Author Archive
Use video conferencing passwords
Video conferencing apps such as Zoom or WebEx have had security breaches in the past, random people joining a call without invitation and “bombing” it. Many of these services have already made improvements to prevent this, but when possible, enable a meeting password and share it only with those welcome on the call.
Misleading password meters could increase risk of data breach
A Password meter is an indicator of the strength of a password entered by a user on a website. In most cases, meters estimate the amount of tries necessary for your password to be guessed by an attacker by factoring in password length and complexity. A University of Plymouth study tested 16 of the most encountered password meters on the internet to test their effectiveness. Based on the results, here are a few tips on how to keep your passwords secure, regardless of an “approval” given by the password meter:Do not always trust the password meter
Just because a password meter says “strong password” does not mean it is. The meters can be helpful but are also extremely flawed, giving you a sense of false security. When deciding on a password, do not base it solely on the rating given by the website.Avoid using keyboard patterns
On many password meters, passwords such as “querty”, “abc123”, and “Password” sometimes cannot be detected as problematic. Common letter combinations, such as going down a row of the keyword or commonly used words, are easily guessed and not always flagged on the meters.
Make passwords complicated and personal
The most secure passwords are those with a combination of uppercase, lowercase, numbers, and symbols. Choose combinations that seem difficult to guess by an outside person or computer. The more complicated and seemingly random the password, the stronger it will be. In addition to character variation, do not use the same password for all of your accounts. Change up your passwords so that if one is discovered, not all of your information is at risk. Secure your valuable data with the protection it deserves. Do you part to protect your information with a strong password, WesTec is here to do the rest. WesTec Services is dedicated to providing the highest quality of IT consulting as well as backup disaster and recovery planning. Give WesTecCall a call today to discover more about our available services.
Why Should I Outsource My IT Needs
Does your company have its own internal IT department? Do you feel that there is a misuse of time and resources due to inefficient practices within your company? Consider outsourcing your needs to someone with knowledge and focus on how to benefit your organization’s current technology needs. There are four main reasons why you should consider outsourcing your IT needs:Reduce Costs
Outsourcing to someone who specifically handles and is knowledgeable about technology is cheaper than hiring and training someone to handle it internally.Avoid Risk
Having on-call technicians with training in the technology field will help avoid problems and system failures. The outsourced IT company will usually be knowledgeable in information backups and recovery in the case of a disaster. In addition, outside companies can more easily avoid the bad situations all together by being prepared specifically for them.
Increase Productivity
You decide how involved or not involved the outsourced company is in your day-to-day operations. Your company sets the pace and the outsourced support caters to your needs. You create the plan that best suits your business, allowing for the most optimal levels of business productivity and desired interaction between business and IT.Remain Focused on Business
When delegating technology services to someone else, you are able to focus time and effort on the business side of things. No need to worry about the technology when you have a more knowledgable third-party source to handle it. Focus on what you know to optimize your time and efforts and allow for the best use of company time. WesTec Services is skilled in handling all our outsources IT needs. We offer a full range of services and plans to handle your office technology. To learn more, contact WesTec Services today.
How to Spot Phishing Attempts
Are you sure that email came from a real company? Individuals are commonly targeted by cybercriminals claiming to be a large organization, copying the format legitimate companies and phishing for personal information. This poses a real security threat to recipients but thankfully, there are steps you can take to spot phishing attempts:Recognize
When it comes to identifying phishing attempts, there are a few important things to learn. Scammers are constantly switching tactics and creating new ways to trick email recipients. Upon receiving a possible phishing email, check the sender for a domain email. If you have received an email from the person before, check to make sure alterations have not been made to the spelling of the name or email domain. Many scammers adjust a number or letter in the email to trick the recipient. Real companies will not ask you for sensitive information over email. Most legitimate companies will call you by your name in the email, redirect you to a secure webpage, and ask you to log in before asking for or updating sensitive information.
