Viruses as we once knew them have evolved significantly over the last decade. Initially they were written by programmers to boost their ego as they watched their creation spread across the globe.

In a recent article we took a look at Scareware, an example of Scareware is the Antivirus 2010 program that bullies you into purchasing their fake antivirus programs just so it will stop popping up on your screen.

Recently in Ireland, RTE news reported that cybercriminals are now targeting Irish business with Ransomware and that reported cases were under investigation by the Gardai.

What is Ransomware ?
Ransomware is a where cyber criminals remotely connect to your network and install encryption software on your Server or PC without your knowledge.


What is the potential impact to your organisation?
When you try to access your files a Ransom note appears on your screen demanding payment for the unlock code. In most cases the encryption software cannot be unlocked without payment.  Ransomware could leave your business completely disabled if you could not access your accounting or payroll software for example.

Antivirus software does not guarantee that you will be virus free but in the case of Ransomware criminals often connect to your network by either bypassing your firewall and physically login to your system. (A separate Trojan key logger could be recording your passwords and sending those to the criminals without your knowledge).

Criminals often begin their attack months in advance by deselecting the critical data from your backup jobs. When you eventually see the Ransom message you then realize you don’t have a backup.

Organisation size does not matter

Smaller organisations tend to have a “why would they want to hack us” type attitude and often forget to realise that their company data is an extremely valuable asset and needs to be protected.
Organisations, no matter how big or small that have an internet connection should have a suitable firewall in place that is properly configured and installed. Furthermore critical hardware should be proactively monitored (system health, backups, antivirus etc) with alerting to help reduce the risk to your business from attacks and unplanned outages.

Blackberry recently announced the free release of their Blackberry Enterprise Server (BES) software for SME’s.  The software is now available on the Blackberry website for free.

Blackberry enterprise server allows SME’s to synchronise their blackberry’s with Microsoft Exchange when out of the office.

Once installed and configured it allows you to not only receive emails but also provides full calendar, tasks and contacts synchronization in real time.

Please contact us for more information. Our experienced engineers will help you setup and configure Blackberry Enterprise Server to interface with your exchange server.

Understanding the importance of a Service Level Agreement (SLA)

Any organisation should have a formal support agreement in place with their IT service provider(s). However, many organisations don’t have a formal agreement in place and often those that do don’t always take the time to read and understand it. Any support or service agreement should clearly state what included (and excluded) in the service provided.

Key aspect of any support agreement
The most important aspect of the support agreement is the SLA or Service Level Agreement. This is a common understanding of the service provided including response times, guarantees and warranties associated with the support of your IT systems.



Multiple SLA’s depending on the importance of the system or service.
For example critical IT hardware could have a 0 – 4 hour response time, along with the engineering time to resolve the issue, time to liaise with the hardware manufacturer to avail of warranty spares etc. Critical hardware devices include servers, network switches, firewalls, phone systems and can be thought of as systems that impact the entire organisation in the event of failure.
Non critical hardware such as laptops, PC’s and Printers might have a next business day response time as failure would not impact the entire organisation. 

Important consideration often overlooked
Your organisation should not have a dependency on non critical hardware that would impact the entire organisation in the event of failure. (For example if you depend on a single PC to produce labels for products on a production line, you should have a second PC with the same configuration on standby)

SLA’s for all key service providers
SLA’s don’t just apply to your IT service provider they also apply to your telecoms provider, for example if you have business phone lines and broadband services your telecoms provider will provide you with an standard SLA in the event of an outage.
Eircom now offer business customers an opportunity to upgrade their standard SLA on business phone lines for an additional monthly charge. (However it does not appear to guarantee a repair to the broadband service running on the phone line)

http://business.eircom.net/SME/products/voice/9389838/13271924
http://business.eircom.net/SME/products/voice/BLR/BusLineRepairFAQs/

In summary a formal SLA should be in place for each aspect of the services you receive from your service providers. While it does not always guarantee a resolution time at least it gives you an element of management and control over the systems and services that are critical to your business.

Why you should consider advanced proactive monitoring from Globalnet.

We have all heard the old saying “if it’s not broken don’t fix it” but there are times when that may not be the best advice if you know something is about to go wrong.

Advanced proactive monitoring from Globalnet can often identify potential issues before they actually occur such as preemptive disk failure on a critical server.

Monitor internet connectivity, websites and network hardware that provide critical services and information within your orgnaisation and your customers.

Automatic Alerting

Our monitoring platform can automatically alert support engineers who can often resolve the reported issue before it manifests itself into something worse.

This proactive approach to monitoring and managing your critical IT systems and services helps minimize the impact caused by unplanned outages.

Proactive monitoring is not just about hardware monitoring, it is also possible to monitor key application and services running on servers including data backups, antivirus and security updates. Internet relation services such as websites, FTP, and https services can also be monitored in real time.

Dedicated Dashboard Reporting

Our 24 x 7 online dashboards enable you to securely check your systems (no technical knowledge required) in real time or you can also receive a summary report via email each day or week.

Contact Globalnet to discuss your monitoring requirement and minimise the risk of unplanned outages to your organisation.

Microsoft announce that they will provide a free upgrade to Office 2010 once it becomes available.

Many organizations have delayed the upgrade from MS Office 2003 to Office 2007 due to the fact that Microsoft are about to release MS Office 2010 later this year.


Free upgrade from Office 2007 to Office 2010

Microsoft recently announced that they will provide customers with a free upgrade on selected versions of Office 2007 subject to registrations and activation between the 5th March 2010 and 30th September 2010.


When the software becomes available you will receive a reminder from Microsoft with steps to avail of the upgrade before October 31st 2010.

Contact Globalnet Solutions for more information on upgrading to Office 2007 / Office 2010 now.

Are you concerned about the unauthorised disclosure of data and sensitive company information due to the theft of company laptops?

Cryptzone Secured edisk protect

Globalnet Solutions can implement Cryptzone Secured edisk protect for your organization which offers full hard drive encryption for laptops, workstations and servers providing protection against unauthorized disclosure of data and sensitive information for a relatively low cost.

Laptop theft could have a detrimental effect on your organisation.

Today, common threats include the misplacement of mobile devices, theft of PCs, laptops, and servers, as well as data theft when systems are discarded.

Contact Globalnet  to learn more. Our experts will help you understand your requirements and implement an encryption solution for your organisation.