Author: jwblogger

Clouds come down to Earth, and prices go up, with a bang

/ jwblogger / Leave a comment

The end of easy money, Elon Musk’s re-organisation of Twitter, and inflation have brought reality to cloud service platforms with a speed no one predicted.
Those us operating ordinary businesses have always known that cash flow is king and profitability is the definition of success. The idea that we might have a few thousand extra employees we don’t need any more would be crazy. But 300,000 redundancies later, and still counting, reality is catching up to the tech sector with a vengeance.

What does this mean for the customers ?

Price increases.

Every cloud business now has to have a plan to get cash positive and profitable, otherwise they won’t be able to access any further funding.
We expect to see quite eye-popping increases in cloud service pricing across the board over the next 12 months. To give one example, Google Enterprise platform pricing has gone from $12 to $28 in a year. That’s 133% “inflation”!

JustWorks Analysis

We have always advocated for the value of cloud services for what they enable, not what they save, based on our real life experience of tech deployment and our understanding of the mechanics of cloud services. Cloud services liberate businesses to operate more flexibly and adapt faster to changing markets. They transfer the burdens of lifecycle management, data backup, and security to the same people that write the apps – that’s more efficient but it does not eliminate the costs.
Increased attention to cybersecurity locally, nationally, and globally is combining with these changes to increase the cost of technology for every business. We may not welcome it, but it is unavoidable.

How JustWorks can help

Over 25 years we have built a business that stands on the same side of the table as our customers. We take on the risks of vendor selection, reliability, demand surge, and design. We also negotiate deals that leverage our scale and channel relationships to provide access to superior features and better pricing than any customer could on their own.
We may not be able to protect you from the general direction of price rises but we will do our upmost to make the transition as smooth and manageable as possible. Having JustWorks on your side means you can be confident that we are working every day to control costs and increase value.
To keep cybersecurity costs down we launched our SecureWorks service last year. This service provides the most cost effective way for businesses to boost their defenses and establish compliance. Customers have seen their audit scores move from D- to B+ in just a few months.

Whatever you want to do, we can help you do it better, faster, cheaper and more simply. If you are considering any changes, let us know how we can Make IT Simple for you.

CyberNews from JustWorks – Issue #4

/ jwblogger / Leave a comment

Keeping you up to date on the latest in tech and cyber. Feel free to forward to interested colleagues and acquaintances.

Ransomware on the Rise

Cyber Security becomes more valuable by the day as attacks increase in frequency and complexity.

Microsoft reports they experience 300 million fraudulent attempts to access their cloud services everyday. Sophos reports on providers of “hacking as a service” increasing through 2022 and into this year.

At this rate, insurance execs are warning that Cyber attacks will soon be joining Natural Disasters in being uninsurable. The enormity of the impacts cyber attacks could have, if critical infrastructure is targeted, is simply too large for insurance companies to anticipate and remediate.

This fear was made real here in the Bay Area when the City of Oakland recently declared a State of Emergency after it fell victim to a ransomware attack that disabled key technical infrastructure and brought city services to a halt. By encrypting Oakland’s data with their own key, the hackers now have sole control over that data and are releasing small portions of employee information to demonstrate their capability and bolster their demands. Understanding your own Cyber Security readiness is critical as threat actors increase their activity.

Managing Your Detection and Response

At JustWorks we have been implementing the Gartner leading cybersecurity managed detection & response, Sophos MDR, for our customers to ensure they have 24/7/365 threat detection and response. Sophos’ Endpoint and Network monitoring approach ensure our customers’ IT Systems are secure no matter where they work. Utilizing AI threat identification to prevent attacks in conjunction with a dedicated team of specialized cybersecurity experts to handle the intensive work, Sophos MDR offers the best Cybersecurity as a Service, while keeping costs and resources down.

Sophos services can also help at any stage of a cyber attack. Whether you would like to assess if your data has already been compromised, or are currently in the middle of an active attack, Sophos’ round the clock SOC can respond to and resolve attacks rapidly.

If you’d like to know more about how we can implement Sophos MDR for your business systems, give us a call on 866-JUSTWOR or email info@justworks.net

It’s 10 PM, do you know where your children are logged in?

As the White House backs a Senate Bill that would ban Tik Tok for Federal Employees, it’s time to think about what apps your family is giving their information to. This short and very polished film by the Financial Times highlights the challenges for managing identity security for youth in today’s digital society.

Watch it at home with your family to get a conversation started.

Featured

CyberNews from JustWorks – Issue #3

/ jwblogger / Leave a comment

Keeping you up to date on the latest in tech and cyber. Feel free to forward to interested colleagues and acquaintances.

