Services Archives | MicroAge We're in the relationship business. Wed, 13 Sep 2023 21:40:41 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.3 https://microage.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/cropped-android-chrome-512x512-1-1-32x32.png Services Archives | MicroAge 32 32 Cyber Wise Webinar #6 Shielding Your Business: The Power of MicroAge Managed Security Services https://microage.com/on-demand-webinar/cyber-wise-webinar-6-microage-managed-security-services/ Wed, 13 Sep 2023 21:40:41 +0000 https://microage.com/?p=14381 The post Cyber Wise Webinar #6 Shielding Your Business: The Power of MicroAge Managed Security Services appeared first on MicroAge.

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ON-DEMAND WEBINAR

Cyber Wise Webinar #6:

Shielding Your Business: The Power of MicroAge Managed Security Services

No CISO?  Minimal cyber expertise in-house?  No SOC/managed SOC?  Not actively managing your cyber solutions? Struggling with budgets? This webinar is for you. MicroAge’s NEW Managed Security Services provide you with cybersecurity tools that every company should have without the significant upfront investment of buying these tools yourself. Instead, we offer a predictable monthly spend that is flexible and easy to understand. Cybersecurity is complicated; rest easier by letting experts take care of your needs from onboarding to reporting to offboarding.

During this webinar, we discussed:

  • An overview of MicroAge Managed Security Services offerings
  • Details of the cybersecurity protection available
  • The simple licensing model
  • What type of companies benefit most

Cyber Wise Webinar on MicroAge MSS video thumbnailIn our sixth Cyber Wise Series Webinar of 2023, MicroAge’s Chief Cybersecurity Strategist Andrew Roberts was joined by MicroAge Executive Vice President Larry Gentry to discuss the features and benefits of this comprehensive service designed to protect your organization 24x7x365.

Watch the video at your convenience and download the slide presentation by completing the form below.

MicroAge will never sell your information.

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MicroAge Launches Managed Security Services to Assist Clients with Rapidly Evolving Cybersecurity Needs https://microage.com/news/microage-launches-managed-security-services-assist-clients-rapidly-evolving-cybersecurity-needs/ Wed, 06 Sep 2023 12:00:54 +0000 https://microage.com/?p=14332 The post MicroAge Launches Managed Security Services to Assist Clients with Rapidly Evolving Cybersecurity Needs appeared first on MicroAge.

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The new MSS offering provides comprehensive, integrated, cost-effective cybersecurity services to help clients combat the growing threat landscape and shortage of skilled cybersecurity resources.

Phoenix, Ariz. – Sep 6, 2023 – MicroAge®, The Digital Transformation Experts®, announced today the launch of MicroAge Managed Security Services (MSS) with proactive cybersecurity monitoring and support. MicroAge Managed Security Services offers round-the-clock, expert security monitoring of the client’s technology environment, helping to reduce alert fatigue and providing incident detection, response, and resolution.

With today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape, cybersecurity attacks are on the rise, and companies of every type and size struggle to keep up with the technology and resources required to adequately protect their organizations. MicroAge Managed Security Services provides clients with cost-effective, robust protection of their technology infrastructure managed by expert cybersecurity analysts who monitor and support the environment 24x7x365, including first response incident support. MicroAge Managed Security Services includes repair and maintenance of multifactor authentication, email protection, endpoint protection, server protection, comprehensive reporting, and user awareness training, as well as onboarding and offboarding users on those systems.

“The severe, global talent shortage of cybersecurity professionals has been highly publicized, leaving hundreds of thousands of cyber job vacancies in the U.S. alone. This scarcity makes it increasingly difficult to find and hire the right experts to fortify an organization’s defenses,” said MicroAge Executive Vice President Larry Gentry. “Combined with the exploding volume and cost of available solutions that have hit the market, comprehensive cybersecurity programs are becoming complicated, expensive, and difficult to achieve for many companies.”

“The growing need for a complete, integrated, cost-effective way to secure our clients’ digital infrastructures became quickly evident. So, relying on decades of experience, we worked with our clients to develop MicroAge Managed Security Services,” said MicroAge CEO Rob Zack. “This new service will help clients dramatically improve their security posture, simplify their day-to-day jobs, eliminate capital outlay, and remove the management burden of multiple-point products.”

MicroAge MSS eliminates capital expenditures with monthly contract pricing based on the number of associates, helping clients cost-effectively and efficiently meet their security, compliance, and cyber insurance needs.

For more information on MicroAge Managed Security Services, visit https://microage.com/services/managed-security-services/.

About MicroAge
MicroAge combines a powerful mix of technology services backed by vendor-certified engineers and an acclaimed panel of experts to deliver the competitive edge technology leaders need to lead in a disruptive digital environment. MicroAge is a Microsoft Solution Partner recognized annually by Computer Reseller News (CRN) in the Tech Elite 250, Solution Provider 500, and MSP 500 lists of top-performing technology integrators, strategic service providers, and IT consultants. Headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, MicroAge has a rapidly expanding national salesforce to support growing demand. To learn more, visit MicroAge.com.

