Going Beyond Boundaries. The Need to Define Access Controls

by blackbottledev | Mar 26, 2024 | Cybersecurity

It is about that time of year when employees submit for their vacation. Will you allow them to take their work computer on vacation? There are two obvious reasons not to allow their workbag to travel with them. Vacations are a time for rest, relaxation, and spending time with friends and families. Second, a work computer undoubtedly contains sensitive information. A leak of any sensitive information in or out could be catastrophic to your organization.

What are Access Controls?

Access controls are security measures or ‘boundaries’ that regulate who can access specific resources, such as data, systems, or physical locations, what actions they can perform when they have access, and where they can access. “Good access control rules around your tenant” specifically means that your organization must limit “who can access the account, from where, and from what device.”

As in the illustration, access controls can limit where systems can be accessed by specific machines and even by allowed business hours. So, if a bad actor is trying to access critical systems from outside the normal geography of business (e.g., outside the U.S.), during odd times of the day (e.g., 2:00 a.m.), access would be blocked. This type of control protects sensitive data if credentials are compromised.

It is important to define where company employees access systems, from what machines, and during what times of the day. If employees are doing work outside of these controls, develop a process for requesting temporary access, for example, working from the beach, and set the beginning and ending timeframes to remove access from these temporary situations.

Why Access Controls?

Reducing the attack surface: Limiting access to systems and data reduces the potential attack surface for cybercriminals. Even if a malicious actor gains access to login credentials, part of access controls can prevent them from compromising systems.

There is a lot at stake in addition to protecting sensitive data. Access controls ensure that only authorized users have access to sensitive information. While the experts at Black Bottle IT are focused on cybersecurity and limiting the potential for a cyber incident, when you limit geography, machine, and time systems can be accessed, you also reduce the risk of human errors that cause lost data.

Three Reasons Why Access Controls Are Fundamental

Compliance requirements: Many industries have strict regulations governing the protection of sensitive data, such as HIPAA in healthcare or GDPR in the European Union. Implementing access controls helps organizations comply with these regulations by demonstrating that they have measures to safeguard data.

Detecting and responding to security incidents: Access controls can also help detect and respond to security incidents. Organizations can identify suspicious activity and respond promptly to potential threats by logging access attempts and monitoring user behavior.

Maintaining business continuity: Cybersecurity incidents can disrupt business operations and lead to significant financial losses. Access controls help maintain business continuity by minimizing the impact of security breaches and ensuring that critical systems and data remain protected.

What Your Organization Must Do to Protect Company Data

Heighten Cybersecurity Awareness & Phishing Training
Enforce Access Controls around all cloud-based tools, i.e., AWS, Google Workspace, QuickBooks Online, Microsoft Office 365
Lock down the Administrative Account to a specific IP address
Monitor Tenants 24×7 — multiple organizations or individuals, referred to as “tenants,” share the same computing infrastructure, resources, and services
Continuous monitoring is crucial for promptly detecting and responding to security threats and incidents as they occur, minimizing the potential impact on tenants’ data and systems.

Remember: Heightening cybersecurity controls, like access controls, does not indefinitely prevent a cybercriminal from gaining access but makes it more difficult.

Everyone deserves a vacation. We have you covered. Contact us today for more information and how to get started with access controls. blackbottleit.com/contact-us.

The More Cybersecurity Changes The More it Remains the Same

by blackbottledev | Jan 15, 2024 | Cybersecurity, Cybersecurity Awareness, Uncategorized

“The more things change, the more they stay the same” means that despite apparent changes or advancements, certain fundamental aspects or patterns remain unchanged over time. One could relate this to cybersecurity.

Cyberattacks cost impacted organizations thousands, if not millions, of dollars.
Cybersecurity is a critical element of homeland security after 9-11.
Ransomware and phishing have always been pervasive.
Since on-premise storage still exists for some businesses, despite the rise of cloud computing, monitoring and protecting data will remain an important part of any security execution plan.

Gartner reports that 85% of organizations will embrace a cloud-first principle by 2025 and will not be able to fully execute their digital strategies without the use of cloud-native architectures and technologies. (May 2023)

Three Key Cybersecurity Focal Points that Will Remain the Same for Foreseeable Future

Rise in Cybersecurity Regulations:

Governments and regulatory bodies were expected to enhance and introduce new cybersecurity regulations to address the evolving threat landscape and protect sensitive data.

Focus on Cloud Security:

With the increasing adoption of cloud services, there was a growing emphasis on securing cloud environments. This includes implementing robust identity and access management, encryption, and monitoring.

Enhanced Endpoint Security:

As remote work became more prevalent, securing endpoints (devices used by employees) gained importance. Endpoint detection and response (EDR) solutions were expected to evolve.

This year, we will learn more about AI and machine learning techniques to improve response efficiency.

Black Bottle IT is focused on keeping data secure, which, in turn, will keep your business operational and competitive. Please reach out if you want to outsource your organization’s cybersecurity function! Contact us today.

Embrace Cybersecurity with Your Partners and Vendors

by blackbottledev | Mar 18, 2023 | Breach Response, Cybersecurity

Top 3 Things to Know BEFORE Partnering with Vendors

As cybercrime is always knocking on the door of your business, one of the most crucial things you can do is partner with vendors that embrace a good cybersecurity posture. This means that they value your business as much as they value their own! But how do you know which vendor relationships are safe? Here are three things to know before you partner.

