hacking or a failed attempt.

If you’re looking for additional security than 2FA, then you can reach out to our company offering security service in Corpus Christi. Layer One Networks is a popular IT consulting firm specializing in managed IT services and IT security. You can reach out to us now to know more about our cost-effective security solutions for small businesses.

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Cyber Security
Security

Cybersecurity Risks in a Pandemic: What You Need to Know

Written by Layer One Networks Published

Ever since the work-from-home culture has become the norm, many cybersecurity risks are coming to light.

Companies that were once confident in their data security can now be seen fretting about picking up the pieces and enforcing high-security measures to protect their confidential information. And many new cyberthreats that weren’t given much notice before and are becoming the prime focus now.

At LayerOne Networks, we have helped our customers transition with ease to the new work-from-home norm and maintain their IT security. While there are a few critical adjustments needed from the side of the organization, you can still enforce the same level of security even during this change of workplace. 

The Vulnerable State of Companies in the Remote Culture

The COVID-19 pandemic turned the whole world upside down. Companies that never allowed WFH before are now becoming a permanent remote team now. Managers who once preferred to have their teams work from the office have to meet them on virtual calls. Everyone is adopting the new normal and so should your IT system.

It’s a vulnerable state for the company, especially for the cybersecurity team, to navigate this sudden change. Within a single month, many organizations have to facilitate the means for employees to work from anywhere and the IT infrastructure and security teams played a central role in it.

Understandably, not a lot of businesses were ready for this shift. The quick rise in digital communications that replaced face-to-face discussions made companies more prone to attacks from outside. As a result, the cybersecurity teams and IT consulting firms were under immense pressure to develop new ways to safeguard the organizations from threats.

Cybersecurity Risks In A Pandemic: What You Need To Know

Meanwhile, the hackers quickly got down to work and used phishing emails and fake websites to lure the employees into allowing the malware inside. Some unfortunate companies to become victims went swiftly under attack and were struggling hard to survive.

During such times, we worked with many clients to quickly facilitate safe operations with remote working. Our managed IT services took care of this shift to remote work-life and enforced new security systems and procedures for a safe working atmosphere from anywhere.

Here are some of the crucial things that every business needs to know about cybersecurity in the pandemic.

5 Essential Evolutions to Improve Cybersecurity During Pandemic

Cybersecurity Risks In A Pandemic: What You Need To Know

First of all, we need to understand that developing better cybersecurity systems for employees in the pandemic isn’t complete without their involvement. Here are the things we need to address to upgrade security systems.

  • Educate the Employees About Safe Practices

The entire workforce should be aware of cybersecurity threats that could compromise the whole company. Most of these threats trick the employees into taking some action and then gaining access through that. 

Firstly, businesses need to conduct regular security workshops with practical examples to take the employees through various ways to be targeted. Secondly, the cybersecurity team should send test phishing emails and other similar security attacks designed to draw out the employees who are most vulnerable and help them increase their security awareness. 

Read More: Tips for Protecting Your Email from Cyber Threats

  • Shift to New IT Operating Models

Businesses that need to respond quickly to such a long-term situation can’t do well with a bare minimum solution. You need a new operating model that considers the remote work culture and includes high-security tools and applications with stringent protection measures. 

  • Use Cloud-Based Security Platform

When even your cybersecurity professionals are working from home, adapting to a cloud-based security system makes sense.

It will give your employees instant access to files and databases and help your data security team maintain a stronghold on security. They can enforce threat protection solutions, conduct regular testing and security audits and take quick actions when a threat is detected. Also, cloud-based solutions can reduce your operating costs and give control over remote employees’ protection measures.

  • Create a Renewing System of Access & Authorization

Gaining access to passwords and authorization answers is easier in the remote work culture. This is why you need to make sure that they don’t fall into the wrong hands or safeguard the system even when that happens.

You need to create a regular system of changing the passwords every few weeks, along with any other authorization details. You can also provide remote access to systems without a VPN and set up privileged access management to give a higher level of access to the IT admin teams.

  • Implement New Security Technologies

As new cyber technologies emerge, so do hacking technologies.

With that in mind, you need to educate your employees about updating their systems to newer software versions and conducting regular checks for viruses and malware.

You can hire an external IT consulting firm to implement new cybersecurity technologies that identify the latest threats and prepare to prevent them from gaining access. These new threats are often not detected during manual checks, and therefore, cybersecurity technology should be able to see instances in nanoseconds. 

