You most likely have come across the term ‘security patch’ in your computer or other electronic devices that get software updates pushed to them as they become available.
At first glance, that word may not sound like a big deal, and often users will click the button to do the update later. However, telling the device or software to update later is all it takes for a hacker to gain access to that device as well as the network it is on. (more…)
Imagine for a moment that you’re building a new house. Once construction is complete, you notice that your sink leaks. You walk into your attic and realize there’s no insulation. Your basement is humid and mold is growing because proper dryer ventilation has failed. As you continue through the house, more problems and failure points are discovered.
Your house has failed its ‘stress test’. While we know this is a bit of an extreme example, the same thing could be happening to your network.
And while it won’t help to keep you warm at night, making sure that your entire cybersecurity platform is robust and thoroughly checked for vulnerabilities is crucial for both peace of mind and the safety of your data. The 2021 Verizon DBIR report shows that, in 2020, 73% of all cyberattacks were seeking out cloud assets.
But how can we safeguard our network against these types of weak points? Simple — we need to perform a cybersecurity audit.
A cybersecurity audit is a comprehensive review and thorough analysis of an IT infrastructure. The audit process is formulated to discover imminent threats and vulnerabilities while bringing visibility to existing weak points and risky behaviors.
While different companies will ultimately have different needs regarding their overall security needs, there are a few best practices that you can use when developing your security audit.
Security Scorecard, another security rating firm, states that companies should have an information security policy that lists out all of the pertinent details about how, when, and why a company handles data the way that they do. Within that policy, there should be clear and easy-to-understand details about:
Data Confidentiality – This says who has access to your different types of data and who it can and cannot be shared with.
Integrity – This is to understand how your security protocols maintain data accuracy. Additionally, this also lays out the framework your IT team uses to keep your data online in the event of a cyberattack.
Data Availability – This is for defining what conditions need to be met before any authorized users are allowed to access your different sets of data.
During your audit, you want to paint the clearest picture possible regarding your data policies and compliance requirements. For example, if you’re auditing a hospital’s system, auditing with HIPPA compliance in mind will help to make sure your patient data is protected from all angles. Other factors to consider are:
Network Access Control – This is your visibility and control of your network. Security Scorecard recommends checking user access and segmentation.
Disaster Recovery and Continuity Plan – In the event of a cyberattack, what steps will you take to keep business operations online?
Requirements for Remote Workers – What software is your team allowed to use? What are the VPN protocols? Is their access to your company’s data full or partial and where is it located within the company?
Acceptable Use Policy – This details what data employees have access to and how they’re allowed to use it. Additionally, this is a great place to define any banned applications you don’t want on your network.
Compliance Requirements – We mentioned this twice due to its importance. HIPPA, PCI DSS, COPPA, and GDPR are amongst the most common compliance frameworks, with GDPR being primarily for Europe.
This is a great time to mention those new smart thermostats your company added last year since they’re also vulnerable to cyberattacks. You’ll want to have a thorough list of every piece of software and hardware that comes in contact with your system.
Pro Tip: It’s always best to have your IT team assist any electricians, HVAC technicians, or any other service personnel with any sort of smart equipment you may want to add to your business. This not only ensures a safer installation but is also another human-level safety measure to prevent unauthorized network access.
Your IT team is the lifeblood of your company. Without the computers running or the internet connection, a business will cease to function. At the same time, not every member of your IT team will be in charge of security due to seniority or education. Having the auditor interview your employees about current security measures will give a better understanding of the overall proficiency of your staff and identify any necessary learning opportunities.
Performing audits on your network and cybersecurity protocols is a good thing. It helps to isolate problems that may have otherwise gone unnoticed. Assuming your audit goes well, pat yourself on the back and know that your money is being well spent and that your data is safer for it. If there are some shortcomings, use those audit results to fix the issues and develop an even stronger security plan for tomorrow.
