So you’ve finally got your users to quit welcoming malware onto your business’s network through clicking on random popups.. You’ve trained them to stop clicking on suspicious URLs from in emails. Is it safe to say your network is officially unassailable?

Sadly, no. Cybercriminals are a dogged bunch with endless tricks up their sleeves. They’re constantly coming up with new ways to exploit your users’ trust and naivety to infiltrate your business network, disrupting productivity, driving up expenses, and — in a worrying trend — taking your data hostage.

It’s not easy to keep up with the latest and most insidious attack vectors oozing out of the cyber-underworld — especially when you’re taking a do-it-yourself approach to data security. You’ve got enough hats to wear as it is.

Here are a few of sources of computer virus attacks you may not have thought of. While these may be less well known than those blocked by your free antivirus software, rest assured (or rest uneasily, I should say), they can wreak just as much havoc on your business’s data.

Does an early-stage biotech company even need servers? If you listen to the way some people talk about it, on-site servers are unnecessary expenses in the modern, cloud-based world.

But while cloud services do give startup biotech firms unprecedented power to launch quickly with a small team, as your firm grows, special consideration needs to be taken when you start planning your company infrastructure. To be clear, we here at Data Evolution embrace both local and cloud servers, storage and applications. These days it is more likely our clients will have a hybrid (local and cloud) system. There are many things that are best served in the cloud but for this blog we are focusing on how to help make decisions around why you may need a local versus a cloud based system. There are considerations around power, storage space, and security your firm will need to reach your growth goals.

Imagine this scenario: It’s early evening. You’ve left work for the day and are getting ready to enjoy dinner. You see an email on your phone that alerts you to some work related emergency that needs to be handled immediately. A wave of disheartenment washes over you as you realize you left your work computer back at the office. But wait...there’s hope! Everything you need to do can be done by simply logging into “the cloud.” You jump on the family PC, log in, and take care of business.

Unfortunately, and unbeknownst to you, your home PC’s antivirus had expired and had a virus on it that infected every company file stored in the cloud.

Every day thousands of emails move in and out of your company’s virtual inboxes. Since email has become the most relied upon method of communication for most organizations, short notes and quick replies have become second nature to most of us. Unfortunately, this simple delivery method makes it easy to for security threats to slip through the cracks.

A new kind of email fraud is making the rounds, and it's called “email spoofing.” It’s vital to your company’s security that you understand the threat and take a few simple measures to ensure your company isn’t victimized.

The purpose of email spoofing is pretty straightforward: get the recipient of an email to send money by way of wire or credit transfer. It’s the way scammers get this information that is hard to catch.

Startups trying to get off the ground, especially those in the biotech space, rely heavily--if not completely--on the backing of outside investors.

With investors playing such a large role in the success (or failure) of a startup, it’s surprising that few early stage companies consider the important role that the choices in the IT systems, and infrastructure that have been put into place play in the eyes of the investor.

Think about it. An investor who is offering you their money will want to mitigate the risk as much as possible before handing over their cash.

Since IT is the backbone of most new companies, an investor will be pleased to see that thoughtful choices are made not only considering budget but security, scalability and accessibility.

Here are six ways to ignite an investor’s confidence with your IT infrastructure.

Every successful company is built on a foundation of best practices and finely tuned systems. In the case of early stage biotech companies, few systems are as important to calibrate than that of your IT staffing. Without the right IT systems and staffing in place, your company runs the risk of costly emergencies, slow response times, pivots in workflows, and more.

We know that experience, cost, and timeliness are all important factors when considering your IT hires (or outsourcing). Below are some thoughts on the pros and cons (as well as our staffing recommendations) of in-house versus outsourced IT staffing.

One of the first mistakes many organizations make in choosing an IT provider is to seek out options based on pricing alone. While affordable pricing plays an important role in any business decision, there are other overlooked--and often more important--factors to consider when choosing IT support.

Over the years we’ve worked with several clients who came to us after a poor experience somewhere else. Many of them had a list of things they wished they would have known before signing a contract. In order to help you make an informed decision about hiring an IT provider, here are 5 questions you should ask before choose a partner.

Even just  15 years ago, the idea of “working from home” (WFH) was reserved for writers, artists, and other siloed professions that didn’t rely much on regular collaboration. In the corporate landscape, remote working was rarely considered, and in most cases not even possible.

But with the vast range of hardware and software designed to allow employees to work from home now available, it’s no longer uncommon for companies to consider this route. In some cases, it may be their only option. There are a number of common situations that may cause an organization like yours to consider the work from home--or remote--option:

IT is the lifeblood of nearly every company.  And much like in the cardiovascular system that pumps blood through the human body, a single point of failure in your IT network can create big problems down the road.

A single point of failure (SPOF) can be generally defined as any non-redundant part of a system that, if dysfunctional, would cause the entire system to fail. In the world of IT, this can be anything from a faulty switch to an ISP outage.

SPOFs are common amongst companies who don’t have a massive IT budget and need to keep costs down. However, with IT playing such an integral role in day-to-day operations, companies can’t afford to ignore potential single points of failure.

Over the past 5 years, we’ve seen an alarming amount of server and IT infrastructure damage caused by frigid winter conditions. When temperatures drop low enough, water pipes inside buildings can burst, causing facilities issues with power and internet access, as well as damaging computers, servers, and other technology vital to your daily operations.