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Optimizing Legal Practice Management: A Comprehensive Guide for Law Firms, Attorneys, and CPAs on Managed Service Providers (MSPs)

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Introduction 

As an attorney, law firm, or certified public accountant (CPA), you understand that your practice encompasses more than legal work. You must hire and manage staff, maintain office space, keep up with technology and software updates, and manage daily business tasks. Fortunately, companies called Managed Service Providers (MSPs) can help you manage these aspects, allowing you to focus on what truly matters: providing exceptional legal services to your clients. Some MSPs offer services specifically designed for attorneys, law firms, and CPAs, such as IT support, cloud storage solutions, accounting and billing management tools, document management systems, policy and compliance assistance, marketing campaigns, and website design/development, among others.

Data Security, Backup, and Disaster Recovery

Safeguarding sensitive client data is paramount for attorneys, law firms, and CPAs. Implementing robust backup and disaster recovery strategies is vital to mitigate the risk of significant economic loss, reputational damage, and potential legal and regulatory liability. Implementing a comprehensive backup plan is crucial to ensure the timely recovery of clients’ information in cases of unforeseen emergencies or difficult circumstances, such as when immediate responses are required.

  • Disaster Recovery: Addressing the impact of disasters and incidents on infrastructure, Disaster recovery encompasses the comprehensive set of processes and strategies employed to recover from disasters and incidents, which can include anything from fires or floods to hardware failures or ransomware events, which can destroy critical infrastructure and cause data loss, or worse, data breach. Including the loss of buildings, servers, and other IT equipment that attorneys, law firms, and CPAs rely on for managing and storing their clients’ confidential information. A well-rounded disaster recovery plan is crucial for legal practices to navigate and mitigate the adverse effects of natural disasters effectively. MSPs with professional services and legal industry experts can provide guidance and resources to develop and implement comprehensive disaster recovery plans encompassing data protection, infrastructure resilience, and contingency planning, allowing legal professionals to recover and restore operations swiftly, ensuring minimal disruption to their clients and business.
  • Proactive Measures: Ensuring Business Continuity for professionals, adopting proactive measures that guarantee continued operations or a fast return to operations in the face of catastrophic events is essential. By partnering with a reputable MSP experienced in the professional services industry, attorneys, law firms, and CPAs can benefit from tailored solutions that cater to the unique needs of their practice.
  • Industry-Specific Backup Solutions: Working with an MSP that understands the intricacies of the professional services and regulated industry sectors ensures the implementation of industry-specific backup solutions that prioritize protecting sensitive client data. These MSPs can recommend and deploy innovative backup technologies and strategies to accommodate stringent requirements.

Cloud Services

In today’s fast-paced digital landscape, cloud services have become an invaluable resource for attorneys, law firms, and CPAs. The adoption of cloud technology in the legal and financial sectors has revolutionized how professionals store, access, and manage data, emphasizing security, reliability, and accessibility. However, staying abreast of the latest advancements in cloud services and managing these platforms can take time and effort. Partnering with an MSP can streamline this process, ensuring that legal and financial professionals can focus on their core competencies while enjoying the numerous benefits of cloud services.

  • Advantages of MSP-Managed Cloud Services for attorneys, law firms, and CPAs by entrusting an MSP with the management of your cloud services, legal and financial professionals can reap numerous benefits, including
  • Seamless Software Updates: With an MSP handling your cloud services, your team no longer needs to update software across devices manually. The MSP will take responsibility for performing regular software updates, ensuring that your systems remain current and secure.
  • Proactive Performance Monitoring: MSPs continuously monitor performance levels across multiple devices, ensuring your cloud infrastructure operates efficiently. This proactive approach helps identify and resolve potential issues before they escalate, minimizing downtime and disruption.
  • Enhanced Data Security: MSPs are well-versed in industry-specific security protocols and compliance regulations. By partnering with an MSP,  attorneys, law firms, and CPAs can rest assured that their sensitive client data remains secure and complies with the relevant standards.
  • Scalable Cloud Solutions: Legal and financial professionals often experience fluctuating workloads and client demands. MSPs offer scalable cloud solutions that can be adjusted to accommodate these changes, allowing for seamless expansion or contraction of services as needed.
  • Streamlined IT Management: Outsourcing cloud service management to an MSP enables legal and financial professionals to focus on their core competencies. The MSP will handle the time-consuming tasks of maintaining, updating, and monitoring cloud services, freeing up valuable time and resources.
  • The virtualization of IT infrastructure: is a powerful tool for enhancing data security and streamlining operations within a business legal practice. MSPs can assist with deploying virtualized servers, storage, and network resources, ensuring optimal performance and safety. This approach offers several advantages, including improved resource utilization, increased flexibility, and reduced hardware costs. Moreover, virtualization can bolster data protection by rapidly deploying security patches, seamless system upgrades, and efficient disaster recovery processes.