Protect
Install proper security measures on your personal computer. While spam filters attempt to sort legitimate emails in your inbox, cybercriminals try new methods to slip through the cracks and outsmart this system. If your email account or other websites offer a multi-step authentication option to prove your identity before accessing your information, always take advantage of this. Take any extra opportunities to better secure your data and ensure it cannot fall into the wrong hands. In cases where you are unsure about the legitimacy of a message and files or hyperlinks are included, do not click on or open them. These often contain malicious software that attack your computer and gain access to information.Report
If you find yourself in a situation with what you believe to be a phishing scam, contact the company using an email or number you know to be real. The company could confirm if that email was truly sent by them or not. If you have received a phishing email, forward it to the Anti-Phishing Working Group at re************@**wg.org. You may also report the phishing attack to the FTC at ftc.gov/complaint. For your business technology needs, WesTec Services is here to provide the security and support you need. Contact us by phone at (713) 682-4000 or by email at sa***@************es.net to discuss what we can do for you.
How to Prevent Malware
When your computer slows down or begins acting in an unusual way, it may be infected with a virus or malware. While most malwares are annoying, others may be malicious and hijack your computer’s information. Here are some tips to keep your hardware safe and prevent your computer from becoming infected.Install Anti-Virus Software
Installing an antivirus or anti-malware software is the first step to protecting your computer. Without some type of protection software, your computer is an easy target for hackers. It is important to make sure the software stays up to date as well. For the best protection, install updates regularly as they alert you on your computer.Run Regularly Scheduled Scans
You should be scanning your computer regularly with the anti-virus software you install. To best protect your computer, schedule your scan one night every week. Make sure your computer does not shut down automatically or go into hibernation mode to ensure the scan completes.
Use a Secure Network
Always use a secure network for computers to connect to files, printers or internet. Using an open network makes it easier for hackers to access your information. This means you should avoid using your computer at places that offer free WiFi. If your business likes to offer complimentary wifi to customers, consider offering a guest wifi with a different password than your main network for added protection.Think Before You Click
Good protection software will automatically scan any links or unusual emails on your computer. However, it does not hurt to always be cautious when opening an email from an unknown sender or making sure a link is taking you where it says it is.Use Multiple Strong Passwords
Finally, never use the same password for all of your important accounts. We often use the same email address or username for all accounts. Knowing this, it becomes crucial to use multiple strong passwords to prevent hacks. Your passwords should be easy to remember, difficult to guess, and always avoids dates or names.Following these tips can help protect your computers and information from viruses and malware. For more information on how WesTec’s IT experts can help your business keep its information safe from hackers, contact us.
When Should I Update My Passwords?
Sometimes, accounts will ask you to update your passwords for security reasons. This often feels like an unnecessary task meant to make your life more complicated. However, in a world full of hackers and online predators, one must regularly update their password to protect valuable information.Change Your Passwords Regularly…
By regularly changing your login information and passwords, you make it harder for someone to steal information. This is increasingly important for accounts without two-factor authentication. Communication accounts, like email and chatting apps, should also be updated every so often for increased protection.
…But Don’t Change Them Too Often
Traditionally, experts recommended you change passwords every 30 to 60 days–this is no longer the case. Mandatory password updates lead to money loss and lack of productivity with minimal security payoff. Now, changing your password doesn’t hold near the protection it used to. Because cybercriminals continue to learn more advanced hardware and software, they can typically discover your password if they look hard enough.As humans, we tend to create patterns. This is no different in password creation. Typically, we use similar letters, numbers and themes when updating a password. Updating your password too often leads to confusion with little added benefit.
Keep Your Data Secure
As a rule of thumb, update your passwords when there is proof of some sort of security breach or online attack. This includes unauthorized use of an account or evidence of malware. By doing so, you’re preventing a hacker from gaining access into your personal accounts and obtaining sensitive, private information or data.There are other ways to protect your data. Contact the experts at WesTec Services for more information about our cybersecurity services.