Virtualization has been a big part of enterprise computing since the mainframe days of the 60s when computing resources were time-shared by universities and large companies. Today, virtualization has largely the same function, as the demands of cloud computing require vast quantities of virtual instances to serve the needs of many people at once.
Before your company migrates to the cloud, it pays to have an understanding of the underlying architecture of cloud computing. In this article, we explore virtualization in cloud computing and how it’s used to deliver a seamless, scalable experience for businesses.
To put it simply, virtualization refers to the process of creating and running a virtual instance of a computer system in a layer separated from the actual hardware being used to run it. To do this, a computer utilizes special software that simulates hardware functionality to create a virtual system on top of the actual system. On the consumer side, this is most commonly seen when you attempt to run an OS in a virtual machine that runs on top of a host OS like Windows or Mac OS.
Virtualization can be described as creating a computer that runs within another computer. The virtual computer, or guest machine, is a fully functional computer that can accomplish the same processes your physical computer can. The processes accomplished by the guest machine are separated from the underlying processes of your host machine. You can run multiple guest machines on your host machine and each one will recognize the others as a separate computer.
With personal computers, a single user has access to the complete data and computing resources of a single machine. In contrast, cloud computing involves many users interacting with resources that may be found on a single physical server.
To serve each user’s unique needs, cloud providers employ virtualization to create environments that can fulfill each customer’s demands. As more users come in, cloud providers can spin up more virtual instances to meet demand. As people leave the system, these systems can be quickly powered down. Virtualization, therefore, is an efficient way of managing computing resources, maximizing utilization, and minimizing downtime.
Virtualization has many practical applications. Other than being able to run a different operating system on your device (which is usually called hardware virtualization), it also allows users to allocate hardware resources to other functions that maximize your hardware’s performance. Below are some examples of how virtualization is utilized in cloud computing.
Physical servers are powerful machines with multiple processors that host files and applications on a computer network. For streamlining purposes, each physical server is typically dedicated to one specific application or task. However, this can become inefficient since each server will only be using a fraction of its available processing resources.
Server virtualization deals with this problem by allowing an administrator to convert a server into multiple virtual machines. These virtual machines all utilize the server’s resources and will act as physical devices independent of one another, allowing you to allocate the server’s processing capabilities as you see fit.
Traditionally running an application uses your existing operating system and its hardware resources. Essentially, you are running the application on top of your computer. Application virtualization encapsulates the application and separates it from the underlying operating system. This gives you access to the application without installing it onto the native device.
Application virtualization allows an administrator to install the application onto a server. Anyone with access to this server can then access the application and run it as if it were installed on their respective devices. This provides users with benefits such as portability, cross-platform operation, and the ability to run multiple instances of the application.
A computer network refers to a group of digitally connected computers that can communicate with each other and share resources. Network virtualization refers to the process of combining network resources into a single software-based network. This creates a virtual network that gives you administrative control over all the hardware and software resources available on the original network.
Network visualization allows you to either combine many networks into one unit (external visualization) or to connect software containers into a network of their own (internal visualization). Any type of network visualization allows you to divide available bandwidth into separate channels that can be assigned and reassigned as needed.
Desktop virtualization allows the user to create a virtual desktop which is typically hosted in a centralized data center. The user can then remotely access this virtual desktop from anywhere through a thin client (such as a web browser), essentially creating a portable workstation.
Storage virtualization refers to the process of abstracting multiple physical storage devices and compiling them into a single storage cluster that is managed from a central device. These storage devices will then appear to the user as a single storage device.
One of the great advantages of the virtualization model, and indeed of cloud computing in general, is scalability. Migrating to the cloud allows your applications and storage to scale with your needs, and you don’t even have to lift a finger to do it.
To take full advantage of this scalability factor, you need to migrate everything that matters to the cloud, a painstaking process that’s best left to experts – like us. At Network Coverage, we have years of experience in providing cloud and IT services to enterprise customers. Contact us now for a free consultation, and we can help you virtualize your servers or fully enter the cloud.