Navigating Compliance and Regulatory Requirements

Compliance and regulatory requirements are indispensable for attorneys, law firms, and CPAs. Maintaining adherence to industry standards, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX), and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), is crucial for these professionals. MSPs play a significant role in ensuring compliance, providing numerous benefits to their legal and accounting clients.

Critical Benefits of MSPs in Compliance and Regulatory Requirements Management

  • Expert Guidance in compliance with industry standards MSPs offer invaluable assistance in maintaining compliance with industry standards, including but not limited to GDPR, SOX, and HIPAA. By partnering with an MSP, attorneys, law firms, and CPAs gain access to knowledge and expertise that ensures their practices remain compliant with relevant regulations. This not only mitigates the risk of non-compliance penalties but also bolsters the reputation of the firm or practitioner in the eyes of clients and regulatory bodies.
  • Comprehensive Support in Business Management MSPs provides extensive support in managing the business aspects of a legal or accounting practice. This includes critical areas such as IT security, cybersecurity, and disaster recovery planning. By utilizing the services of an MSP, legal and accounting professionals can concentrate on their core competencies, confident that the MSP will address any potential compliance, security, or technological issues.
  • Regular Compliance Audits and Assessments MSPs can conduct periodic compliance audits and assessments to ensure that their clients’ practices adhere to industry standards. This proactive approach allows attorneys, law firms, and CPAs to identify and rectify potential compliance issues before they escalate, thus reducing the risk of penalties or reputational damage.
  • Customized Compliance Solutions Tailored to the legal and accounting industries, MSPs understand the unique compliance challenges. Consequently, they can develop and implement customized compliance solutions explicitly tailored to the needs of the legal and accounting sectors. This targeted approach ensures that the compliance strategies employed are practical and efficient, optimizing the use of resources and providing maximum protection against potential risks.

Maximizing Cost Efficiency

Optimizing cost efficiency in the highly competitive legal and accounting industries is a critical component of success for attorneys, law firms, and CPAs. MSPs offer a strategic advantage for businesses seeking to reduce expenses while maintaining high-quality services. Through proactive maintenance, comprehensive system monitoring, and advanced optimization techniques, MSPs effectively streamline operations, minimize costly downtime and repairs, and improve overall productivity.

As legal and financial professionals understand, controlling expenses without compromising the quality of client services is paramount. Partnering with an MSP delivers numerous advantages, including the ability to

  • Leverage Proactive Maintenance and Support: MSPs proactively approach system maintenance, addressing potential issues before they escalate into more significant, costlier problems. This preemptive strategy prevents unplanned downtime and extends the lifespan of your technology infrastructure, maximizing your return on investment.
  • Implement Advanced System Monitoring: MSPs utilize sophisticated monitoring tools to continually assess the health and performance of your systems, promptly identifying areas requiring attention. By detecting potential concerns early, MSPs can resolve problems efficiently, ensuring uninterrupted service for your clients and maintaining the integrity of your firm’s reputation.
  • Optimize Systems for Maximum Efficiency: MSPs are well-versed in best practices for system optimization, employing techniques that enhance productivity, reduce energy consumption, and streamline operations. This results in a more cost-effective and environmentally friendly business model, which aligns with the values of many modern law firms and accounting practices.
  • Benefit from Industry-Specific Expertise: MSPs who serve the legal and accounting industries deeply understand law firms, attorneys, and CPAs’ unique challenges and requirements. Their tailored solutions are designed to meet the specific needs of your practice, ensuring maximum cost savings and operational efficiency.
  • Access Scalable Solutions: As your practice evolves, MSPs offer scalable solutions that grow with your business, eliminating the need for costly infrastructure overhauls or labor-intensive system upgrades. This adaptability allows you to maintain a lean operation, quickly adjusting resources to align with your firm’s changing needs.

Conclusion

In summary, numerous advantages can be gleaned from collaborating with a Managed Service Provider (MSP) for attorneys, law firms, and CPAs. If you are searching for an MSP boasting a proven record of accomplishment within the professional services sector, Betterchips Consulting is the premier choice. With over twenty years of experience serving attorneys, law firms, CPAs, and their clients, our team possesses the requisite expertise to ensure your business flourishes.