If you’re not sure how to create a secure password that will outsmart the online hackers, read our recent article for tips.
How to Improve Your Computer’s Speed
Doesn’t your computer always seem to lag when you have a rapidly approaching deadline? A slow computer can decrease productivity and increase frustration. To help eliminate frustration, try one of these tips to increase your computer’s speed and performance.Uninstall Unused Programs
Programs take a lot of space on your computer. Over time, you accumulate programs that might run in the background without your knowledge. Uninstalling the programs you don’t use on a regular basis may increase your computer’s speed and response time.
Delete Temporary Files
Every time you download or install a file on your PC, it keeps a temporary file. If your computer is running slow, you can delete these files to free up space. To do this, find the “Temp” folder in your drive. Select older files and press the delete key. Make sure you empty the recycling bin to completely wipe files from the computer.
Invest in Hard Drive Storage
Sometimes you might need to have easy access to many files. However, keeping them all in once place will affect your computer’s speed. To keep your computer tidy, you can purchase an external storage drive to store thousands of files.Increase RAM
Random Access Memory (RAM) acts as your computer’s short-term memory. It quickly loads items it thinks it will need to access soon. But, if your RAM can’t handle several applications at once, your computer will lag. Increasing the RAM can be an easy and cost-effective way to improve your computer’s speed.Work with Our IT Professionals
Our trusted IT professionals at WesTec Services can help diagnose why your computer is slow and offer solutions to improve its speed through our managed IT and IT consulting services. Contact us for more information.
How to Recover Deleted Files
Have you ever accidentally deleted a file and then realized you need it back? Unfortunately, it’s happened to most of us at least once–and we’ve all experienced the headache that follows.Here are a few tips that can help you try to recover a deleted file from your device:
Make sure the file is really deleted – If you’re not sure whether you permanently deleted a file, be sure to look for it before making an assumption. When attempting to recover deleted files, check the Recycle Bin or Trash on your computer. Typically, you can choose the filter “Date Deleted” to make your search easier. If your file was stored in a cloud storage like Dropbox or Google Drive, check your deleted files there–it may still be recoverable.- Check your backups – Making regular backups of your most important files on your device can prevent you from losing critical data when you need it. If you do have a backup, you may be able to recover your deleted files. if you don’t have a backup, now may be the time to implement one.
- Try to recover the file – If you deleted a file on a magnetic hard drive, shut down the computer immediately. With the computer shut down, you should remove the hard drive from the computer entirely and place it in another computer as a secondary drive. Use file-recovery software to scan the drive. If you deleted the file recently and haven’t written to the drive much, you have a fairly good chance of recovering it.
- Professionally recover the file – If all other methods were not successful in recovering the deleted files, you may want to consider a professional data recovery service. Professional data recovery services deal with everything from deleted and overwritten files to dying hard drives that need to be disassembled and repaired.
For more information on our data backup or recovery services, contact the experts at WesTec today.
What You Need to Know About an Unexpected Computer Shutdown
An unexpected computer shutdown can potentially harm your computer and its data, which is why it is important to properly turn off your computer by selecting shut down, restart or sleep.Turning your computer off properly allows the computer to make sure that any running programs are closed. To avoid losing files or program corruption, it is best to cancel the computer shutdown and close the programs manually.
An unexpected computer shutdown can be caused by power outages, brown-outs, depleted battery or removed power cord, accidentally hitting the power button, or the computer may be experiencing some
other internal technical issue.
Because of the issues that can occur with an improper shutdown, the only time to hold the power button until the computer turns off is if the computer freezes. Sometimes turning a computer off and on again will allow it to reset itself.
So, how does an unexpected computer shutdown affect your device? Even if you don’t have any programs running, there are other processes going on in the background. When a computer is performing an update or correcting device bugs, an unexpected shutdown may cause the files to download as incomplete and they will then be unable to perform their assigned tasks.
