Q-Works

Annual Security Awareness Training

Security Awareness TrainingWe just completed our annual Security Awareness Training here at Quanexus. This is an important reminder for all our employees of the security standards we maintain to keep our data, and in turn, our clients’ data safe. Even though we work in this industry every day, we follow our layered security approach and conduct an annual training. Below are some high level points to think about in IT Security this year. As always, users can be your biggest asset or your biggest liability when keeping data safe.

  1. Hacking: In the small to medium sized business sector, hackers are not seeking out companies to attack. Instead, they have automated tools scanning the web looking for vulnerabilities. When a vulnerability is found by one of these tools, the hacker is notified and gets to work on stealing data. Our job is to put tools in place to not be the low hanging fruit for these hackers.
  1. Connectivity: We are experiencing many aspects of our life connected to the internet in some way. Computers in cars, wireless power meters, and in home virtual assistants like Amazon Alexa or Google Home. These tools are making it easier to access information, but they are also creating new vulnerabilities that we haven’t had to deal with before. We need to continue to be aware of the risks this new technology presents to keep our data safe.
  1. Passwords: Password management has never been more important. Passwords should be 25 characters long and contain at least one letter, one number, and one symbol. The words used in passwords should not be in the dictionary. Users should not re-use passwords for other platforms. We know password management is a pain and, in some cases, can reduce productivity in companies. There are password management tools we can advise you on to help.
  1. Phishing: This year we saw some high profile data breaches that originated from Phishing. We also saw the rise of Spear Phishing, the act of targeting a single user instead of blanketed email attacks. As always, we remind users not to click on links in emails. Instead go to the source of the email by typing the site into your web browser, call the person on the phone, or talk to them in person if they work in your office. Issues to look for in a Phishing email are bad grammar, a call to action that plays on your emotions, and the senders email address. If it is coming from a free email address, or something that looks suspect, it’s probably a Phishing email.

Security Awareness Training is one of the layers in our Q-Stack. Quanexus uses a layered security approach to protect our clients’ data. We abide by our own system and conduct training annually as we advise our clients to do. Contact us today if you have questions on how you can implement our layered security approach.

Quanexus IT Services for Dayton and Cincinnati

Request your free network assessment today. There is no hassle, or obligation.

If you would like more information, contact us here or call 937.885.7272.

Follow us on FacebookTwitter and LinkedIn and stay up to date on by subscribing to our email list.

Posted by Charles Wright in Cybersecurity, Information Security, Recent Posts, Small Business, Virtualization

Capital One Data Breach from My Perspective

Capital One was breached and had 106 million applicants’ information stolen. This breach is one of the largest data breaches to occur. In comparison, the Equifax breach affected 150 million people. Capital One’s breach included 100 million US and 6 million Canadian applicants. These numbers are significant because with the US population estimated at being 330 million people, including minors, this means the breach affects an incredible percentage of US adults.

How did this happen? Capital One has embraced a cloud strategy and uses Amazon’s cloud services. Paige A. Thompson, a 33-year-old, hacked through Capital One’s firewall and was able to steal the applicant data. The stolen data includes applicant information from 2005 to early 2019. The data elements included in the breach include: addresses, dates of birth, self-reported income, social security numbers, bank account numbers, email addresses and more. Fortunately, only 140,000 social security numbers and 80,000 bank account numbers were stolen. This is a very small percentage of the overall breach. Additionally, no credit card numbers or user passwords were stolen. The criminal complaint against Ms. Thompson is, she intended to sell the data on-line. Capital One has stated that it is unlikely the stolen information was disseminated or used for fraud.

What you need to know and do: Because no passwords were stolen, there is no immediate threat of fraudulent bank or credit card transactions. If data was successfully sold on the Dark Web, you can expect an increase in social engineering attacks targeted to individuals and businesses. These attacks will be in the form of SPAM emails, telephone calls, etc. Everyone needs to understand how crafty these criminals are in creating messages that look legitimate.