Our comprehensive suite of services is specifically tailored to accommodate the distinct needs of the legal industry, encompassing managed IT services, cybersecurity solutions, and cloud computing. As legal professionals, you are undoubtedly familiar with essential terms such as e-discovery, legal research, case management, and data protection. Betterchips Consulting is proficient in addressing these areas, further solidifying our position as an invaluable partner for your legal practice.

Do not hesitate to seize this opportunity to elevate your legal practice to unprecedented heights. Contact us today at info@betterchips.com to discover how Betterchips Consulting can assist in streamlining your operations, bolstering data security, ensuring regulatory compliance, and enhancing the overall success of your law firm, legal practice, or accounting firm.

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Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity

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Introduction

Disasters can strike at any time and can be highly devastating for businesses. Significant disruptions to operations can have serious consequences, whether natural disasters, cyber-attacks or human error. This is why organizations must maintain, implement and test disaster recovery and business continuity plans.

Disaster Recovery

A disaster recovery plan (DRP) is a set of procedures and processes designed to help a business recover from a disaster as quickly and efficiently as possible. This includes restoring data and systems, identifying and prioritizing critical business functions, and defining roles and responsibilities for key personnel. The goal of a DRP is to minimize the impact of a disaster on a business and ensure that it can quickly resume normal operations.

Business Continuity

On the other hand, a business continuity plan (BCP) is a comprehensive strategy that outlines how a business will continue to operate during and after a disaster. This includes identifying critical business functions, establishing alternative communication channels, and providing guidance on managing resources and personnel during a crisis. A BCP’s goal is to minimize a disaster’s impact on a business and ensure it can continue operating even in the face of significant disruptions.

The Benefit of Both

Having a DRP and a BCP is essential for several reasons. First, it can help to protect a business from financial losses. Disasters can be expensive, and without a plan, a company may be forced to absorb significant costs related to lost revenue, damaged equipment, and other expenses. By having a DRP and a BCP, businesses can reduce their financial risk and ensure that they can recover quickly and efficiently.

Second, having a DRP and a BCP can help to protect a business’s reputation. Customers and partners expect firms to be prepared for unexpected events, and a failure to do so can damage a business’s reputation and credibility. By having a DRP and a BCP in place, companies can demonstrate that they are committed to ensuring the continuity of operations and are prepared to handle any situation that may arise. A business’s reputation during normal times is one thing, but that reputation is often improved if it responds and handles itself well during a crisis, instilling confidence in its customers.

Finally, having an actionable DRP and a BCP can help to protect employees. Disasters can be stressful and traumatic for employees, and without a plan in place, they may not know how to respond to a crisis. By providing clear guidance and establishing protocols for managing resources and personnel, businesses can help minimize the disaster’s impact on their employees and ensure that they can provide a safe and secure working environment.

Conclusion

In conclusion, having a disaster recovery plan and a business continuity plan, and verifying it, is essential for any business that wants to ensure its long-term success. By being prepared for unexpected events, companies can protect themselves from financial losses, protect their reputation, and protect their employees. If you haven’t already developed a DRP and a BCP for your business, you should know that the professionals at Betterchips Consulting have been working to secure our clients and customers since 1997. Contact us today to discuss the best options for your business.

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The Importance of Choosing the Right Managed Service Provider (MSP)

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Introduction

Can you imagine the anxiety and cost if your business’s network, WiFi, or firewall went down for an extended period? Or worse still, if your organization suffered a ransomware attack and its systems and data were inaccessible. That’s why choosing a quality, trusted, Managed Service Provider (MSP) is crucial. A quality MSP is responsible for your organization’s technology footprint, including maintaining hardware, software, data security, IT policies, compliance, backup systems, and most importantly, its people with appropriate cybersecurity training and awareness, all while securing everything against emerging cyber threats and bad actors, so you want someone you can trust at the helm.

The MSP industry has seen explosive growth over the past few years, and with good reason. As the number of cyberattacks increases, so does the demand for cybersecurity services. An MSP is a company that offers IT strategy, management, administration, and support for organizations of any size, but especially those with limited IT staff. An MSP can help keep a business running and help prevent and fight cyber attacks and other technology incidents and mishaps. Still, some also offer other, more customized, consulting services like: 

  • Engineering for Cybersecurity, Networks, Servers, and Workstations
  • Data Protection, Compliance, Policies, and Procedures
  • Technology Contracts, Negotiations, and Disputes
  • Digital Investigation, Cyber Forensics, and Data Analytics
  • Application Design and Web Development

An MSP is a company that provides IT support in exchange for a fee, but they’re different from your typical IT guy who comes to your office once a week or month and fixes stuff while you watch. They’re responsible for ensuring everything works and that all your systems are safe, secure, and operating as intended. So how do you choose the right MSP? Read on!