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Navigating the Cybersecurity Maze: How Managed Security Services Are Transforming Cyber Protection https://microage.com/blog/navigating-cybersecurity-maze-how-managed-security-services-are-transforming-cyber-protection/ Wed, 06 Sep 2023 07:04:55 +0000 https://microage.com/?p=14334 The post Navigating the Cybersecurity Maze: How Managed Security Services Are Transforming Cyber Protection appeared first on MicroAge.

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By Larry Gentry, Executive Vice President
Reading Time: 5 minutes

In today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape, cybersecurity has become an essential priority for businesses of all sizes. Even though it has been a challenge for many years now, and plenty of advanced solutions have emerged to help, we see many organizations still struggling to effectively manage their cybersecurity initiatives. If I were to break it down as simply as possible, here are a few points as to why we believe that’s happening.

Growing Cybersecurity Talent Gap

Securing your organization’s sensitive data and digital assets requires a team of highly skilled cybersecurity analysts. Unfortunately, the industry is currently facing a severe shortage of talent. According to a recent report in Cybercrime Magazine, there are approximately 750,000 unfilled cyber job openings in the U.S. alone. This scarcity makes it increasingly difficult for companies to find and hire the right experts to fortify their defenses.

According to a recent study, there are approximately 750,000 unfilled cyber job openings in the U.S. alone. This scarcity makes it increasingly difficult for companies to find and hire the right experts to fortify their defenses.

Costly Nature of Cybersecurity Expertise

Assuming you manage to locate the right cybersecurity professionals for your company, the associated costs can often exceed your budgetary constraints. Hiring skilled cybersecurity experts as full-time staff demands substantial compensation budgets due to the high demand for their services. That means small to mid-sized companies, in particular, may find it challenging to allocate the necessary funds to recruit and retain qualified professionals. But even when we connect with clients at enterprise-sized organizations, many also struggle to find and retain the right team in order to create and maintain a well-integrated, end-to-end security solution.

Insufficient Cybersecurity Budgets

We are seeing that inadequate budget allocation is another common hurdle for organizations attempting to establish a robust defense plan. Many companies fail to recognize the magnitude of cybersecurity threats and consequently overlook the importance of investing in adequate protection, which needs to include the right skills and best-in-class tools. Interestingly, we continue to see substantial budgets allocated toward data center and cloud initiatives, yet not towards cybersecurity. Trust me when I say it’s not going away, and it’s time to rethink your budget allocation process — sooner versus later.

Point Technologies vs. True Solutions

Another challenge we’ve seen emerge is the overload of point cybersecurity technologies aimed at helping various pieces and parts of the problem. While many incredible point technologies address difficult cyber defense areas such as email security, endpoint protection, and user awareness training, that all leaves the internal team left to bandage together a comprehensive solution that eliminates every gap and weak point in the chain.

You can see how this cybersecurity environment is quickly becoming very complicated, expensive, and inefficient.

In 2022, after years of meeting with countless clients, honing our skills, and expanding our cybersecurity practice, we realized the rapidly growing need for a complete, integrated, cost-effective cybersecurity offering.

So that’s exactly what we created… the MicroAge Managed Security Services.

This new MSS offering is purposely designed to be fast, easy, flexible, and affordable to implement for organizations of all shapes and sizes. Our number one goal is to make an advanced cybersecurity defense solution truly attainable for anyone and help clients dramatically improve their security posture while simplifying the overall daily management of security operations, all without the need for large capital outlay or the burdens of staffing a full team of certified cyber analysts. You also don’t need to find and evaluate a full spectrum of tools since we’ve done that work already. The Managed Security Services offering is built as a simple, all-in-one monthly support service, with the flexibility to start with just a piece or two based on your unique business needs and then add on if needed or launch the full solution right out of the gate.

Here’s what’s included in the new MSS offering:

24x7x365 Monitoring with Managed Detection and Response (MDR) Services

Proactive threat detection and rapid incident response are essential components of a robust cybersecurity strategy, but managing this in-house can be daunting. Many internal cyber teams have ‘alert fatigue,’ as they chase one cyber alert after another only to find they are essentially false alarms. Setting up a robust Managed Detection and Response initiative that leverages AI and machine learning technologies means you can continuously monitor network traffic, detect anomalies, and get expert help to swiftly respond to potential threats. The offering helps ensure 24x7x365 comprehensive monitoring and protection with rapid incident resolution, significantly enhancing a company’s security posture very quickly.