WARNING: Criminals always take advantage of a crisis. If you receive an email from Capital One advising that you were affected by the breach, it could be a SPAM email. Always verify the link in any email before you click (“Think Before you Click-It”). Even better, don’t click on any links in emails. It is a better practice to go directly to the company’s web site by typing in the URL in a new browser.

Remember: It typically takes more than one thing to go wrong for a company to suffer an IT security incident. For more information on protecting or managing your network, contact Quanexus at www.quanexus.com or call 937-885-7272.

Request your free network assessment today. There is no hassle, or obligation.

Follow us on FacebookTwitter and LinkedIn and stay up to date on by subscribing to our email list.

Posted by Jack Gerbs in Cybersecurity, Information Security

Managed Service Provider (MSP) in Dayton

IT Services for Dayton and Cincinnati

MSP stands for Managed Services Provider. What are the benefits of having an MSP?

  1. Predictable IT support costs
  2. Improved network security
  3. Less downtime, leading to more productivity
  4. Ongoing monitoring of you networks and systems
  5. Up to date and protected technology
  6. Access to highly trained IT professionals
  7. 24/7 support
  8. Peace of mind

A managed service provider is a company that provides IT services from servers, networks and specialized applications to companies and organization.

Rather than relying on a break/fix or on-demand method of restoring IT functions, managed service providers offer ongoing monitoring of a company’s networks and systems. Some examples of what an MSP may manage are data backup and recovery, network monitoring, managed firewalls, voice IP, and virtual private networks (VPN).

For many companies, entering into an MSP agreement with an IT company creates predictable IT support costs, and is an efficient way for companies to stay up to date on technology, as well as have access to highly trained IT professionals.

Quanexus offers our own MSP program – Q-Works. Q-Works is a complete managed services package, which means you will see increased performance, security and reliability immediately and at an affordable price.

Related: Managed IT Services in Dayton

Outsourcing your organization’s IT needs gives you the technical expertise you need so you can focus on your business.

Your business success depends on your IT infrastructure and the information and data it houses. A managed service provider, such as Quanexus will not only keep your network up and running, but also running effectively and efficiently.

If you would like more information about our MSP program, or to see if it is right for you, contact us here or call

937.885.7272.

Related: Choose a Company With Over 25 Years of Experience

Follow us on FacebookTwitter and LinkedIn and stay up to date on by subscribing to our email list.

Posted by Jack Gerbs in Recent Posts

Managed IT Services in Dayton

MSP stands for Managed Services Provider. What are the benefits of having an MSP?

  1. Predictable IT support costs
  2. Improved network security
  3. Less downtime, leading to more productivity
  4. Ongoing monitoring of you networks and systems
  5. Up to date and protected technology
  6. Access to highly trained IT professionals
  7. 24/7 support
  8. Peace of mind

A managed service provider is a company that provides IT services from servers, networks and specialized applications to companies and organization.

Rather than relying on a break/fix or on-demand method of restoring IT functions, managed service providers offer ongoing monitoring of a company’s networks and systems. Some examples of what an MSP may manage are data backup and recovery, network monitoring, managed firewalls, voice IP, and virtual private networks (VPN).

For many companies, entering into an MSP agreement with an IT company creates predictable IT support costs, and is an efficient way for companies to stay up to date on technology, as well as have access to highly trained IT professionals.

Quanexus offers our own MSP program – Q-Works. Q-Works is a complete managed services package, which means you will see increased performance, security and reliability immediately and at an affordable price.

Related: Managed IT Services in Dayton

Outsourcing your organization’s IT needs gives you the technical expertise you need so you can focus on your business.

Your business success depends on your IT infrastructure and the information and data it houses. A managed service provider, such as Quanexus will not only keep your network up and running, but also running effectively and efficiently.

If you would like more information about our MSP program, or to see if it is right for you, contact us here or call 937.885.7272

Quanexus IT Services for Dayton and Cincinnati

Request your free network assessment today. There is no hassle, or obligation.

If you would like more information, contact us here or call 937.885.7272.

Follow us on FacebookTwitter and LinkedIn and stay up to date on by subscribing to our email list.

Posted by Jack Gerbs in Recent Posts, Small Business