Many Modern Small Businesses Simply are not Equipped to Handle Current Cybersecurity, Policy, and IT Infrastructure Demands

If you’re a small business owner, you know enough about what it takes to keep your business running smoothly. You likely have a handle on sales and marketing, but regarding Information Technology (IT), you may need more confidence, especially if your business isn’t an IT company. In today’s digital landscape, every business is a technology business, with consumers and businesses sourcing products and services by looking at their phones more than talking on them. With so many types of threats—hackers stealing sensitive data, ransomware, and malware infecting your Systems—it can be hard to keep up with all the latest developments.

If you don’t have expertise in the field (or even if you do), hiring an outside company specializing in these matters is one way to ensure that adverse risks will be kept in check. 

Finding the Right Fit for Your Organization can be Tricky

Choosing the right MSP can save you hundreds, thousands, or even millions of dollars annually. An MSP is an IT company that manages your network, servers, and other technology for you. A Monthly Subscription is often the model used.

Why in the world would anyone want to outsource their IT? Well, there are lots of reasons! Here are just a few:

  • Service Level Agreements (SLAs)
  • Less stress and overhead
  • It often leads to a lower total cost of ownership for your IT environment than maintaining personnel.
  • Many MSPs often operate 24 hours per day with guaranteed Uptime and Availability.
  • They Leverage Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) in many disciplines of Networking, Information Security, Development, and more
  • They are a Single Point of Contact, thus streamlining your Disaster Response and Recovery Time.
  • They employ the Latest Technology and Management Platforms (no Expensive Upgrades)
  • They are scalable to match the specific needs of your organization or projects.

Did you know that 82 percent of Small Businesses will outsource some aspect of their IT? And 4 out of 5 small businesses prefer an MSP to hiring full-time employees because it’s less expensive and more convenient.

The Value of Quality Service Level Agreements (SLAs)

A Service-Level Agreement (SLA) is a contract between you and your MSP.

The SLA outlines what the MSP will do regarding Service Availability, Response Time, Uptime, and Security. It states how often they’ll perform Maintenance on your environment and what kind of notification they’ll send you in advance so that if there are issues during Scheduled Maintenance periods, you’re aware before customers contact you about problems with their orders or transactions.

It’s essential to understand what the SLA covers. Some SLAs do little to protect you from downtime, security breaches, network connectivity issues, Or other technical malfunctions within the systems or between them and third-party software providers, such as Email Marketing Tools used by eCommerce sites selling Products through Digital Storefronts (such as Shopify). Knowing what’s in an SLA and what it covers is critical to your investment in an MSP service.

Service Level Agreements Protect your Investments

According to a 2018 report by MSP Alliances, more than half of MSP customers have had issues at some point in their relationship. You must have a contract in place so that when problems arise, there is a way for you to resolve them effectively.

A signed contract by the MSP should include all of the following:

  • The Beginning and End dates of the Engagement, including renewal terms if applicable.
  • Guidelines on how many hours they will be Available each week (for example, 4-hour blocks Monday through Friday).
  • How much time is needed to Respond to Emails, Tickets, and Phone calls (24 hours or less)?
  • Lays out guidelines for Compensation when Downtime and Outages occur.
  • Liability and insurance policy details and declarations.
  • Applicable metrics for specific service amounts and quantities, including limits and thresholds.
  • Dispute resolution process details.
  • A complete listing of the services being provided (i.e., the Service Stack)
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Conclusion

The bottom line is that if you want to grow your business, getting the help of a Managed Service Provider can be a wise, even pivotal decision. When finding the right one for your company, we recommend starting with Betterchips Consulting. Our Expertise in IT Solutions and Services is unparalleled, and we have been helping businesses of all sizes succeed with their technology needs since 1997. Contact Us today if you want to partner with an MSP that will provide you, your business, your systems, and your people with a genuine white glove experience. We’re proud of what we’ve built here at Betterchips Consulting and would love to walk you through our MSP and Consulting Services and show you why partnering with us is the only decision for your growing business.

Convergence of Business, Legal, and Technology

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Business and Technology

Business and technology are intricately interwoven. Companies rely on technology to help them succeed, but they also need to understand the impact technology has on their overall business. While companies must stay up-to-date with technological advances and trends, it is equally important to have a strategy for how they will use those technologies moving forward.

  • It’s no secret that technology is changing at a rapid pace. This evolution can quickly become even more challenging as technology increases in complexity and businesses increasingly rely on IT for success.
  • But it’s not just about being “ahead” of your industry—you also need to stay ahead of other companies in your sector, which may be using new technologies before you are.
  • Technology constantly evolves, so staying ahead means knowing what’s coming next, not just what’s happening now!

