All posts by SystemsNet

IT Support Decision: In-House IT vs MSP

In-House IT
Cybersecurity, Manage Service, Security, , , , , ,

In the digital era that we are in now, there is no question why reliable IT support is a must for all businesses. Recently, if you want to stay productive, competitive, secure, or relevant in your industry, you need to have the proper technology in place. Ultimately, you also need capable In-House IT professionals to handle all these tech needs.

The big question for many business owners is whether to hire an in-house team or to partner with a managed services provider. Both options have pros and cons. To make the right choice, you need to analyze the many differences carefully. To make a thorough In-House IT Guy vs Managed Service Provider comparison, let’s answer some of the most crucial questions.

What Can They Do?

Your In-House IT Guy

An in-house employee tasked with handling the company’s IT concerns is capable of regular IT infrastructure maintenance, general software, and hardware troubleshooting, and dealing with regular technology concerns.

Managed Services Provider

A managed services provider can do everything that the IT guy can do, plus a much wider scope of services and solutions. An MSP employs several highly trained experts in various IT fields, so no matter what the issue, there’s bound to be at least one individual specially trained to address your problems.

How Much Do They Cost?

Your In-House IT Guy

The cost of hiring an IT guy is equivalent to having an additional employee on the company’s payroll. It appears to be the more cost-effective option until you encounter a problem that is beyond your IT guy’s expertise, and that requires you to hire a third party. Furthermore, you would also have to spend on training, benefits, and even equipment for every IT professional you have on your staff.

Managed Services Provider

MSP services usually come at a fixed monthly fee, the size of which would depend on the services that you need. It might be a higher cost than a single monthly salary, but it is inclusive of everything you would need. There will be no surprise expenses, which is much better in terms of budget management.

What Level of Expertise and Support Do They Offer?

Your In-House IT Guy

An In-House IT guy knows your systems like the back of his hand. This familiarity plus a strong understanding of your business, enables him to make sound decisions that will benefit your organization. On the other hand, their skills are limited compared to the combined skill set of an entire MSP team.

Managed Services Provider

MSPs employ many IT professionals trained in diverse fields, from network management and cybersecurity to disaster recovery and cloud services. They will deploy their appropriate specialist to your company depending on your specific needs, so you will always get the best service.

Can They Provide Scalability and Flexibility?

Your In-House IT Guy

Since they are just one individual, it would be difficult for them to adapt to sudden changes in the system, or to handle highly specialized projects. This can cause delays and a lack of efficiency in operations.

Managed Services Provider

Scalability is one of the biggest advantages of working with an MSP. The services they offer are always flexible and can be adjusted based on the changing IT needs of your business.

Final Thoughts

Based on the In-House IT Guy vs Managed Service Provider comparison above, for most businesses, working with an MSP presents significant advantages. However, keep in mind that not all MSPs are equally reliable. Before signing up with any provider, make sure they pass all the criteria listed in our 7 Components to Auditing an IT Provider. You can download the list here for your reference.

We can help you eliminate all this unnecessary spending. Call us today!

5 IT Red Flags for Your Business

IT red flags
Data Backup, Security, Technology, , , ,

Companies are increasingly reliant on technology for different aspects of their operations. IT has indeed come a long way and is now instrumental in the growth of many businesses, but it is still far from perfect. The more technology evolves, the more unwanted issues can arise with its use or misuse. So, how will you know these IT red flags if you do not have professional IT training?

As a non-technical person, you might not have the skills to address IT red flags, but you could identify common IT industry warning signs if you knew what they were. By knowing these signs and being extra vigilant, businesses can nip the problem in the bud through early mediation and avoid further issues that are detrimental to business operations. Here are the top five IT industry warning signs businesses should watch out for.

IT Red Flags: Increased Downtime

System downtime can result from a variety of events, some of which cannot always be avoided, like human error or natural disasters. However, if the downtime becomes more frequent or prolonged, this is likely due to IT red flag issues such as operating system bugs, network vulnerabilities, obsolete hardware, and so on.

IT Red Flags: Security Breaches

If a hacker can penetrate your company’s cybersecurity system, it’s a sure indicator of IT trouble. A strong defense now will not remain a strong defense forever. You need to regularly upgrade and update your system to keep up with constantly evolving hacker techniques.