If you want to implement such security solutions, you can now consult with one of our data security experts.

Wrapping Up

Cybersecurity risks have heightened ever since the pandemic broke out and remote work culture was introduced. You can still keep your business protected by staying on top of the cybersecurity threats, raising new policies for employees, educating them, and implementing new security measures.

LayerOne Networks is one of the top IT consulting firms in Corpus Christi offering security services. Reach out to our team to know more about how we can enhance your cybersecurity.

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What Is The Need For IT Security And Cybersecurity
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What is The Need For IT Security And Cybersecurity?

Written by Layer One Networks Published

Ever had a scare of an unauthorized attempt to breach your IT system?

When you had to go through such a harrowing experience, you would know why you should give due importance to IT security. 

Cyberattacks are becoming so frequent and common. Nowadays, hackers aren’t just targeting the big corporations but also the small startups and even ordinary individuals. So when the risks of being open to such cyber threats are increasing, we need to mount additional security to protect our IT systems from such malicious attempts.

In this blog, we’ll look at some strong reasons you need data security systems and how you can enforce them.

3 Reasons Why Your Company Needs Powerful IT Security

3 Reasons Why Your Company Needs Powerful IT Security

At LayerOne Networks, one of the top IT consulting firms in the country, we’ve seen many clients coming to us after data breaches or cyber threats. And there’s one thing we advise to all of them — take preventive measures before the danger becomes real and does real damage. We offer security IT services for clients to protect themselves before the threat becomes a significant issue.

This is why our cybersecurity experts are bringing together some compelling reasons for you to take IT security seriously before you become a victim.

  • Hackers Leave No One

Hackers Leave No One

The threat of cyberattacks is accurate, and it’s there to stay. Therefore, every organization has to take preventive measures to keep their data safe and their customers’ sensitive information secure. 

Several hackers have different purposes for hacking and gaining access. Some do it for monetary purposes, some for political reasons, and some do it just because they can! There are so many different kinds of hacking attempts that don’t see the nature of your business or the amount of money you have.

You may be a slowly-growing startup, and you may still be hacked or infiltrated with ransomware just because your system was easy to break.

In a first-ever study at the University of Maryland, hacker attempts are found to happen every 39 seconds on average! Even if you’ve been spared till now, you never know when your turn might come. So, it’s always better to be cautious and on your defense to protect your IT systems.

  • The Developments in Technologies Help the Hackers Too

The Developments in Technologies Help the Hackers Too

As we see new technologies coming up for data protection and cybersecurity, we must remember that more such technologies can help hackers. The hackers are also getting armed with new tools and software, which allows them to break firewalls and find loopholes in the security systems.

For example, when your employees use IoT devices in the same network they use to log in to your company’s server, it becomes even more accessible for hackers to gain access. Such technological advancements are proving to be a cybersecurity threat and can compromise even highly secure systems.

Companies need to be cautious with the software they use and be stringent with employee policies on the login. You don’t just need robust cybersecurity solutions but should also teach your employees to conduct business in a safe atmosphere.

  • Cybersecurity Threats Are Far More Than We Think

When we say cybersecurity, it doesn’t just mean protecting the access pages and keeping up firewalls. There are multiple threats in cybersecurity that require individual attention:

Data security is the protection of the information stored in an offline database or online cloud storage. There are numerous ways through which hackers can gain access to these storage systems. Several security measures are needed to prevent that, like data encryption, tokenization, data access security management, and many more.

Network security is essential to protect the entire IT system from unauthorized access through the networks. Intruders generally use malware or viruses to get access details and codes and use them to target companies.

You can improve network security through antivirus programs, firewalls, renewing new passwords regularly, antispy software, and antimalware software.

Application security is needed when a particular application is targeted — either to gain access to the application’s critical information or gain access to the entire system through the application. Applications can be protected from such access through regular maintenance and security checks, updating the applications often, and conducting vulnerability and penetration testing to find loopholes in the security systems.

These are just a few of the common cybersecurity risks and systems you need. Unfortunately, there are far more such security risks your company is prone to, and it’s vital to analyze and understand every one of them to ensure their security.

What to Look for in a Cybersecurity Service Provider

If you’re searching for someone to provide managed IT services, including cybersecurity, then you need to know what you’re looking for.