We’ve seen incredible technological advances over the past several decades, and there’s something new to learn every month. The problem is finding the time, personnel, and budget to stay on top of all these changes; you can’t afford to waste time on inefficient or ineffective processes, or your business will suffer. And in today’s competitive environment, taking advantage of the latest technology is imperative. The good news is that plenty of tools can help you make the most out of your workday and ensure you’re getting the most out of your time. The bad news is that there are so many different options out there! How do you know which one will work best for you?

Betterchips can help you figure that out by reviewing some of our favorite productivity tools for business. We’ll cover everything from communication and project management software to time-tracking apps and email marketing tools—and more!

While contractual requirements constantly change, organizations may need more preparation to deal with the challenges. Staying ahead of all the changes can be frustrating, and not being compliant can result in significant financial penalties and reputation damage to your business.

The word “compliance” has a negative connotation, but it doesn’t have to be. Compliance frameworks like ISO 27001 and NIST Cybersecurity Framework provide a common language for discussing cybersecurity concerns with senior management. As organizations adopt these frameworks, the conversations become easier across the board and even end up being seen as an asset, not just a cost to cover the risk.

Here are some common compliance frameworks and how they may affect your company.

Compliance frameworks refer to policies and procedures that organizations follow, often to comply with regulations. They can be more narrowly focused on specific laws or norms, such as Sarbanes-Oxley or HIPAA privacy compliance, or more broadly focused on a particular industry’s regulatory environment, like The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act. In either case, complying with a compliance framework puts your organization on the right track toward compliance with applicable rules and regulations.

NIST Cybersecurity Framework

The NIST Cybersecurity Framework is a set of cybersecurity controls that can manage risk in networked systems. It was developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) within the U.S. Department of Commerce, in cooperation with leaders from business and academia.

The NIST Cybersecurity Framework is not a product or service that can be purchased, but rather an approach to improving cyber security that any organization can adopt at its own pace, based on its unique needs and risk profile.

ISO 27001 and ISO 27002

ISO 27001 and ISO 27002 are similar in that they’re both information security standards. They also share some terminology and concepts, but there are some critical differences between them:

  • ISO 27001 is a formal standard that specifies how to manage information security. It defines what “information” means in relation to an organization and explains how to effectively implement policies, procedures, and controls to ensure the confidentiality, integrity, availability, and accountability of information assets.
  • ISO 27002 specifies how to protect information assets against unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction by implementing specific controls by an organization’s employees or third parties acting on its behalf.

SOC2

SOC2 is a compliance framework for service organizations. It allows you to demonstrate your ability to provide services securely based on ISO/IEC 27001 or ISO/IEC 27002.

SOC2 is an extension of ISO/IEC 27001 and guides how to implement the controls in the standard within your organization. If you are using or implementing any information security management system (ISMS), SOC2 can help you determine whether that system meets all of its requirements for compliance with this international standard.

FISMA

FISMA is the acronym for the Federal Information Security Management Act of 2002, a law that requires federal agencies to protect their information and systems. FISMA was created to identify sensitive information and reduce risks related to security breaches. The legislation also requires agencies to establish policies, standards, guidelines, and procedures for managing their IT assets effectively to meet security requirements set forth by the law. In other words: it’s the foundation for most federal cybersecurity policies today.

The law applies only to systems containing nonpublic data—that is, information that falls under one of six categories (e.g., national defense or foreign relations). If you work in any other sector—private sector companies or state/local governments—you likely won’t have this type of data on your desk!

NERC-CIP

A basic compliance framework, NERC-CIP consists of security standards and guidelines for critical infrastructure (CI) owners and operators. The program is voluntary, but it provides a set of industry standards to help CIs comply with essential cybersecurity requirements.

NERC-CIP ensures that CIs maintain effective cyber defense programs that protect their assets from cyber threats. It provides a common language and consistent metrics for evaluating how well an organization’s CI assets are protected. With NERC-CIP, organizations can identify gaps in their cybersecurity programs and develop strategies to close those gaps while meeting legal requirements and regulations like FISMA or HIPAA.

HIPAA

HIPAA, or the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, is a U.S. law that protects the privacy of health information and provides standards for electronic healthcare transactions. It was signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1996 as part of his bid to reform the healthcare industry.

HIPAA applies to all entities involved with healthcare delivery: doctors, hospitals, pharmacies, insurers, and others who possess or use Protected Health Information (PHI) on behalf of covered entities such as health plans and healthcare providers who conduct business electronically using electronic media.

