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Most corporate networks are structured the same way: highly reinforced perimeter, and highly vulnerable interior

“In the zero-trust model, every network and every user are considered hostile,” said Bryley engineer Myk Dinis. Windows 11 offers new ways of achieving zero trust, but Myk said, “baked into Windows is an easy-to-see instance of zero-trust. You have three default network security levels: private, work and public. Depending on which of those network types that you declare you’re in, right down the line it strengthens the firewall. So in a private network your firewall is going to be the least restrictive; it will allow the most access both ways. Work allows a little less access. And with public nothing’s allowed; everything has to be proven with certificates; public is built according to a zero-trust networking model …” [5 min. read]

Yes, Compliance Is Like Eating All Your Vegetables

Compliance is something someone else makes you do, AKA yuck.

Compliance is laws, regulations, contracts and insurance policy terms. And failure to adhere leads to penalties, lawsuits, investigations and the chance insurance won’t cover your claims. Yuck.

But Compliance Is Meant to Keep You from Being Easy Pickings to a Hacker

Think about it from the other point of view. By making nice with compliance (like eating your kale) you can avoid fines and penalties, improve operational safety, cut your risk of cyber-attack, improve public relations, prevent attrition of clients who will more and more need their suppliers to be compliant and, if needed, make sure liability insurance claims are paid. So really compliance is one of those business rarities that can demonstrate a measurable return-on-investment … [5 min. read]

The Same Verizon Study Showed Fifty-Nine Percent of Businesses Have Sacrificed Security for Employees’ Flexibility – Going Mobile Has Increased Our Exposure

It used to be our precious assets were protected behind layers of security: Cash was in a steel safe, customer lists and bank records were in a locked filing cabinet and HR records were behind a locked HR office door.

Of course electronics revolutionized the workplace. Employees then used computers to navigate a digital file system which contained the business’ confidential info. The sensitive documents that were once tangible were now within the network for users to access. The data was protected by passwords and limited permissions. These were useful means when computing devices were stationary and did not leave the physical office. Yes, employees used to report to the office for work and only there and then be granted access to confidential information. It was rare for the data that companies prized to ever leave the premises.

And of course this is no longer true. Because of their convenience, mobile computing devices are part of most working environments … [7 min. read]

Since 1987 when Bryley was incorporated, the world looks different: we now have immersive virtual reality, AI that converses with us and cell phones that have more computing power than 1980s mainframes.

Looking back on thirty-five years, who can deny that the ubiquity of the internet has been the big game-changer for us all? How can we estimate the value of our new-found ability to time-travel – to instantly be in each other’s presence – even across the globe? And imagine the pandemic without that connectivity?

Bryley’s past trajectory might be summed up by noting its shift … [9 min. read]

Bryley Systems has for the eighth time been ranked among the top in its industry in a worldwide evaluation. 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

The jaw-dropper from the recently released annual Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report is the thirteen percent rise in the incidence of ransomware. This represents a single-year increase equal to the rates of the past five years combined … [4 min. read]

If Windows’ journey has been toward ease-of-use uniformity across people’s devices, Microsoft’s business suite offerings continue to require some thoughtful investigation. In 2020 Microsoft announced ending the Office 365 name for small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs [Microsoft defines these as businesses with 300 or fewer employees]) in order to try to lessen confusion by taking the focus off the product name and putting it on the service it provides. It was a welcome intention. Only thing is many of the offerings contain the same products – and the differentiators are not easy to summarize in a name. So we offer this guide … [4 min. read]

Maintaining your business operations without disruptions is Bryley’s reason-to-be. That’s why Bryley recommends that managers not be swayed by inducements to free upgrades and any pressure to use the latest tech. Because while this period of a free OS may be appealing, Windows 11’s main reason-to-be, in the words of Microsoft CEO Sataya Nadella, is as a single,”open platform” that behaves consistently, no matter the device. It integrates styling and an interface-approach from the iPhone and Android.

But that means things are different and moved around and not necessarily in the interest of productivity … [4 min. read]

“Eliminates dangerous, repetitive, boring tasks” -Elon Musk on his new robot

The purpose of technology is to meet people’s needs.

I received a degree in English from the University of Connecticut. I wanted to be a journalist, so I pursued a master’s degree and during that time I got a job in a library. The problem was, even as I was in that world of books and newspapers, I was watching that world completely change … [5 min. read]