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Columbus IT security Archives - Page 2 of 2 - thinkCSC

Nov 06
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thinkCSC security alert

Security Alert: Do Not Open .TIFF Files from Unrecognized Sources

By | thinkCSC Security Alert | No Comments

thinkCSC is issuing a security alert regarding .TIFF files. Zero-Day attacks targeting Windows users has been detected by Microsoft and is already affecting people in Asia an the Middle East. It is expected to spread to the U.S. and Europe very quickly. This vulnerability enters your system when you open a .TIFF file and allows the attacker (potentially on a remotely hosted computer) to gain administrative access to your system and network.

Security Alert

It is imperative that you refrain from opening any questionable .TIFF file, as the messages are often constructed to make the user believe they are coming from a trusted choice.

While Microsoft is working to develop a patch to protect users, at this time, current antivirus and firewall solutions are unable to prevent infection. Most vulnerable are Microsoft Office users who are running Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008. Microsoft Office 2003 through Office 2010 are impacted in this zero-day attack.

What Are .TIFF Files?

From Adobe: TIFFs are a file format popular with graphic designers and photographers for their flexibility, high quality, and near-universal compatibility. Learn more about these raster graphic files and how you can put them to use in your next project.

If you have any questions or believe you have been a target of this threat, please contact our team at your earliest convenience.

May 25
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Columbus 2020: Investing in the Future of Columbus

By | Community Involvement, thinkCSC Leadership Series | No Comments

columbusPublic and private enterprises in the Columbus region are funding a non-profit economic growth initiative known as Columbus 2020. Columbus 2020 organizers are using the combined strengths of these government & business investors to significantly increase per capita income and employment by attracting major employers to the region while retaining and developing existing companies.

Columbus 2020 investors see the value of 2020’s mission and want to help it succeed. The idea is that by bringing more businesses to Columbus, the local economy will grow stronger – everybody wins. The companies involved are putting this investment forward knowing that there is no guarantee that the initiative will succeed, but this is a great symbol of leadership. As a leader, you know what the right thing is to do, you believe in it and you hope it turns out for the best – and the expectations are that it will.

thinkCSC is a proud investor in the 2020 mission, and while Columbus 2020 asks for a five-year commitment, it is not binding. However, an economic development initiative such as this – which is to market Columbus and persuade entrepreneurs of the value of moving or starting their businesses here – it makes sense to invest for the long haul. Such a venture does not happen over night; it takes time.

Columbus has been ranked by Forbes as one of the best places for business and careers. IBM, having closed the deal on the acquisition of Sterling Commerce, is creating approximately 500 high-tech jobs over the next three years. These types of stories are becoming more common, and much of this can be attributed to the efforts of Columbus 2020. New projects are regularly being considered for the Columbus region.

Am I worried that Columbus 2020 will bring in more competition in addition to jobs and prosperity? Of course, I think about remaining competitive. But as a business leader, I know in my heart that if my business and my people are strong, and if our services are relevant, we will realize more in terms of opportunity than we lose with additional competition.

thinkCSC believes in the Columbus 2020 initiative and we appreciate having the opportunity to share our Columbus stories with those businesses considering a move to Columbus. Investing in Columbus 2020 is good for the community and for thinkCSC it is smart business.

Image via: Columbus 2020

May 05
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Schools, EdTech, and Budgeting

By | EdTech | No Comments

Making the Most of the EdTech Mandates

school technologyThere are many state-mandated requirements in order to introduce technology into schools for the 2013-2014 school year. While building their budgets, virtually every district is responding to these mandates differently. BYOD (bring your own device), BYOT (bring your own technology) and 1:1 are the most common methods used. Some of the most important considerations regarding the use of devices in schools, however, are largely geared towards the 1:1 wireless scenario.

Is Your Infrastructure Capable of Handling the Devices You Choose?

As these devices – iPads, tablets or laptops – are given to students, schools must determine infrastructure readiness. The physical structure inside the schools, in regards to Internet connectivity bandwidth, must be capable of sustaining all of the devices. There are many elements that go into that.

For example, an increasing number of mobile tablet devices use a larger amount of Internet bandwidth, versus a traditional laptop that uses a local service typically hosted at the school. The more cloud services that are being used, the greater the demand on Internet infrastructure and on the bandwidth that the school district has. When a school chooses to deploy a large number of devices, the process of ensuring that the network is physically capable of providing a reliable and seamless end-user experience is complicated.