GDPR

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a set of regulations that came into effect on May 25, 2018. They require companies to protect the personal data and privacy of EU citizens and report data breaches within 72 hours of discovery. GDPR also requires companies to allow users to see what data is being collected about them and for what purpose.

Armed with a business mindset and strategic vision to advise your organization.

Betterchips Consulting is committed to helping clients achieve their business goals by providing clear, easy-to-understand, and efficient solutions for their legal, compliance, project management, technology, and business needs. We believe in developing a close working relationship with our clients, understanding their unique requirements, and providing efficient, practical solutions that can be implemented quickly, discreetly, and effectively.

We are technologically armed professionals with a strategic business mindset and vision to guide you in whatever capacity you require. A dedicated team of project managers, engineers, and consultants who can help you stay on top of industry developments, including changes to legislation, regulations, and best practices. We have a solid customer-first approach and a team of experienced multidisciplinary professionals from many industries who use cutting-edge technology and proven business methodologies to create solutions for our clients that save them money and time. We give our customers and clients a decision advantage to reduce risk and exposure.

We are here to help!

We are here to help your business grow at any stage of development. Whether you’re looking for help developing a new business or service or need assistance with compliance issues, our experts can assist you with any challenges armed with the technology to stay safe, secure, and compliant.  Contact Betterchips Consulting today!

Sorry Wrong Number, Let’s Be Friends

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Criminals have one job to focus on, while the rest of us have our own jobs to worry about AND be ever vigilant against crime. Cybercriminals don’t just hack your computers and take your money without you knowing about it, sometimes you willingly give it to them… just for the wrong reasons. This next story is significant because it happened to people I know. And although it doesn’t involve traditional cybercrime, it involves technology and the abuse of trust.

A person I know (a male) got a call one day from an asian sounding woman. She asked for a person and he told her she had the wrong number. I guess that day he was feeling extra lonely or bored and for some reason instead of hanging up the phone immediately the woman managed to strike up a conversation. And the game began.

Like any good criminal, the attack doesn’t happen right away. She spent time with her victim, weeks in fact. She told him she was originally from Japan and that she was living in LA. After a couple weeks of back and forth, the topic of investing came up, and she told him about what she and her uncle were doing; buying and selling crypto currencies. 

She casually asked him if he had any money to invest, she would be willing to show him how to do what they were doing, he said he had about a thousand dollars. She got him to set up a legitimate account with crypto.com and then had him set up an account with a fake version of the legitimate CME Group app. For someone that has no experience in crypto you wouldn’t think twice about using a link sent to you by someone you’ve been talking to for weeks… always download your apps from an app store or trusted site.

Once he set up the account and transferred the crypto, the game shifted into high gear. The plan was simple, every Friday they would get on the phone and make 3 trades. The trades would be quick and the profits would be somewhere in the neighborhood of 20 to 30%. Keep in mind, throughout the week, they continued to talk. After a couple months, his account was looking pretty amazing, enough so that another person we know decided to join in. The second person put in an initial investment of two thousand dollars. And just like clockwork, his monies seem to grow exponentially every week. 

I caught wind of this after they had been doing this for about 4 months. I had my suspicions and so I decided to join the game… but only far enough in to expose what was really happening. The first guy asked if I could join and she said as long as I was trusted. She then contacted me directly… through WhatsApp.

WhatsApp is an online way to communicate with people, often used by people not within your own country. This of course was a red flag since she had said she was in LA. She asked me how much I had to use, and I told her two to five thousand… she of course suggested the five thousand. I had an existing account with crypto so I sent her a screenshot of my account (making sure there wasn’t any revealing information). She then sent me a suspicious link to CME Group… I asked her why I couldn’t use the app store to download the app, and she said I had to use this link. I dragged my feet on transferring funds and made excuses as to why it was taking me so long. But then she made a hurried mistake exposing herself to everyone.

In the last rounds of trading she offered the guys some additional money to help boost their returns, they of course said sure. After the trading and the impressive returns however, she requested they pay her back… but instead of using the monies from the account, she told them they needed to send her a wire in US dollars for the amounts she fronted them… 37K each. 

At this point I had no reason to continue pretending I was going to send her any money and they were no longer under the spell of fast money. She attempted to regain control of the situation but no one was obviously having it. In total she made away with three thousand dollars… but it was a game she played for over 5 months. Not a great return, even as a criminal. It could be assumed she was running this scam on other people so perhaps she won on volume. 

