Category: News

As the silly season begins, the risk of ransomware threats and online security breaches increase. CSO Magazine recently reported that Australians are the world’s most susceptible to ransomware threats.

More Aussies than ever are expected to do their Christmas shopping online this year. You’ll be bombarded with Christmas online offers from your favourite retailers. And while purchasing online you’ll readily submit your email addresses, personal and credit card information with a number of online stores, and you’ll probably wait impatiently for a parcel two to arrive in time via Australia Post or courier service. In the mad dash to get your gifts before Christmas day, you may let your guard down making you susceptible to numerous online security breaches including the very serious ransomware threat.

What is a ransomware threat?

Ransomware threats work by sending you an email pretending to be from an entity you believe is legitimate, for example Australia Post emailing you about a package you’re expecting or Office of State Revenue (SDRO) concerning a speed camera fine or even the Australian Tax Office (ATO) regarding this year’s tax return. They’re clever and crafty enough to trick you into clicking on a web page link that results in you infecting your PC. The payload then start encrypting your files and you’ll receive a message requiring you to pay a ransom to get the decryption key to retrieve them.

In most cases, you pay the fee, and files are returned, but your network security has been breached. In worst-case scenarios, you pay their fee, and files are not returned, lost forever, which leaves you to rebuild your network from scratch. I know of many cases where this has happened. In one particular instance a person who was by coincidence expecting a package, was so determined to open the Australia Post email link, he infected four separate PC’s in the office trying.

How to protect yourself against ransomware threats:

Be vigilant with Email

• If you don’t know the person, don’t open the email. • Avoid clicking on web links in email. Better to type it out yourself
• If you do want to click, hover the mouse over the link first and check the underlying link is correct
• Ask yourself, would entities like the SDRO or Australia Post know my email address in the first place?

If you think you have clicked on an infected link make sure you:

1. Turn off your PC immediately
2. Disconnect the backup attached to your PC or network.
3. Call your IT service provider.

As always, make sure you back up your data and change passwords regularly. There are many other ways of reducing the risk and we’re more than happy to help design a strategy to protect your business.

Introducing our brand new logo and website

We’re proud to announce a new look for Insight Integration.  From today we’ll be flying our brand new logo at full mast at 60 York Street.  We were keen that our logo still symbolised the four cornerstones of good IT management but we added the phrase, “Experience Better IT” to highlight our core promise, which we believe, is what sets us apart from our competitors, and more importantly, what it delivers for our clients.

When you head to our website, you will be redirected to our new URL:  www.insightintegration.com.au 

We started Insight Integration in 1999 and for 16 years Insight Integration has helped many Sydney businesses experience better IT. So we thought our company name deserved a bit more respect and decided to use the full name, not an abbreviated version, on our website and emails, for example:

[email protected] or [email protected]

Which brings us to the launch of our new website…

We are very proud of the outstanding services and superior support we provide our clients, so we wanted our website to reflect that, improving it to clearly explain our service offerings in what we do with much less tech talk.  And we’ve made it easier to navigate and find the information and support tools that are important to you.

But a new look and new website don’t mean much without remaining steadfast in our commitment to you.  We will continue to listen to your concerns, assess, improve and offer cost-effective solutions, tailored specifically to your business needs.  By managing your IT proactively backed by our superior support, we promise to deliver consistent and optimal performance from your IT, giving you the confidence to get on with your business.

We’re delighted to share our news with you. Please contact us if there’s anything more that we can help you with. And if you know of any business that might benefit from better IT performance, we’d be grateful if you shared our message with them.

Brendan, Todd and all the team at
Insight Integration

Technology is expensive, so it’s understandable if you want to hold onto it for as long as possible. Yet because of rapid and ongoing improvements, it’s well worth regularly reviewing your infrastructure and upgrading your equipment sooner rather than later.

This may run contrary to what you think you know about capital equipment, but the key difference is that technology must be thought of not only in terms of the value it delivers, but also in terms of the costs it incurs. IT staff can spend countless hours fixing and upgrading old software and hardware, patching bugs in old versions of applications, and sourcing parts for outdated desktop PCs.

With that in mind, it’s not surprising that most companies buy equipment with planned obsolescence in mind. After several years (usually three) desktops and laptops are replaced even if they’re still working, just to make sure that productivity isn’t hobbled by the demands of looking after old equipment.

Manage your assets

The burden of regularly replacing PCs can be minimised by refreshing equipment on a rolling basis. To simplify the task, and as a matter of good practice, it’s beneficial to use an asset-management tool that can keep track of every device in your business, from computers and laptops to servers, printers, and network switches.

Strong reporting capabilities will allow you to quickly see which computers are better off being replaced. For example, you might have some machines with insufficient memory or old processors that aren’t up to the demands of the users in their department.

Other drivers for system replacement include lifecycle issues, such as whether a device is no longer under warranty; whether it has reached its ‘end-of-life’, making it hard to find support; or whether new computers are doing something in a way that enhances the customer experience.

It’s important to keep users in the loop when it comes to technology refreshes: give them plenty of lead time before an upgrade so they can remove personal files, and plan for a short downtime while you’re swapping over the equipment.

You should also consider interdependencies: if you shut down a server for upgrading, for example, make sure it doesn’t bring down any key business functions; if there is a potential impact, make sure you swap in the new system outside business hours.

By planning well ahead, you can keep regular equipment and software refreshes a fundamental part of your computing infrastructure. Careful asset management also lets you predict the costs of upgrades. This allows you to budget for new procurement in advance and makes everyone’s life that little bit easier.