IT security Archives

Legacy Authentication is ending soon. Are you prepared?

Microsoft has announced an official end of its Basic Authentication for Exchange Online in all Microsoft Office 365 Tenants beginning October 1st. What does that mean for your company’s security? What’s replacing it? How do I prepare? We’ll answer all of these questions for you and keep it non-techie. How will it affect us if we don’t update? Well, for starters, you won’t be able to log in. At all. That sounds drastic! Why end Basic Authentication? Don’t we need that? Of course, we do. But Basic Authentication is showing its age and is vulnerable to some well-known but effective attacks. Here are two of the attacks you should know about. More than 99% of password spray attacks use legacy authentication. In a spray attack, an attacker will brute-force logins from a list of usernames that still use the default passwords to log into a certain app or website. Most ...

Red Level2023-03-28T14:01:31+00:00

6 Cybersecurity Habits You Need to Break Today

What you do on autopilot can hurt you – especially online. Here are the habits you should track from month to month until cybersecurity becomes automatic. Is your computer locked? Bad Habit 1: Leaving your computer unlocked and unattended. With the slip of a USB stick, bad actors can corrupt files or steal information. This applies at coffee shops and even the office. Anytime you leave it, lock it! Avoid unknown USB charging ports, too. They’re easy for hackers to compromise and can physically damage your device. Are you actually creating strong passwords? Bad Habit 2: Using weak passwords Short, common, old, default, and guessable passwords can have serious consequences. Consider utilizing a password manager to help you create, change out, and remember your unique logins. And don’t forget to turn on multi-factor authentication (MFA) options! Are your systems up-to-date? Bad Habit 3: Letting security updates slide Every device, app, ...

Red Level2023-02-16T16:01:16+00:00

Cyber Security : Be Prepared and Prevent Disaster

The threat landscape is becoming more incessant, dangerous, and high stakes for businesses. The sheer quantity of attacks has been increasing at an alarming rate. The complexity and ingenuity of these attacks are frightening. Almost all these attacks are identity-based; they start as phishing emails or password spray attacks. Once they gain access to a user account in your environment, you have officially been owned. If you are lucky, they will use the compromised account(s) to send out more phishing emails to your global address list and contacts from the owned account. This will result in a lot of embarrassment, organizational risk, potential blacklisting of your domain, and untold negative business impacts. If you are unlucky, they will encrypt your sensitive data with ransomware, exploit you for money with a socially engineered scheme, or exfiltrate sensitive data such as employee tax forms or proprietary intellectual property. This can potentially result in your company or organization ceasing to exist. To mitigate attacks of this nature, there are several critical items you need to address: Globally enforce multi-factor authentication Globally block legacy authentication Leverage device and application trust to limit your attack surface ...

Red Level2023-02-16T16:01:18+00:00

What is spear phishing and how can my company avoid it?

The average person receives 16 malicious emails per month. A 2018 study of 500,000,000 emails found one out of every 101 emails received were malicious. Are your employees properly educated about this? Or will they click a link that could cost the company millions? Most of the time, the greatest risk to your company’s internet security are the people who work for it (including you). One click on a malicious email—even one that looks like it comes from a friend—could seriously damage your company. New employees are the most at risk for being duped. [1] What is Spear Phishing? Spear phishing is an attack in which hackers trick targeted users into sharing confidential information. It can also involve tricking the recipient into installing malware on their computer or network. Here is how it works: 1. You receive an email with an attachment from what looks like it originated from a ...

Red Level2023-02-16T16:01:31+00:00

BUDGETING FOR IT IN 2018? BUILD UP THE BASICS

People don’t usually get too excited about the basics where technology is concerned. It’s not surprising. People are interested in what’s new, and technology is all about what’s new, what’s next, what’s going to change the world – new apps, new phones, and new services are where all the action is. That mindset extends beyond people to companies. When considering what to spend IT resources on, there can be a great temptation to be dazzled by the novelty of that supposedly world-changing new application, that lightning-fast machine or that must-have accessory. And sure – some of them are must-haves or at least extremely-good-to-haves. If they come at the cost of taking care of fundamentals, though, that’s a problem. A lot of companies I work with are starting to think about budgets for the next fiscal year. Almost everyone I talk to would probably describe their IT budgets as “tight” – ...