Before you go down any questionable paths, click on any suspicious links, answer any phone calls from people looking for someone else, step back and think of this tale. Better yet, give us a call and we’ll help you and your office navigate the ever changing landscape of the cybercriminal. Always put people first, before technology.  Don’t ever be afraid, shy or timid to reach out for help, especially if there’s any doubt whatsoever.  Betterchips is here to help and save your time and money and to prevent scams like these.  

Abandoned Business as the Result of Failed Data Protection

One man’s trash is another man’s access to your data

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Abandoned Business as the Result of Failed Data Protection

Home computers have been around since the mid 80’s. The internet has been accessible since 1993, and the first smartphone was released in 1994. Data has been collected on you since you took your first breath, and even before the proliferation of technology, you were told to shred sensitive information so that bad people couldn’t dig it out of your garbage… too bad we still need to be reminded… sometimes the hard way.

Recently, Morgan Stanley took the lazy route and instead of properly discarding obsolete computers, they hired a moving company with no experience in handling such items… only to find their old computers (still with data on the drives) being offered at an auction. The fine was significant but it still won’t get back any information that has been retrieved from those sold computers.

This should be a cautionary tale for every individual and business. From your smartphone that you’ll be trading in for the latest version, to your workstation upgrades at your job, old printers or scanners, even the fax machine, you should have a professional company like Betterchips walking you through the correct steps to properly remove data and destroy old hard drives. As mundane as it seems, having basic data destruction policies and procedures is an essential part of every IT organization and shouldn’t be overlooked.  Do the right thing the first time, contact us and we’ll help you reduce the chance of exposing information you don’t want exposed. Don’t be a Morgan or a Stanley. 

A Happy Technical Support Representative Engaging a Client Virtually

What do you mean I need to see you again?

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A Happy Technical Support Representative Engaging a Client Virtually

Wouldn’t it be nice if you only had to see your IT specialist when things went wrong? And wouldn’t it be even better if things never went wrong? Well, too bad. Let’s get really real, technology and cyber criminals seem to be on some never ending desire to make things more difficult and dangerous. As fast as criminals figure out a way to get in your computer, software companies are producing patches to board up the holes. Your hardware isn’t much different; how many times have you been told you need to update your computer in order to run current software?

Technology has enabled businesses to operate more efficiently and effectively, centralizing most (if not all) of your vital information and operations into just a few key points. And as technology advances and cyber criminals create new ways to gain access, everything from your work stations to your office’s policy and procedures need to be updated in order to keep up. 

Are you updating software every week? How about regularly backing up data on external drives? With all the work you have on your plate already, the “little things” can easily slip through the cracks, and what should happen regularly can quickly become a situation of “whenever I have time.” Keep this in mind the next time you put off updating your office for the 2nd or 3rd or 4th time; One organization identified over 4 million high-risk sites in 2021, with roughly 66% of them involving phishing. It only takes one time to lose everything you’ve worked for; the average money spent on ransoms surpassed 300,000.00 and over 80% of attacks were on companies with less than 1000 employees. 

Yes, you could hire a full time IT person to watch over your network, your work stations, your software updates, your driver updates, train new hires, update old hires, keep up with current threats, keep up with new software and hardware, and so on… Or you could simply utilize a qualified IT support company like Betterchips Consulting, with a staff of tenured, highly skilled professionals making sure every aspect of your digital resources is covered, and beyond. 

Your problems are so trending right now

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There’s no such thing as bad publicity… unless it comes via your IT support company’s Facebook page. Here at Betterchips, we take our clients’ privacy very seriously.  You’ll never see our clients’ logos on our website or even mention the companies we work with.

We all name-drop, it’s just how we validate who we are and why we belong in a particular group. The problem with name-dropping in the IT world, especially if your company has just experienced cyber crime, is that it draws unwanted attention to your potential vulnerabilities… even if they’ve been fixed. 

A big part of being an IT company is being able to be trusted. An IT company has to have access to the vital parts of a company’s network and in some cases have more accessibility than the owner. If an IT company is sharing with the general population that they take care of your back end or maintain your systems (usually remotely) not only could they be making your company a target, but they could be inviting bad actors to give their security a trial under fire. 

Social media is a huge marketing tool for virtually everyone selling anything. These free platforms can take literal nobodies and make them actual millionaires. So with nothing to lose and all the money in the world to gain, many companies are leaning heavily on their social media accounts to attract new business.  The problem is when companies share too much information, especially information that may be useful to cyber criminals

Cyber criminals enjoy a challenge. You fixed your problem? We will see about that! Having your IT company use your downfall as a means to promote themselves is the same as having your corner coach yell across the ring, “he’s bad about dropping his guard, but we told him not to!” 

