This article came from the need of another local tech company to forward an Exacqvision Web Portal to something other than port 80, as it was already in use. I could not find a detail article on how to accomplish Sophos DNAT while changing the port number:
How to configure Sophos DNAT for an internal server
Navigate to Firewall then click +Add Firewall Rule and select Business Application Policy.
Select Application Template and choose DNAT/Full NAT/Load Balancing.
Fill out the settings as shown below:
Rule Name
Source Zones: WAN (and LAN if needed)
Allowed Client Networks: Any
Destination Host/Network: WAN Interface (#eth0-? whichever one you use)
Services: Either select the service you already created or create a new one for the external port to be used as below
Protected Servers: Select an existing or create a host entry for the internal server.
Protected Zone: Select the Zone in which the host resides (LAN or DMZ).
Change Destination Port(s): Check this then change the port to the internal port.
Click Save to save the configuration.
If your company is using a Sophos router and is unsure of how to configure it, then contact us for assistance in making the best use of your router.
Farmhouse Networking has had a long standing policy that we do not keep a record of client passwords (except when needed for device administration). That is about to change, but before we talk about our new password policy let’s talk password storage:
Common Password Storage
Here are some popular places where many businesses store their passwords that make them very vulnerable to being stolen.
Passwords written on paper (that are not under lock and key):
On your desk under your keyboard (or taped underneath)
Under your stapler or desk decorations
On sticky notes stuck to your monitor or desk
On a scrap of paper on your desk or in a drawer
In a notebook or address book
In a old-fashioned Rolodex file
Paper printouts or photocopies of your passwords
Anyone with access to your office could easily find and steal passwords stored like this.
Passwords stored in your computer (without using encryption):
Remembered in your web browser
A document called “Passwords” that you’ve created anywhere on your computer, perhaps using Microsoft Word or Excel
A document with any other name on your computer (including the password as the name)
Email drafts that you’ve created (but not sent) containing password information
Anyone with access to your computer could easily find and steal passwords stored like this, including both a person with physical access to it as well as a virus or hacker gaining access via the internet, or scamming you into granting them access, even once.
Passwords stored in your smartphone or tablet (without using encryption):
Electronic “Notes” containing password information
Other documents or emails similar to the ones listed in computer storage above
Anyone with access to your device could easily find and steal passwords stored like this.
Passwords sent via regular (insecure) email:
Emails that you have sent to yourself containing password information
Emails that you have sent to anyone else containing password information
Any information that you send using regular (unencrypted) email puts that information at risk of being stolen. Email is neither private nor secure. Sending an email is like mailing a postcard, and hackers and thieves can easily read the contents. You should never send passwords (or any other confidential or sensitive data) via regular email.
Secure Password Storage
Now for the discussion of Farmhouse Networking’s new password policy. We are partnering with a company to provide a storage of passwords and other client documentation with military grade encryption. This partnership also allows us to address the dangers that common password storage present by offering our clients this same encrypted password storage service. Here are some of the benefits of this service:
Unlimited users
Unlimited passwords
Each user has a personal password vault
Shared company password vault
Security groups to manage access
Auditing & reporting (Compliance)
Secure password sharing
1-Click Login Tool (for all major browsers)
Mobile Device Access
Only $15 per month (Compared to Lastpass Business at $4 per user per month)
If your company is using common password storage of any kind do yourself a security favor and contact us to upgrade to secure password storage.
In reviewing compliance documentation, we found it necessary to talk about Virtual Private Network (VPN) technology for both privacy and secure remote access. A VPN is a connection to a private network over the internet through an encrypted tunnel – think smuggling information across a secret passageway between two places.
Why use VPN?
Privacy: There has been a huge buzz lately about using VPN technology to help mask you browsing habits from the likes of the NSA or Google. VPN services offer connections that regularly change your external IP address so that a profile (marketing or otherwise) is harder to build. It also makes hacking of your information harder when these services providers offer anti-virus and anti-spam filtering as part of the VPN service.
What are the trade-offs? These VPN service providers will now be the sole owner of your browsing habits – they can sell targeted profiles to marketing companies – so read those terms of service. There will also be a performance hit to your internet speed, so if you are working from a slow network already this may not be an option. Then there is the added cost of an extra $5 to $15 per month for these services on top of your internet bill each month.
