by Nouveau | Mar 26, 2020 | Articles
Microsoft Teams – Working from home made easy
More and more businesses are beginning to deploy working from home (WFH) solutions for their employees as a result of COVID-19. Some of the key requirements for most organisations is a platform that allows their staff to continue communicating and collaborating on projects seamlessly, avoiding downtime and maintaining their high levels of productivity and efficiency.
Many organisations have turned to Microsoft Teams, Microsoft’s collaboration application that helps teams stay organised and have conversations all in one place. Microsoft themselves market Teams as “the hub for teamwork in Office 365” that allows you to “work remotely without feeling remote”. From our personal experience, and as a Microsoft Gold Partner, we can safely say that we agree completely with that sentiment and strongly believe it is a great tool for any organisation that is need of collaboration software.
Microsoft Teams 6 Month Free Trial
It is more important than ever to stay in touch with colleagues and customers when working remotely. As an organisation we use Microsoft Teams to enable us to make calls to clients, engage with colleagues, share files, conduct customer and team virtual meetings. It’s great news that Microsoft have announced a free Teams six-month Office 365 E1 trial for businesses without an existing Teams license (exclusions apply).
This offer is available to any customer who doesn’t already have O365 OR have O365 profiles without Teams (office 365 ProPlus, Office 365 Business, Exchange online plan 1 & 2, Dynamics).
If you are interested in a 6 Month Free Trial of Microsoft Teams, please fill in the form below. By doing so, you are consenting to be contacted by Nouveau as per our privacy policy.
How do I use Microsoft Teams? How can it help me work from home?
Using Microsoft Teams as part of your organisation’s working from home strategy is an intelligent way to be able to collaborate and communicate with your colleagues almost as if you were in the office together – but many people aren’t using Teams to its full capabilities.
There are many tips and tricks that can help you better utilise the functions of Microsoft Teams. To help you make the most of Teams, we have put together some of our favourite features that we believe will ensure an effective and professional home working environment.
More helpful tips for Microsoft Teams
If you are new to Teams, getting your Teams and Channels up and running might be a little bit confusing. More information can be found on Microsoft’s helpful End User Training page, which you can find here.
Here you can find in-depth guides to creating Teams and Channels, help and documentation, YouTube tutorials and live, online training guides.
If you are interested in Microsoft Teams or Office 365 Cloud Solutions, please get in touch by calling 01189 186817 or email hello@nouveau.co.uk
by Nouveau | Mar 25, 2020 | Articles
Welcome to the Nouveau’s Nouveau BullITin (that’s a ‘bulletin’, but with more focus on IT). We hope you enjoy this weeks roundup.
Our Business Continuity Statement
We thought this would be a good opportunity to send you in the direction of our Business Continuity Statement. You can find it linked here.
Our priority is the health and wellbeing of our staff, customers and the wider community. We know your business depends on our ability to provide reliable, uninterrupted service, so in light of the recent developments around Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), we would like to share with you the measures we are taking to ensure service continuity.
Azure capacity issues
The Register say that Azure appears to be having capacity issues, backed up by a spike in reports on Down Detector. The massive increase in home workers as a result of the Coronavirus is likely to be the cause of this, but you can read more on their site below.
Source: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/03/24/azure_seems_to_be_full/
Welcoming and retaining diversity in cybersecurity – a great blog
This inspirational blog post from Microsoft’s Cybersecurity Field CTO Diana Kelley highlights the importance of diversity within cybersecurity. For anyone interested in finding out to discover, retain and nurture diverse talent, this is a great article.
Source: https://www.microsoft.com/security/blog/2020/03/24/welcoming-retaining-diversity-cybersecurity/
WHO Targeted in Espionage Attempt, COVID-19 Cyberattacks Spike
ThreatPost say the World Health Organisation (WHO) has attracted the notice of cybercriminals as the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic contunues to play out. Officials there say attacks have doubled. You can read more by clicking the link below.
Phishing attempts are increasing on the back of COVID-19. As many are working from home now, we have put together some top tips to help avoid phishing and social engineering scams. Read more here.
Source: https://threatpost.com/who-attacked-possible-apt-covid-19-cyberattacks-double/154083/
What’s New In Teams!
This Microsoft Tech Community article goes over the key new features in Microsoft Teams as of 19/03/2020. More updates will continue to roll out, but it’s good to keep up to date on what cool new features you could be using now. As more people are using Microsoft Teams to work from home, hopefully this is relevant to a lot of readers.
