7 Tips for creating a great privacy policy

Posted on February 26, 2024March 9, 2024 by Mirror Storage

7 Tips for creating a great privacy policy

A privacy policy is not just a legal requirement, it is a tool to help earn your customers’ trust and to protect yourself. In many ways, it sets the stage for the next steps such as data security, sharing and storage. In this blog, we share 7 tips that will help you when drafting your privacy policy.

1. Update your privacy policy if there’s a change in any process or procedures related to any of the 5 key elements of the privacy policy (data procuring, storage, security, sharing and customer rights) and notify your customers of the update. Even a simple pop-up on the website, telling them you have made some updates to the existing privacy policy and they need to ‘accept’/ authorize the new one, will do.

1. You need to make sure the privacy policy is a part of your website’s sitemap or clearly visible in the footer. The goal is to ensure it is easily accessible to your website visitors, in case they wish to read it. With the same goal in mind, we recommend that you keep it simple. There’s no need to use fancy words and jargon in your privacy policy. Just ensure it covers and conveys everything.

1. Give a link to the privacy policy wherever it can come into play. For example, before filling a form (for demo/appointment/asset download), before check out (at the time of a purchase) or even just as they enter your website.

1. Don’t forget the cookies! If your site uses cookies to store visitors’ preferences with the goal to offer a more personalized browsing experience, you need to let your visitors know of that. A pop-up on your site during their first time visit is a good way to do this.

1. There are many websites online that you can use to get a template or a framework for your privacy policy. A great resource to get started with is the Better Business Bureau’s privacy policy template. They have privacy policy templates customized as per the state you operate in. Here’s a link to one of them- https://www.bbb.org/greater-san-francisco/for-businesses/toolkits1/sample-privacy-policy/

1. Make sure your privacy policy mirrors the standards for the industry you are in. For example, a privacy policy for a business that sells products may differ from that for a service- oriented firm. An accounting firm or a healthcare service provider may have to cover more ground in their privacy policy owing to other regulatory requirements than a simple ecommerce based product seller.

Stay abreast with developments that may affect your privacy policy. The GDPR is one of them. If you are afraid you won’t be able to keep tabs on such news, ask your MSP and legal counsel.

If you are too busy to draft a privacy policy that suits your business or are just not sure if you have covered everything that you need to, it may be a good idea to sit with your Managed Service Provider and have them review your existing policy or create a new one for your business.

NOTE: This blog is for informational purposes only and designed solely to encourage awareness of this complex topic. To learn more, contact legal and technical professionals for advice.

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What is a privacy policy and why do you need one

Posted on February 19, 2024March 9, 2024 by Mirror Storage

What is a privacy policy and why do you need one

Your business is privy to a lot of data. A lot of information flows in from clients, vendors and even your employees. This includes Personally Identifiable Information (PII)–data that can help identify an individual and perhaps even get in touch with them. A privacy policy tells others how your business will be using all the PII.

You may not realize it, but you are collecting PII everyday! Instances where your business is collecting PII is when you have a form on your website asking for details such as name, phone number, address or city, etc. that visitors have to fill out to schedule a demo or an appointment with you, to download a whitepaper, or a form that they need to fill online at the time of purchasing your product or service–even something as simple as making an online payment on your site entails sharing their PII with you. As a business, before you gather PII from anyone, as a business, it is your legal responsibility to have a privacy policy in place. The U.S., as such, doesn’t have a federal law that makes a privacy policy compulsory, but many states in the U.S. do, which pretty much makes it a must-have, no matter how big or small a business you are. Other than that, here are a few reasons why you need a privacy policy.

It can protect you in the court of law

A privacy policy is more than just a legal requirement. Not just a legal requirement, having a privacy policy can safeguard you from potential lawsuits. Having someone accept your privacy policy can protect you as long as the information and the way in which you used/shared/stored it was covered in the privacy policy and authorized by the party in question.

It enhances your brand image and helps build trust

By having a privacy policy in place, you will be perceived as someone who takes data and information security of your clients seriously. This naturally enhances your brand image and helps build trust.

In short, a privacy policy is indispensable if you run a business. If you are too busy to look into drafting one, get in touch with a MSP to help you with the nuances of creating a privacy policy.