Sluggish Performance

Slow response times and lagging applications may have been commonplace in the 1990s, but it’s now 2024, so these issues can diminish user experience and productivity. When a computer becomes sluggish, there are many reasons, like insufficient memory, outdated hardware, malware infection, or other IT-related red flag matters.

Escalating Costs

Spending on IT makes sense if the expenses result in tangible results. But if the costs keep rising without notable changes in your IT system, then this is a sign of a problem. It might be time to audit your tech team and maybe even switch to a more efficient IT provider.

IT Red Flags: Lack of Scalability

Technology changes rapidly, and businesses should be able to adapt accordingly to keep up with the times and the competition. An inflexible IT solution will prevent you from doing this, limiting your growth potential.

The Best Way to Address IT Challenges in Your Company

Most, if not all, IT industry red flag signs mentioned above can be quickly resolved, or even avoided altogether, if your company has a reliable technical team to count on to take care of your systems. This is why you must choose your IT provider diligently. But how do you know you are making the right choice? Simple—your provider must fulfill all the 7 Components of Auditing an IT Provider. 

Download a copy of the list here and find out exactly what kind of IT provider you need to hire. Make your selection wisely, and you will not have to deal with any kind of IT red flags. Instead, you can dedicate your attention to running and growing your business. If you want to learn more about IT management, just let us know, and we will be happy to set you up for a free consultation!

Real-Life Examples of How AI Was Used to Breach Businesses

AI to Breach Businesses
Anti-virus, Cybersecurity, Data Backup, Malware, Security, , , , ,

There has been a lot of talk recently, about how hackers are leveraging AI to breach businesses. Hackers can sneak their way in more easily with these new algorithms used in social engineering.

Unfortunately, these are no longer just theoretical discussions. We have reached a point where AI-powered data breaches are actually a reality. In fact, they are among the most rapidly growing threats to businesses everywhere. Today, we will talk about some real-life examples of recent data breaches made possible through AI.

TaskRabbit Data Breach

IKEA’s well-known online marketplace TaskRabbit was one of the targets of hackers using AI to breach businesses in April 2018. TaskRabbit’s primary goal is to match freelancers (Taskers) in housekeeping, moving, delivery, and similar industries with local demand (Clients). It operates on a large scale, and when the breach happened, the site had millions of registered users.

The company has found out that over 3.75 million records of Taskers and Clients were affected in the breach. Personal information and financial details were stolen. The website and the mobile app had to be shut down and taken offline for a while as the company dealt with the damage. According to investigations, the distributed denial-of-service, or DDoS, attack used an AI-enabled botnet.

Yum! Brands Data Breach

Yum! Brands, was the victim of hackers using AI to breach businesses in January 2023. Initially, management thought that corporate data was the sole target of the attack, but it turned out that employee information was also compromised. An unidentified malicious actor launched a ransomware attack that led to the breach.

Many ransomware attacks that took place after the creation of AI tools leveraged AI technology to automate decisions on which data to take, as some brought more damage potential to the target business. It proved to be a good tactic, as Yum! was forced to close nearly 300 of their UK branches for several weeks.

AI used to Breach Businesses like T-Mobile

This wireless network operator is no stranger to data breaches, having survived nine separate attacks in the last five years. Early this year, T-Mobile revealed that 37 million of its customer’s records were stolen in a breach that began in November 2022.

According to the company’s AI analysts, the threat actor used an application programming interface or API equipped with AI capabilities and could secure unauthorized access. This ultimately led to the theft and exposure of sensitive client information, including full names, contact numbers, and PINs.

AI used to Breach Businesses like Activision

In December 2023, hackers launched a targeted phishing campaign against Activision, the company that created the Call of Duty games. Hackers used AI to breach businesses like Activision and created the SMS messages used for the phishing attacks, which ultimately proved successful as one HR staff member succumbed to the bait.

But we all know that one click is all it takes because, immediately, the hacker gains access to the complete employee database. This included email addresses, phone numbers, work locations, salaries, and more. However, they were able to find a solution since Activision could find the breach early.

Don’t Be the Next Victim of Hackers using AI to Breach Businesses!

Because of AI tools, data breaches have become much more far-reaching today in terms of business damage as compared to years past. The total cost is also much higher, with an average expense of $4.45 million for each breach. Although hiring an AI cybersecurity expert and upgrading your system would cost money, it wouldn’t come close to the expense of the harm a cyberattack would cause.