Multifactor Authentication (MFA)

Implementing MFA is a crucial step in securing your organization’s digital infrastructure. Our MSS offering provides robust MFA solutions, ensuring only authorized individuals can access critical systems and sensitive data. By consolidating MFA with other cybersecurity tools, businesses can streamline their security operations, reducing costs associated with separate purchases and management.

Email Security

Email remains a prime target for cybercriminals. Our Managed Security Service solution includes comprehensive email security that protects against phishing attacks, malware, and other email-borne threats. By using advanced, proven technology, machine learning, and AI combined with highly skilled cyber professionals, organizations minimize the risk of data breaches and ensure the confidentiality of sensitive information.

Endpoint Security

Endpoint devices are often the entry point for cyber threats. The offering includes advanced endpoint protection tools like next-generation antivirus software, real-time threat detection, and proactive vulnerability management.

Server Security

Servers store and process critical data, so prioritizing them in your defense plan is critical. Our server protection includes robust intrusion detection and prevention systems, regular patch management, and log monitoring. By leveraging these comprehensive server security measures, companies can fortify their infrastructure against potential breaches.

User Awareness Training

Employees continue to be one of the most challenging components of effective cybersecurity defense, so educating them about best practices is crucial to mitigate your risks from human error. Our user awareness training program educates employees in a fun and engaging way about the latest threats, phishing scams, and safe online practices.

Final Thoughts on Managed Security Services

Part of creating success in your cybersecurity initiative means using new thinking to solve new problems. In an era where cyber threats continue to evolve and multiply, it’s clear that organizations need new solutions, tools, and comprehensive strategies that better align with their budget and resource limitations while still improving their security posture. And that’s precisely what we set out to do with MicroAge’s MSS.

If you’re struggling to find a capable partner, the right tools, and sound advice or are unsure where to start, be sure to check out Chris Reid’s recent blog, “What Kind of Cybersecurity Assessment is Right for You.

Transform Your Cyber Protection

Let’s talk

Schedule a time with our cybersecurity experts to chat through your unique challenges to see how we can help.

“Larry Gentry is responsible for ensuring MicroAge’s cStor division provides its clients with innovative cybersecurity, infrastructure and cloud solutions for the healthcare, manufacturing, government, education, retail, insurance, and utility industries. His business acumen and management expertise stem from years of senior level leadership and high-tech management experience with companies such as Kroger, Kohl’s department stores, and Shopko.”

Larry GentryExecutive Vice President

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Cyber Wise Webinar #5 ft. Sophos: Cybersecurity as a Service: A Way to Achieve Superior Cybersecurity Outcomes https://microage.com/on-demand-webinar/cyber-wise-webinar-5-cybersecurity-as-a-service-achieve-superior-outcomes/ Wed, 30 Aug 2023 21:42:42 +0000 https://microage.com/?p=14317 The post Cyber Wise Webinar #5 ft. Sophos: Cybersecurity as a Service: A Way to Achieve Superior Cybersecurity Outcomes appeared first on MicroAge.

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ON-DEMAND WEBINAR

Cyber Wise Webinar #5:

Cybersecurity as a Service: A Way to Achieve Superior Cybersecurity Outcomes ft. Sophos

Cybersecurity as a Service can help organizations of all sizes improve their mixed-vendor cybersecurity posture by providing them with the necessary tools and expertise to detect, investigate, and respond to security incidents quickly and effectively, reducing the risk of a successful cyberattack. Many recent technological advances have occurred in this area.

During this webinar, we discussed:

  • The cybersecurity challenge
  • The effect on cyber insurance
  • Grouping and prioritizing security alerts from a mixed-vendor environment
  • Mapping threats to the MITRE Framework

Cyber Wise Webinar 5 with Sophos video thumbnailIn our fifth Cyber Wise Series Webinar of 2023, Sophos’ Channel West Sr. Sales Engineer Mike Weaver joined MicroAge’s Chief Cybersecurity Strategist Andrew Roberts to discuss the benefits of cybersecurity as a service.

Watch the video at your convenience by completing the form below.

MicroAge will never sell your information.

The post Cyber Wise Webinar #5 ft. Sophos: Cybersecurity as a Service: A Way to Achieve Superior Cybersecurity Outcomes appeared first on MicroAge.

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How VXLAN is Revolutionizing Networking https://microage.com/blog/how-vxlan-is-revolutionizing-networking/ Wed, 16 Aug 2023 22:14:48 +0000 https://microage.com/?p=14290 The post How VXLAN is Revolutionizing Networking appeared first on MicroAge.

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By Joel Stine, Network and Firewall Architect
Reading Time: 4 minutes

What is VXLAN?

Many of us, at one time or another, have worked in an office environment with several floors filled with separate cubicles or rooms grouped into teams or divisions. When working on an intense project involving another team, you often had to get up and move to another floor or room to meet with them throughout the project. During those super busy, stressful times, I remember thinking, “Wouldn’t it be nice if I could just wave my wand and magically appear there like in Harry Potter?”

