Virtual Cloud Solution
Datto offers a virtual cloud solution for backup as a great alternative with no physical hardware for BCDR. Virtual SIRIS, also known as vSIRIS, provide the full feature set of SIRIS with the flexibility to choose custom and economical deployment configurations.
Unlike traditional backup and recovery solutions, vSIRIS is defined as an all-in-one business continuity and disaster recovery solution. Features include full VMware, flexible data retention, and database support among other industry leading features. Instant Virtualization can recover a system quickly, and there are multiple recovery options available. The solution was born for the MSP by simplifying and automating complex tasks in order to provide clients with efficient management and support. If you are interested in learning more, you can reach out to the office, or visit here.
Texting From Email
While not as likely these days, if you should you ever find yourself without your phone (or without your text messages working) and in need of sending a text message, you can still do so through your email account.
There are a few different ways to accomplish this with the first being sending an email as an SMS. Within your email client, you can compose your email whether on your smartphone or your computer. Rather than entering a recipient email address, you can add the 10-digit phone number of the person you would like to send to including the appropriate “@gateway” address behind the phone number. A list of some of the most common ones can be found here. Note if you message exceeds 160 characters it will be sent through the Multimedia Message Service (MMS); the person you are trying to reach will need a plan including this or they may be charged an extra fee.
If you plan to use email for texting often, there is a Chrome browser extension called Send Your Email to SMS (text) which is specifically designed to help send texts faster from Gmail. The extension will add a phone icon to your Gmail email window so if you type out the email you want to send and click on it, it will bring up a list of your Gmail contacts to choose from to send to. You’ll also receive replies on your Gmail and can continue the conversation this way.
Another option includes business-friendly web app services, like Message Media. To learn more about this and read through the mini guide on how to text via email, visit here.
Social Engineering Scams
Social engineering scams have increased 87% in the first quarter of 2021 in comparison to Q1 2020. Ayeler Biger-Levin from BioCatch explains that a majority of successful scams involved the attacker using information about the victim in order to lend credibility to the scheme.
One of two main types of social engineering attacks is a real-time scam like authorized payment scams or remote access tool scams. While this does not require a lot of technological sophistication, scammers need to prove to the victim they are “legit”. This means scammers will spend harvesting information and learning about their victim prior to committing their crime. This can be difficult to detect since the scammer might not be interacting with the banking platform directly but instead convincing a victim to execute a payment themselves.
Another increased type of attack in the last year included voice phishing or vishing. To learn more, visit here.