Do You Have Enough Bandwidth to Keep Everyone Connected?

Consider the amount of bandwidth necessary for your network; you want to ensure that you have sufficient internal bandwidth to sustain the number of devices you are deploying, as well as enough bandwidth to support your connectivity to the outside world. Essentially, the amount of bandwidth necessary comes down to the applications that you are using on your devices. If students are using iPads or Chromebooks, these cloud-based devices demand a substantially higher external bandwidth, as opposed to those devices that are using a local resource hosted by the school.

Addressing Security and MDM

Some schools provide the devices and let students take them home. By doing so, they then have to determine how they will continue to manage content that comes through the device. Is there still content filtering taking place outside of the school? Mobile device management – or MDM – is another infrastructure readiness issue. Once you have all of the devices, you want to have the capability to easily maintain them.

If you have to deploy application software, you want to be able to do so for a group of devices at a time or all of the devices simultaneously. If you need to filter content, change security preferences or block certain applications because of content, you want to be able to do that quickly, as opposed to one device at a time. If you have MDM in place, that significantly reduces the amount of time it takes for you to deploy, maintain and monitor your devices, at the same time ensuring that the devices are secure.

Saving Money on Device Investment, Warranty and Repair Services

In addition to infrastructure concerns related to bandwidth and connectivity of technology in schools, the cost of purchasing devices and warranties must be considered. School districts often purchase the manufacturer’s warranty and offer additional accidental damage insurance to the students – passing the cost onto the parents – on top of the manufacturer’s warranty. thinkCSC purchases from the same supplier as CDWG, so we can offer highly competitive rates for devices. As well, our warranty is less expensive, and we provide convenient device pick-up, repair and drop-off, thereby saving you time as well as money. In many cases, we can complete repairs on site.

Many district IT departments are capable of deploying technology devices themselves, but CSC can help, either with a particular portion or with the entire process. Our experience with both small and large school districts helps us steer you away from what doesn’t work and focus on what does. thinkCSC looks at the big picture, ensuring device deployments go as smoothly as possible. If you would like more information about our school technology and warranty services, please contact us.

Jun 09
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Implement Security Before a Breach

By | Cloud Services | No Comments

security breachE-mail is a cornerstone of business communications, and obtaining your customer’s email address is a privilege that allows you to personalize your marketing efforts and learn details about your target market and gain insight that might otherwise be difficult to obtain. How do you assure your customers that their email address (and all the other information they share with you) is secure?

Right now, Sony is busy doing damage control over the security breach that occurred on the PlayStation 3 that let user information, including credit card numbers, escape their grasp. Last month, many financial institutions and retail stores were scrambling to reassure customers and apologize for a breach that occurred when their email company, Epsilon, was compromised and hundreds of thousands of names and email addresses were stolen. While only names and email addresses were accessed and not credit card information, there was a lot of placating to do to reassure uneasy customers. The month before that, Play.com admitted that their email provider had experienced months of irregular activity before revealing that their customers email addresses had been accessed and compromised.

As a business, ensuring the security of your internal email as well as the information you maintain about your customers has to be a primary concern – something you think about doing before there’s a risk for a breach. The question is, can you really create an environment that provides you with the security you need to offer the reassurance your customers and your investors want? It’s a matter of choosing the right hosted e-mail service that provides you the best possible security.

Here at thinkCSC, we have biometric security in place that ensures that only certain people can access the data center and firewalls. We run regular backups, but our backups are completely encrypted, so even the information stored on our back up server is safe from harm. Even if someone were to break in and physically steal our servers, the thieves would not have access to anything because all of the information on it is encrypted. We’ve literally locked out the hackers from the get-go.

We can actually run a piece of software from your location that encrypts your data before it is sent over the internet. When it gets to our site, even we can’t access it unless we have that encryption password. Most of the time, we are taking care of your whole network environment, so we will be the ones managing that password, and we have layers of security protocols in place that keep you protected. But we can also provide you with complete control, and can set it up so you’re the only who has the password.

The choice is simple: you’re either aggressively protecting your customer’s information by having the best email security available, or you’re preparing a letter to your customers to apologize to them after their information was stolen.