Synagex Decodes Cybersecurity Terms & More on New Podcast

💥 Brute Force… did we just make that up?

The answer is NO! This is a real IT term and we talk all about it in this recent podcast with our friends at MassMEP—if you haven’t had a chance to listen to it yet, tune in to this new podcast from our friends at MassMEP—Episode 89: "Brute Force, Credential Stuffing & Security Appliance, More than What You Originally Thought!"

Listen to the Full Podcast!

Check out the recap below, or tune in out wherever you like to listen to Podcasts—just search “MassMEP” or go to this link: https://massmep.org/podcast/ep-89-brute-force-credential-stuffing-security-appliance-more-than-what-you-originally-thought/

Podcast Recap—Brute Force, Credential Stuffing, Security Appliance & More...

Though Kevin and Hayley of MassMEP were convinced that the Synagex Cybersecurity Ninjas dreamt up these terms, we happily explained that we did NOT! We covered explanations of all of them—Brute Force, Bots, Credential Stuffing, Appliance Security, Zero Day Vulnerabilities in the podcast—Not to mention we stick to plain English and fun analogies so you can really get IT 😉.

If you don't have time to tune into the full version, read on for a brief review.

Defining Brute Force

Brute Force is a real IT term—it is utilized by bots to accomplish certain tasks. Think of brute force like having a janitor's key ring with thousands of keys on it, and trying every key until you get in.

"It's kind of like a vault. Brute force means you’re guessing… the whole concept of having your account 'lock out' was because of brute force attacks. Now, because of the dark web, these things are mechanized and they just wait until the lockout is lifted and then they try again." –John.

Defining Credential Stuffing

Brute force has morphed into credential stuffing—where more data is involved. Credential stuffing is a method using known credentials from other accounts obtained from data leaks in order to hack into an account.

Defining Bots

A bot or botnet is short for robot, or a virtual robot—bots can be good or bad! Bots are used by malicious actors to automate tasks, rather than a hacker sitting there and trying things one by one.

How to Prevent Brute Force and Credential Stuffing Attacks

Now that we know what brute force and credential stuffing attacks are, how do you protect yourself from these attacks? For individuals, we recommend using strong and complex passwords, as well as MFA wherever possible.

For businesses, there are further actions you can take to secure your systems against these kinds of attacks. A cybersecurity professional can help with controls like how many attempts before an account locks out, how long it is locked out, and installing firewalls that limit access.

Bots and Security Appliance Vulnerabilities

Security appliances are things like firewalls that protect computer systems from unwanted traffic. Security appliances are public facing and there’s bots out there looking for unsecured endpoints to get in. Think of it like a robot walking down the street looking for an open door… inevitably they’ll get in at some point.

Zero Day Attacks and Vulnerabilities

The zero day attack is not a known vulnerability yet—it’s zero days that the vulnerability has been known. A hacker might find a vulnerability in the code of a firewall that no one, not even the manufacturer, is aware of yet. You have no time to react to it! Furthermore, this news could spread amongst the hacker community and cause a spike in zero-day attacks of the same kind.

The best way to describe it is that you’ve had zero days to react to this vulnerability… which is why updating is so important! –Matt

Identifying and Securing the Gaps

Identifying holes in a business and having command over a single vulnerability might make you feel good in the short run, but there’s so much more to evaluate. At Synagex, we look at the whole picture with a security gap assessment—and the NIST framework is a great place to start.

An overall assessment will ask things like, "How is your password hygiene?" or "How do you manage potential risks?" So using a standard framework in an initial assessment to identify where you might have some cybersecurity holes is a great place to start. In the end there needs to be an overarching plan that addresses these weaknesses in a strategic way.

“If you say hey i heard this great podcast from MassMEP talking about brute force and I’m going to shut this thing down. Good for you, but there’s probably a 110 other things you need to look at as well. It’s great to make progress, but it's a lot!” - John

Getting Help to Get Started

Getting some help, identifying what some of these gaps are and getting advice in how to attack these things in a broader way is the best way.

MassMEP is a fantastic resource to start this journey because they have done the work to weed out any horrible IT companies that can’t give you good advice about your business.

Learn more about MassMEP here: https://massmep.org/

MassTech is offering grants to qualifying businesses to boost your business's cybersecurity. The grant money can be used to update firewalls, security appliances, servers, etc. Take it from us, this MMAP grant opportunity is incredible—it's an investment, but the opportunity is a slam dunk.

Learn more about MassTech Here: https://masstech.org/

And Finally, Synagex is a Modern IT provider offering cybersecurity and CMMC gap assessments across the country. We specialize in making IT simple and work to separate ourselves as a ITaaS provider that can understand your business, how it works, and the challenges—and provide simple, plain English solutions. (And by English, we mean SIMPLE!)

“We’ve been studying IT our whole lives… were just born geeks. But, I own a business myself, and when we start getting around tax season and we're getting into the weeds with accounting, I want to poke my eye out. I don’t even know where to start, I just want help. So I can only imagine what it feels like to be a manufacturer or to own a small business and to be concerned about this sort of a topic and trying to find the time to deal with it—Cybersecurity is such a broad topic. To make matters worse, even if you go to find help, IT companies can be a pain in the butt to deal with. We work pretty hard to try to separate ourselves." –John

Kevin and Hayley started this podcast with a simple question: "If you were to open up your own business, what would you do if you needed to implement cybersecurity?"

To which Kevin quickly responded, "Go hire someone who knows what they’re doing!"

We're here if you need IT, folks!

✆ ℡ 413.650.5230

"Lets Talk Cyber with Synagex"

Synagex's Cybersecurity Ninjas Sit Down with Manufacturers Edge to Talk Cybersecurity and Compliance.