Edward Aube2023-02-16T16:01:41+00:00

WIFI or WI-Spy : Avoiding the Perils of Public Networks

For some reason, it seems to be a well-kept secret that public networks are not exactly secure. Just about anywhere you may go in a given day - coffee shops, libraries, shopping malls, office buildings, your hotel – there’s a network just waiting for your device to join it. Convenient? Sure. But from a security standpoint, this is not a good thing. Try telling that to a convenience-driven society that’s grown quite used to shopping, checking its email, dating, doing its banking, and chatting on social media, whenever and wherever it wants to. Despite the publicity given to data theft and identity theft, many if not most people don’t change their online behavior on vulnerable public networks, or even take advantage of even basic protective measures. A recent article in Harvard Business Review outlined the range of threats to public wifi users’ security, describing some of the common tricks the ...

Red Level2023-02-16T16:01:42+00:00

Eight is Great!

Red Level named as one of "Detroit's 101 Best and Brightest Companies to Work For" for eighth consecutive year Not to be arrogant, but we kinda thought this might be coming. For the eighth year in a row, Red Level's been named to the National Association of Business Resources' Detroit's 101 Best and Brightest Companies to Work For list. That makes us very happy, just as it has for each of the last seven years - even if we aren't completely surprised. In all honesty, any well-run business should have at least some idea as to how well it's performing according to a variety of metrics beyond dollars and cents. To our way of thinking, one of these has to be employee satisfaction. In our view, it simply makes good business sense to make sure that the people you hire enjoy what they do, enjoy where they work, have opportunities ...

David King2023-02-16T16:01:42+00:00

YES, WE REALLY ARE THAT COOL!

It’s official: Red Level is decidedly cool. You don’t have to take our word for it. Just ask Crain’s, or the folks at Best Companies Group – they’ll tell you. In fact, they’re telling the world. And we’re not shy, so we’ll announce it too: Red Level has been officially been proclaimed one of the 2017 Cool Places To Work in Michigan by Crain’s Detroit Business. We couldn’t be more pleased. “Cool,” of course, means different things to different people. Depending on your perspective, it could mean having a “Bring your Lhasa-apso to work day,” an indoor lacrosse field, or hot and cold running Red Bull. We’re not cool in that way. But we seem to be cool enough to pass muster with Best Companies Group’s judging team, who got a good hard look at who we are, what we do, and how we do it. It meant peering under ...

David King2023-02-16T16:01:43+00:00

For the 6th Time, Red Level Appears on the Inc. 5000 list, Posting Three-Year Sales Growth of 50%

Novi, Michigan-August 18, 2017 – Inc. magazine today ranked Red Level at NO. 4648 on its 36th annual Inc. 5000, the most prestigious ranking of the nation's fastest-growing private companies. The list represents a unique look at the most successful companies within the American economy’s most dynamic segment— its independent small and midsized businesses. Companies such as Microsoft, Dell, Domino’s Pizza, Pandora, Timberland, LinkedIn, Yelp, Zillow, and many other well-known names gained their first national exposure as honorees of the Inc. 5000. “We are certainly tremendously pleased to find ourselves included in the Inc. 5000 again,” says Dave King, Red Level CEO. “Recognition such as this is certainly a badge of honor, coming as it does from a publication that’s this widely read and broadly respected. We’ve managed to achieve a good pattern of solid, sustained growth in what can be a volatile and unpredictable market; it is gratifying for ...

Red Level2023-02-16T16:01:43+00:00

RED LEVEL AWARDED CORP! MAGAZINE “MICHIGAN’S ECONOMIC BRIGHT SPOTS” HONOR FOR SECOND SUCCESSIVE YEAR

The Warren-based business magazine Corp! has selected Red Level as one of its “Michigan Economic Bright Spots” for the second year in a row. The award is given to acknowledge businesses whose growth, profitability, and increasing employee levels distinguish them in their fields and as contributors to their communities. Corp! honors a wide range of companies in virtually all industries with “Economic Bright Spot” honors, with sizes ranging from small family firms to Fortune 500 enterprises. Corp!’s panel of independent judges reviews hundreds of area businesses’ nominations to identify a select number of standout companies. The award is a distinction shared by a only a small number of Michigan technology firms. Red Level CEO David King is especially pleased to receive the award for the second year running. “Throughout our thirteen-year history, we’ve been relentlessly focused on delivering solutions that generate success for our clients,” King says. “While we’re certainly ...

Red Level2023-02-16T16:01:44+00:00

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