The Colony of Ants and the Swarm of Grasshoppers

Ever See an Ant Back Up?

And Now for Something Completely Different

In the light of summer in a forest, a colony of ants was busy. It was known as The Colony of Methodical Memory. And the colony worked hard. The ants built clever storerooms within the earth. And they meticulously copied their knowledge and wisdom onto many gathered leaves and placed these in the secure storerooms.

There was at the same time in the same wood a swarm of grasshoppers, known as The Swarm of ‘Hi There’. While the ant colony worked, the grasshoppers swayed on leaves in the sun … [5 min. read]

Sedum ground cover

Look Past the Weeds

Don’t Get Lost In The Vulnerabilities

The lockdowns found me in my garden more. One of the things I learned those couple years was that I started out intently focused on the annoyance of weeds – pulling them, pouring boiling water on them when they popped up in the cracks of my driveway, generally trying to kill them. But at some point my focus shifted and I began to see the whole yard – I especially noticed where different plants thrived or failed to. I moved things around. Happy, healthy plants – including working on achieving thicker ground covers (like that sedum pictured) – look beautiful while making the conditions less hospitable to weeds.

Vulnerabilities, which includes unpatched software and misconfigured systems, can be thought of like weeds … [6 min. read]

Volume knob for trust

Question Everything

A set of policies … would have identified, I believe, a pattern of activity here …

–Navy CTO Don Yeske

The US military is in the process of moving to a Zero Trust networking framework. But before they began that process in November, a Cape Cod-stationed National Guardsman leaked 350 classified documents over the course of between six and fourteen months before his detection and arrest. And Zero Trust – that enforces stringent policies or rules over permitted network activities – might have stopped the rogue airman sooner (he was serving as an IT admin without need to access those military secrets).

This type of breach is called an insider attack. Insider breaches make up 20% of all breaches. Zero Trust is useful to handle these and many of the other attacks that begin outside an organization’s network … [5 min. read]

Keys fallen in snow

Are we there yet?

There is no doubt that over time, people are going to rely less and less on passwords

–Bill Gates, 2004

A 2023 study found that 64% of people surveyed are not confident they are managing their passwords well. Most discouraging in the new survey was the report that of those born after 1990 only 20% use unique and strong passwords. These stats bring also a feeling of futility: ‘so many data exposures – what does it matter?’ ‘there is no privacy anymore – whatever.’

I don’t share the opinion that we should throw in the towel, though who can’t sympathize with the sentiment? But Bryley sees time and again that, in fact, compromised passwords matter to an organization’s security. As an example of the severity of the problem, Google Cloud reported in October that 54% of breaches “are resulting from common and well-known threat actor attack techniques, such as obtaining and using stolen credentials …” [4 min. read]

Shock Machine

How an Email Compromise Attack Begins

Faced with the right con, we’re all vulnerable

–Tim Harford

On his Cautionary Tales podcast, Tim Harford told the story of an ex-con who put on an army captain’s uniform and an air of authority and proceeded to demand to inspect a military financial account and confiscate (that is, steal) the $250,000 it contained.

If your employee gets an email from an executive at your organization requesting urgent action, how does the employee respond? … [4 min. read]

driving down the road

A Review of 2023

Here are some notable events and stories from 2023:

A Guiding Principle

Bryley is a client of Bryley, President Garin Livingstone said in a 2023 interview. We have people at Bryley that need technical help. We also need to make sure that our computer systems are being maintained and updated. Among the benefits of adhering to this model?

  • Updates and patching are as minimally disruptive as we can get them.
  • New technologies are fully vetted before the tech is deployed

This principle of being one’s own client has been a standard that Bryley has observed over the course of its thirty-six years … [6 min. read]

Is the End of Windows 10 a Real Worry?

In the past year-and-a-half Microsoft has made Windows 11 more stable and usable. And most critically, Windows 10 support – that is, providing security patches – is ending. So this means in October 2025, it will become unsafe to use devices running Windows 10.

Now is the ideal time to create a plan for migration, including performing an audit of devices: some will be able to be upgraded and some will need to be sunsetted. Also Windows 11’s compatibility with legacy software and hardware must also be assessed and addressed … [4 min. read]

There’s Power in Least Privilege

Evolution of Evil

Ransomware is a somewhat straightforward criminal action – data is illicitly encrypted and you may be able to restore systems from a backup or pay the crooks to hopefully get a decryption key from them.