Revamping your network for a predominantly remote workforce requires a lot of forethought — at least, more than we may have previously thought. Throughout the last few years, as the need to cater to remote workers grew exponentially, many companies are having to make quick changes to compensate for the newfound strain being placed on their data centers.
For smaller companies, the changes may be more minute — ask the ISP for more capacity, disable WIFI if no one is on-site, prepare for more video chat than most humans should possibly be doing.
Jokes aside, the changes are easy for some and more difficult for others. A humble office of 6 graphic designers may handle the transition reasonably well; an office of 500 finance employees all going remote at once? This is a tougher cookie, indeed.
To begin supporting your remote workforce, we have to think logically about what we’ll actually need to help minimize costs. That’s not to say that this is going to be cheap, but as with any business, if there’s a few pennies to be saved, we should. Likewise, we also don’t want to skimp out on anything that we may truly need for our team’s success. In fact, studies have shown that your employees are more productive at home — this is something that more and more companies are going to lean into, especially with the chaos in commercial real estate.
Gartner recommends figuring out what devices our team(s) will be using and who owns them. It’s easier to control company-owned assets than employee-owned, mainly because of the restrictions we’re able to place on our corporate-deployed machines. It also helps that specs for these machines can be chosen to adequately perform any tasks an employee may have for the position. If we need to order more devices, we need to procure them sooner rather than later to prevent costly downtime.
Next, we should check out what can be used on-premise with existing hardware and what may need to be contracted out to a third-party vendor. For example, how will employees access files that are stored on a networked drive that may not be able to handle multiple simultaneous data pulls?
A VPN to the home office’s network may be sufficient for on-premise data needs, but if we’re possibly moving to a cloud solution, a cloud security broker (CASB) may be the better choice. CASBs are also the better choice when it comes to enforcing policy since they can centralize security measures that can then be unilaterally applied to any device connecting in the cloud, regardless of device type. VPNs, on the other hand, could be a good choice for smaller employee counts, especially if the location will still have active employees on-site.
So, we’ve gotten all of our ducks in a row. We know what equipment we have and what our data center, regardless of size, can handle. The next question is: Will it work best for our needs?
The move to a remote workforce can be tedious, and realistically, it genuinely may not be feasible to invest in the on-premise-only route. Cloud computing offers greater accessibility, scales elastically, and won’t be hindered by things like inadequate cooling or faulty hard drives. It also makes it easier for IT teams since they can concentrate on other pressing needs without being bogged down by on-site server maintenance.
Cost is another huge factor and perhaps the most prohibitive. If you’re going to need to add several server racks to your business, it could cost more money than it’s worth. Enterprise-grade server equipment can quickly make your eye water with prices, especially with the current chip shortage affecting supply chains globally. As we mentioned earlier, servers can fail if they aren’t receiving adequate airflow. Thus, air conditioning and proper ventilation for your server room is another concern since server racks can produce a lot of heat. There’s also the issue of space — server racks aren’t typically small. And lastly, even if you managed to successfully build your own on-premise data center, your connection to that server is only as good as your local ISP can provide. Some businesses, especially ones in more rural areas, may not be able to accommodate an always-on setup.
In the end, deciding whether to solely bolster your on-premise servers or go full-on with cloud computing depends on your future needs. Some companies also opt for a hybrid approach, storing less critical data on-site for in-person employee access and utilizing cloud services to handle things like video meetings and disaster recovery. No matter which path you take, remember that if you need a helping hand, we’re always here for you.
If there’s one concept in the technology sector that’s often misunderstood, it’s the cloud. Once a hot and trendy new technology, cloud computing has become a daily staple in almost everyone’s life. From smartphone storage for our photos to multi-site data distribution, the power of cloud computing has never been greater or more convenient.
