Fognigma – Page 4

Cybersecurity in a Post-Quantum World

It’s no secret in the cybersecurity world that traditional cryptography systems, used throughout the entire Internet, are vulnerable to quantum computer attacks. By leveraging quantum mechanical phenomena, quantum computers are powerful enough to decipher the algorithms used as the basis for the most widely used cryptography systems on the Internet, such as RSA.

But quantum computers are not yet widely available, and those that have been developed are not believed to be powerful enough to totally break existing systems. According to Matthew Scholl, Chief of the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s Computer Security Division, feasible quantum computer attacks are still years or potentially decades away. Even so, it took nearly two decades to implement modern public key infrastructure.

Given the magnitude of the impact of quantum computing across every facet of the Internet, there is a need to rethink the approach to Internet security in a post-quantum world – and experts have known this. But what does that post-quantum world look like? The landscape of cybersecurity is and has been changing, but where are we headed?

Fighting fire with fire

The good news about supercomputers is that the same strengths that make them effective weapons can also be leveraged for defensive capabilities. Quantum mechanics can also be leveraged to generate and distribute secure keys. Traditional cryptography systems can be vulnerable to brute force attacks from quantum computers, since they are powerful enough to guess potential key combinations at unprecedented speeds. Additionally, current cryptography systems cannot provide a way to detect if encrypted data has been tampered with, meaning an attacker could compromise encrypted data without being detected.

However, by leveraging quantum mechanics, it’s possible to establish shared secret keys between two users that are only know to them. Additionally, observing the quantum bits used in this system alters them, meaning attempts to intercept data would alert users.

But what about those who don’t have access to quantum computers? Until major technological breakthroughs are made, quantum computers won’t be widely available to most organizations. And your most sensitive data needs protection now.

Post-quantum cryptography

Fortunately, cybersecurity experts around the world have been developing new standards to protect existing systems without relying on quantum computers for defensive capabilities. Collaborative efforts seek to devise different approaches and assess risks and strengths. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) are collaborating with various partners to generate new approaches and provide implementation plans for organizations to make the transition to post-quantum cryptography.

The problem of integration

For implementation plans to be feasible for most organizations, new defensive systems would ideally be able to integrate with existing computer systems – and take far less than 20 years to implement. NIST’s Post-Quantum Project was created with the intent to gather potential new technologies to assess their security and feasibility of use. But this is a relatively new field in cybersecurity, so it will take years to develop and standardize processes to protect against quantum computer attacks.

Is your organization prepared for the shift required to survive this changing landscape? For information on how Fognigma can protect your organization against quantum computer attacks without requiring a complete overhaul of existing organizational infrastructure, systems, and technology, see the Fognigma main page, and feel free to contact us.

Fognigma SOF Week 2023 Press Release

Dexter Edward to demo Fognigma’s secure communication & collaboration, data security, mission partner network capabilities at SOF WEEK 2023.

Dexter Edward will be attending SOF WEEK 2023 as an exhibitor from May 8-11th at the Tampa Convention Center in Tampa, Florida to demonstrate several communication and collaboration capabilities from the Fognigma product line suited for a wide variety of SOCOM operations in contested digital environments.

Fognigma is a Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) software that can create complete standalone mission environments in the cloud, complete with a variety of communication and collaboration tools incorporating end-to-end encryption, managed attribution, network & user anonymization and obfuscation, smart firewalls, and other security features. The product is now available for purchase via ITES-SW2 and SEWP V.

The following Fognigma capabilities will be demoed during the exhibition:

• Speakeasy. A self-owned, cloud-hosted videoconferencing solution that generates unique, disposable, user-specific misattributing access paths to conferences.

• Virtual Desktops (VDIs). Sandboxed, anonymizing cloud-hosted desktop instances deployed with a wide variety of mission tools for communication & collaboration, data collection & analysis, and more.

• Holler. A cloud-based telephony solution that protects user numbers, identities, and locations through several customizable voice & SMS capabilities for a wide variety of mission communication scenarios with trusted and untrusted parties.

• Wicket & Netcutter. A hardware device that protects the Internet activities of users and devices, facilitates connections to Fognigma’s private communication & collaboration networks, generates location-based network exit nodes, and provides remote LAN access capabilities.

Fognigma is a Technology Readiness Level 9 product that has been awarded nearly two dozen patents, and is ISO 9001:2015 accredited and FIPS 140-2
validated. The product undergoes regular penetration testing from multiple third parties, and new versions are developed, tested, and released regularly to improve security and add new capabilities driven by customer needs.

For more information on Fognigma’s capabilities, please visit booth #805 on the upper level at SOF WEEK 2023.

3 ways cybersecurity is changing with AI

3 Ways AI Is Changing Cybersecurity

AI is here. Are we ready?

From making digital art to creating deepfakes of presidents’ voices to developing recipes, the vast capabilities and potential applications of AI technology have become clearer and clearer in recent years. AI certainly isn’t anything new, but its potential creates several implications affecting every industry. While AI carries the promise of improving our professional and personal lives, it’s just a tool, and like any other tool, it has the potential to cause harm.