2023 kicks off with tech turmoil

Seems like every tech business in California is rushing to lighten their payroll ahead of what many expect to be a tough year ahead. Even Microsoft!

This is when the tide goes out and we all find out who has been swimming naked. With so many tech businesses based on new revenue models, who will survive the coming changes ?

Evaluating tech vendors is what we do at JustWorks. It requires in-depth knowledge of the tech industry, the history of firms (who has bought who recently), technical evaluation of the products/services they offer, analysis of each vendor’s cyber security posture, and market intelligence to determine if they have a sustainable position against their competition. This is not work that most companies can do for themselves, which is why vendor selection is large part of our work and a significant value we add for our customers.

The End of Passwords …

Bill Gates predicted the death of the password around 15 years ago. In fact, password use has risen, and they remain the default method of authentication for a huge range of services, both at work and home. 

Increasingly complex password requirements place an unrealistic demand on users. Inevitably, users devise their own coping mechanisms to cope with ‘password overload’. This includes re-using the same password across different systems, using simple and predictable password creation strategies. Sound familiar?

Every company needs to do 3 things right now to stop password overload becoming a cyber security threat to the business:

  • Stop making users change their passwords!
  • Turn on MFA for all remote access. Make every login a proper security check. If the login is at an unusual time of day or from a new location/computer/browser, then ask for another security factor.
  • Get a Business subscription to 1Password. Inevitably there will be passwords that need to be shared across teams and you need to have vaults that are controlled by the company, not the user! Every employee added to a 1Password Business accounts get a free subscription for their personal/family use.

ZTNA is coming in February

We are excited to announce that JustWorks is adding Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) from Sophos to our fixed fee services starting in just a few days.

Zero trust refers to a way of controlling access where every request is validated from the ground up and permission is only granted when a valid user authenticates themselves on an approved computer to access an application they are authorized for.

If you’d like to know more “zero trust” for your business systems, give us a call on 866-JUSTWOR to email info@justworks.net

CyberNews Archive

Useful graphics on passwords and many other cyber security subjects available from the NCSC.

CyberNews from JustWorks – Issue #2

/ jwblogger / Leave a comment

Keeping you up to date on the latest in tech and cyber. Feel free to forward to interested colleagues and acquaintances.

Cyber Gets Serious

Cybersecurity risk is the #1 concern for businesses large and small according to the 2021 Travelers Risk Index.

Our analysis of a cybersecurity questionnaire from Travelers Business Insurance shows responses are required for 56 requirements from the NIST 800-171 standard, including 40% classified as Advanced in the CMMC framework. Of those 39 require enhanced JustWorks management, and 17 require specific internal policies and processes.

It’s time to get serious about cyber. Every business needs a security plan and a continuity plan for I.T. — not just for insurance.

The SecureWorks add-on plan for JustWorks customers is now available with 4 service levels to suit your business needs. Let’s get a SecureWorks plan started for your business.

Making IT Security Simple | JustWorks
Making IT Security Simple | JustWorks — justworks.net
JustWorks does it again! We have been Making IT Simple for over 25 years and now we are making Cyber Security & Compliance simple too. SecureWorks is the new add-on service that turns a confusi…

Cooling IT

Keeping IT systems cool is no laughing matter. The recent heatwave in the UK caused systems at 2 major hospitals to literally melt down! They have been offline for over 2 weeks and porters are running around with test results on bits of paper, trying to find patients!

Good design, up-to-date equipment, and active monitoring are keys to preventing this kind of problem. That’s why these principles are baked (excuse the pun) into every JustWorks design.

What is “zero trust” ?

Techies love buzzwords and the term “zero trust” is the buzz of 2022. But what does it mean?

Zero trust refers to a way of organising computer systems in which no one and no devices are assumed to be trustworthy.

On a typical office network the PCs on everyone’s desks are assumed to be computers that have already been configured to meet the business’ security standards. So there are few, if any, limits placed on what they talk to or how they respond to other devices on the network.

In a “zero trust” environment every computer treats every other device as a stranger, until proven otherwise. This helps stop, or at least control, the spread of malicious code across a network.

The spread of ransomware in recent years means that very few networks are still configured to be “all trust” nowadays. Most are somewhere in the middle. If you still have to use a VPN to connect to your office, that’s probably because the office systems are too trusting and so they need to be more strongly protected (even though it makes life harder for users).

If you’d like to know how close to “zero trust” your business systems are, give us a call on 866-JUSTWOR to email info@justworks.net

CyberNews from JustWorks – Issue #1

/ jwblogger / Leave a comment

Hello and welcome to the new newsletter from JustWorks.

We will keep you up to date on the latest cybersecurity and information technology developments. Just what you need to know, when you need to know it.

We will keep this simple (just like our services). If you have any questions or would like any futher information just reply to let us know.