Secure Remote Access: This was the original intent of VPN technology and where it really shines. Either from remote workers using coffee shop wifi or remote offices connecting to the main office, VPN tunnels are used to securely access data, servers, and other network resources. This technology is required by all major compliance agencies so that all data transmitted is encrypted during transport. In the past servers would open ports to the internet to allow access, but it was found that this practice allowed hackers the same opportunity to gain access. With VPN tunnels there is another layer of protection from unexpected access. There is also the benefit that no outside provider gets access to your browsing habits.
What are the trade-offs? This will require a router at the main office that is business grade and capable of handling the traffic. It will then require setup of remote workers laptops or remote offices with similar business grade routers.
If your company is concerned about privacy on the internet or secure remote access, then contact us for assistance.
Local expertise + rapid response = minimal business disruption
I was chatting with my son who works for a large local company who
contracts with a local Managed Service Provider to help with their IT
needs. Due to a clause in their contract they are now locked into paying
over $15,000 per month for IT services for the next three years. This
includes $300 per server (they have 5 of them) and $70 per workstation
(they have over 100 of them) plus some other mysterious charges for the
network. Personally I think that this is outrageous.
Here at Farmhouse Networking we do not believing in locking our clients
into a contract. Our IT services are always month to month so that if
either of us are dissatisfied with the relationship then we can easily
end things with no obligations. Our services are also reasonably priced
due to keeping our overhead low – we charge $65 per server and $25 per
workstation plus a small per device charge for other network devices.
That is a mind boggling 280-460% savings over the local competition. For
that large company that would be a realized savings of somewhere
between $9,600 and $11,700 per month – enough to hire several new
employees or purchase new equipment to increase production.
If your company is looking to keep the costs of IT services down and keep more working capital for true business needs, then contact us for assistance.
Essential small business information security fundamentals: encrypt data, enable MFA, train employees, and backup regularly.
NIST is the National Institute of Standards and Technology. It acts as the defacto baseline that all other security and compliance organizations use to construct their standards. Reading their publications is like reading any other government document – extremely long and not interesting. Farmhouse Networking recently became aware of one such document called NISTIR 7621 aka Small Business Information Security: The Fundamentals. We took the time to distill out the main points here:
The Fundamentals aka Best Practices
Identify: Who has access to the network, who has access to the data, and what do they have access to. This includes background checking employees during the hiring process, taking an inventory of data to see who needs access to what, requiring that each user have their own login, and company policy creation.
Protect: Protection starts with separating data into shares then giving access only to those who really need it. It also includes protecting hardware with uninterruptible power supplies (UPS) and protecting software with regular updates. Protecting the network includes setting up a proper firewall, separate wireless for guest access, and VPN only access for remote users. Web filtering, SPAM filtering, file encryption, proper disposal of old equipment, and employee training are also mentioned.
Detect: Having a centrally managed antivirus software on each workstation is a must. This includes the ability to look back in time via log files or monitoring system to find the root of the security breach.
Respond: Have a disaster recovery plan and security incident response plan in place.
Recover: Need full backups of all important business data, invest in cyber insurance, and regularly access your technology to find timely improvements.
If your company does not meet these fundamentals, then contact us for assistance.
“In a new stunning example of the scale and sophistication of online cybercrime, just before the holidays, DOJ charged two hackers with stealing hundreds of gigabytes of data—including sensitive intellectual property, confidential business data, and personal information from companies and government agencies around the world—as part of a multi-year cyber-espionage campaign that targeted managed service providers (MSPs) directly, bypassing the protections of client systems. This indictment is the latest example of the U.S. government’s use of the criminal justice system to crack down on state-sponsored economic espionage.
As alleged in the indictment, the hackers belong to what is believed to be an elite, Chinese government-sponsored group known within the cyber-security community as Advanced Persistent Threat 10 (APT10). The targets of the hacking campaign included companies in the aerospace, health care, biotechnology, finance, manufacturing, and oil and gas industries, as well as U.S. government agencies, such as NASA and the U.S. Department of Energy.”
The indictment alleges that APT10’s MSP Theft Campaign began in 2014 and involved three stages.
The hackers gained unauthorized access into the MSPs’ computers and installed malware allowing APT10 to remotely monitor the computers and steal login credentials.
The group then used these stolen credentials to move laterally into each MSP’s network and the networks of their clients, further spreading the malware infection.
APT10 identified data of interest on these compromised computers and created packages for exfiltration using encrypted archives, allowing the hackers to move the data from one system to another before ultimately transferring it to APT10’s computers.