If software files or the operating system become corrupted from an unexpected shutdown, a professional may need to repair the files or reinstall the entire system.
Before making any major changes to your system, be sure to perform a backup of any important data. In fact, regular data backups are always recommended.
WesTec Services performs data backup and recovery services provided by our expert IT consultants. Our services include a free report, which will outline common mistakes that many business owners make with their computer network.
To avoid any worry during an unexpected computer shutdown, contact WesTec today.
How to Secure Your Business Mobile Phone
Business mobile phones can be used for a range of commercial operations, including inventory control, customer relations, advertising, marketing, banking and more.Here are few ways to ensure your mobile phone and its valuable data is protected against hackers and malware:
1. Update your phone.
Most of us are guilty of ignoring operating system updates on our business mobile phones. However, the longer you wait to update your phone, the more out of date your systems are, making you an easier target for hackers who can easily identify and exploit system vulnerabilities.
2. Lock your device.
If your business mobile phone contains private information about you or your business, it is important to always engage the four- or six-digit passcode on your device. Don’t use the same password for all your accounts and be sure to change your password occasionally for good measure.
3. Manage app permissions.
On your mobile phone, you can grant apps permissions, like access to the camera, microphone, your contacts, your location, your pictures, and more. Be sure to keep track of which permissions you’ve given to which apps, and revoke permissions that are not completely necessary.
4. Back up your data.
Things happen, but you can always be prepared. When you back up the data on business mobile phones, you are able to protect your important documents and images in case of any loss.
5. Ignore spam and phishing emails.
One of the easiest ways for hackers to access your information is through email. Be sure you don’t click on links in promotional emails, open suspicious attachments or run updates that are promoted through emails. If you need to access sensitive information, report directly to the organization’s website to login.
Connecting the dots with business mobile phones can be confusing, time consuming and costly. For a reliable business mobile phone provider in Houston, contact the experts at WesTec today.
How to Get the Most Out of Your PC
Because computers are powerful tools that we are likely to use in our everyday business or personal lives, we want to be able to get the most out of them. Here are a few tips to help prevent the most common causes of a PC meltdown:Keep it cool
Computers are complex electrical devices that hate to get overheated. The most common cause of overheating in your PC is dust accumulation inside the case, resulting in a slow-running, stopping and starting, and even a failed processor. To avoid overheating, locate and use your PC on a desk or other hard surface, as blankets or pillows block the cooling vents on the underside of the case.
Keep it secure
Passwords are important to keep malicious intrusion out of your wireless network, keep documents on your PC secure, and for use on internet sites where payments may be required. A strong password uses at least eight characters that combine upper and lower case letters, numerals, and punctuation marks. It is advised to avoid the use of personal information in your passwords and to not use the same password for every account you have.
Keep it backed up
Due either to your hard drive wearing out or due to software corruption, you may need to replace your PC or hard drive in the future. To preserve personal or business-related data, is it important to keep a current backup of it on a separate device (with an external hard drive) or with a Cloud-based service. If you don’t have a lot of data, flash drives will work well. Backups can be configured to occur automatically.
Whether you need backup disaster or recovery services, a network installation, or IT consulting, the experts at WesTec have you and your PC covered. For reliable IT managed services, give us a call today.
Benefits of IT Consulting for a Startup Business
A startup business looking to grow and establish its operations will find the value of an IT consultant life-changing. Here are a few benefits that startup businesses can expect when they hire an IT consulting company:1. Adoption of IT Best Practices – Many business owners handle several tasks daily. Since startup businesses are still at their formative stage, all hands are typically on deck. Because of this, business owners won’t have the time to learn about the current IT best practices. Hiring an IT consulting company allows the best IT practices to be implemented while you focus on getting your business started.
