Cloud-hosted vs. On-premises VoIP
Business communication has come a long way since traditional landline calling. Today, it’s all about internet-based phone systems, aka, VoIP. But before investing in VoIP phones, you need to determine how you plan to deploy them — in the cloud or on-premises. Let’s dig into the differences between the two options. Installation and maintenance On-premises VoIP phone systems are installed at your company’s office, typically managed and maintained by your own personnel. While you can hire a third party to manage the phone system for you, what you can’t avoid is the hardware cost of setting up your VoIP phones. Cloud-based VoIP, on the other hand, means all the software and hardware are hosted and maintained by a VoIP provider. Other than the physical phones, everything else is provided virtually, which means you won’t be bothered with expensive hardware costs nor will you need an in-house staff to manage the system. But since all support requests must be addressed by your VoIP provider, service responsiveness and flexibility are crucial as they can directly impact your daily operations. Security You might think having on-premises VoIP is the obvious choice when it comes to security, and in one specific case that’s very true. If you have vast IT resources, deploying VoIP on-premises gives you better security control since you will know your system’s capabilities as well as every nooks and crannies. But for small- to medium-sized businesses, cloud-hosted VoIP remains a favorable option because every aspect of security is taken care of by a provider whose reputation rests on maintaining the most stringent security measures. They are well-versed in identifying vulnerabilities, reducing the area of attacks, and protecting all entry points. Control On-premises solutions give you better control of your VoIP phones since you can design systems suited to your needs without relying on a third-party. This makes it a popular choice for larger enterprises with dedicated IT technicians needed to customize and manage the system. With cloud-hosted VoIP, you relinquish certain control to your service provider, which is the price you pay for the convenience of professional deployment and maintenance. This, however, doesn’t give your provider the right to monitor your calls or conduct any activity that breaches your business’s confidentiality. Scalability With on-premises VoIP systems, you rely on your in-house personnel to add or remove features to accommodate your changing needs. There are various backend processes involved and every expansion often increases the complexity you have to manage yourself. With a cloud-hosted solution, you’ll have an entire team of technicians at your beck and call so features can be added or removed as needed. If you’re anticipating future changes, cloud-hosted VoIP will be more effective in the long run. Whether you’re looking to host your VoIP phone systems on-premises or in the cloud, we can help make the process quick and painless. Just give us a call and we’ll be happy to advise. Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.
Who are the ShadowBrokers?
The WannaCry ransomware strain was created by amateurs who copied and pasted security vulnerabilities from a famous hacker group. It’s no longer a threat if you have updated your computer, but as evidenced by a recent announcement, the hacker group will continue to release dangerous security exploits for anyone to use. Who are the ShadowBrokers? There are several theories about who the members of this hacker group are — from National Security Agency (NSA) employees to Russian operatives — but all these theories are based on unreliable information. All we know for sure is that the ShadowBrokers are using social media to sell a seemingly endless trove of cybersecurity secrets. What are they selling? The ShadowBrokers’ first auction was in August of 2016, promising in broken English that the highest bidder would receive security vulnerabilities on par with government cyber weapons. Over the year that followed, the ShadowBrokers used auctions, crowdfunding, and direct sales to release vulnerabilities that all seemed to come from the NSA. In April of 2017, the fifth release went public and was characterized by one security expert as “the most damaging thing I’ve seen in the last several years.” It included the ETERNALBLUE Windows vulnerability that allowed WannaCry to infect over 300,000 computers in a single day. The September 2017 release In a recent announcement, the ShadowBrokers announced a subscription service that will include access to bi-monthly security exploit releases. The first package included an NSA exploit named UNITEDRAKE, which allows hackers to remotely monitor or control a computer running any of the following versions of Microsoft’s operating system: Windows XP Windows Vista Windows Server 2003/2008/2012 Windows 7 (if no updates have been installed) Windows 8 The UNITEDRAKE exploit can secretly record audio from your microphone, video from your webcam and anything that is typed while you are logged in. It can also remove itself from the target computer leaving no signs of a breach. How to protect yourself from ShadowBrokers releases To date, all the known NSA security exploits and ShadowBrokers releases have targeted older and outdated versions of software. The best thing you can do to protect your computers is keep your operating systems and software applications patched with the most recent vendor updates. Advanced network monitoring can detect suspicious activity, but that requires a significant amount of time and IT expertise. Small- and medium-sized businesses usually don’t have the resources to handle 24×7 network supervision, but our team can help. If you need help securing your business and its information from cyber threats, give us a call today. Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.