Here are some essential qualities that a cybersecurity provider should have:

  • Expertise in various types of cybersecurity 
  • Expertise in the recent hacking technologies and IT security solutions
  • Prompt in chipping in and fixing issues
  • Dependable to handle the sensitive information
  • Previous history of successful security projects and satisfied clients
  • Demonstrated ability to control the security of your entire IT infrastructure 
  • An eye for finding security loopholes and knowledge of improving the current position

If you’ve been wondering, ‘Where can I find such IT services near me to enforce cybersecurity?’, we have the solution. LayerOne Networks offers IT consulting services on cybersecurity to help you figure out the best way to keep your systems safe.

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Importance of Zero Trust Security for Your Business

Written by Layer One Networks Published

The way in which businesses operate today is a far cry from what it was a couple of years back. The hard truth? The information is no longer as secure as we thought it was.

With so many hacking attempts and everyday news of security breaches, it’s becoming harder to trust any person or technology. In other words, zero trust sounds like the best idea.

This forms the crux of zero trust security, where every person or access is considered hostile until proven otherwise. This zero trust notion was first introduced in a paper in 2010 by John Kindervag from Forrester Research. Soon the term caught on, considering the volatile and technologically advanced world we’re living in.

A zero trust solution for data security essentially means that every request isn’t trusted until it’s verified. And this happens every single time a user tries to gain access or sends a request. So, why should you consider zero trust security for your business? Let’s find out.

5 Reasons Why Your Business Needs Zero Trust Security

At LayerOne Networks, our security experts have implemented zero trust security systems for some of our clients. In this blog, we’ll explain why you need to include zero trust security as a part of your managed IT services. 

1. You Need Additional Protection for Integration with Third-Party Services

Many times, we tend to link our software with other third-party applications to improve productivity. Or, we use multiple tools to build an application. For example, software developers may use third-party services for logging, authentication, and other similar needs. So, in the end, even a single software may have a host of different applications that have access to the information.

This is when zero trust security plays a crucial role. When every single request passing through the application is verified, we can prevent access or attacks from happening through these third parties. 

2. You Get Complete Visibility into the Logins

The zero trust security works with the notion that the system is already compromised and has to verify every action. While it acts on the process of verification, it never trusts anything. 

So, the visibility of the traffic to the application plays a central role in the security. Every single network log, access, the location of the access, and other details are recorded. The security team can monitor these movements of data and the login details for every single one of the users.

You can also use this data to analyze the attacks or attempts of hacking to pinpoint the exact location, user, and nature. One important point to note here is that zero trust security also monitors the DNS traffic, which is usually unchecked in traditional systems. This helps to avoid unauthorized data access and predict exfiltration.

3. You Need to Maintain Data Security Even with the Remote Work Culture

Ever since the pandemic hit us more than 18 months back, the remote work culture has become a norm. Many companies have permanently allowed for WFH, while some are still in the transitional stage. 

If you have some of your employees working from home, we have to realize that their home networks wouldn’t be as secure as our office networks. It is easier to hack into your enterprise using the home networks.

Zero trust security becomes helpful in such cases since it already considers that the threat is in. It suspects every single request and interaction to and from the application, which means it can stop and verify new instances of request from the WFH employees and prevent any security attacks.

Data Security

4. You Can Reduce Your Vulnerability

Let’s face it. Every organization that has some amount of dependency on online tools and applications is prone to cyberattacks. And we also have lots of vendors, external service providers, and freelancers that have access to our network. So when you’re switching IT providers or moving to new freelancers, they may still have access even after they’ve stopped working for your business.

When there’s something you can do to minimize your vulnerability and increase your security, it’s essential to consider it. Otherwise, you can’t imagine the consequences of your customers’ sensitive information and operational data falling into the wrong hands.

Zero trust security disallows application access until the user can positively prove their identity. It analyzes the way the device or the user is communicating, the network through which they’re communicating, and puts them through various authorizations to verify them.

Every communication through the application is checked for malicious attacks, which means your business operations will be better protected than most other security systems.

5. You Can Minimize the Security Tech Stacks

As more and more cyberthreats are cropping up and hackers are coming up with new ways to gain access or threaten organizations, the security stacks that are needed to protect ourselves have also increased. So when you want the manpower to implement so many of these tech stacks, you need to hire a big security team to build and manage them. 

But with zero trust security, you can do away with most of the security tech stacks and replace them with a single device in the cloud that monitors every piece of communication. You can minimize the complexity of the projects and the technologies needed and to save on employee costs.