If you’re considering a cloud computing solution for your business, be it storage or otherwise, how do you plan on securing it? If cloud functionality is gained from assumedly secure off-premises infrastructure, is on-premises security really that big of a deal?
As more businesses transition various services to the cloud, security is of utmost importance. With the constant threat of security exploits and cyberattacks, the truth is, cloud computing is just as vulnerable as on-premises solutions without proper setup and protective measures.
However, there are many benefits to cloud security that shouldn’t be ignored.
Choosing the right cloud platform can help reduce your company’s overall administration efforts since any sort of changes made to resource allocation won’t affect the end-user experience. This is because resource pooling, no matter how distributed, is pushed seamlessly back to your company’s network. This includes changes needed for data storage, performance, and total bandwidth.
One of the most economical facets of cloud computing is the reduction in investment for dedicated pieces of hardware. Since most if not all data is stored off-site, the need for entire on-site server rooms is eliminated. Likewise, it helps to spare the burden of hardware management for your IT team. This allows them to concentrate on the software side of your business without getting bogged down by hardware maintenance and troubleshooting. Plus, because cloud computing itself has many layers of security, IT team strain is reduced as the cloud computing system is proactively defending itself without the need for human input.
While nothing is guaranteed in life, cloud computing has some inherent abilities that on-premises computing doesn’t. Assuming the proper security measures are in place, users will have access to any needed data at any time no matter their device or location.
One of the best aspects of the cloud is the ability to have all data stored in one centrally-accessible point. This not only helps make it easy for your team to access data without having to bounce from multiple locations but also makes it easy to secure.
A growing concern amongst companies is shadow IT, which means the use of unauthorized SaaS applications by users on the network. With a centralized cloud platform, IT teams are better able to manage and eliminate unapproved uses like social media apps, music streaming services, and excel macros. Additionally, web filtering and nuisance traffic detection are easier and more focused. This in turn helps to streamline security efforts which ultimately result in faster and safer network performance.
As you can see, there are quite a number of security benefits to cloud computing, not to mention the excellent quality of life features. There are, however, a number of major security risks with cloud computing that can compromise a business instantaneously without a dedicated recovery plan.
In 2019, Facebook went down for nearly 24 hours after a technical error shut down most of its apps, including Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger. They were attempting a server configuration change that resulted in a chain reaction of effects that couldn’t be remedied before it caused near-catastrophic failures. In a world where most users rely on all of these services, one misstep can mean the difference between smooth sailing and a technical monsoon.
Studies show that an astounding 90% of organizations are likely to experience a data breach when moving to cloud computing solutions. One successful malware infection can put a company’s entire dataset into the hands of cybercriminals.
In the healthcare world, any transmission of medical data must adhere to HIPPA. This ensures that all healthcare providers are taking the necessary steps to secure and protect the confidentiality of patient data. When we rely on a third party for storage, we’re taking a leap of faith in trusting that entity to maintain proper standards for data handling.
In the financial world, customer payment information is also required to adhere to PCI DSS, a set of guidelines used for processing, storing, and transmitting payment data securely. However, attackers can and will try to breach these security protocols for criminal gain.
While there are many risks to cloud computing — especially against an ever-growing threat of criminals looking to access sensitive data — the pros still outweigh the cons in most cases. In a world that’s always connected, cloud computing continues to prevail as the most efficient way to store and distribute our data. A strong IT team, a thorough data recovery plan, and a standard set of best practices can help to mitigate these risks and pass on the enormous amount of benefits to your employees.
With the continuation of a global pandemic and record numbers of fully-remote employees, the question of whether your IT infrastructure can support this new technological onslaught is of dire importance. While many companies are returning to in-person working conditions in part or in full, some are choosing to continue to remain remote pending new potential ‘lockdowns’ or due to investment and productivity gained from going remote overall.
Whatever your situation is, it’s important to make sure that your business is ready for whatever life may throw at it. Part of that preparation is utilizing existing systems where you can and investing in new ones where needed. This includes everything from servers to collaboration software.
