Parallel Edge Password Security Best Practices

Information technology specialists strive every day to provide both security and stability to your businesses network. In today’s age of technology, hackers are always a threat and at any given moment can be out there attempting to compromise your network and obtain unauthorized access to your company’s sensitive information. How can both IT professionals and employees seamlessly work together to thwart hackers? A strong company password policy and general password training for your staff is a good place to start.

 

Password Security Don’ts

Passwords in today’s tech world need to be stronger than ever. While at one time it may have been safe to use your pet’s name or a combination of your nick name and your birthday, today that just won’t fly. When creating passwords you should never use:

  • Your kids names
  • Nicknames
  • Birthdates
  • Phone numbers
  • Words found in a dictionary
  • Your house number
  • Hobbies you enjoy
  • Simple number combinations like 12345
  • A combination of any of the above, for example your nickname followed by your phone number

 

Creating a Strong Password

Creating a strong password is simple. You need to just be creative and follow these tips:

  • Use at least 9 characters. The longer your password, the harder it will be to break.
  • Use a combination of upper and lower case letters, numbers and symbols.
  • Your password should be completely random, for example, cD5&j2P0# would be a strong password.

 

Protecting Passwords

Protecting your password is just as important as coming up with a strong one. First, never share your passwords with anyone. Second, don’t store your passwords where they can easily be found. For example, do not save them on your phone or on your computer. Next, never use the same password for more than one application. If a hacker figures out your password on one account and you have used it everywhere, they can now gain access to all of your accounts. Finally, changing your password often is also a smart idea, making it even harder for hackers to break in.

 

Developing a Password Security Policy that Works

To keep sensitive information safe, companies can no longer afford to not have a password policy in place for their employees. Educating your staff on your policy is critical. Here are the essentials that should be part of your company’s password policies and procedures:

  • Strict guidelines on password creation so that weak passwords cannot be used. For example, set a minimum character count and have passwords contain at least one capital letter and one symbol.
  • Have a strict time frame for changing passwords, like every 30-60 days.
  • Do not allow employees to reuse old passwords.
  • Employees should never be allowed to share their passwords with others.
  • Guidelines should clearly state where it is safe/not safe to store passwords.

While it may seem like these password guidelines are a bit overboard, in today’s technological environment companies can never be too safe.

Industry Compliance and Other Benefits of Secure File Sharing With Parallel Edge

Industry compliance can be a tricky thing. It’s even trickier when organizations everywhere are sharing files and information through instant messaging and file sharing platforms that may not be as secure as they think. For example, you need to have a colleague review a specific contract or customer order information.

Unless the file-sharing platform you are using adheres to strict security protocols, limits access to those individuals who actually need it, and an assortment of other requirements to maintain industry specific compliance – you’ve likely put those files and information at risk.

Dropbox and other consumer-grade file sharing platforms are popular because of how easy they are to use, but you must be wary about the security measures put in place for compliance purposes. Furthermore, those platforms are at risk of attack and data loss through various web vulnerabilities and a lack of security options.

The only way to make sure your business is on the up-and-up when it comes to regulations and compliance is to utilize tools that meet business needs and ensure data security. That’s where secure file sharing and collaboration tools from Parallel Edge come in.

In addition to helping your business maintain industry and regulatory compliance, there are other benefits to secure file sharing with Parallel Edge.

 

User and Group Management

  • Import members and groups from Active Directory
  • Flexibly assign and reassign projects and owners
  • Define workgroup members, roles, and access rights

 

Policy Management

  • Set policies for public links, remote access, IT whitelist
  • Define policies for mobile editing, sharing, or app access
  • Configure password complexity and Two-Factor Authentication

 

Document Management

  • Easy uploading and downloading via browser or e-mail without size restrictions
  • Simple for users to start working immediately
  • Seamless integration with online office tools

 

Historical Archive and Versioning

  • Built-in versioning to eliminate risk of lost files or changes
  • Quickly recover lost files or folders to their original locations

Cyber Criminals Increase Need for Network Security

Over the last few months, there’s been a lot of buzz about the Ashley Madison data breach. From front-page news to late night punch lines, the hack has attracted a lot of attention, but the truly scary element of the story is what lies behind how it was possible.