It’s helpful to imagine that VXLAN is a little like that “magic” ability to transport to another space, but for computers and servers that need to move around and work together smoothly across different parts of an extensive network. However, unlike the teleport example, instead of just moving to one space, VXLAN provides millions of virtual networks on-demand simultaneously, which is helpful when there are large numbers of teams or systems that each need their own space to work.

However, as revolutionary as VXLAN is, it may only be suitable for some organizations since it still requires special skills and planning to set up, manage, and ensure proper security. So, let’s walk through the benefits and use cases where VXLAN is most suited, as well as some of the considerations.

Benefits of VXLAN

Today’s modern infrastructure requirements demand efficient, flexible networking solutions to accommodate rapidly evolving technology and user demands. VXLAN offers a transformative approach to networking by stretching a layer 2 fabric across a layer 3 fabric, bringing together the advantages of both layer 2 and layer 3 networking providing greater flexibility and scale.

Benefits of VXLAN include:

Flexible Networking: VXLAN allows you to create virtual networks that can stretch across physical locations, making it easier to move resources around without changing their network settings.

Greater Scalability: VXLAN provides a significantly larger number of virtual network segments compared to traditional VLANs to accommodate the needs of complex and growing environments.

Enhanced Security: VXLAN’s segmentation capabilities enhance security by isolating different groups of resources within separate virtual networks.

Efficient Resource Utilization: By allowing resources to be moved and shared dynamically, VXLAN optimizes resource utilization and enhances load balancing.

Automation and Simplification: Many vendors offer tools and automation options to ease VXLAN deployment and management, reducing complexity for network administrators.

Multi-Tenancy: VXLAN enables the creation of isolated networks for different customers or tenants within a shared infrastructure.

Future-Proofing: With its ability to accommodate a large number of virtual segments, VXLAN provides a foundation for scaling and adapting to future networking requirements.

Use Cases for VXLAN

Disaster Recovery Solutions

VXLAN helps maintain connectivity between data centers by creating virtualized layer 2 segments across different geographies, enabling seamless movement of workloads in case of disasters or failures.

VM Mobility

In the era of virtualization, VXLAN simplifies the mobility of virtual machines, which can be moved between servers or data centers without changing their network configurations. This significantly streamlines processes, creating load balancing, migration, and maintenance efficiencies.

Scaling and VLAN Expansion

VXLAN offers a massive increase in scalability compared to traditional VLANs. While standard VLANs provide around 4,094 distinct segments, VXLAN boasts the potential for up to 16 million segments. This level of scalability is invaluable for large-scale environments with multiple isolated segments.

Data Centers and Automation

VXLAN aligns well with the demands of modern data centers, offering scalable segmentation, mobility support, and disaster recovery solutions to create more flexibility and enhance efficient resource utilization. Recognizing the growing interest in VXLAN, networking vendors have begun developing automation tools and simplified deployment methods to help ease the setup of VXLAN fabrics.

Considerations and Complexity

While VXLAN provides remarkable benefits for modern networking, it’s important to acknowledge its potential complexities. Implementing VXLAN can add a layer of intricacy to network configurations, requiring a deeper understanding of both layer 2 and layer 3 concepts. Additionally, monitoring and managing traffic within a VXLAN environment can prove more challenging due to the encapsulation and tunneling involved.

Organizations considering VXLAN adoption should carefully evaluate their networking team’s capabilities and assess whether the added complexity aligns with their operational requirements.

Interested in implementing VXLAN?

Let’s talk

If you need to advance your networking capabilities or implement VXLAN in your organization, MicroAge networking experts are here to help!

“Joel Stine is a Network and Firewall Solution Architect. Joel has extensive experience in data center technologies, networking and cybersecurity. He holds a CCNP in both data center and security.”

Joel StineNetwork and Firewall Solutions Architect

The post How VXLAN is Revolutionizing Networking appeared first on MicroAge.

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Cyber Wise Webinar #4 ft. Rubrik: Ransomware Resilience: Building a Robust Defense Against Cyber Extortion https://microage.com/on-demand-webinar/cyber-wise-webinar-4-building-a-robust-defense-against-cyber-extortion/ Fri, 11 Aug 2023 16:27:43 +0000 https://microage.com/?p=14257 The post Cyber Wise Webinar #4 ft. Rubrik: Ransomware Resilience: Building a Robust Defense Against Cyber Extortion appeared first on MicroAge.