In this edition: planning, zooming, and safety at home.

Do forward this on to anyone else you know that needs to keep up on the latest cybersecurity for business.

Ukraine, crypto, and cyber attacks

Russia’s aggression in Ukraine has coincided with a reduction in cyber attacks (and, tangentially, in crypto currency values).

Not what we expected.

Perhaps the “Fancy Bears” are distracted with trying to take down Ukraine’s IT systems and so there’s been less focus on attacking the rest of us? Just a guess, but in any case now is the time to review all the potential weak points in your cyber security plan.

They will be back, you can be sure of that!

If you haven’t got a cybersecurity plan: you don’t know how [in]secure you are. Get started on a plan now!

SecureWorks Dashboard

Zoomin’ IT

Covid made “zoom” a verb. Shorthand for online video meetings, “zoom” has become a household word. Now zoom can be your phone system too.

Building on the global infrastructure they put in to deliver high quality video, zoom have easily been able to add voice service that is just as clever at managing itself as the speed of your Internet connection changes second by second.

With direct, private peering with the world’s public telephone networks, zoom offers high levels of security for their phone service.

But, like everything else in the cloud: it’s only as secure as you configure it to be!

If (when) you do switch to an online phone system, get an expert in identity management to set it up properly.

Stay cybersafe at home too!

Cybersecurity doesn’t stop at the office door. Make sure your personal systems at home are protected too — you’re only as secure as your weakest point.

Get Sophos Home for all your home computers, especially the kids! Covers up to 10 computers for less than the cost of one fancy coffee a month.

Making IT Security Simple

/ jwblogger / 2 Comments

JustWorks does it again! We have been Making IT Simple for over 25 years and now we are making Cyber Security & Compliance simple too. SecureWorks is the new add-on service that turns a confusing and complicated problem into a structured service that allows JustWorks customers to achieve the highest standards for the lowest cost. NIST/CMMC compliance programs typically cost tens or even hundreds of $000s, involve a bevy of consultants making life as complicated as possible, to justify absurdly high fees. Not JustWorks. We make Make IT Security Simple – and low cost!

Many JustWorks customers are finding that cyber-insurance and supply chain requirements are requiring more stringent security controls and that they need to report more formally on their compliance level. To meet these requirements we are launching a SecureWorks service add-on that can be tailored to the compliance objectives of your organization. (Brochure download)

SecureWorks includes 24x7x365 Security Operations Centre monitoring of your network, firewalls and computers with proactive investigations of any security threats. In order to meet the NIST 800-171/CMMC 3.0 Foundational cyber-security requirements we are offering JustWorks customers a specially priced package that helps you self-certify compliance with those requirements.

As part of the SecureWorks service we will meet with your team for regular Compliance Reviews to manage progress towards with your chosen objective. We provide an online portal through which we can jointly manage the development of your policies, the implementation of secure practices, and produce reports and plans to satisfy compliance status requests.

What’s included in SecureWorks:

  • Exclusive SecureWorks FrameWork : online CyberSecurity Compliance Management web portal
  • Multiple simultaneous compliance objectives across requirements and time frames
  • On demand reporting and production of:
    • System Security Plan
    • Security Incident Response Plan
    • IT Recovery & Continuity Plan
    • Plan of Action & Milestones (POA&M)
  • Event logging for incidents and reviews
  • NIST 800-171 Controls and CMMC 3.0 Practices matrix allowing selection of compliance level objectives for right now, and for development towards higher levels in the future
  • Compliance Reviews for joint progression of compliance
  • Policy directives and templates to speed up the development of company policies
  • 24x7x365 Security Operations Center (SOC) monitoring with proactive threat hunting*
  • Policy-based control of content across multiple cloud content repositories*

The normal JustWorks services provide the controls needed to comply with the CMMC 2.0 Foundational compliance level. SecureWorks adds structured implementation, progression and reporting capabilities to those services.

SecureWorks Multi-Compliance Dashboard

SecureWorks Advanced

For NIST 800-171 and CMMC 3.0 Advanced level compliance, SecureWorks Advanced packages can include security upgrades* to the various cloud services that are part of every modern business’ IT infrastructure. JustWorks cloud file service can be upgraded to include project folders, 100GB file size, mobile PDF editing, unlimited retention, automated permissions auditing, extra ransomware protection, workflows, and unusual behavior detection to guard against malware and intellectual property loss*. Compliance policies can be extended to include data stored on cloud services such as Office365 and Google Workspace as well as the servers in your office*. JustWorks cloud identity service can be upgraded to Adaptive Authentication* that makes company-wide adoption of Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) responsive and effective.

Every business needs to be on a journey to better cyber security, and proving that can lower insurance costs and help you win new customers as part of a secure supply chain.