2. Less Downtime – New businesses need every minute of operational time to maximize productivity. Whenever there is an IT issue, that is potentially costing the business money. However, hiring an IT consulting company can help your business quickly identify and fix the issue. Additionally, consultants can provide and develop monitoring protocols to help prevent and reduce future incidences.3. Security and Compliance – Are you familiar with the data compliance laws in your industry? Do you know the security protocols you need when running your IT infrastructure? If not, hiring an IT consulting company can help you find the answers you need. In addition, IT consultants can help you identify your security weak spots and help design technical protocols that help deter unwanted actors.
4. Seamless Transitions – When it’s time to covert to new technology tools or a new IT system, you may not be too sure how your business will adapt. IT consultants can provide a smoother transition when making the switch. This will help your business avoid potential disruptions in operations and allow you to focus on your business and less on its technology.
If you’re seeking comprehensive, customized IT consulting services for your startup business, give the experts at WesTec a call today. Learn more about our IT consulting services.
Advantages of Wireless Internet for Business
While business is driven by technology and the internet, many companies today will deal with their computer network problems and frustrations instead of considering a needed upgrade to a wireless internet network, or WiFi.If your business is facing network challenges, such as network glitches and breakdowns, or accessing your network from home or on-the-go, it may be time to consider implementing a wireless internet network. Here a few advantages of installing a wireless network for your business:
Convenience
Wireless internet allow users to access network resources from nearly any convenient location within their primary networking environments, such as a home or office. With the increasing saturation of laptops and smart phones, this is particularly relevant.
Mobility
Wireless internet networks allow users to access the web even outside of their normal work environment. Most coffee shops or restaurants offer their customers a wireless connection to the internet at little or no cost.
Productivity
When users can connect to a wireless network, they are able to maintain connectivity to their desired network as they move from place to place. For a business, employees can become more productive because work can be completed from nearly any location.
Expandability
Wireless networks can serve a suddenly-increased number of users with the existing equipment. On the other hand, in a wired network, additional clients would require additional wiring.
Cost
Although cost is difficult to quantify, there is a cost to constant computer glitches. Also, failure to access a wireless network on-the-go can keep projects from meeting their deadlines, ultimately causing company downtime.
If your business is ready to make the switch to wireless internet networking, call the experts at WesTec today, or read more about our network installation services.
How to Avoid a Spear-Phishing Attack
As we discussed in a previous article, phishing is an attack that uses disguised emails as weapons aimed at masses of people. However, spear-phishing is a targeted attempt to steal sensitive information from a specific victim, such as account credentials or financial information.During a spear-phishing attack, the perpetrator attempts to acquire personal details on the victim’s friends, hometown, employer, hang-outs, and their recent online purchases. This is typically done by disguising themselves as a trustworthy friend or entity through email, social media, phone calls, or text messages.
Because spear-phishing is the most successful form of acquiring confidential information online, it is important to practice how to avoid an attack.
1. Beware what you post: Review your online profiles. How much personal information is available for potential attackers to view? If there is something you do not want the public to see, delete it, or ensure your privacy settings are properly configured.
2. Use smart passwords: It is not wise to use the password for every account you own. In this case, if an attacker has access to one account, they effectively have access to all of your accounts. Passwords with random phrases, letters, and numbers are secure.
3. Use logic with emails: If an organization sends you a link in an email requesting a specific action or sort of personal information, go directly to the organization’s site rather than clicking on the link. Calling the organization can also help clarify the issue. Real businesses will not email you asking for your username and password.
4. Update your software: Software systems include security updates that should help protect you from spear-phishing attacks, as well as others. If you receive notice of a new update, be sure to take advantage, or enable automatic updates.
To learn more about how you can protect your data or sensitive information, contact the experts at WesTec.