The examples above are all real, and as you can see, they have happened to large companies. All these companies thought they had reliable security systems, or so they thought. The point is that any of us, including you, could experience a data breach, especially one that uses AI. To learn more about how hackers use AI technology, download our FREE eBook, “The Growing Role of AI in Security – The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.”

Would you take the risk and just cross your fingers that you don’t become the next victim, or would you take proactive measures right now to boost your defenses and maximize your company’s protection? If you choose the latter, we are here to provide all the services you need. Just contact us so we can make sure your system is safe from AI attacks.

7 Ways AI Can Be Used by Hackers to Steal Personal Information

Steal Personal Information
Anti-virus, Data Backup, Malware, Security, , , ,

Data breaches are now more rampant than ever to steal personal information. Each month sees at least 150 incidents that affect businesses, and these only account for the reported cases. One reason hackers can execute data breaches so easily is because of modern technology, like artificial intelligence. While AI can help society at large, it has also been instrumental in illicit activities like stealing personal information. Here are 7 ways by which hackers are using AI to infiltrate businesses.

Personalized Phishing To Steal Personal Information

Phishing is one of the most prevalent methods of hacking used today. This is because phishing relies on the human element, which is the weakest link of security in any organization, making for a high success rate. But with AI, phishing has become a huge threat to businesses and individuals. Messages are now personalized, so employees are more likely to believe they are real. Once the victim takes the phishing bait, the hackers can steal all kinds of information from the system.

Spreading Deepfakes to Steal Personal Information

Deepfakes are AI-generated videos or sound clips that look very real. There are so many ways that hackers can use these kinds of videos to steal information. They can directly target employees by sending a deepfake video, supposedly from a supervisor. The “supervisor” might ask for some information, and the employee obliges because it’s from their boss. Hackers can also use deepfake material to spread negative propaganda about a company. In the impending chaos, they can take advantage of compromised security by diving in and successfully executing a data breach.

Cracking CAPTCHA

Until recently, CAPTCHA was a reliable means of differentiating a real person from a bot. But AI has now improved so much that it can accurately emulate human images and behavior. In a typical CAPTCHA image, someone could ask you to click on all the boxes with a bridge. The old system presumes that only a human will do this correctly. But AI algorithms can now quickly analyze the image and respond just like a human would. Once the hacker gets past the CAPTCHA security gates using this strategy, they can steal whatever sensitive personal information they want.

Using Brute Force

Traditionally, the most common way to crack passwords was by trying all combinations until you got the right one. This hack is known as brute-forcing. Hackers still use the same method today. However, with the help of AI tools, specifically those that analyze a user’s online behavior, the process requires considerably less time and computing power.

Listening to Keystrokes

Several AI tools can “listen” to keystrokes. Instead of trying all the different combinations like in the brute force method, AI can listen to the keystrokes and identify a user’s password with up to 95% accuracy. There will be considerable training involved, as with most AI algorithms, but once the machine learning process is complete, hackers can effectively use this tool to easily crack passwords.

Audio Fingerprinting to Steal Personal Information

Voice biometrics is one of the most common security measures used today. It is highly secure since voiceprints are unique, just like fingerprints. But thanks to AI, duplicating voice prints is now easy. Many call the process audio fingerprinting. All that’s required is a few minutes of a sample of the target’s voice, and AI will quickly be able to generate audio clips in that exact voice.

AI-Aided Social Engineering

Social engineering refers to the deception or manipulation of people to entice them into revealing confidential information or granting access to restricted areas. It is not a hacking method per se but more of a practice of misleading people by taking advantage of trust or other vulnerabilities. Cybercriminals have been practicing social engineering for a long time, but with AI tools and algorithms, the technique has become much more efficient and has led to successful hacking.

Final Thoughts on AI Being Used to Steal Personal Information

This list is just the tip of the iceberg for AI to steal personal information. There are many other ways that hackers can use AI to steal information. For sure, they will also discover dozens of newer and more dangerous methods shortly. But businesses don’t have to sit back and take it all lightly. There are solutions to combat AI hacking, and many of these solutions involve AI as well.

Our company is dedicated to using technology for the improvement of businesses, and this includes the area of security. If you want to fortify your defenses against AI-powered attempts to steal your information, we can hook you up with the right service provider that can take care of your needs. You can also learn a lot from our on-demand webinar and cybersecurity e-book, so download them today. Let us know your interest so we can send you more information.