Source: https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/microsoft-teams-blog/what-s-new-in-microsoft-teams-3rd-anniversary-edition/ba-p/1234871
by Nouveau | Mar 2, 2020 | Articles
Welcome to the Nouveau’s Nouveau BullITin (that’s a ‘bulletin’, but with more focus on IT). We hope you enjoy this weeks roundup.
Shark Tank host loses $400,000 in a scam
In an article from CNN Business, we learned that “Shark Tank” judge Barbara Corcoran lost nearly $400,000 in an email scam that tricked her staff. It just goes to show the importance of staff security education – you can read more about the hack in the linked article.
Source: https://edition.cnn.com/2020/02/27/business/barbara-corcoran-email-hack-trnd/index.html
Office 365 Weekly Digest
Office 365 Weekly provided us with an up to date roadmap of Office 365’s scheduled updates and features. It can be a good idea to keep up to date, so feel free to check out this article – at the bottom you can find some useful links to educational webinars, blogs and more!
Source: https://office365weekly.blog/2020/02/24/office-365-weekly-digest-2020-08/
File Explorer Update in Next Windows Update
A huge part of our working lives involves organising our files. Fortunately, Microsoft have worked to improve the File explorer in the next Windows update. The linked article from WinCentral showcases some early images of how the new system is going to function. These features will be in version 2004, is supposes to release at some point in April 2020.
Source: https://thewincentral.com/file-explorer-improvements-in-next-windows-10-major-update/
Samsung Cops to Data Leak After Find My Mobile Notification
From The Register, Samsung have admitted that a small number of users could have accessed other people’s personal data following a ‘unexplained’ Find my Mobile notification. A technical error apparently resulted in a small number of users being able to access the details of another user, even if the app was disabled. Read more about this in the linked article.
Source: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/02/24/samsung_data_breach_find_my_mobile/
Billions of Devices Open to Wi-Fi Eavesdropping Attacks
In an article from Threatpost we discovered that that a serious vulnerability in Wi-Fi chips has been discovered that affects billions of devices worldwide. This bug allows attackers to eavesdrop on Wi-Fi communications, impacting smartphones, tablets and laptops as well as IoT gadgets. Read more about the vulnerability in the linked article.
Source: https://threatpost.com/billions-of-devices-wifi-encryption-hack/153267/
by seoadmin | Feb 24, 2020 | Articles
How to keep your company data secure with simple security practices.
Why Educating Staff on Data Security Is Critical
Failure to educate staff on some of the most basic principles of data security can cause big problems for businesses of all sizes.
It’s estimated that up to 92% of malware is delivered via email to users- and considering that the majority of businesses will use email to communicate both internally and externally, there’s no end to the list of people that could be affected by malware.
Luckily, the risk of malware and phishing attacks can be kept at a manageable level as long as everyone within a business takes responsibility for the business’s cyber security.
Given today’s rapidly growing technology industry, there’s always new threats that arise from the communication tools we use on a daily basis. However, by ensuring that staff are correctly educated on data security can mean that businesses are able to take control of their cyber security measures in a way that is manageable for everyone.
By educating staff on the ‘do’s’ and ‘don’ts’ of cyber security, you’ll be moving the responsibility of data security from not just one person or dedicated team but to everyone, making the company less susceptible to attacks whilst also reducing workplace staff for those in charge of IT security.
Best Data Security Practices
This list of best practices is a great stepping-stone for any business looking to take control of their IT and data security.
Passwords
The strength of a password is a reflection of its length, complexity and unpredictability. All three of these factors together are responsible for how secure how a password is, however, these factors do not replace the need for other essential security controls to ensure that passwords are not breached.
To ensure that passwords are secure they should be sufficiently long in length, it’s worth aiming for between 12 and 14 characters with a mixture uppercase and lowercase characters too. Additionally, adding special characters to your password will help to strengthen passwords. You should also be mindful of where you are storing passwords, we do not recommend keeping a book of passwords in your desk drawers. There are a number of online password manager applications designed to keep your company’s password safe, secure but accessible for employees.
Email security
Most people are quick to disqualify the need for email security, up to 80% of successful cyber attacks involve phishing- a common form of fraud where individuals are asked to reveal personal information such as passwords, credit card information etc. whilst purporting to be from a reputable business.
Email security software can help to reduce the occurrence of these phishing scams from entering into staff mailboxes. However, it’s also important that the company has relevant policies in place that determines how staff can identify potentially fraudulent emails as well as what to do in when one is discovered.
Again, this method of protecting your business from IT threats means that every individual within a business is responsible for managing their IT security at work.