How to Protect Customer Data
We place our information online every day. We’re more than happy to hand over our email, phone number, address and credit card information to purchase a product on the internet. In a world where ecommerce is becoming the standard, businesses must do what they can to protect customer data.Follow Current Encryption Practices
Encryption practices change regularly to evolve and combat cybercriminals. Often, organizations who failed to stay up-to-date with the latest data protection trends fall victim to cyberattacks. To help protect customer data, create a recurring reminder to analyze your company’s security practices and make updates as necessary.Limit Access to Customer Information
For additional protection, limit who within your business can view customer data. Not every employee needs access to customers’ personal information. When only necessary employees have access to customer information, hackers have a harder time finding a weak point to break into company databases.Don’t Ask for Unnecessary Information
As a company, it is important to only collect the information you need to complete a transaction or service to your customer. Customers get weary when a business asks for unnecessary information. By only collecting necessary information, there is less for a hacker to steal. This protects customers and their livelihoods.
Educate All Employees on Security Policy
While you may limit who can view customer data, make sure every employee knows and understands the company security policy. Even though an employee may not have access to the customer database, their actions could affect the privacy of customers. For example, if someone were to take a company laptop to a coffee shop and used the open wifi, a nearby hacker could potentially break into the company’s database through the network and steal personal information.
Let Consumers Know Their Information is Protected
The best way to build consumer trust is transparency. Let customers know you value their privacy. Take it one step further by detailing how you work to keep customer information stored safely in a privacy policy. If you’re unsure of how your business should protect customer data, or if your company wants information on the latest encryption practices, contact the experts at WesTec Services. We can help you create strong security protocols and install encryption software for data security.
What is Phishing?
Phishing is defined as a cyber attack that uses disguised emails as weapons. Hackers try to trick email recipients into clicking links or attachments they designed to steal personal information.
What is Phishing?
Here’s an analogy to better understand: Imagine a fisherman baiting a hook and tossing it into a lake in hopes of getting a bite. If a fish bites, the fisherman reels it in. But, if it doesn’t, the fisherman fails and the fish keeps swimming. Phishing is the same way. A cybercriminal can only gain access to your accounts or information if you fall for the bait. For example, a hacker might design an email disguised as your bank telling you your account has been compromised. They ask you to click on a link to verify your identity. If you click on the link and fill out the information, you have now provided them with the information to access your finances.Types of Phishing
Hackers attempt to get victims to do one of two things to get what they want. Some cybercriminals try to trick you into giving up your information. This is similar to the bank example above. Other hackers prefer to have you download malware. Often, these types of emails will include a download attachment, often a .zip file or Microsoft document, embedded with malicious code.How to Prevent Phishing Attacks
If you know how to spot a phishing attempt, you can avoid compromising your data and report it to the Federal Trade Commission. Here are the steps you can follow to confirm the identity of an email sender:- Always check the spelling of URLs in email links before you click
- Watch out for URL redirects, where hackers sent you to a different website with identical design
- If you receive a suspicious email from a source you know, contact them with a new email, rather than replying
How to Avoid Online Scams this Holiday Season
This holiday season, experts expect cyberattacks to rise by 60 percent. Retailers and consumers will see a spike in cybersecurity alerts on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, with heightened risk for the remainder of the year. Below are practices WesTec recommends to avoid online scams this Christmas.Analyze Email Advertisements and Deals
Most attacks are a result of commodity malware. Scammers send phishing emails, often posing as your favorite brand, to try and steal your financial information. These emails often include misspelled words and misused grammar. If you suspect any email you receive is a scam, avoid clicking any URLs. This is how scammers steal your data or install malware on your computer. Instead, to verify the email came from the true brand, visit their website and see if they are offering the same deal.Shop from Established Brands
Sometimes deals look too good to pass up. If an unknown website is offering a seemingly impossible deal, you could be looking at an online scam designed to steal your credit card information. Shoppers can look for the https in a retailer’s site URL, compared to http. The ‘s’ stands for secure and ensures all communications between the browser and website are encrypted.Avoid Public WiFi
If you plan to shop online, avoid purchasing on public WiFi. These networks are often unsecured, meaning anyone with a computer acumen can view what you are browsing and steal your personal information.