NOTE: This blog is for informational purposes only and designed solely to encourage awareness of this complex topic. To learn more, contact legal and technical professionals for advice.

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3 ways Office 365 helps cut down your IT costs

Posted on February 12, 2024March 9, 2024 by Mirror Storage

3 ways Office 365 helps cut down your IT costs

Want to switch to Office 365, but are not sure if it is cost effective? In this blog, we discuss three ways in which Office 365 can help bring down your IT costs.

You don’t have to pay upfront

When you subscribe to Office 365, you can pay the licensing fee on a monthly basis. It is more of a pay-as-you-go format. In the traditional Office set-up, you had to pay for the number of licenses you bought and they were yours to keep–but, at the same time, they were tied to the device you bought them for, meaning legally, you could install them only on the device you bought them for.

You are paying only for what you use

In the traditional set-up, you are paying for installing and using the software program on individual devices. That means, if you cut down on staff or use seasonal staff, or staff working remotely from home or other locations, they won’t have access to the programs. With Office 365, you are paying per license, irrespective of the device you are using it in. That means anyone can access it, from anywhere, using their credentials. This flexible approach to Office also makes it easy when you scale up or down in terms of staff.

Great admin tools

Office 365 offers IT administrators tools that provide a lot of control and visibility over activities related to Office. Here’s what administrators can do with the new Office 365

Create and delete users
Manage users by creating user groups based on user roles and requirements and set different access and permission levels for each user group
Manage the security of data in Office 365 by setting access restrictions, password expiry, etc.,

Using the admin control tools, administrators can generate reports that tell them usage patterns, draw attention to bugs, or program downtimes. The reports also provide usage patterns which can help you streamline subscription costs.

So, what are you waiting for? It’s time to make the switch to the more powerful, efficient and cost-effective version of Office. Talk to a Microsoft licensed MSP today!

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Your guide to Office 365: Part-II

Posted on February 5, 2024March 9, 2024 by Mirror Storage

Your guide to Office 365: Part-II

Last week, we provided a brief introduction of what Office 365 is, and touched on some of the benefits it offers. This week we look at a few more pros of Office 365.

More efficient

Office 365, being the recent version of Office, is one of the most efficient versions. It can boost your productivity better than traditional Office.

Offers a good number of support tools

Office 365 is more than Word, Excel and PowerPoint. It offers plenty of other support tools that make collaboration easier and can help boost the overall productivity of your team. Examples include-Sharepoint, Skype for business, OneNote, etc.,

Mobile compatibility and real-time synchronization

Office 365 is mobile compatible and has its own app that you can download on your phone and use to access and edit your Office files anytime from anywhere. Plus, since the files are in the cloud and can be shared with others, it also lets multiple people work on the files simultaneously.

Upgrades are much easier

Since Office 365 is online, you don’t have to do software updates or version upgrades the old-fashioned way, for each device. Updates and revisions can be both expensive and cumbersome, so businesses tend to stick with the older version, rather than paying for and installing a new one. This can create security issues. In Office 365, you get automated updates and version upgrades and these can be applied across all your accounts at once.

If you are already well versed with the traditional office, you don’t have to worry about Office 365 being any different. Microsoft has not made any significant changes in the cloud version of the Office that will cause confusion for users that are used to the desktop version. But, No matter how easy a software suite is to install and use, ensuring it is updated regularly so that the security patches are in place and the tool is in compliance with industry regulations and standards can be time-consuming–especially when you have a business to run and customers to attend to. Consider getting assistance from a Managed Services Provider (MSP) who is authorized by Microsoft to provide Office 365 services for you. Office 365 also has multiple versions of it–each suitable for different business sizes/uses. Your MSP will be able to guide you well as to which version suits your needs best based on your business and industry.

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Your guide to Office 365: Part 1

Posted on January 29, 2024January 29, 2024 by Mirror Storage

Your guide to Office 365: Part 1

Are you considering investing in Microsoft Office 365? Whether you already use the Microsoft Office Suite and are now thinking of switching, or considering whether to opt for this Microsoft product as your first Office tool, this blog will help you understand Microsoft Office 365 better. Learn what Office 365 is all about in our 2-part blog series.

What is Office 365?