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ON-DEMAND WEBINAR

Cyber Wise Webinar #4:

Ransomware Resilience: Building a Robust Defense Against Cyber Extortion ft. Rubrik

Ransomware attacks have been on the rise in recent years, and the trend is likely to continue in 2023. Cybercriminals are constantly developing new techniques to evade detection and exploit vulnerabilities in computer systems, making it difficult for organizations to defend against these attacks.
During this webinar, we discuss:
  • Prevention and recovery strategies
  • What is “immutable data”
  • Where your company is most vulnerable for an attack
  • Cyber insurance coverage for ransomware

On-demand webinar Cyber Wise ft Rubrik thumbnailIn our fourth Cyber Wise Series Webinar of 2023, Rubrik’s Enterprise Sales Engineering Manager Nathan Bahls joined MicroAge’s Chief Cybersecurity Strategist Andrew Roberts to discuss the latest ways to mitigate risk.

Watch the video at your convenience by completing the form below.

MicroAge will never sell your information.

The post Cyber Wise Webinar #4 ft. Rubrik: Ransomware Resilience: Building a Robust Defense Against Cyber Extortion appeared first on MicroAge.

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Protecting Your Company with Email Security & Resiliency Best Practices in Mimecast https://microage.com/blog/protecting-your-company-with-email-security-resiliency-best-practices-in-mimecast/ Sat, 29 Jul 2023 03:40:56 +0000 https://microage.com/?p=14223 The post Protecting Your Company with Email Security & Resiliency Best Practices in Mimecast appeared first on MicroAge.

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By Jared Hrabak, Consulting Cybersecurity Engineer
Reading Time: 6 minutes

Do you remember the days when there were mysterious rumblings and rumors of ‘inbox zero’ and quiet whispers at tradeshows and in corporate break rooms about how email would be disappearing… soon to be replaced by chat, SMS, and other collaboration tools…? I distinctly remember thinking, “I cannot wait… but how on EARTH is that ever going to happen?!

Well, it’s 2023, and here we are.

The truth is, most companies are still knee-deep in the inbox day after day. Chat, SMS, and other collaboration tools have just been added to the pile of communication streams we have to manage. Email follows us everywhere we go including at home each night… it’s everywhere… still.

Like many technological innovations throughout history, it can take decades to see a major paradigm shift. Our reliance on email is like a persistent habit that’s difficult to break, and unfortunately, hackers know this all too well. That means companies should be vigilant about email security and hygiene around the clock, not only to protect their data and users but also to protect the value of their brand.

It’s just not enough to add an email security tool, set it and forget it, and think you’re done. I’m sorry to say, but it just doesn’t work that way. Email security is like a chess game, with each side constantly making their move in an offense, defense, counter-move kind of way.

That’s why in this blog post, I’ll map out a few key technical ‘must-dos’ of email security and hygiene using the Mimecast email security and resilience solution.

Get Your MX and Email Provider Records Right

Before you even get to Mimecast, you need to put a couple of things in order. MX records (mail exchange) are DNS records that talk to each other in order to send email and other traffic to the correct destination. By default, it’s set to send traffic to the lowest priority valued location first, not always your preferred destination. For example, an MX record with an O365 server at priority 10 and Mimecast at priority 20 will send messages to O365 first, not to Mimecast. Sometimes these settings are forgotten during the implementation – make sure they are correct.

If you have an email gateway product like Mimecast’s Secure Email Gateway (SEG), you have to tell your email provider to only accept emails from your gateway and no one else. If you don’t, criminals could send messages directly to your email provider and bypass the SEG – eliminating all of the controls you have in place. While this might sound like email security 101, I’m surprised by how often this kind of setting is overlooked, so be sure your DNS and email provider configurations take this into account.

DMARC, SPF, and DKIM: the Front and Back Gate Guards of Email Security

Once you’re confident your MX record and email provider are configured correctly and you have Mimecast sitting between your mailboxes and potential threats, it’s critical to look next at DMARC, SPF, and DKIM. These three combined are like the powerhouse of email authentication, preventing spammers, phishers, and other unauthorized parties from sending emails on behalf of a domain they do not own.

The two primary authentication protocols, SPF and DKIM, help validate that an email message comes from who it claims to come from. Layered on top of SPF and DKIM is DMARC, which uses SPF and DKIM and then provides instructions to receiving email servers on what to do if they receive unauthenticated mail.

Mimecast users can learn more about DMARC and the others, including creating a DMARC record, a guide to reading reports, compliance, setup on Google, and more on the Mimecast website.

Once DMARC, SPF, and DKIM are set up properly with your third-party email provider, Mimecast is correctly configured, and you’re certain all email is funneling through secure routes, it’s time to better understand the added features Mimecast can offer.

Insider Risk Protection

Mimecast’s Internal Email Protect technology lets you detect email-borne security threats that originate from within your email system and automatically or manually remove malicious content from end-users’ mailboxes post-delivery. Following a compromise, users whose accounts are being exploited by attackers or employees who engage with malicious links or simply make mistakes are better protected with an additional security layer that offers lateral threat protection, rechecks of already delivered files, and much simpler day-to-day administration.

