Am I Already Using the Cloud and is it Safe?

Often when speaking to people about the cloud, their first reaction is that it isn’t safe and they won’t use it. Odds are that they, and most everyone else who owns an Internet connected device, is already using the cloud.

Let’s take a step back and define the cloud. In essence, it’s just a network of servers — which are large, super-powerful computers. Anything that’s referred to as “cloud-based” or “in the cloud” means it primarily lives online, instead of on something physical in your possession like a CD or your computer’s hard drive.

A good rule of thumb for determining whether something is “cloud-based” is asking yourself the following question: Can I easily log into this service from another device, like my phone or a different computer? If the answer is yes, then the service is probably based in the cloud.

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Vulnerability Assessment versus Penetration Assessment

We get asked this question frequently, “What the difference between a vulnerability assessment and penetration assessment?”. It’s a great question and one we’d like to shed a bit more light on throughout this blog. Both engagements are aimed towards shedding light on areas within your cybersecurity posture that need improvement. We regularly perform vulnerability assessments and penetration tests for our clients tasked by regulatory compliance to adhere to a particular standard or to increase their security posture. Both of these tests play an important role within your organization by enlightening you on areas of weakness and decreasing risk from adversaries.

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Podcast: CISO Speak – Incident Response

This months podcast features host Larry Bianculli speaking with guest CISO Agim Bracovic from BNB Bank, as well as our very own Matthew Pascucci, cybersecurity practice manager, at CCSI, on Incident Response. How do you build a team of qualified IR resources with current staff? How do you prepare and train an incident response team?…

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Why a Zero-trust Network with Authentication is Essential

Zero-trust networks are often deemed compromised and untrusted, making authentication variables essential to security. Expert Matthew Pascucci explains a zero-trust security model. In the past, we’ve done a great job of making networks accessible. But with this increased availability, we’ve opened the door for attackers to move more easily around networks. However, as we introduce…

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Cloud Migration Strategies for SMBs

It is now widely accepted that Cloud computing can help small and midsize businesses (SMBs) lower operating expenses and improve application performance – and the public clouds are helping small businesses to either replace or supplement their on-premises IT needs. While having a sound migration strategy in place is crucial, equally important is to ensure…

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CompTIA Cyber Roundtable, NYC

This past week Matthew Pascucci, Cybersecurity Practice Manager at CCSI participated in a Cyber Roundtable. Check out this article about the roundtable discussion by Teresa Varela-Lauper. Dr. James Stanger is CompTIA’s Chief Technology Evangelist. He’s a CompTIA super hero in my book….traveling all over the world, speaking at events, impacting and representing the IT industry…

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Podcast: CISO Speak – Policy and Procedure

This months podcast features host Larry Bianculli speaking with guest CISO Jeff Jennings from Healthplex, as well as our very own Matthew Pascucci, cybersecurity practice manager, at CCSI, on policy and procedures. Where do you begin to write company policy and procedures? What are the best practices and how to ensure adaptation? Jeff Jennings and…

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What is an MSSP?

This short blog should provide a sufficient answer to everyone who has heard the term MSSP, but never knew what the heck it was. In 2018, everything is constantly evolving. Whereas smaller companies historically housed all software on their own hardware housed in their own data center, with its own security and productivity tools: today…

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Edge Computing and the Future of IoT

As the Internet of Things (IoT) begins to take shape and its future becomes clearer, IT experts realize that mainstream cloud computing isn’t enough. It’s not fast enough to handle real-time data streaming applications, and it’s not efficient enough to meet evolving technological demands. But developers are exploring a possible solution in the form of…

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Next Gen Firewalls

All firewalls are not created equal. To understand that, you need to know what the idea behind a basic firewall is. A firewall from the IT perspective is some hardware or software implementation that is meant to restrict incoming or outgoing network traffic. Most desktop operating systems as well as servers have some sort of firewall protection already built into the operating system. While these type of firewalls protect the machines they are running on, hardware firewalls/appliances will protect these machines as well as the rest of the hardware that exist on the network.

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Cloud Computing Basics

At its simplest level, cloud computing means using someone else’s computer. This gives you rapid access to computing power, storage, and network services that can help you scale your operation up or down, depending on your requirements.

Cloud is a technology buzzword with many meanings. Dropbox is cloud. Microsoft Office 365 is cloud. Salesforce is cloud. Any software that you access via the Web is technically cloud. ‘Cloud’ is so prominent in today’s technology industry lexicon, that it is hard to remember a time without it.

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The 411 on VDI – Virtual Desktop Infrastructure

VDI Brief

As the use of Hyper-Convergence technology spreads throughout the industry, desktop virtualization has followed in this lead because HCI is a great platform for execution. Three of the main VDI players at this time would be Citrix, VMWare, and Microsoft. What is great about VDI, is that you are not necessarily tied to one specific vendor. For Example, your broker could be provided by Citrix, while the backend infrastructure could be provided by Microsoft, or VMWare. One thing to know about VDI is what it is not. It is not just the virtualization of desktops. It’s essentially a whole infrastructure based on supplying the desktop experience to the end user without necessarily having a desktop.

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BYOD and Securing It to Protect Your Organization

BYOD, which stands for bring-your-own-device, is an important concept. With its supporting technologies it is accelerating telecommuting and collaboration in the workplace at a rapid pace. When selecting a BYOD strategy it is important to focus on some key areas. Understand your users’ needs. Establish clear policies. Define the discovery and enrollment process. Customize the…

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