It comes as no surprise that some companies fared better in the transition to remote work than others. A retail company would likely not survive if it had to initiate a 100% remote workforce as the very essence of brick-and-mortar business is the in-person shopping experience for customers. Still, companies like Best Buy and Target continued to focus more energy on eCommerce options like curbside pickup and home delivery. Other services, like food and grocery delivery, already had a base infrastructure set up that seamlessly intertwined the in-person shopping or order pickups. By having these systems set in place, many companies didn’t have to change much.
For some of us, though, the transition’s been more difficult. How can we get the same output from our employees? Will we continue to grow as a business with all of these limitations? What’s really needed for an employee to be successful while working remotely?
The answers to these questions, and more, have been a learning experience not only for American companies but globally as well.
If employees are going to be working from home, they need to have access to all of the critical systems that they’re used to at work. This starts with a secure computer system.
Many companies needed to invest in laptops and smartphones for employees. Having a way to handle all of these newly activated devices is crucial since they’ll be the lifeblood of your company.
Dealing with employee internet access can be tricky, especially if you have employees who live in rural locations that may not have the best speeds available. For those employees, consider mobile hotspots, either standalone or on their smartphones.
For employees who need to access specific files on the company network, VPNs are typically used to secure a connection to your corporate system. From there, if set up properly, employees could have access to the same files as if they were actually in the building.
There are systems like Zoom and Microsoft Teams that allow for deep collaboration and document sharing alongside video chat and meeting capabilities. Messaging software like Slack offers instant messaging and other collaborative tools.
For sharing large files, consider deploying cloud storage that’s accessible to all employees. This helps keep sensitive data secure while allowing your employees to have quick and easy access to the files they’ll need. If you’d rather have a “done for you” cloud system, consider iDrive or Dropbox.
If your company handles video files, a way to collaborate remotely is essential. Services like Frame.io or ClearView are great choices and can handle both internal collaboration and external client viewing.
When support is required, most IT teams have a help desk set up for tech issue tracking and general servicing needs like deploying new software or troubleshooting computers and applications. Within that help desk, this system usually consists of a chat option or a ticket system to allow quick and efficient resolutions from IT to the employee.
In your current business, you may have some or all of these solutions already worked out. If you are currently looking for software solutions in order to gain remote working capabilities, it’s good to remember this above all else:
When choosing your new systems, the most important thing is that the software is secure, reliable, and scalable.
If you’re not transitioning your entire workforce to remote positions, you should still be prepared for future events that may lead to that decision. Preparing for that possibility today will greatly reduce hardships if and when the time comes to have a 100% remote workforce.
Supposing you are considering a 100% remote transition, this is even more important because you’ll have to rely not only on your IT team to deliver stellar results with the transition, but you’ll also to count on all of the aforementioned systems to deliver an excellent experience for workers. You’re obviously counting on them to do their jobs, but they’re also counting on you to give them all of the tools that they need to continue to be productive in their respective positions.
The bitter but straightforward reality is that individuals, businesses, and industries of all types are vulnerable to data security issues.
Many of us know people who continue to forego locking their devices or use extraordinarily common and predictable passwords to protect their computers or online accounts. Similarly, a variety of businesses do not prioritize the necessity of data security, or they engage in half-measures—dedicating too few resources to their efforts at protecting data.
Despite the universal threat of data security, the requirement to protect data is particularly eminent and costly for some industries. The reasons for this heightened threat can be as diverse as the industries they impact. In some cases, specific industries are targeted more commonly due to their lack of security and ease of access. Other industries are at greater risk because of the volume of information they possess. There are also further industries managing or storing data that is more sensitive or valuable than other data.
These industries have the responsibility and necessity to dedicate extra effort and resources toward protecting their data from a breach.
Before examining the higher-risk industries in need of protecting their data, it is essential to understand the threat’s nature and level better.