Wrapping Up

In today’s distributed organization, the importance of data security has increased by folds. Zero trust security can reduce your vulnerabilities and improve data protection through the application. 

LayerOne Networks is one of the top IT consulting firms offering managed IT services, data security solutions, and IT consulting services. If you have a business in Corpus Christi and are searching for ‘IT services near me,’ then reach out to us now.

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Finding IT Support Service for Small Business? 5 Key Things to Keep in Mind

Written by Layer One Networks Published

Do you know how these top-tier corporates are managing their zettabytes of IT systems?

Three words — excellent IT support.

IT support is one of those areas present in business of any scale but often ignored. Companies that give due importance to IT support are the ones that have smooth functioning IT processes.

Good IT support can prepare your business for any new challenges and ventures to create easy working spaces for the employees. Finding such reliable IT support is critical — even for startups.

If you’ve decided to get support for your IT system, then you’ve made the right choice. But choosing the best IT support can be a tricky deal breaker.

This blog will help small business owners to analyze, understand and find the right IT support to build and secure the future of their companies.

5 Things You Need to Know When Finding IT Support for Small Businesses

In 2015, 15% of US adults didn’t use the internet. Right now, the numbers have reduced to 7%, which means 93% of US adults are active online.

Your business needs to co-exist where the market is– online. Without strong IT support, you cannot grow your business in the cut-throat digital world. 

Here are five essential things that you should consider when searching for an IT service provider.

  • The Scope of IT Support

First of all, you need to understand that many companies offer IT consulting services and managed IT services in the market. You need to get your priorities straight to find the perfect support team to help you scale up.

Some businesses may already have an IT team in place and may want support for a limited time. And some would wish for a long-standing agreement for IT support to take charge of specific IT processes.

Whatever your requirements and reasons are, note them down on paper. These should typically be the responsibilities you want your IT support team to take charge of. 

Having this checklist will make it easy for you to talk to different service providers and see if they can meet your requirements.

IT support

  • The Different Types of IT Support

Many small businesses look for external IT support because of the flexible services they can get. There are a few definite models that IT consulting firms provide. It is important to know and pick the one that is best for you.

Firstly, there’s the pay-as-you-use service where you ring up the support team when you need an extra hand or deal with some specific issue. The next one is the 24×7 IT support. The external team will become an extended part of your internal team. This team will monitor your IT infrastructure, fix them, run regular checks, and assist in any future developments.

There’s one more model that’s in between the pay-as-you-use and the 24×7 support. And that is the specialized services. You hire the team for specialized IT support for a few of the functionalities or applications. The duration of the agreement is usually long-term. For example, you can hire a team to run regular malware checks or for disaster management.

  • The Value for Money

As a small business, you don’t want to spend a lot of money on IT support. However, don’t expect out-of-the-world services from companies charging peanuts. 

Analyze how much you can pay for the IT services and the current market rate as a guide in hiring an IT support team that’s within your budget. You should, of course, get the value for the money you spend. So, make sure to ask about the team’s expertise  and if they would be able to cater to the services you require.

  • The Security Measures

‘How safe is my data?’, is one question that we tend to contemplate over and over again.

Many IT consulting firms pride themselves on being the top providers who value your privacy and security more than anything else. And you need to find this type of company to support you.

Ask the team about the different security measures they’ll be taking from their end to keep your data safe. Ask about the authorization protocols and the access controls. Let your in-house IT guy discuss and analyze their security systems. Ask them about their policies and security systems for phishing attacks, malware protection, DDoS attacks, hacking, and data breach protocols. 

This will give you an idea of how much you can rely on them to keep your information safe and secure. 

If you’re already using an outsourcing team, ask them questions and see if they live up to your requirements. If not, it’s essential to make a shift to a new provider now.

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  • The Level of Control

With an IT support team, you need to clear on where you draw the boundaries. The work of an IT support team is to ‘support’ your IT operations while the complete control rests with you.

While you don’t need to micromanage them on a day-to-day basis, you still need to check up often, set access limits, and have overall control. An IT support team will help keep the everyday operations up and running and regularly do a standard set of tasks. 

But anything more than should come under your control and guidance. 

Conclusion

Finding that right IT support team could relieve you of a lot of headaches and small processes that consume so much of your time. Keep our 5 pointers in your mind when choosing the right IT support team.

If you’re looking for a reliable and experienced team for IT support in Corpus Christi, Texas, then reach out to us at LayerOne Networks now.

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