Impersonation Protection

Impersonation attacks — also known as business email compromise — can result in significant financial loss, as attackers try to trick employees into making wire transfers or other transactions by pretending to be the CEO, CFO, or even external partners. In many cases, the attacker underscores some kind of emergency situation that must be addressed immediately, so what employee says “no” to an executive with an urgent request? The Mimecast makes it easy to protect your users from impersonation attacks.

Attachment Protection

The Mimecast Attachment Protect feature scans every email and every click on any user device to identify (and contain, if needed) potentially dangerous attachments. When an attachment appears suspicious, one of two events happen next: 1) the malicious email may be sandboxed, and the content of the email is delivered to users without attachments, or; 2) the malicious email attachment may be instantly converted to a safe format, neutralizing any malicious code, and then is sent to the recipient for preview. As part of the simplified management of Mimecast, administrators may also combine sandboxing with instant previewing to create the best mix of safety, performance, and functionality.

Mailbox Continuity

Since the world is still running on email, this Mimecast Continuity feature helps protect against planned and unplanned email server outages with uninterrupted access to user emails and calendars in native user applications. This continuous monitoring of your email flow also provides automated activation, alerting, and notifications.

AI and Machine Learning

Mimecast’s email security solution leverages AI and machine learning to better detect continuously evolving threats and to give employees email warning banners when needed. The feature also identifies potentially misaddressed emails, helping to avoid mistakes turning into security incidents. Using AI and ML in your email security arsenal helps limit attacker reconnaissance by shielding employees and preventing would-be attackers from gathering intelligence that can be used to craft highly targeted social attacks.

Message Encryption

Message Encryption allows senders and recipients to safely exchange emails and files without burdening IT or relinquishing control of shared data. It gives you easy message and file access via a security portal hosted by Mimecast, a fully customizable configuration to help ensure brand recognition and recipient confidence, and granular message controls that cover message recall, expiration, automated read receipt, print and reply/forward control — all set to your specific policies.

Email Incident Response

Time is essential in the email security world, so this feature is key to decreasing the dwell time of cybersecurity threats while at the same time reducing the burden of threat response and remediation on your Security Operations Center (SOC).

To Recap

This list of Mimecast email security features is by no means exhaustive. Their comprehensive solution offers plenty of customization and configuration options for nearly every type of business email environment.

So if you haven’t done so already, upgrading and more proactively monitoring your email security solution is a great place to start. Email security and resilience solutions such as Mimecast should be uniquely configured to your business, users, and security priorities rather than taking a ‘set it and forget it’ approach. This kind of holistic view of email security, email hygiene, and online brand protection should be a critical component in your overall security plan.

Is your e-mail protection doing all it should?

Let’s talk

We’ve helped countless clients implement and correctly configure Mimecast, so please don’t hesitate to reach out if you’re unsure how or where to start.

“As a Cybersecurity Engineer, Jared partners with clients to help them identify product solutions that match their cybersecurity governance, risk and compliance objectives. He enjoys educating and advocating for a successful cybersecurity practice by focusing on client success. Jared brings a wealth of experience in content filtering, cybersecurity operations, and military service to help put clients on the path to success.”

Jared HrabakConsulting Cybersecurity Engineer

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Cyber Wise Webinar #3 ft. Arctic Wolf: Hacking the Hackers – How Managed Detection & Response Can Keep You Safe https://microage.com/on-demand-webinar/cyber-wise-webinar-3-managed-detection-and-response/ Fri, 21 Jul 2023 18:01:55 +0000 https://microage.com/?p=14199 The post Cyber Wise Webinar #3 ft. Arctic Wolf: Hacking the Hackers – How Managed Detection & Response Can Keep You Safe appeared first on MicroAge.

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ON-DEMAND WEBINAR

Cyber Wise Webinar #3:

Hacking the Hackers – How Managed Detection & Response Can Keep You Safe, ft. Arctic Wolf

According to global IT leaders, last year’s foremost concerns are still top of mind, but progress is happening! The skill shortage persists as a pain point, cloud security remains a significant concern, and the number of breaches is growing steadily. Worry has become active as organizations evaluate their weaknesses, increase budget plans, and proactively work against rising cyber threats.

Cyber Wise Webinar on Managed Detection and Response video stillIn our third Cyber Wise Series Webinar of 2023, Arctic Wolf’s Field CTO Christopher Fielder joined MicroAge’s Chief Cybersecurity Strategist Andrew Roberts to discuss topics including research into the greatest concerns security leaders are facing and the threats to watch out for in the next 12 months.

Watch the video at your convenience by completing the form below.

MicroAge will never sell your information.

The post Cyber Wise Webinar #3 ft. Arctic Wolf: Hacking the Hackers – How Managed Detection & Response Can Keep You Safe appeared first on MicroAge.

