Scott Wonkka has seen and heard some interesting developments in his last year as Chief Operating Officer at Axis Computer Networks. While many of the technology questions and issues brought to him by current and prospective clients come from unique combinations of use case, software, and hardware, the desired end goal is consistent: Keep everything working right, no matter what we throw at it, and give us a pathway to keep our network running into the future.
Of course, the word “future” means something different to each of those businesses as well. They want their networks and systems to support the growth any healthy business needs, onboarding new team members with seamless access, while also insulating proprietary data from the latest security threats that most people haven’t heard about yet.
Here are four of the most common trends that Scott is seeing, and his take on how you can make the most of them:
1. MFA. No, Scott is not talking about taking a day trip to see Monet’s waterlilies at Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts, instead he’s talking about advanced security measures. “Multi-Factor Authentication is a tool that provides much better security than passwords, which are relatively easy to compromise now,” Scott says. “Using MFA requires a code sent to a device that only the proper person will be able to access, either a cell phone via text or an email account. Because the code is for only one use and often has a time limit, it’s an effective tool to limit access. Many of our clients are telling us their customers want their data secured this way.”
2. NIST and CMMC. This alphabet soup means federal standards that can help a business land new customers that would otherwise be out of reach thanks to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the U.S. Department of Defense Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) program. “Both NIST and CMMC are standards that set parameters for a business to document its network security levels,” Scott says. “The idea is that if your business meets the standard, you’re able to work with companies who can get access to government contracts, but beyond that, it’s just good business to protect your customer data through good protocols. We can review a network for weak points, and also help a business get its procedures in line.”
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3. Cyberinsurance. Just like anything that has value, your business should be insured against damage and theft. Your network and the proprietary data you store on it are no different. “Cybersecurity insurance is definitely a good idea if your business stores valuable data and information—and, to be honest, all your data is valuable to you, otherwise you wouldn’t be storing it,” Scott says. “But even if you’re the only one who benefits from that data, ransomware can really hamper your business by locking you out of your own network. Cyberinsurance can reduce the impact by covering the costs of lost business, employee downtime, data recovery, and more.” Axis can help you decipher your policy to make sure you’re compliant, should an attack cause you to file a claim.
4. Endpoint Security. Businesses face numerous factors that have increased the importance of endpoint protection: more remote-work employees, employees using personal devices to access networks and proprietary data, increased security threats, and more. “An endpoint protection platform is designed to compare files uploaded to the network with a cloud-based known-threat database that is automatically updated,” Scott says. “The idea is to keep the bad stuff out from anywhere it could enter the picture, including cloud access points, network devices, smart systems, point-of-sale devices, and personal computers and mobile devices, including wearables.”
If these trends touch on ways your business and network may be evolving, reach out to Scott Wonkka and the team at Axis Computer Networks. Solutions that are right for your business could be easier to find than you may think.