One of the more staggering statistics on the regularity of cyberattacks came from a University of Maryland study, reporting that an attack occurs every 39 seconds. Researchers did discover that many of these attacks could be mitigated by necessary security measures, such as anti-virus software, but the regularity of attempts to breach security is alarming. The study focused on attacks made to individual computers, but this remains a threat for businesses, enterprises, and numerous organizations due to employee use of such devices on internal networks.
Research from the annual Cyberthreat Defense Report from the CyberEdge Group states that a successful cyberattack impacted 78% of US organizations in 2019. As we will explore further in a later section, these attacks have paid particular attention to small and medium-sized businesses (SMB). This is primarily due to the extent of resources that many large companies are now dedicating to digital security, which is a critical indicator for the SMB industry.
In the United States alone, annual costs of cybercrime are estimated to cost the economy over $100 billion potentially.
For the global economy, the cost of cyber breaches increases to more than $2 trillion for 2019, according to a report from The Heritage Foundation.
The causes of these costs are diverse. Consumers are refunded for lost funds to fraud or identity theft. Costs soar when money is paid out in ransom for data or given to a fraudulent entity. These are merely a few of the costs associated with cybercrime. Many could be avoided if industries or companies felt greater urgency and incentive to invest in the proper resources and support for security measures.
According to the same report from The Heritage Foundation, severely compounding the toll of cyberattacks is the stark reality that the threat is only growing more significant. With estimates projecting that up to 30 billion devices will be connected to the Internet of Things (IoT) by 2020, the necessity for industries and companies to dedicate time and resources has never been more pressing.
We use this next section to identify some of the industries that possess the most urgent and critical requirement to increase security to protect data.
As we mentioned earlier, the SMB industry has been tasked with a greater need to protect data due to more frequent and consequential cyberattacks. Experts suggest that 60 percent of SMBs run the risk of total failure within the first six months due to a cyberattack. Though news coverage of more massive attacks tends to be shared, this does not change that the threat to SMBs is often more frequent and always more threatening to the company’s survival.
Companies in the IT industry range from cloud storage providers to computing service providers, software developers, file-sharing solution providers, and many more. This industry often manages and stores large amounts of critical and sensitive data for customers. Attacks usually occur directly to a company’s network operations or indirectly through targets on specific participants in a network.
The industry providing healthcare is too commonly also notable for being under-equipped to manage security breaches. Public sector providers are widely open to attacks on their more extensive supply chains. Healthcare suppliers are typically targeted as a lucrative attack. And hospitals store some of the most detailed and sensitive data about their patients.
It is no surprise that government entities are at high risk due to the extent and sensitivity of the data they often possess. Extensive servers and databases are of high interest and value, resulting in a focus from cybercriminals that is well educated on known vulnerabilities, such as the NSA’s attack in 2016 that could have exposed billions of software users.
Legal service providers manage and store a massive amount of data that contains sensitive information with financial and authoritative implications. Corporate and property law firms are of exceptionally high risk, resulting from the monetary value associated with the data they manage.
The reasons for this industry’s particular risk are relatively clear. FDIC requirements now oblige financial institutions to demonstrate penetration tests and adhere to compliance standards. Information and money are two of the most sought-after components in cybercrime, and these are the areas of specialization for the financial and banking industry.
As this article has examined, the threat against data is a concern for every individual, company, or industry. But a few other sectors that have recently been cited as critical industries for protecting their data include energy, HR and recruitment, manufacturing, telecoms, and higher education.
There are many factors to consider for the security and protection of your company’s data. An organization must determine what security measures will be optimally designed for your specific needs.
Network Coverage understands the reality and challenges facing today’s most vulnerable industries. This is why Network Coverage has assembled a set of technology and business solutions to support your organization in maneuvering through this complex and critical environment.
Set up a consultation with Network Coverage for experienced advice and support.
