You hire a managed network services firm to watch your network and protect your business. But who is watching the watchers? To protect your business, here are questions you should ask of your IT service provider.

Digital finance is quickly becoming standard practice. Yet for finance firms and financial planners, the ease of anywhere, anytime access also comes with increased risk. As noted by Scott Borg of the US Cyber Consequences Unit, financial information is “regularly stolen” by cybercriminals; consider the recent Equifax breach. According to the Financial Times, Equifax is still dealing with the fallout of stolen financial data, now scrapping employee bonuses and buybacks to deal with increasing remediation costs and poor public perception.

Bottom line? Financial firms can’t take a slapdash approach to network cybersecurity. All networks are exposed to numerous types of threats, and the financial industry has to defend and manage them as well or better than others — or risk major breaches.

How prepared is your business for an emergency—a power outage, a hurricane, or, heaven forbid, the sudden absence of its CEO? All sorts of scenarios could damage your business if you haven’t proactively planned for them. Here’s what to consider for disaster recovery and business continuity plans.

Hiring a managed network service provider is like hiring an army, a military unit that protects your business from cyber attacks. But not all managed network service providers are alike. This article covers what to look for when you hire a team to manage your technology.

MNS Group proudly announces a partnership with Huntress Labs, a leader in innovative breach detection software. We are pleased to offer this advanced security service to all of our clients, helping them detect problems commercial anti-virus and anti-spyware software can’t.

If large entities such as the Office of Personnel Management, Target, and CareFirst have all been victims of cyber attacks, what hope does a main street business have to secure its data?

The Cost of Inaction: Today the risk and cost of a data breach are overwhelming for small and mid-size business owners. Many owners don’t take action, largely because of these reasons:

You probably heard it in the news last year—the private information of celebrities and other significant people has been leaked onto the Internet.

A primary reason this happens is because individuals respond to emails that seem to be valid. However, they inadvertently end up going through a password change process. In response to this, many manufacturers and service providers have instituted what is called “two-step verification.” What is this, and why should you use it?

If you have a one-person IT department, what happens if he suddenly leaves? Or get’s sick?

We have seen IT professionals suddenly leave for a better job, have an accident, have a heart attack, or exhibit a change in behavior that forced dismissal. All of these scenarios pose threats that can seriously disrupt your business.

Will your business experience a long-term disadvantage if your IT department cannot show up for work tomorrow—or ever again? You are probably buying insurance for risks that are less likely to occur than this. Learn how to protect your business.

The buzzword everybody is focused on is the Cloud. But when it comes down to it, what is the Cloud and all these service products really about? It’s really about renting somebody else’s server and programs that are sitting somewhere else and accessed over the Internet or network. Discover the pros and cons of using the cloud.

Consider the cost of hiring an employee vs. the cost of managed services. The decision to outsource a professional service is similar to one you already make—getting insurance. When it comes to IT, the nature of the field is that sometimes there’s a lot of work, and sometimes there isn’t. How can you find the best-fit provider for your company?