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Security Operations Center (SOC): To Build or Outsource? https://microage.com/blog/security-operations-center-build-outsource/ Mon, 17 Jul 2023 21:12:53 +0000 https://microage.com/?p=14190 The post Security Operations Center (SOC): To Build or Outsource? appeared first on MicroAge.

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By Larry Gentry, Executive Vice President
Reading Time: 5 minutes

The acceleration of today’s cyber-attacks and the sophistication of the attackers are causing every organization to be more vigilant in the face of these global and seemingly around-the-clock threats. Therefore, it’s not surprising that many organizations have or are looking at standing up their own 24×7 Security Operations Center (SOC) or the possibility of utilizing a so-called SOC-as-a-Service solution to accomplish that goal.

The Necessity of a Security Operations Center (SOC)

This uncertain environment means organizations face monumental challenges in protecting their data and data centers. Not only are data centers being attacked more often and in more sophisticated ways, other factors, such as the expansion of remote sites, mobile devices, mobile workforces, cloud deployments, and the ever-increasing IoT (Internet of Things), are adding unprecedented levels of complexity to the organization.

One clear trend in the marketplace is the ongoing need for organizations to establish and maintain a coordinated, strategic approach to security rather than a piecemeal plan. That means creating a broader, all-encompassing security strategy that incorporates intelligence gathering, threat assessments, policy setting, awareness training, and many other aspects of security.

A complete strategy and rollout plan create a more durable, long-term security program that, when well executed, combines to produce a robust and sustainable security posture for the organization. Companies of all shapes and sizes should incorporate a centralized hub, including all the tools necessary to run a 24×7 SOC, into their plan to monitor their security posture. This is the new baseline to run and protect a company – it’s no longer a luxury reserved for only the largest organizations.

Beyond creating a comprehensive SOC strategy, finding and retaining talent that can effectively and continuously monitor your environment is also necessary. Those resources need to have the skills to analyze and manage threat intelligence as it happens and conduct incident analysis in real-time.

Unfortunately, there is a current skill shortage that is not likely to improve anytime soon. If you have a child going off college who’s unsure what they want to do, I recommend you ask them to consider this field. There are hundreds of thousands of unfilled cybersecurity positions in the U.S. alone.

Even if organizations can find and retain the right talent, the sheer cost and complexity of setting up a 24×7 SOC can be staggering. Here’s just a partial list of what you’ll need to do:

  • Create your strategic security plan
  • Buy a SIEM, a Security Information Event Management system
  • Hire at least five highly skilled people
  • Ensure you have the right tools at hand
  • Have at least one person available every hour of the day (most organizations will need double that)
  • Plan the appropriate budget (costs can easily exceed $500,000 a year)

It is critical for organizations to maintain a coordinated approach to protecting their data and their data center(s) 24×7, as attacks now happen every hour of every day.

Given the high cost and extreme complexity of doing it on your own, not to mention the challenges around finding and keeping the right skilled talent, many companies are looking at outsourcing the entire program, a SOC-as-a-Service function. This is often a smart path to advance a broader security program quickly, as you’ll benefit from the provider’s expertise and often accelerate the plan execution compared to doing it all in-house.

The SOC-as-a-Service Alternative

SOC-as-a-Service (SOCaaS) has now evolved into a type of managed service whereby an organization can outsource the management of its security posture and threat awareness to a managed service provider (MSP). The MSP in the SOCaaS scenarios will usually take responsibility for some or all items such as firewalls, intrusion detection, response services, cloud and endpoint security, attack monitoring, log management, threat intelligence analysis, and in some cases, even compliance monitoring.

That said, it’s critical to recognize that your organization is still ultimately responsible for protecting your data, no matter where it resides or who’s running the security plan.

Why should you consider outsourcing this function? The total cost of these services is significantly lower than the cost of purchasing, installing, and maintaining the equivalent resources in-house, and eliminates the required upfront capital expenditures as well as the cost of hiring, managing, and retaining these highly sought-after employees.

Despite possible opinions that you might lose control of your overall security plan, we often see the opposite. With an expert guide helping to plan and manage your strategy, you will likely feel far more in control than ever before.

Some other good news? SOCaaS has a wide range of services that can be tailored specifically to any organization’s needs. With fixed-price contracts that have a monthly or annual fee, along with service level agreements (SLAs) governing the terms of the contract, these managed service offerings can provide organizations with an efficient and cost-effective alternative to an in-house SOC.

Along with lower initial cost and overall cost benefits, a managed service SOC can help address potential skill gap challenges in the security department and ultimately free up existing IT staff to focus on other business-critical issues.

Hybrid Solutions

Along with the choice of an entirely in-house 24×7 SOC or an outsourced SOCaaS, organizations can opt for a hybrid solution. In some cases, clients elect to in-source these functions during regular business hours and then utilize a managed service model after hours and on weekends. This helps ensure a cohesive plan is operational around the clock.

