AZCOMP Technologies - IT - February 2021

AZCOMP Technologies - IT - February 2021

855-556-4677 www.azcomp.com/it

FEBRUARY 2021

Empowering Small Practices to Deliver the Best Care

IT

ONE ‘BAD CLICK’ LATER ... THE SCOOP ON IT SECURITY, FROM NATHAN FOSTER

Remember the antivirus software of old? You’d buy it in a store, spin up the disc in your PC or laptop, and be “good to go” while you browsed the internet, answered emails, and generally went about your digital business. Those days, however, are long gone — especially when we’re talking about the IT security of a medical practice or business. And unfortunately, most people aren’t aware of the current security landscape. We’ve seen some scary headlines in the past year, which does raise awareness a little. But in general, until something happens to you or to

user. One of the things I love about AZCOMP’s clients is that they’re eager to “level up” their business, and that includes security. To that end, I want to remind our readers of three important points. You’ll have to forgive me if we preach these too often, but these basics are always worth repeating, and also free to enact: 1. All passwords should be 12 digits long and contain an uppercase letter, a lower case letter, a special character (@,#,%, etc), and a number. 2. Recently I heard, “Oh, we don’t use that computer/terminal for email or internet, so it’s not in danger.” If a piece of equipment is hooked up to your organization’s network, it’s a potential target, even if you don’t actively use it to access the internet. 3. The No. 1 way to “get in” is still email. One bad click later, and the bad guys have access. Never click on a link without hovering over it first to see where it really leads, and never download something if you aren’t sure where it came from. Even emails that seem to come from within your organization can be a trap, so get on the phone yourself and find out if a suspicious email actually came from your coworker or not. I won’t lie: IT security is a constantly changing field, and there’s not “one solution” that will solve all of your problems. But if you work with the right people, they can apply the right solutions over time as the problems arise — and if those people are with

someone you know, odds are you’re not thinking about IT security in the right way — even if you already have antivirus software and an IT team servicing your technology. To combat this changing threat environment, AZCOMP has had to get creative. And at the moment, we’re leading the industry in the ways we keep our clients secure. If you’re working with us, it’s going to feel like an antivirus solution, but what’s going on behind the scenes is a lot more robust, and a lot more personalized. You see, we also offer remote IT service that provides the best protection possible. Among other things, that means we look at your infrastructure through the eyes of a cybercriminal and find the weak spots. These reviews happen on a regular basis, ensuring you’re protected no matter what changes from week to week. And that’s a bit different from what other “IT companies” are offering right now. Over the past year, I’ve personally called over 1,500 businesses and practices to discuss their security situation. When I hear they already have an IT guy, I have them run what I’m saying by their people. More often than not, the IT folks will recommend working with us — because not only are they not providing that level of security, they can’t provide it!

AZCOMP, they actually look for weak points regularly, taking a proactive approach instead of a purely reactive one. So although I recognize that this may seem intimidating to many, I’m confident in our ability to navigate the future of the field. Our team is educated, dedicated, and always on the lookout for new threats — and new ways to stop them.

Of course, when it comes to keeping an organization’s technology safe from cybercriminals, it really helps to have an educated end-

–Nathan Foster

855-556-4677 AZCOMP Technologies www.azcomp.com/it • 1

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WHAT’S THE BIG PICTURE FOR BUSINESS TECH?

Looking at 2022 — and Beyond

We know what you’re thinking. After the unpredictability of the last 18 months, how can anybody claim to predict the future? But when you look at the technology that’s shaped business, it’s really the same technology that experts predicted would be influential all along — it’s just been adopted sooner, thanks to the “remote office” approach.

programs to get work done: Slack for messaging, Gmail for email, Google Docs for content creation, etc. The startup that can organize and centralize all of this work into one program — or find ways to automatically share >Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4

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