Have you ever copied a patient’s ID, social security card or credit card? You, or someone in your practice probably has and if that printer is hooked up to your network, you could be posing a serious risk to your practice by making it very easy for a hacker to steal that data!

Most modern printers and copiers have internal hard drives. Most people don’t realize it, but every time you make a copy, or send a job to the printer, it is stored on that hard drive. This is so print jobs can be prioritized or queued for later, but it poses a serious cyber security risk.

Comets, Y2K, Yosemite eruptions, Mayan prophecies, Zombie apocalypse, magnetic shifting poles and the rise of the Zierlings are all threats to your data. So how does one make sure that their data will survive into the next millennium if the world as we know it comes to an end?

This was the question between a friend and I after his CEO walked into his office on Monday and asked "so we're good with our backups for this Mayan thing, right?" After our giggling fit passed it kind of struck us as a great exercise to determine exactly how one would safeguard data for, say, 1,000 years?

There are a lot of IT service providers out there and while they may all seem to provide the same services on the surface, not all IT companies are created equal! Unfortunately, the market is flooded with IT yes-men that will say anything to get you to sign on the dotted line. It's important to research your IT company thoroughly to make sure they have the skills to back up their claims, and the experience to give your business the specialized attention it deserves. It's my flub of the month: Hiring an IT service provider that can't backup their claims.

It's that time of year again! We present our top tech picks of the year so you can have a happy, tech-filled holiday season!

All security is not created equal but it can be hard to separate types and levels of security especially in the context of security professionals trying to make a sale. There are standardized levels of security established by the U.S. government to ensure that at the very least, government information is secure. These standards also set up a guide system for the private sector where companies can receive government validation at different levels as a seal of quality. One standard that has become somewhat well known among IT professionals is FIPS 140-2.

While reading CFO magazine recently I came across this article highlighting the recent cyber-attack on HSBC. After reading it and sharing it with our team it became more apparent that businesses may not be taking cyber threats as serious as they should. The saddest part of this particular case is that you can protect yourself against a denial of service attack.

Internet ready TV's are taking over the marketplace. As a society that likes to be wired wherever we go, it's no surprise that being able to login from your couch is a popular notion. It's convenient and goes right alongside our national shift towards streaming video and away from traditional broadcasting. But there are downsides as well. When I see an Internet-enabled TV, I see a tiny computer with a giant monitor. And you all know that when I think computers, I think security risks. It's my flub of the month: Taking security for granted on your internet TV.

I'm sure you've heard the expression: Can't see the forest for the trees. It refers to people who get so caught up in the details that they fail to see the bigger picture. It happens all the time in business and in IT in particular. If you're too focused on one detail, one idea, one solution, you won't be able to see any other possibilities and it can hamper your success or even grind a project to a halt. It's my flub of the month: Staying so focused on something that you're missing everything!

Cybrix Group announced today that through a new partnership with Dynamic Network Enterprises, Inc. (DNE), they have been chosen to support the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Atlantic (SPAWAR) with network and security services.

Read the full Press Release here

Have you ever scoured your desk, emptying all the drawers, looking for your glasses; Only to find they've been on your head the whole time? Or flew around your house in a huff looking for your keys, accusing anyone and everyone of hiding them; Only to discover them in your pocket? We all have! Sometimes it's so easy to miss something that's right in front of your face. When it's your glasses or your keys, you end up a little embarrassed or a little late, but when it's your business IT network, the consequences can be a lot worse. It's my flub of the month: Minor oversights that lead to major complications!

We’ve all seen those commercials for the Geek teams at the various major big-box retailers. The ones where a team of secret tech agents emerge from an IT clown car to swarm your device and fix all of your problems calmly and efficiently. Sounds convenient right? One centralized location that deals with any number of IT issues on every device imaginable. From your boss whose Blackberry is broken to your grandmother whose printer has been proclaiming “Paper Jam!” since the late 90's -everyone goes there! So they must be reliable, right? Here is a reason you might want to think twice about heading over to the Geek Team for your computer repair, it’s my flub of the month: tech support from a big-box retailer.

When people have so many different passwords to recall each day (network, e-mail, online banking, etc.) it can become tiresome to come up with unique, secure passwords for every individual application. But relying on a simple or predictable password is tantamount to inviting a hacker to peruse your data. Safeguard your accounts by avoiding these easily guessed passwords.

One of the nation's top mortgage companies has recently hired Cybrix Group's penetration testing services to ensure the vital security of their network. Big mortgage companies have a lot of money and personal information at stake, which means they are prime targets for hackers and cyber security is one of their largest concerns. They've trusted us to use our expertise to find the gaps in their armor before the hackers do so they can fortify their system and avoid costly security breaches.

While we believe that there are many situations that demand exceptional, professional IT support, we also believe that basic IT security is a necessity for every business no matter their size or resources. That's why we created a basic IT Security Guide full of security tips to share some of our knowledge with small business owners.