Use a Credit Card
Pay with a credit card when making gift purchases. A credit card offers the best liability protection against potential fraud, unlike debit cards. If scammers gained access to your debit card information, they could drain your accounts.
Make Sure All Passwords are Unique
It’s easier to use the same password for all accounts. But is it safer? If a hacker discovered your login credentials, they could easily hack into other accounts and steal your information. To best protect yourself, your data, and your financial information, make sure each account has a random and unique password. For more information about password security, visit our recent blog post. With the holiday season quickly approaching, be proactive in identifying online scams. For more information about cybersecurity and avoiding attacks from scammers, contact us.
Hack the Hackers with Password Security
Have you ever been the victim of a cyber attack? Do you use the same password for all of your accounts? Follow our guide to outsmart the hackers with increased password security.
How Hackers Get Your Passwords
Before you can better protect your accounts, you must understand how cybercriminals access steal your information. Typically, a hacker will compromise your account in one of three ways.- Personal attack: Hackers target your account specifically. They will typically guess your email password and use password recovery options to access other accounts.
- Brute-Force attack: Hackers systematically check all possible passwords until the correct one is found.
- Data Breach: Hackers attack large companies, resulting in millions of compromised accounts.
What Makes a Good Password?
Ideally, your password should be at least 16 letters and contain a combination of numbers, symbols, uppercase and lowercase letters. Passwords should not include any repetition, dictionary words, usernames, pronouns or IDs. Make a strong password by thinking of a phrase and then use the initials of each word, as well as the numbers and symbols, to combat potential attacks. For example, if your phrase is “Do you think a hacker will guess my 16 character password for Facebook?!”, your password might be: Dytahwgm16cp4F?!Enable Two-Step Authentication When Possible
If any sites or accounts offer two-factor authentication, take advantage of it. This system works to limit hacking attempts by making a user authenticate their identity with a second method of verification. Check out our recent blog post about two-factor authentication for more information.Use a Password Manager
The best thing you can do for your accounts is have a different password for each one. However, if you follow this one cardinal rule of password security, keeping up with all passwords can be difficult. Using a password manager allows you to save all of your passwords in a secure spot with a strong master password. WesTec offers consulting for any individuals or businesses wanting more information about password security, network installation, or managed IT services. Contact us for more information.
Top Access Control Trends for 2019
Access control systems continuously evolve with the newest technology trends. In fact, they must keep up with updates to protect companies, their employees and data from threats. With a rising number of security breaches, we can expect more companies to install access control systems.Access Control Reviews
Security breaches are encouraging companies to conduct full audits of access controls. Enterprises will review risks by user, role and business process to isolate and mitigate risks before they turn into high-profile breaches. By noting weak security measures, companies can make changes to better protect assets.Individualized Access
In 2019, we saw to see a rising trend in individualized access. This ensures each person has their own username, password or identification code. Companies now have access to automated provisioning, which sets up user accounts and creates automated workflows based on job duties.Security Patching
Hackers will do anything to break into security systems. While this has been a problem for decades, hackers are now specifically targeting overlooked points of access. To combat external threats, we expect access control systems to begin patching vulnerabilities, even if it means temporarily disrupting productivity.Threat Identification
Next year, systems will continue and expand their use of data analytics to monitor and mitigate threats. Companies will use their dashboards to monitor access, but they will also run possible scenarios to reduce risk and conflict.
Cloud-based Systems
The need for analytics, automation and access will encourage more businesses to install cloud-based control systems. As companies increase their technology and mobile tools, they will want to protect their system in an effective way.
As we prepare to enter a new year and decade, businesses shouldn’t ignore threats from potential breaches. Our expert IT professionals at WesTec Services can help you analyze your current strategies and install a system designed to deflect security breaches. Contact us to learn more about our access control systems.
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