Does your business have a PROCESS to audit third-party vendors for their cybersecurity resilience before sharing sensitive information?
VERIFY that your third parties have implemented strong third-party risk cybersecurity monitoring and plans.
DEFINE cybersecurity risk expectations and requirements with your vendors.

It’s in the Data

Payroll Companies, Financial Institutions, Accounting firms — they all have one ‘big’ thing in common. These industries store large volumes of data. Data that is very interesting to cyber criminals. It really doesn’t matter what they actual data is — just know that criminals want it!

Types of Risky Data Include:

Employee Data
Social Security Numbers
Bank Account
Health Care information
Client Data
Account numbers
Sensitive information owned by Client
Credit Card/Bank Account
Protected Information
Industry specific proprietary information
Controlled Unclassified Information

As a business leader, do any of these pain points resonate with you?

The Increase in ransomware /phishing schemes
Lack of compliance with increases in regulation
Lack of an incident response plan
Third-party vendor cybersecurity maturity
Our Insufficient in-house cybersecurity expertise

By understanding third-party security policies and procedures, you can take corrective steps to address the risks to your data. Without the proper controls, your vendors and contractors can become the weakest link to your organization and customers’ privacy.

Black Bottle IT Achieves HIPAA Compliance with Compliancy Group

by blackbottledev | Aug 30, 2022 | Compliance, Risk Management

Black Bottle IT Achieves HIPAA Compliance with

Compliancy Group

Black Bottle IT has demonstrated its good faith effort toward HIPAA compliance by completing Compliancy Group’s proprietary HIPAA compliance process.

We are pleased to announce that Black Bottle IT has taken all necessary steps to prove its good faith effort to achieve compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Through the use of Compliancy Group’s proprietary HIPAA solution, The Guard™. Black Bottle IT can track its compliance program and has earned its Seal of Compliance™. The Seal of Compliance is issued to organizations implementing an effective HIPAA compliance program using The Guard.

HIPAA comprises a set of regulatory standards governing the security, privacy, and integrity of sensitive healthcare data called protected health information (PHI). PHI is any individually identifiable healthcare-related information. If vendors who service healthcare clients come into contact with PHI in any way, those vendors must be HIPAA compliant.

Black Bottle IT has completed the Compliancy Group’s Implementation Program, adhering to the necessary regulatory standards outlined in the HIPAA Privacy Rule, Security Rule, Breach Notification Rule, Omnibus Rule, and HITECH. Compliancy Group has verified Black Bottle IT’s good faith effort to achieve HIPAA compliance through The Guard.

“Our streamlined solution with Compliance Group will drastically cut down the time needed to achieve HIPAA compliance, saving our clients time and stress,” said John Hensberger, Partner. “We are excited about our partnership and look forward to helping our clients grow their business, safely.”

About Compliancy Group

HIPAA should be simple. That’s why Compliancy Group is the only software with Compliance Coaches™ walking you through HIPAA to simplify compliance. Built by auditors, Compliancy Group gives you confidence in your compliance plan to reduce risk, increase patient loyalty, and profitability of your organization. Visit https://www.compliancy-group.com to learn how simple compliance can be.

Cybersecurity, in General, Doesn’t Have to Be Hard.

by blackbottledev | Mar 16, 2022 | Cybersecurity

Don’t Sweat it.

Less than 1% of manufacturers will require CMMC Level 3

It may be one of your largest accounts if you’re a manufacturer with a contract with the Department of Defense (DoD). Winning DoD contracts can contribute to years of work and good cash flow. It isn’t nearly as easy for many contractors as it used to be to win those contracts, and in fact, it will get more complex.

Once CMMC 2.0 arrives – the rule-making of the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) if you have contracts, will you keep them? Don’t sweat the big stuff. Your organization will most likely fall under CMMC 1 and CMMC 2 levels, considering the projection for 99.9%* of all DoD contractors.

Level 1: 59.9% (77,789 companies)
Level 2: 40.0% (51,860 companies)
Level 3: 0.1% (160 companies)

These regulatory requirements aren’t moving as fast as everyone thought. Still nervous about meeting these compliances? Black Bottle IT recommends protecting your business without a big pot of gold! Our affordable solution gets you to NIST 800-171 compliance.

Cybersecurity, in General, Doesn’t Have to Be Hard.

Whether you have DoD contracts or not, improving your cyber posture will go a long way to building trust and keeping your business safe. Manufacturers, education, nonprofits, and legacy systems, typically lack staff IT teams and utilize legacy systems.

Once ransomware attackers lose interest in what’s happening in Russia and Ukraine, the industries most vulnerable will need, and should always have, proper controls in place.

It doesn’t have to be hard to get started with better cybersecurity practices.

Here are the top four weaknesses organizations are facing as they LACK:

Vulnerability Scans: Scanning systems are advised to ensure security from all known vulnerabilities. One of the most significant security vulnerabilities of the last few years, Log4j, is prevalent in many technology applications. Vulnerability scanning will identify this and many other vulnerabilities so that a remediation plan can be developed and executed.
Security Monitoring Tools: If your network is breached, having intrusion detection/response will alert key personnel and potentially stop the attack.
Data Backup Strategy: The best practice is to have an offsite backup solution.
Security Awareness Training: Human error is the most significant attack vector; regular employee training introduces/re-enforces good security hygiene and habits.

Chose to Partner with Black Bottle IT.

We are certified trusted, and we will take steps to achieve compliance and protect your organization from threats like ransomware and data breaches.