This sort of breach calls into question the operating procedures of MSPs everywhere, their security practices, and moral compass. If IT support staff are not trained in best practice and cannot keep from being infected via websites or emails, then what business do they have managing larger network systems with sensitive data.
If you are unsure of your MSPs practices and would prefer a company with transparency, then contact us for assistance.
Phase 1: Break-In: Hackers are still using phishing emails, bad passwords, social media links, and poorly patched systems to make their way in with the initial infection. Employee training is the first step towards preventing breaches for 9 out of 10 companies now (and it is included in the price for all our monthly clients).
Phase 2: The Inside Man: Once inside the hacker will scan the network for further vulnerable systems, employees with more access rights than they need, and systems that allow access into other parts of the network. Having systems in place that detect strange or malicious activity are key to stopping an infection in its tracks.
Phase 3: Spread Out: This is where the hacker has all the access they need and start to find the data that is worth selling. Hackers will usually start moving data to places it doesn’t belong on the network then downloading it to their computers for resell. This is where strong access policies that are clearly defined and enforced make the greatest impact to protect sensitive data.
Phase 4: The Long Con: Once a hacker has taken all they need for the short term payout, they will setup remote access back doors to allow for future access whenever they want to. It almost pays to assume that a breach has already occurred and continually scan the network for these kinds of activity to catch the hackers in the act.
Take the time to read this article, it is a wake-up call on security.
If you would like to learn more about creating an effective cyber defense strategy and mitigating risk, then contact us for assistance.
Cloud eliminates hardware costs, enables instant business scaling
Give your business freedom from hardware constraints with the agility and functionality of cloud computing.
Cloud requires no upfront costs, which makes it an operating expense rather than a capital expense. Your business will benefit from predictable monthly payments that cover software licenses, updates, support and daily backups. Cloud technologies provide greater flexibility as your business only pays for what it uses and can easily scale up and down to meet demand.
Moving to the cloud enables your business to no longer pay to power on-premises servers or to maintain the environment. This significantly reduces energy bills.
Finally, for those concerned with security, cloud data centers employ security measures far beyond what most SMBs can afford. Your company data is much safer in the cloud than on a server in their office.
Move your business to the cloud ahead of Office 2010 and Windows 7 End of Support!
If your company is looking to make the move to cloud, then contact us for assistance.
Automated cloud backups with tested recovery ensure business survives disasters
When it comes to security threats, it’s not “if” disaster will strike, it’s “when.” So, how will your organization respond? Do you have the proper infrastructure in place to thwart a potential data disaster and if disaster does strike, is your organization poised to recover quickly?
While 100% prevention of a data disaster is impossible, there are several ways you can position your organization to get your systems back up and running with as little disruptions to day-to-day operations as possible:
File Level Backup: A good file sync and share tool is more than just a way for your team to collaborate on the go, it’s a vital component to your organization’s security strategy. With file level backup, you can ensure that even in the event of a site wide disaster, your team can maintain anytime access to their critical files.
Backup and Disaster Recovery: Your last line of defense in a site wide disaster, backup and disaster recovery solutions allow you to recover at the systems level. An absolutely necessary piece of your organizational infrastructure, backup and disaster recovery delivers peace of mind that your systems will always be recoverable, even when disaster strikes.
Cloud-to-Cloud Backup: Cloud-to-cloud backup fills in the gaps left by some of the most commonly used SaaS applications, such as Office 365. Many of these cloud applications fall short in the way of cloud-retention and a good cloud-to-cloud backup solution can help you protect critical business data while providing enhanced features to maximize your user experience and more importantly, security.
It’s an unfortunate reality but our workforce can often times be our worst enemies, often creating vulnerabilities and leaving our systems open to hackers, viruses, data breaches and data loss. More often than not, we do this through completely harmless, everyday activities like opening compromised emails and links.
As a leader in your organization it’s your role to monitor your team and arm them with the knowledge of good security practices. Without implementing a company-wide security training program, you leave your systems vulnerable to a host of attacks.
Another crucial step in preventing system attacks, is to configure a firewall to monitor user activity and website visits throughout your organization. An Acceptable Use Policy is helpful in establishing what your organization will and will not allow from its employees.
Curious how we can help you establish a more secure company infrastructure?
And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others. As the Scriptures say,
“They share freely and give generously to the poor. Their good deeds will be remembered forever.”
For God is the one who provides seed for the farmer and then bread to eat. In the same way, he will provide and increase your resources and then produce a great harvest of generosity in you. - 2 Corinthians 9:8-10
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