Let’s start with what Office 365 is. Office 365 is a suite of Microsoft Office programs that includes email client, spreadsheet, presentation, document, calendar/reminder, collaboration and chat tools.

How is it different from the regular Office package?

Unlike the regular Office package, Office 365 is web-based. That means all your data is stored in the cloud and retrieved from there every time you need to access it. It is not necessary to store the software on your computer, though you have the option to install it if you wish.

What are the benefits of Office 365?

Web-based

The regular Office package stores your data locally, on a computer. When you store your data locally, there are chances of downtime and data loss if the hard disk becomes corrupted or fails. Also, you cannot access it unless you have access to the specific computer or hard disk it is stored on. Office 365, on the other hand, is web-based and can be accessed from anywhere, as the data is not stored on any particular hard disk.

Standard data security is taken care of

Office 365 uses encryption, so, in general, your data is safer than it would be on the desktop version of the Office. Plus, it is HIPPA and FERPA compliant, which makes it easier if you are operating in the healthcare or education sector. Plus, the security in cloud-based storage is generally stronger than what you get when storing at the local level.

More storage

Office 365 offers more storage space compared to the traditional version of Office. In the traditional version, when you use Outlook email client, the emails are stored on your hard drive, slowing down your system and eventually making you run out of space, forcing you to delete a lot of those older emails. Often we see that clients don’t want to lose old emails. Maybe they find them all too important to let go of, or they just don’t want to spend time browsing through hundreds of them deciding which ones to delete. In any case, Office 365 comes with 50GB of storage space for emails, so you don’t have to worry about this issue anymore.

Stay tuned for part two of our blog, Your Guide to Office 365-II.

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Internal threats: A new angle to email security

Posted on January 22, 2024January 31, 2024 by Mirror Storage

You know how important your email system is to your business. Not only is email your core communication tool, but also bears a lot of weight from the legal perspective and must be accessible at all times. You have a good email security system and also ensure your emails are always backed up, archived and stored safely. But what about keeping your email system safe from threats within your organization?

When it comes to email security, an oft-ignored, yet interesting angle to look into is–how to protect your email system from internal threats, like malicious intent of your own employees. There is the possibility that somebody who works for you could choose to corrupt your email system on purpose. You can avoid such instances from happening by constantly monitoring your employee’s IT behavior. You can do this by installing software programs that work to track employee access and activities related to access and sends alerts in case of unusual IT behavior. Examples of unusual IT behavior includes employees logging into work email at a time or day they are not expected to, sending attachments to email addresses that are outside of your organizational network, etc. Also invest in CCTV cameras and biometric access if you can. That will also serve as a deterrent to malicious employees.

Email is the most critical communication tool for your business, but it also has the potential to serve as an easy, backdoor entry for cybercriminals into your organization’s IT systems. When it comes to cybercrime, email is also one of the most commonly targeted elements. An email hack has the potential to translate into data leak, compromise sensitive vendor and client data leaving you vulnerable to lawsuits or install malware that can paralyze your business functions entirely.

If you don’t have the time to look into the security of your email system, consider seeking assistance from a MSP. They will be able to review your business requirement and suggest the right email security tool for you. They can also help you draft a sound IT policy if you don’t already have one and also conduct employee training and drills from the security perspective.

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What to look for an email security solution

Posted on January 15, 2024January 31, 2024 by Mirror Storage

What to look for an email security solution

An important aspect to email security is, of course, deploying a good email security solution. But, with so many available in the market, what should you be looking for when opting for an email security tool? Here are some key features you would want in your email security solution.

Encryption: Let’s start with the worst-case scenario. Your corporate email server is hacked. By opting for an email security solution that offers data encryption, you can ensure that the thieves are never able to read the data they stole. Data encryption is basically coding of data in a different format when it is sent and decoding it once it reaches the recipient. Without decryption keys, no one in the middle will be able to make sense of the data they access.

Ditch the server-based email system: In server based email systems–the kind supported by most older versions of email software (Outlook, Thunderbird, etc), the emails are stored on servers and transmitted every time the email software establishes connection with them.The newer, web-based systems offer additional security.

Strong filters: Make sure your email security tool has strong filtering capabilities to keep spam and malicious emails out of your inbox. Training employees to identify spam and fraudulent emails is good, but getting an email security software that keeps most of them away is even better!