Afraid of compliance regulations? Does CMMC have you overwhelmed?

Allow our cybersecurity experts—or "ninjas" as we like to call them—put you at ease by making cybersecurity and compliance something simple and approachable.

"It's that thing that you just want to delay, postpone and think about it another day... but you guys make it feel very harmless... like it is something almost friendly that you can confront and actually overcome and be successful at." –Jessica Cowden, Manufacturer's Edge

At Synagex, we believe that making IT simple is the key to navigating the complex landscape of cybersecurity and compliance, especially for manufacturers who are increasingly vulnerable to digital threats. That's why we were thrilled to have our very own experts, John and Pete, featured in a recent video webinar dedicated to decoding these critical issues.

"We love talking about cybersecurity!" – John Sinopoli, Synagex

"Let's Talk Cyber with Synagex" is part a new video series from Manufacturer's Edge, Colorado's Official MEP. The webinar features John and Pete, seasoned veterans in the realm of cybersecurity and compliance, as they talk all things cybersecurity with ME's Director of Marketing, Jessica Cowden, shedding light on the importance of safeguarding manufacturing operations against cyber threats, whether for regulatory compliance—or even general cybersecurity best practice.

In the webinar, they covered various topics, including:

1. Synagex's Own Approach to Cybersecurity Risk Assessments: John and Pete describe how they specialize in taking the complex world of cybersecurity and compliance simple and understandable for someone who is just dipping a toe in IT—so that the businesses we work with can focus on what they do best.

2. What the Risk Assessment Process is Like: After being introduced to your company, we send a pre-assessment checklist before we dive in to a more thorough assessment, covering any questions and controls that are a part of NIST 800-171 or CMMC requirements—and we'll steer that to ensure accuracy and efficiency where we can.

3. What Deliverables to Expect from the Assessment: After covering all 110 of the controls, Synagex delivers a SSP (System Security Plan), POAM (Plan of Action and Milestones) and SPRS (Supplier Performance Risk Score)—these are the acronyms describing the documents that contractors will be looking for.

4. Who Risk Assessments are For: This webinar is manufacturing-focused for requirements like CMMC and NIST 800-171, but this framework is not limited to the defense industry! These cybersecurity controls are important to all businesses and reviewing where your business might be weak when it comes to cybersecurity could incredibly impactful to future success.

5. The Difference Between a CMMC AB vs. C3PAO: Synagex is a CMMC accredited organization (CMMC AB)—not to be confused with a C3PAO auditor. This means we're not the ones who are deciding if you can do business with the DIB, but instead we are inside assessors that help your business meet compliance goals or produce the necessary documents to proceed with defense contracts.

Stay tuned for more insightful webinars and educational resources from Synagex!

BIG NEWS: Synagex X Ascentek

Synagex Acquires Ascentek in Merger of Managed IT Service Providers.

Combined Company Committed to Stay and Grow in the Berkshires.

Synagex, a provider of managed IT and cybersecurity services, today announced the acquisition of Ascentek, a western Massachusetts information technology firm which also provides IT consulting and outsourcing services. 

Synagex delivers the entire IT ecosystem and cybersecurity protection which every business needs, combining that with strategy to enable business growth. Synagex also provides cybersecurity assessments based on the Cybersecurity Maturity Model, a cybersecurity framework for US defense contractors.  Ascentek provides desktop and server support, network design and maintenance, email systems, network security, and help desk services, with fast on-site and remote support.

As Managed Services Providers (MSPs), both companies have separately served the growing number of small and medium-sized businesses that do not have the internal Information Technology resources to do it themselves. In a world where these companies are increasingly vulnerable to malware and other threats, Synagex’s cybersecurity expertise is proving valuable, particularly with defense contractors.

“Whether serving defense, finance, manufacturing or other industries, companies up and down the supply chain are facing the dual challenges of rapidly changing Information Technology and security threats,” said John Sinopoli, founder, President and CEO of Synagex. “Growth in this industry led us to seek a business partner that could hit the ground running. Ascentek was the obvious choice. Founded in 2000, the company’s expertise is both deep and broad-based.” 

Ascentek founder and president Ted Frederick will be the Chief Technical Officer of the merged company. ”John started Synagex seven years ago, with the goal of creating a service business focused on quality, result-focused IT. It works,” said Frederick. “Joining a vibrant, locally-owned firm with a commitment to staying and growing in the Berkshires represents and exciting new chapter for Ascentek, and I look forward to being part of it.” 

Ascentek customers comprise banks, manufacturing, legal offices, schools, auto dealerships, architects, non-profits, and more. Although most of its customers are located in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New York, the company also provides remote support for customers in Dallas, Pittsburgh, Reno, and several other U.S. cities.

Effective this January, the merger combines both work forces into a company with 30 professionals, and no loss of local jobs, said Sinopoli.

ABOUT THE COMPANIES

Synagex Modern IT provides a simple IT and cybersecurity solution for businesses. In addition to its outsourced IT services, Synagex is a Registered Provider Organization (RPO) providing Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification assessments. CMMC is a cybersecurity framework for U.S. defense contractors, designed to measure the cybersecurity maturity of the defense supply chain by combining different standards and requirements. CMMC is a unifying standard and certification model to ensure that DoD contractors protect sensitive information. It has three increasingly progressive levels of cybersecurity, and the Department of Defense will require all contractors to be certified to one of the three CMMC levels by the end of 2025 

Ascentek maintains partnerships with several giants in the IT industry such as Microsoft, HP, IBM, Lenovo, Symantec, and others. The company’s experience and expertise, combined with these partnerships, allows it to offer customers leading-edge technology solutions while keeping costs down.