Other organizations are utilizing SOCaaS to do the logging for compliance purposes. The information is then shared with internal security teams to provide the organization with a comprehensive set of analyzed reports and alerts for ongoing analysis and remediation.

While the market and landscape for SOCaaS continue to evolve, this emerging approach provides an alternative to doing it on your own. It is proving to deliver the protection organizations need more efficiently and affordably. This is precisely why we offer a comprehensive SOCaaS solution to help ensure our clients get the 24×7 managed SOC they need to protect their business-critical data and infrastructure.

Ensure Your Protection Today

Let’s talk

Find out how our 24×7 managed SOC can help you protect your business-critical data. Contact us today at (800) 544-8877.

“Larry Gentry is responsible for ensuring MicroAge’s cStor division provides its clients with innovative cybersecurity, infrastructure and cloud solutions for the healthcare, manufacturing, government, education, retail, insurance, and utility industries. His business acumen and management expertise stem from years of senior level leadership and high-tech management experience with companies such as Kroger, Kohl’s department stores, and Shopko.”

Larry GentryExecutive Vice President

The post Security Operations Center (SOC): To Build or Outsource? appeared first on MicroAge.

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Microsoft Security Incident by Chinese Threat Actor Storm 0558: What You Need to Know https://microage.com/blog/microsoft-security-incident-microsoft-has-the-same-issue-as-all-of-us/ Fri, 14 Jul 2023 21:51:36 +0000 https://microage.com/?p=14172 The post Microsoft Security Incident by Chinese Threat Actor Storm 0558: What You Need to Know appeared first on MicroAge.

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By Chris Reid, Cybersecurity Strategist
Reading Time: 3 minutes

Microsoft Security Incident by ‘Storm-0558’: What Happened?

So, you may have heard that Microsoft has had a couple of security incidents recently. With threats and cyberattacks continually growing in sophistication and sheer numbers, no organization is completely immune, but there are ways to harden your environment. In this blog, we will examine the incident attributed to the China-backed threat actor known as Storm-0558 and look at ways to mitigate your risk.

First, let’s break down what Microsoft has released.

  1. Microsoft got hacked. They believe it was the China-backed threat actor identified as Storm-0558.
  2. Storm-0558 “acquired” an MSA key and used it to forge authentications to access email accounts.
  3. Microsoft deactivated the stolen key, revoked it, and replaced it with a new one.
  4. According to Microsoft, the vulnerability situation is now 100% resolved, so no additional action is needed. Microsoft is proactively communicating the situation in the interest of transparency.

Great! They told us what happened, and they fixed it… you know, what each of our organizations should be doing. Sure, Microsoft has almost unlimited money and resources to find and remediate these issues, but that doesn’t mean they are the only ones who can do it. Let’s look at some processes that probably happened behind the scenes to show that anyone can resolve these problems.

Microsoft more than likely has a team of analysts monitoring for bad behavior day and night, and they probably saw something amiss. From there, it’s reported to a higher-level analyst for further investigation. Once they determine that it’s an active threat, a team of incident response specialists takes action to find the cause, where it came from, and assess the impact. If it meets a certain threshold, they announce it to the public. In this case, it was luckily just one bad actor (that we were told about) who found a vulnerability, exploited it, and then was discovered. Sounds easy enough, right? Well, it sure can be if you have the tools, the team, and the processes behind you.

What You Should Do To Protect Your Organization

This is where we need to talk about how you can do this same thing, even without Microsoft’s level of resources.

First, you need to have the right team behind you. This can be done either in-house or outsourced to an MDR vendor. Outsourcing is ideal because building a Security Operations Center (SOC), tooling the facility, and then hiring for it is REALLY expensive. There are many different levels of service and specialties, so why not just use a service where the work has already been done?

The second is that even though an MDR provider exists, you still need your own tools. This can be a combination of endpoint protection, email security, Identity and Access Management, SIEM, vulnerability scanning, and a whole host of other solutions. This is where MicroAge shines because the security world can be daunting. We know that not every organization has the funds for every shiny tool, so let us help you optimize and maximize the right toolset for your unique environment. MicroAge has the security resources trained to assist you in making the right decision to protect your organization.

Let’s be honest. At some point in time, every organization will have an incident; there is no getting around it. The best thing you can do for your users and your organization is to have the tools and the team in place to catch and stop an attack when that does happen.

Ensure Your Protection Today

Let’s talk

Contact us today at (800) 544-8877 to find out more about our MDR services.

“Chris Reid has over a decade of experience working with and for Information Security service providers. He has worked with businesses of all sizes and verticals, architecting security programs for all of them. He is a dedicated strategic advisor to his clients and takes pride in knowing they are seeing value in not only the services he recommends but also the products he supports.”

Chris ReidCybersecurity Strategist

The post Microsoft Security Incident by Chinese Threat Actor Storm 0558: What You Need to Know appeared first on MicroAge.

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