Things have veered in a different direction now (see Allianz Commercial insurer’s report). Today a lot of ransomware attacks are cyber-extortion attacks. In these attacks the criminals capture your data and encrypt it, but they also exfiltrate your data to their servers. And the threat is often, ‘unless you pay, we will release your data on the web’ … [5 min. read]

it-service-provider

Choosing the Right IT Services Provider: A Comprehensive Guide

When it comes to managing IT services, choosing the right provider can make or break a company’s success. With so many options available, it can be overwhelming to decide which provider is the best fit for your business. However, taking the time to identify your company’s IT needs and carefully evaluating potential service providers can ensure a successful partnership.

Identifying Your IT Needs is the first step in choosing the right IT services provider. It’s important to assess your current IT infrastructure and identify areas that need improvement or support. This includes evaluating hardware, software, security, and support needs. Once you have a clear understanding of your needs, you can begin researching potential service providers that offer the services and support that align with your business goals.

Facebook shopping cart

When the Going Gets Tough

New data from the Federal Trade Commission shows that scams originating on social media have accounted for $2.7 billion in reported losses since 2021, more than any other contact method …

Reports during the first half of [2023] show that the most frequently reported scams on social media are related to online shopping, with 44 percent of reports pointing to fraud related to buying or selling products online. [source: FTC]

Social media shopping has grown huge: 67% of shoppers in 2022 purchased through social media channels and this course we’re on shows no signs of changing. And while it’s easy to see why people do it (among the reasons: more time spent on social media than with traditional media, the simulated, relaxed feeling of a community and the ease-of-purchase), it doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t see if what we’re doing is in our best interests. Or at least ask, ‘can we do it better?’ … [4 min. read]

Patrick

Patrick Walsh Promoted to Senior IT Field Technician

Bryley Systems is pleased to announce the promotion of Patrick Walsh from IT Field Technician to Senior IT Field Technician. In his new role, Patrick will be responsible for leading a team of techs in support of its clients’ IT environments.

Patrick has a history of success at Bryley: supporting clients – early in his time at Bryley he migrated many client devices to M365, solving tech problems and winning plaudits from those he’s worked with. During his time at Bryley he’s embraced the field tech role, showing not only technical expertise, but also peer-recognized troubleshooting skills with a determination to see that people are properly helped … [3 min. read]

Managed IT Services in Clinton, MA: Streamline Your Business Operations

Managed IT services have become increasingly popular in Clinton, MA, as businesses look to outsource their IT needs to experts who can provide comprehensive support and maintenance. These services offer businesses a range of benefits, including reduced downtime, increased security, and improved efficiency. By partnering with a managed IT services provider, businesses can focus on […]

Mike Carlson

Remembering Mike Carlson

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Mike Carlson, Bryley Systems’ Chief Technology Officer.

Mike joined Bryley Systems in 1997 and, due to his brilliance, dedication, extensive knowledge in both local and wide-area network design and implementation, and love for technology became the Bryley CTO in 2007 … [4 min. read]

3-legged table

As if what you do matters

United We Stand

Organizations look to IT professionals for tools and services to protect them from cyberthreats. But IT can only get them so far. Two-thirds of the way, in fact, according to the CIA (Confidentiality, Integrity, Availability) Triad. The National Institute of Standards and Technology calls the CIA Triad “the fundamental guiding principle of cybersecurity.”

End-User Responsibility

According to Gartner 69% of end-users violated their organizations’ cybersecurity practices the past year. So how do we counter this trend? Eric Sokolowski president of Bryley education partner Knowledgewave advocates a “drip-drip” method of Security Awareness Training … [4 min. read]

MSP 501 2023

Bryley Systems’ 9th MSP 501 Award

MSP 501 is an IT industry signifier that recognizes the MSP (managed service provider) industry’s highest operational efficiency and business models. The MSP 501 award is based on a sixty-point audit to verify the fitness and stability from which independent IT providers can serve their clients with dependable IT.

With its detailed questionnaire (over sixty areas of scrutiny) and the requirement to have financial results certified to the auditors, the MSP 501 award helps benchmark which MSPs are fit to earn their clients’ trust … [3 min. read]