Intelligence: When looking for an email security software, consider its artificial intelligence. According to Biztech, a leading business technology news magazine, newer anti-malware rely less on signatures of known malicious content and instead uses threat intelligence, reputation services and other near-real-time sources to pinpoint the location of threats — domains and IP and email addresses, for example to alert IT teams. Cybercriminals are getting smarter by the day, and always innovating, looking for ways to get around the anti-malwares existing in the market. You need an email security solution that can keep up with them.

The critical role played by email in your business environment and its vulnerability make it imperative that you deploy strong security solutions for your email. Reach out to a credible MSP to learn more about how you can keep your email system clean and safe.

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3 Things to consider before you sign-up with a cloud services provider

Posted on January 11, 2024January 31, 2024 by Mirror Storage

3 Things to consider before you sign-up with a cloud services provider

More and more SMBs are migrating to the cloud and that is not a surprise considering the numerous benefits the cloud can offer them. For a SMB, the cloud is a cost efficient and secure answer to their growing data needs and IT security requirements. The cloud grows with them and lets them scale their business without worrying about a corresponding rise in IT costs. Plus, with the cloud, the important aspects of security and backups are mostly taken care of by the cloud service provider. And then, there’s the convenience of any-time-anywhere data access. With all these benefits that the cloud brings, what’s there to think about before signing up with a cloud service provider? While are a lot of benefits of storing your data on the cloud, but your data is still yours, so there are a few things you need to know and be comfortable with before you jump onto the cloud.

Data storage location

Ask your cloud services provider where, (as in the location of the data center) your data will be stored. Ask them if they have multiple data centers and if yes, then, will they be backing up your data and storing them at different places. It is great if your cloud services provider does that, since that ensures higher safety of your data.

How secure will your data be?

Yes. When you hire a cloud services provider, a major chunk of your data’s security responsibility is passed onto them. You don’t have to really worry about your data security, but, you still need to know how they plan to keep your data safe. Ask your cloud services provider for details regarding their data security procedure. Have them share all policies, SOPs and data security frameworks that they claim to have in place.

Past performance/data loss history

Everyone talks about their best projects in a sales meeting. What you really need to know are the worst ones. Ask your cloud services provider to share with you their data loss/downtime trends for the past one year. Observe the trend. How often does their system give way and how long does it last? This is important for you to understand, because this metric translates into loss of business for you.

And finally, don’t forget to ask for a client list. Like we said before, everyone highlights the good things about themselves in a sales meeting. If you really want to know how good your cloud service provider is, ask them for a client list–both current and past. Check how many of them are from your industry vertical. Try reaching out to those who are willing to talk. Find out what they like the most about your cloud service provider and what aspects they find negative. Find out why their former customers left them. Usually customers are pretty good indicators of the quality of service a business provides. Hope these tips help you finding a cloud service provider who fits in well with your needs.

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Email safety: Firewalls and antivirus are great

Posted on January 8, 2024January 31, 2024 by Mirror Storage

Email safety: Firewalls and antivirus are great, but what about your employees

The Verizon Data Breach Investigations report states that emails are the primary source of two-thirds of malware. Email is an easy target simply because there is more human touch involved in the case of emails. There’s always a stray chance that someone will end up clicking on a phishing link or downloading the wrong attachment or simply including sensitive, confidential information in an unencrypted email. The first step to securing your email systems is training your employees. Train your employees to identify harmful email messages and to be aware of your firm’s IT protocols and rules. There are 4 major ways in which your employees may end up compromising your email security. These are

- Falling for phishing scams: These emails will appear to have come from an authentic source and urge the reader to take an action. Usually the action involves clicking on a link and/or sharing sensitive information via an online form that looks authentic. The phishing links and the webpage clone the original site so well that it is easy to mistake them for their authentic counterparts. For example- an email that looks as if it is from the IRS, asking for sensitive financial data, or an email that seems to be from the bank asking you to log into your account, etc.

- Mistaking hacked emails to be authentic ones: These emails are actually from an authentic sender account, but their account may have been hacked. One of the ways to spot such email messages is if ‘something feels amiss’. For example, an email that’s ridden with typos, spelling and grammar errors, or if the writing style is different, or includes an unexplained instruction to download an attachment, fill a form or install a patch.

