136 castles

2,742,354,049

That’s $2,742,354,049 lost to Business Email Compromise in the US in 2022

That number is eight times the population of the United States. If you stacked that number of dollar bills like a giant deck of cards and laid them horizontally, it would take you more than a day to drive that distance.

Unless you’re aware of the continually evolving cyber-threats, how can you make the most informed decisions about how to protect your organization?

As Bryley partner Barracuda describes them, Business Email Compromise (BEC) attacks are audacious. The over 2.7-billion-dollar losses suffered via BEC far outstrip the money lost to ransomware – in 2022 there were $34 million dollars in reported ransomware payouts. And to pull off a BEC attack takes a lot more know-how and investment than ransomware does – Ransomware-as-a-Service can be found cheap – it’s like subscribing to a cloud service – on the dark web. BEC actors are stealthy, manipulative and tend to go big, to make it much harder for employees to suspect them … [5 min. read]

Working on a ski lift

Making Hybrid Work

When workers are remote they pose a greater risk to your organization’s data because home networks are less secure and employees do not as closely follow security protocols, per Ponemon Institute’s Data Exposure Report

In a hybrid work environment, where employees work from wherever, it’s critical to prioritize security. And communicating security’s importance to your employees – and their adoption of good practices – is crucial. It was a lot easier to have everyone in the office connected directly to a server without relying on the convenience of the internet – but with hybrid privilege comes hybrid responsibility. … [4 min. read]

Dollar bill illusion

What Bryley’s Learned About Minimizing Ransomware

“Turn on syncing?” the browser asked.

“Syncing” tells the browser to allow stored credentials to be available across a person’s devices. And, why not? Sounds convenient.

Well, maybe the browser account password was phished. Or maybe the browser password had been reused from some other, previously compromised account. Whatever the exact reason, syncing turned out to be a problem when the personal browser account got hacked.

And the real problem was that a work login was found by the criminals among the passwords stored by the browser – and these work credentials were used to steal company data and lock the company systems with ransomware.

It’s easy to say the person shouldn’t have had a work login in a personal account. True enough, but what’s the reason someone would be doing that anyway? What things could the business management have done to have prevented this scenario from unfolding? [6 min. read]

Tiger

What Is Bryley Security Operations Center?

As supply chains’ compliance tightens, as cyber-insurance coverage qualifications grow, as industry and governmental bodies increase their criteria for data privacy, consider Bryley’s SOC offering: Because Bryley SOC can monitor a business’ cybersecurity 24/7/365, threats can be identified and responded to quickly, sometimes before any harm is done. So Bryley SOC can satisfy many compliance concerns … [4 min. read]

Courtney

A Few Minutes with Courtney Leonard of Client Services / Marketing

I’m sure you remember that school was difficult and trying for the classes of 2020 and 2021. Early-on courses moved online. Then restrictions were changed multiple times. Commencements were put off. Courtney had been studying Business Administration and Interior Design at Bay Path University. So in that unprecedented time Courtney Leonard decided to step out into the professional world. Courtney began this phase of her life as a print production lead for Staples where she quickly became a supervisor.

The past year Courtney has been in Client Services at Bryley where she was recently promoted to a combined role as Client Experience Specialist and Marketing Coordinator … [4 min. read]

Ocean

How Do You Turn an Ocean Liner?

Years ago a consultant told me that to shift a business’ paradigm was like trying to turn an ocean liner. Seems about right.

Bryley was started in 1987. Over that time we’ve had to continually think and rethink what’s working and what’s no longer serving our clients. And from the process of assessing and reassessing we’ve evolved. For example we went from designing and installing networks to being companies’ outsourced IT departments – the skills and tasks involved to successfully fulfill each of these roles is different. So we’ve adjusted staff and shifted our expertise. This kind of change is never easy.

That’s why when you’re considering Bryley as your IT provider, we make it a point to look out for the obstacles you’ll be facing in making the shift from how you’re currently doing things … [6 min. read]

Police Box

How About That HQ

Are you familiar with TARDIS, Dr Who’s time-travel machine? It looks unassuming, but inside … I was interviewing Client Experience Specialist / Marketing Coordinator Courtney Leonard and she told me about her education in interior design. Even though she admits her knowledge is limited, she retains a lot of enthusiasm for the field, so I had to ask her about the Bryley building. Here’s what Courtney had to say about this … [3 min. read]

Kristin Pryor

Kristin Pryor Named VP of IT Operations

Kristin Pryor was recently named Vice President of IT Operations. Kristin joined Bryley Systems in 2019 as Director of Technical Services. An early sign of her executive aptitude was watching that “whenever there was any kind of a break from dealing with the day-to-day demands of an IT department, Kristin would move into strategic mode,” President Garin Livingstone said.

“Kristin’s not afraid of taking on anything,” Anna said. “And she loves tech. She loves what she’s doing. And this comes through. She always makes herself available. She looks at things and asks, ‘how can we make this better?’ And also she points out when something is working well at one client and asks, ‘can we do the same thing for other clients, too?’ …” [4 min. read]

Delta animation

6 Questions for a Successful Technology Change

It’s an achievement to bring in a new technology solution that will help your employees do their jobs better or that will keep your business more secure.