A New Generation of Hacker

Back in the 1980s and 1990s, hackers were a relatively small group of people, capable of breaking into some of the world’s most sophisticated systems. They were the villain in the action movie for years. We feared hacking, but there were enough jobs with few qualified coders and programmers to keep them occupied. Today, though, with thousands upon thousands being trained in technology, the highest level of interconnection of information in history, and a new level of “hacktivism” where political opinions and ideals can be the motive for a data breach, we have a new set of problems all together.

Lessons from Ashley Madison and Excellus

As you can imagine, companies are not eager to explain to the public how they were hacked. First, it’s often because they don’t yet know themselves. Second, as a black eye for the company, it’s more prudent to say that the problem is being addressed. Third, revealing a weakness can invite a new wave of attacks (especially with wide media coverage) when they’re already down.

The website Ashley Madison, a source for those looking for extramarital affairs, was hacked for the user data, including names, addresses, credit card information, and other critical information. This information was then dumped onto the web, following through on the hackers’ threats. Excellus, a branch of BlueCross BlueShield, was also hacked recently and the records of over ten million patients were compromised.

It’s unknown whether these were internal or external hacks, though the possibility of an “inside job” is less likely. What we know is that these databases probably had one of two frighteningly common weaknesses. First, the database itself was directly accessible from the Internet. This suggests that the defenses between any given user and the stored information were weak at best. Second, the companies fell victim to what’s called a “cross-site scripting attack.” Here, hackers can implant a malicious code to a site that uses JavaScript to collect information or provide a service.

The Core Problem

The real dilemma for businesses is striking the balance between network security and functionality. Many smaller, newer businesses cannot afford the tightest security and even more existing businesses can’t implement ideal conditions as it could easily turn off customers or clients.

Still, corporations from around the world have been buying into companies like Okta in San Francisco to improve network security for the most basic of employee functions (e.g. email, cloud access). These kinds of startups are specializing in adding new layers of security without dramatically reducing what your workers can do. Since it’s possible to be attacked by a hacker directly, contaminated by an unwitting customer, or compromised by a vendor or contractor it’s the newest essential to every business out there.

5 Benefits of Off-Site Data Backup

Data backup is beyond the days of using multiple discs, trying to manage a large external hard drive, and paying rent for large servers. Now, businesses and personal computer users can backup critical and sensitive data without even thinking about it. How is this possible? The cloud. See how your company can benefit from off-site data backup.

Backup is seamless

Backup used to be daunting and laborious. Hopefully, the person in charge of the backup would remember to do so. Now, companies do not have to worry about that any longer. When you meet with an IT professional, he or she will work with you to establish a backup schedule that will not interfere with business or require an employee to assume all of the responsibility. Instead of backing up files manually or copying each for hours when work should be done, remote backup services allow users to backup with the click of a button, or backups can be scheduled when everyone goes home for the day.

Multiple Backup Methods Utilized

For Parallel Edge specifically, multiple backup methods may be used based on what’s actually appropriate for your business. In some cases you may get the most benefit, when it comes to acceptable risk and cost, with an incremental backup. In others you may require a full backup, or even a differential backup. With any of these options the most recent of your data is backed up and fully recoverable. The objective of any backup is to save data without errors or corruption and based on what your company actually needs will determine what type of backup is used and cost.

Top-notch security and reliability

Off-site data backup is more reliable than the traditional methods with which companies are most familiar. Because backups are automated, every necessary file is backed up on a daily basis. This allows companies to recover the most recent data more quickly without losing significant data. Backups can also be initiated from multiple locations or devices. If one server crashes or a device disappears, backups will still occur without any interruptions.

All of this is done over the Internet, and the same connection is used to provide the user and system with the most secure network possible. Cloud companies are required to endure rigorous safety and security evaluations and to comply with strict security protocols. The same is extended to your company’s data. When backups occur, the information is encrypted and sent to off-site servers in secure locations.

Cuts costs

Off-site data backups reduce the company’s workload and saves money at the same time. Because backups are automated employees don’t have to dip into their daily schedules to backup data, which means production won’t be lost to manually backing data up.

Off-site backups are easy to install because the system is installed over the Internet, and off-site backups don’t require new equipment. Companies that are required to complete backups and have large amounts of data to care for will save money with off-site storage. Companies are only required to pay for the data capacity they use, and it is billed monthly.

Installation is easy

Your company does not need a complicated infrastructure to benefit from off-site data backup services. Because the system is setup and managed by an IT expert, they will tell you what should be backed up and when, and changes can be done with the click of a button. As you grow, you can customize your cloud to grow with you with no downtime or interruptions.