Betterchips will never talk about its clients and what has been, or is being, done for them. Even in one-on-one situations, we take our clients’ privacy very seriously. You’ll never see our clients’ logos on our website and even if their problems make the news, we will never acknowledge that we helped them or are in the process of helping them. Betterchips understands that cyber criminals number in the several thousands, and even if you can stop 99.9% of them, that .1% can do enough damage to ruin everyone.

20 minutes could save your business

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20 Minutes Could Save Your Business

You’ve probably already trashed the emails, deleted the text messages, and closed the pop ups a dozen times today. In fact, statistically speaking, you’ll probably get around 100 pieces of email today, and at least one of those will be a phishing email. 

Now, let’s multiply that by the number of people in your office that interact with your business digitally, that send you text messages… or simply happen to be on your wireless network, and suddenly you’re not just watching out for the stuff you get.

Keep this in mind, one survey in 2021 assessed that 47% of SMBs (small medium businesses) were attacked successfully! And of those that were attacked, an estimated 60% couldn’t recover from the damage done. This means that in 2021, approximately 28% of US SMBs closed because of a cyber crime. Would you take 20 minutes to help prevent this from happening to your company?

We can present all the data in the world and you can read it and appreciate it for what it is, but at the end of the day, if you’re not doing something to prevent your digital assets from being compromised, maybe you should ask yourself ”why?” We understand that in the 24 hours we have each day, there doesn’t seem to be much time to worry about hypothetical situations or “what ifs”, so we’ve come up with a simple 20 minute assessment. You have 20 minutes, right?

 Here are some of the questions you’ll be asked…

  • Does your business have written Incident Response, Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity plans?
  • Does your business follow written policies and procedures for creating backups of digital assets and systems?
  • Does your business have industry appropriate antivirus and malware protection measures and email security practices in place?

There are 10 questions in total, and this free assessment (you can do it while you’re eating lunch or getting your morning coffee started) may be an eye opener and start you thinking about ways to protect your digital resources. For the full assessment, just go to…

It’s Time to Take a Closer Look at Cybersecurity Risk – Betterchips Consulting Corporation

And after you take this quick survey, if you find yourself with more questions than answers, contact Betterchips and we can help shed some light on this topic or any other technology questions you may have.

A Pile of Complex Technology Contracts

Filing it won’t fix it.

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A Pile of Complex Technology Contracts

Every day there are scams being run and individuals and businesses alike are finding themselves victims. The FTC (Federal Trade Commision) had over 2.8 million fraud claims filed in 2021, that’s over 7,671 per day. This number in all likeliness is higher because it only represents the individuals who were willing to file a report. 

In 2021 it is estimated that 2.8 million scams cost victims over 5.8 billion dollars, that’s roughly 2,071 dollars per person, if it were that easy to calculate. The reality is businesses can literally be forced to close if they are attacked. When Equifax was hacked, it cost them over 700 million dollars to recover. So what does filing a report actually do?

If you are attacked, it’s definitely advisable to report it, however, as the FTC states on their site, “We can’t resolve your individual report, but we use reports to investigate and bring cases against fraud, scams, and bad business practices.” This basically means that your report will help them to identify criminals, chart trends, and provide the impressive statistics provided in this blog, but it won’t help you on the road to recovery. 

This is also echoed on other government websites including USA.GOV. They clearly state, “You can report scams to the federal government. Your report may keep others from experiencing a scam. Government agencies use reports of scams to track scam patterns. They may even take legal action against a company or industry based on the reports. However, agencies don’t follow up after you report, and can’t recover lost money.”

If you experience an attack and lose money or possessions, it is recommended (and you’ll probably do it anyway) that you report the attack to your local and state governments as well as the federal government. But the hard truth is the vast majority of scammers aren’t within the jurisdiction of the US. With places like Pakistan, Brazil, China, Nigeria, and India, topping the list for scam originations, filing a report only adds validity to the need to be ever vigilant with protecting and maintaining your digital assets and resources. 

What should you do to prevent scammers from taking you? We recommend contacting a company like ours before something happens. Betterchips can provide technical support as well as staff training, to help reduce the chance of a bad actor gaining access to the information you need to run your business. With ongoing monitoring and continual updates with hardware, software, and staffing, you’ll be able to focus your attention on growing your business. If you find yourself a victim, contact us immediately, as time is of the essence. We can quickly and effectively make sense of what’s happening and provide the best possible solution to get you back in the game.

We Identify, Interpret and Remedy Complex Technology Casework, Matters and Incidents for Professionals and Business Stakeholders.

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Disclaimer: Betterchips Consulting Corp. is not a law firm and does not offer or provide legal advice or service of any kind. If requested, we may be able to provide an attorney recommendation.