Call us today and let’s get started on a journey to better cyber security together. 408-369-7585.

* additional licensing required

Continuity Planning – COVID-19

/ jwblogger / Leave a comment

The possibility of interruptions to normal business loom as a result of potential actions that may be needed to contain and delay the impact of Coronavirus COVID-19. It’s time to make sure plans are in place should matters escalate.

What JustWorks is doing:

JustWorks operations and support services will continue as normal within the constraint of any ‘social distancing’ measures introduced. That is to say that our remote support operations are fully resistant to limitations on travel however we may be unable to perform on site support in the event that restrictions to travel and social contact are introduced.

Our support operations are fully enabled to ‘work from anywhere’ so there will be no reduction in support services.

  • All communications (email, phone, video) are fully cloud based
  • All technical support and management functions are fully cloud based

All JustWorks customers operate fully independent systems that do not rely on any systems or services operating out of JustWorks facilities.

What our customers should do:

Prepare for interruption.

In the event that travel and social distancing measures interrupt normal business operations customers should prepare for the maintenance of as much continuity as possible.

The link below will give you a good guide to the kinds of measures and plans you should develop. Primarily you should be thinking of:

  • Team leaders to coordinate work rotas and scheduling in the event that your employees have their travel restricted.
  • Communicate to your customers what your plans and expectations of business continuity are.

Get the ebook on continuity planning here.

What we can do together:

Remote working

Let JustWorks know if you expect to have employees work remotely. We can make sure that the systems are in place to enable that.

Services that available:

  • Remote file system access
  • Remote control of and access to in-office systems
  • Full video communications infrastructure allowing everyone to communicate, chat and meet online at any time
  • Phone number migration to cloud-based systems allowing calls to be routed to and answered from anywhere
  • Setup & configuration of laptops or home computers to securely access the company’s systems

Don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions and requests for further assistance.

Knowledge workers untethered

/ jwblogger / Leave a comment

When a new customer came to us with 8 offices across the country, 150 highly-skilled knowledge workers who were seldom in those offices, and high levels of dissatisfaction with VPNs and distributed file access, we knew the traditional approach to IT infrastructure had already proved to be unworkable. Using VPNs to access core business functions stuck on servers inside offices that hang off the Internet by a thread was never going to a good way to do things, and it never will be. Modern, distributed working patterns demand a different approach to the whole delivery structure connecting people with core business systems.

Continue reading →

Every Cloud Needs a Pilot

/ jwblogger / Leave a comment

In 1996 we pioneered the managed services concept and helped create the Managed Services Provider model that so many others claim to be doing today, but while they were catching up we were driving ahead and recognizing that for some business the day was coming when racks of servers in their offices would be a thing of the past.

That day has arrived. Starting this year JustWorks is now delivering completely cloud-based I.T. infrastructure for businesses with no physical servers, no Active Directory™, and no worries!

Incredibly efficient, effective and simple cloud services that span the range from file services to directory to telephony and online meetings are now all available from JustWorks with 0 delay, $0 startup and 0 commitment. Everything works together, everything is secure, and everything is managed by your very own cloud pilot – it just works!

Navigating this new cloud world is not for the faint of heart, littered with the wreckage of failed vendors and integration turbulence. That’s why you need an experienced pilot who can navigate the skies with you every step of the way. We Make IT Simple. Just step on board for a fixed monthly fee per user and the next thing you know you’ll be relaxing in the comfort of your very own private jet through the clouds, answering your calls anywhere in the world, opening offices with just a WiFi access point, and onboarding new employees in minutes.

Contact us if you’re interesting in joining our growing list of cloud enabled customers.

JustWorks returns

/ jwblogger / Leave a comment

We are very happy to be returning to our original business location where JustWorks started in 1996.

We are marking the return of JustWorks in more ways than one. In 2019 we have completed our transformation into a full Cloud Services Provider (CSP, because techies love acronyms!) and are once again leading the field in helping our customers Make IT Simple.

In 1996 we pioneered the managed services concept and helped create the Managed Services Provider model that so many others claim to be doing today, but while they were catching up we were driving ahead and recognizing that for some business the day was coming when racks of servers in their offices would be a thing of the past.

When we started JustWorks we had racks of equipment in our offices at 1975 Hamilton Avenue and leased lines to our customers, now we have no servers, no racks and neither do some of our customers. We have led the way, eaten our own dog food and developed an incredibly efficient, effective and simple cloud services model that spans the range from file services to telephony and online meetings.

We are glad to be back home, and just as pleased to be offering Bay Area businesses the opportunity to make cloud IT simple to adopt and simple to use.

Contact us if you’re interesting in joining our growing list of cloud enabled customers.