- Not following strict password hygiene: There are 2 angles to this. First is password sharing. Sharing passwords indiscriminately puts your email systems at risk. Often, people trust their coworkers and end up sharing system or email passwords without realizing the possible consequences. Sometimes, it is just so much easier to share the password than follow the protocol. For example, Bob from sales is too busy to prepare his commission report. So, he gives his password to Lisa from accounting so she can calculate his commission for the month and Lisa shares with her team so they can work on the reports. See…before you know it 3 other people apart from Bob have access to his system including his emails!The second issue in password hygiene pertains to ignoring password basics. For example, having passwords that are too simple or obvious such as dictionary words, names, etc. or not changing passwords as recommended or having the same password for multiple accounts.

Exposing their own devices to safety threats and then using them for work purposes due to the BYOD environment: This is a threat brought into the picture due to the flexibility-oriented culture of the modern workplace. Businesses allow their employees to work from anywhere, using their own devices. For example, someone could be accessing and replying to an email from work, using their phone or iPad, connected to the open wifi at the mall’s food court. The risk such open networks bring to the table is unimaginable.

As discussed in the beginning of this blog, emails are a soft target because of the human element. You can organize classroom training sessions to educate your employees about your IT usage policies related to password management, use of personal devices, data sharing and internet access. You can also conduct IT drills and workshops to help your employees identify possible IT security threats and steer clear of those. If you don’t have the resources to do this, check with a MSP in your area. They might be able to help.

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Risk assessment: A Value model

Posted on January 2, 2024January 31, 2024 by Mirror Storage

Risk assessment means looking at all the conditions, situations and threats that exist that could damage or bring down your business. Risk assessment is all about identifying the external and internal threats that exist and measuring the likely consequences if that threat becomes reality. A data security risk assessment would identify what data you have, how you use it, how confidential it may be, how it is affected by regulations and the ways it could be compromised. A major focus of a data security assessment is cybercrime.

In terms of developing an IT staff, the alternative approach to building out a team is to determine your IT staffing needs in terms of risk assessment. That means evaluating risk and directing staffing resources to those areas where the risk is greatest and the consequences most severe. Basically, it is an evaluation on the ROI of your IT staffing in light of identified risk. In particular, what is the return on your risk management investment? The goal is to evaluate risk in light of business and operational consequences. Put simply, which point of failure leads to the most destructive consequences. Once that is determined your limited IT resources can be directed at those most critical areas.

In the short term, you can try to find the specific applicants that have what you need to plug the holes. Is that workable given the challenges to hiring? The market is very competitive.

The alternative is an MSP. Using a Managed Service provider for at least some of your most critical needs can be a very effective way of targeting your IT resources to where you are most vulnerable.

You have more freedom to move resources to where they are most needed.

Opting for an in-house IT team limits you in terms of scalability. You cannot just add or reduce the strength of your IT team anytime. Choosing a managed services provider, however, provides the flexibility to scale up or scale down your IT investment to suit your business needs.

You are better prepared for IT emergencies

Having a service contract with an MSP helps you tackle IT emergencies better because you get access to top-level IT expertise. An MSP’s core business is IT so they are naturally more knowledgeable and up-to-date when it comes to the latest IT challenges, including cybercrime. Plus, an MSP can deploy more resources if need be to solve your IT emergency, helping your business get back on its feet sooner.

You will be ahead of the curve

The IT industry is constantly evolving. The in-house IT team may find it challenging to keep up with the latest trends and norms of the IT industry as they will be caught up in managing the day-to-day IT activities at your office. Also, IT is a very broad field, and only a diverse IT team has the depth to cover all of the different areas. With an MSP, you don’t have to worry about how technology is changing. A good MSP will not only be up-to-date with the latest in tech but also advise you on what tech changes you need to make to stay ahead of the curv

The lesson for hiring IT is that you should focus resources, be they in-house or external, on the areas where your business is at highest risk from a single point of failure or a cyber attack. Not all IT needs are equal, and traditional models don’t always recognize this. A Managed Service Provider can also assist you in determining a hierarchy of your IT needs.

Posted in Cyber SecurityTagged emergencies, IT staff, MSP, Risk assessmentLeave a Comment

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