As phishing scams grow less transparent by the day, being on high alert for malicious emails meticulously masked as trustworthy items in your inbox has become of immeasurable importance. (more…)
There’s no getting around it – working with tech means dealing with a lot of buzzwords, and it’s hard to figure out which ones will become important for you. What’s more, the list seems to update every couple of years, as the latest and greatest tech trends and innovations go mainstream.
Here are some of the latest tech buzzwords and what they mean for businesses:
Internet of Things, or IoT, refers to a network of billions of Internet-connected devices that gather data and communicate with each other.
In popular rhetoric, IoT specifically refers to Internet-connected things other than dedicated computers. This includes everything from household appliances like refrigerators and washing machines, to self-driving cars communicating with each other on roads. The most visible impact of IoT is the rise of the smart home, and in the modern era, it’s centered on home voice assistants such as Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant.
Businesses can employ smart IoT devices on a large scale to smarten up their offices, save energy through smart climate control, have IoT printers report their maintenance status online, and employ sensors to track employee traffic through hotspots.
Whenever someone searches for something in a search engine such as Google, the search engine retrieves web pages from its index and uses unique algorithms to determine the relevance of a page with respect to the user’s search terms. Then, it serves search engine results pages (SERPs) with each website ranked according to relevance.
Search engine optimization, or SEO, refers to the collection of techniques and practices that are used to improve website rankings on search engines. Websites that are designed with SEO in mind will employ keywords, mobile-friendly adaptive design, link building, and other techniques.
SEO is a critical skill and toolset for companies who want to ensure that their digital marketing efforts get the most reach!
The modern age has made it possible to collect enormous sums of data on a grander scale than ever before. It’s estimated that every person on the planet generates 1.7MB of data per second, and up until recently, the software that processes this data hasn’t had a chance to catch up.
Big data refers to the use of new systems, frameworks, and software that can deal with large and complex data sets, analyzing and correlating data points to reveal new insights. Businesses deal with big data on a daily basis – they use customer data to create business forecasts, marketing strategies, and supply chain tracking, among many other applications.
Deep learning is a body of machine learning techniques that uses artificial neural networks to analyze data sets and look for patterns with little or no supervision. Deep learning can be used in machine vision, sound processing, and even in searching for patterns in consumer habits and preferences.
Augmented reality involves projecting digital things into the real world. For example, videos, GPS points of interest, and notifications can be projected onto a camera feed of the real world, or into a pair of AR smart glasses. Businesses can use AR to aid in training employees and create new marketing experiences for customers.
Augmented reality is different from virtual reality in that virtual reality completely encompasses a user’s vision and senses, replacing it with a different world or construct. Augmented reality literally augments reality by adding more information to what’s already around you.
One of the most popular AR examples today is the wildly popular game Pokemon Go, which allows players to capture virtual creatures that are projected into the real world through their phone cameras.
Blockchain technology refers to a type of database that consists of unchangeable records that are linked together in a chain. Each record or transaction contains a link to the previous record, which allows everyone to view the complete transaction history of a particular record. One of the highlights of the blockchain is that it’s completely decentralized and hosted on a distributed peer-to-peer network, so no single entity can claim ownership.
Blockchain tech was invented to make cryptocurrency possible, and cryptocurrency remains the principal use case for blockchain. However, the technology itself can be used in logistics, banking records, and other applications that are heavy in recordkeeping.
Working in tech doesn’t mean having to figure these things out by yourself. Set up a free consultation with Network Coverage, and we can work with you to demystify these concepts, helping you find your place in the industry.
Having a good understanding of the ways attacks on firewalls are not adequately secured will help stop your business from becoming a victim of malicious activity. Your network firewall is very similar to the front line of an army; it is the first part of your defense system that the hackers will encounter and attack initially. Any oversight on your part regarding your network security firewall and maintenance of your firewall will give you an opportunity to attack and gain access to your business network. (more…)