Tag: cybersecurity

Today on the blog, I will be discussing how ProviNET has provided assistance with technology relating to mergers and acquisitions in senior living. Mergers and Acquisitions in Senior Living The COVID-19 pandemic has upended many businesses and their long-range goals, but perhaps none have been impacted in the way senior living providers have been. The

Having a strong password is a critical piece in making sure that your data stays protected online. As more people worked from home in 2020 due to the ongoing pandemic, cybercriminals were busy at their own work. Which means it is now more important than ever to have a strong password to protect yourself from cybercriminals who are using a plethora of ways to steal your data.

As cybersecurity threats continue to evolve, and more companies evidentially become breached, it is imperative to sit down and develop an endpoint security strategy. Endpoint security protects your company’s endpoint devices (PCs, workstations, tablets, phones, servers, etc.) from malicious threats that can greatly impact your company’s data and infrastructure. While many companies have different needs, there are five essentials that should be included in your strategy to ensure the highest functionality in your endpoint protection system.

Is your company currently using Windows 7? If so, it’s time to consider upgrading or even replacing your organization’s workstations to be on Windows 10. Once Microsoft ends support on January 14, 2020, operating systems that are still using Windows 7 will be vulnerable to cybersecurity threats including viruses, zero-day exploits, ransomware, malware and spyware. Microsoft will no longer be providing the security updates/patches that they normally do when a cyber-threat emerges.

A new threat which targets a range of routers and network-attached storage (NAS) devices is capable of knocking out infected devices by rendering them unusable. The malware, known as VPNFilter, is unlike most other Internet of Things (IoT) threats because it is capable of maintaining a persistent presence on an infected device, even after a reboot. VPNFilter has a range of capabilities including spying on traffic being routed through the device.

In the early morning hours of Friday March 23, the United States congress passed a $1.3 trillion dollar spending bill allowing the government to spend money through September 2018. The bill passed 65-32 in the senate, averting a potential government shutdown and funding the government through September 30.

This omnibus bill (like many other historical omnibus bills) contains a lot of new legislation, and we’re just starting to learn about some of the impacts of this new legislation now. Specifically, there are some provisions in this new bill that impact the way that we all use technology.

Undoubtedly, in recent days you’ve heard about the Meltdown and Spectre security vulnerabilities making headlines. If you’re unsure of what Meltdown and Spectre are – spend a few minutes searching the internet, and you’ll find plenty of excellent articles explaining what the vulnerability is. In short, Meltdown is a security flaw that could allow malicious hackers to bypass the hardware barrier between applications run by users and computer’s core processing memory, which is normally highly protected. Spectre is slightly different; it potentially allows hackers to trick otherwise error-free applications into give up secret information.

Happy New Year! We truly hope that 2018 is a healthy, happy and prosperous year for you – in fact – we want to help you make it that way!

I’m “jacked” (yes, I’ve been watching a lot re-runs of “Fixer Upper” on HGTV during my Christmas break) for 2018. ProviNET had a remarkable 2017, helping hundreds of customers and thousands of users make the most of their technology; but, I can’t wait for what is in store for 2018. In the words of Emeril, we’re kicking things up a notch.

LeadingAge CAST has released a new white paper and free benchmarking questionnaire today that can be used in tandem to help providers identify risk, protect against threats, and respond if attacked. The paper and benchmarking questionnaire will help providers to think through concerns related to Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) rules; analyze risks based on assessment and expert data on common threats; identify and implement best-practices and management techniques; develop a plan following a cybersecurity assessment; and understand, broadly, options and approaches to protect their data and technology infrastructure.  

After a year already filled with dozens of cybersecurity breaches, the largest could still be on the horizon. Kaspersky Lab’s antivirus software has been reportedly altered to help steal National Security Agency secrets for Russian government hackers.