It’s an achievement also because many companies look the other way when the time comes to review and update processes, legacy applications and machines. Are they trying to delay the inevitable?

But if you have decided to review and upgrade your tech processes, there are some things you should bear in mind to make the change as easy as possible … [6 min. read]

Tom and Roy at the Expo

From the Expo

We had a great time meeting new and seeing old friends at the Corridor 9/495 Expo April 4. Representing Bryley at the expo were Tom Barnes and Roy Pacitto, Gavin and Cathy Livingstone.

Bryley debuted its Four-Point IT Systems Quality Check at the expo … [2 min. read]

Four-Point IT Systems Quality

Four-Point IT Systems Quality Check

Whatever your cybersecurity paradigm, it’s valuable to have your networked systems checked regularly – you want to make sure what you’re doing is in fact keeping your network protected. An outside audit can bring a new perspective and reveal weaknesses in your system that those who work in it every day may miss. And so Bryley is unveiling its Four-Point IT Systems Quality Check at the Business Expo April … [2 min. read]

Corridor 9/495 Expo

Can you come by?

Bryley’s getting ready for the 2023 Corridor 9/495 Business Expo. Please join Roy and Tom April 4th 4 PM-7 PM at the DoubleTree Hotel, 5400 Computer Dr, Westborough. Registration is free … [1 min. read]

Shawn Shaw has a vision for the future

Profile: Camelot Energy Group

You don’t name your company Camelot and its employees the Round Table without a seasoning of hopefulness. Camelot Energy’s CEO Shawn Shaw confesses to seeing a reason for hope in the marriage of economic opportunity and the fair distribution of non-fossil-fuel-derived energy.

However right now there is an imbalance in how non-carbon-based energy is apportioned: for one example, the average household installing rooftop solar in 2021 had a median income ranging from 131% to 168% of the median income of its county … [6 min. read]

Your own personal world backup day

Your Own Personal World Backup Day

Not hobbled by a natural emergency, an employee error or cyberattack – or at least not disrupted for long, that’s what Bryley means by your business’ continuity.

To achieve business continuity, Bryley advocates a layered approach to networking. But backup remains the heart, the most essential part, of business continuity.

Bryley is regularly recognized by its clients for its calmness in difficult circumstances. But it’s no great mystery what’s partly at the back of us bringing that attitude: we know that we have multiple tested, monitored ways of recovering data. So how about you? [6 min. read]

Patrick

A Few Minutes with Patrick, Field Technician

“I like troubleshooting computers. I like fixing issues. I’ve been tinkering with computers my whole life basically. I grew up with Windows 98 and early Macs. I’ve been doing it so long, working on computers seems to come naturally to me …” [5 min. read]

Garin screenshot

Cybersecurity for New England Organizations

Because of its relative wealth, our New England region is hard-hit by cyberattacks1.

In this Feb. 2, 2023-recorded webinar Bryley VP Roy Pacitto brings examples Bryley’s encountered of Business Email Compromise (this is when names and addresses you trust are spoofed to get you to divulge information, sometimes, as Roy demonstrates, into transferring funds).

Bryley President Garin Livingstone shows steps you can take to protect your business from the rise in ransomware incidents … [one-hour, previously-recorded, Zoom seminar]

Stadium

Achieve Security and Productivity with Single Sign-On

Imagine owning a football stadium and you’re hosting a bowl game. You’ve sold out all the tickets online. Your stadium is the kind with entrances all around the building. And today is game day – great! But in this imagining you forgot to hire any ticket-takers or security people – not great! So the people start showing up and begin pushing in from all directions. And now the mob is a mob, forcing its way to the stands and field.

Why do people line up to show their tickets to ticket-takers and put their phones in a bucket to pass security personnel? It’s not just to keep out those who don’t have a ticket … [7 min. read]

Clinton Chamber

Clinton Chamber Hosts Bryley Cybersecurity Seminar

Thursday, February 2, 4:00 – 5:00 PM Bryley President Garin Livingstone will present along with VP Roy Pacitto via Zoom on cybersecurity best practices – several of these practices you can use right away.

Because of its relative wealth, our New England region is hard-hit by cyberattacks.

Roy will present – including bringing examples Bryley’s encountered – on Business Email Compromise (when addresses you trust are spoofed to get you to divulge information).

Garin will present steps you can take to protect your business from the rise in ransomware incidents … [2 min. read]

Carlos

A Few Minutes with Carlos, Field Technician

“Whatever I can do to make a person’s job easier,” was Carlos’ sincere response when I thanked him for moving closer to the mic during this interview. Carlos’ attitude of respect comes through often.

Carlos told me that since he was very young he felt grateful for the opportunities he was given. He felt grateful for America. He said he had wanted to give back by serving in the military, but he had a child at seventeen and so those early thoughts about the way he was going to give back had to change … [5 min. read]