Attachments
Having strict procedures in place were by staff understand what the safe working practices are surrounding opening and sharing attachments via email will help to reduce IT threats and malware.
In order to do this, it’s important to be aware of some of the techniques that are used by fraudulent attackers/ scammers. Often unsuspecting victims of opening dangerous attachments involve the use of social engineering tactics such as:
- Customised personal message text (such as “Dear John” or “please review the attached”)
- Forgery (Fraudulent emails sent by someone you appear to know)
- Threatening (Attackers may use messages like “your account will be closed unless you…”)
- Creating messages look as if they were sent from an official source (“support.t@microsoftc.om”)
- Making the attachment look harmless (“my_holiday_pictures”)
These are just a small number of ways that hackers could use in order to gain your trust and get you or a staff member from opening a hazardous attachment in an email or message.
Luckily, taking control of your businesses IT security doesn’t have to be complicated. Nouveau solutions can help to provide your staff with training, advice and solutions to combat IT security at work. Find out more about how you can train staff to take the steps necessary to protect themselves and your business from cyber threats. Get in touch with Nouveau Solutions today.
by Nouveau | Feb 21, 2020 | Articles
We are delighted that following Fortinet’s launch today of their new Engage partner programme, Nouveau are the first in the UK to feature in all three business model categories; Integrator, MSSP and Marketplace at Expert level.
The new programme centres around Advocate, Advanced and Expert, with Expert being the highest. Expert partners are proven Fortinet solution experts who have demonstrated consistently high revenue and can deliver the full range of Fortinet solutions and with experts to manage complex deployments.
“In recognition of our Fortinet expertise and go to market strategy focussed around security managed services and cloud (AWS/Microsoft partner), we are pleased to feature in all three “go to market” business models. This validation reflects the joint commitment and strong relationships between our two organisations in keeping our clients’ systems, data and people secure and compliant” says Andy Stevens, Business Unit Director.
If you have any questions, please get in touch by emailing hello@nouveau.co.uk or calling in to 01189 688290.
by Nouveau | Feb 17, 2020 | Articles
Welcome to the Nouveau’s Nouveau BullITin (that’s a ‘bulletin’, but with more focus on IT). We hope you enjoy this weeks roundup.
Facebook hacked on Twitter as they lose control of their own account
In an article from The Register we learned that Facebook had lost control of its own Twitter account as it was hijacked by hacker group OurMine. “Well, even Facebook is hackable but at least their security is better than Twitter”, boasted the hackers in the tweet. You can read more by visiting the original article below.
Source: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/02/10/security_roundup_feb7_2020/
Google Chrome to bar HTTP file downloads:
In this post from ThreatPost it has been detailed that Google Chrome will soon restrict files such as PDFs and executables from being downloaded via a HTTP connection. Google already began labelling HTTP websites as “insecure” when they put a warning label in the navigation bar back in 2018 – there certainly seems to be a big push from Google to getting HTTPS websites the total norm.
Source: https://threatpost.com/google-chrome-to-bar-http-file-downloads/152674/
Windows 10 start menu shows adverts for Chromium Edge to users of Chrome, Firefox & IE users:
It has been reported on WinCentral that Microsoft has been using Windows 10 internal adverts to push their users into using Chromium Edge over other browsers such as Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer.
These internal adverts have been seen in the search bar when users type in the name of their browser of choice. You can read more on this topic in the linked article.
Source: https://thewincentral.com/windows-10-start-menu-ads-suggest-chromium-edge-to-chrome-firefox-ie-users/
Coronavirus Phishing Attack Infects US & UK Inboxes
Emails offering advice on how to protect yourself against coronavirus that contain malware have been circulating people’s inboxes. Cybercriminals, as indicated by this story, seem to be trying to capitalise on the fears of the general population. You can read more about it in the linked article.
Source: https://www.darkreading.com/endpoint/coronavirus-phishing-attack-infects-us-uk-inboxes/d/d-id/1336946
Huawei: UK 5G concerns ‘a witch-hunt’ says Chinese ambassador
In an article from the BBC, China’s ambassador to the UK, Liu Xiaoming says that the opposition against Huawei’s 5G plans for the UK is “a witch-hunt”. Stating that Huawei “is a privately owned company”, Xiaoming claims that there is no risk to involving Huawei in Britain’s 5G networks.
Source: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-51433590
Heathrow Airport apologises for IT failure distruption
Heathrow airport have aplogised for inconvenience caused by “technical issues” that saw their IT systems fail. Issues with IT at the airport, mixed with weather problems, caused big delays for many passengers.
Source: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-51526173