One industry where this is especially true is cybersecurity. Hackers are increasingly leveraging AI capabilities to overcome cybersecurity defenses, which should raise alarms for organizations in any industry. With how sophisticated AI technology has become, many defensive capabilities currently in use need to adapt and improve, or even be replaced.

But what exactly are the implications? What about AI makes it so effective against current defensive cybersecurity systems? AI and cybersecurity researchers have developed a variety of capabilities to demonstrate how AI can be deployed offensively.

AI is faster than humans

A lot faster. A comprehensive 2022 study examined a variety of offensive AI capabilities developed in recent years for the purpose of conducting or enhancing cyberattacks.

One such capability was used against CAPTCHAs on fifty of the most popular websites, and was capable of cracking them in under 0.05 seconds.

AI can adapt in real-time

Part of what grants AI its incredible speed is its ability to autonomously learn and adapt in a given environment to overcome its defense systems. AI can use sophisticated obfuscation algorithms that makes it virtually invisible to behavioral and signature-based anti-virus software.

AI’s ability to adapt to its environments allows it to learn how to masquerade itself as a trusted system element to exploit vulnerabilities in a defense system. And the longer an AI exists unnoticed in a system, the more knowledgeable and capable it becomes.

AI is automated

In case examined by the study, an AI was used to deliver malware that stayed inactive and hidden until it reached its destination, where it activated automatically to deliver malware. Another found that AI could automate the process of developing malware, continuously updating itself with new variations to help it overcome defenses.

AI advantages:

Speed.

Adaptability

So what do we do?

AI is already here – are you prepared for how that will affect your organization’s future?

The good news is that AI is also being leveraged for its defensive capabilities. Given that AI is much faster and more powerful than humans in this regard, it makes sense to fight fire with fire. However, it will likely take a significant amount of time before a robust defensive AI solutions becomes accessible to most organizations.

In the mean time, it’s important to understand what solutions that already exist are effective against the sophisticated threat posed by offensive AI, like post-quantum cryptography, which aims to develop cryptographic systems that are secure against both quantum and classical computers.

Secure File Sharing in the Era of Remote Work

New world, new rules

Two years after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s clear that remote work isn’t going anywhere any time soon.

Companies scrambled in 2020 to pivot to fully remote working environments, and while some have shifted back to in-office or even hybrid environments, the need remains for secure and remotely accessible resources like file servers and videoconferencing solutions for employees scattered across the country, and sometimes around the world.

This abrupt shift to these decentralized collaboration environments opened created a world of opportunity for hackers. In the past, centralized headquarter environments granted a high degree of control to allow cybersecurity and IT professionals to manage company security more effectively.

But today’s working world is riddled with new variables – unsecured home networks, IoT devices, the use of personal devices for work, and lack of individual understanding of best security practices and common threats, to name a few. And when 88% of data breaches are caused by human error (according to a study conducted by Stanford University), the risk is too high, especially for a resource like a file server, where large numbers of users are likely uploading and downloading files frequently.

File servers in particular are a gold mine for malicious actors as much as they are essential to remote work environments. But can you keep them safe?

Can yesterday’s solutions work in today’s remote world?

Encryption is the most obvious solution for protecting file servers, but it has its downsides:

Time and effort. Private key infrastructure (PKI) can be an effective way to protect connections between an individual and another individual, group, or server, but is tedious to set up and maintain. A user must generate their own public and private key pair, store the private key safely, and share the private key with the person or server they’re trying to reach (use that person or server’s public key). Worse, to use the same encryption key on another device, the user would need a secure way to transfer the private key to the new device to ensure it can’t be captured in transit. While this may be a standard practice for familiar users, those unfamiliar with cybersecurity basics may find this method inaccessible. And with remote employees spread far and wide in questionably secure locations (sometimes across the world), IT support can be a costly and time-consuming nightmare for everyone involved.
Key ownership. Popular file-sharing services like Dropbox claim to use encryption to protect their users’ data, but they hold the encryption keys, and the encryption is broken at their central server. So if their servers are compromised by unauthorized access or insider attacks, any user communications with those servers could be leaked to a third party. In other words, if they’re compromised, so are you.

The demands of the current remote work climate require a user-friendly solution that provides the best security features available and limits the potential for human error.

Erebus: The encrypted file server for a remote world

Erebus is a cloud-hosted secure file storage system that uses built-in patented encryption software (Conclave) to encrypt files and automate management user encryption keys.

Security features at a glance

Symmetric and asymmetric (end-to-end) hybrid encryption
Perfect forward secrecy (PFS) protocol
Two layers of AES-256 encryption with 4096-bit initial key exchange
FIPS 140-2 validation
Immunity from IPv4, IPv6, DNS, and WebRTC attacks
User-specific encryption at rest

Fully automatic encryption key management with Conclave

Erebus uses Conclave encryption technology to automate the management of encryption keys for users and the Erebus server, eliminating the need for cumbersome manual key configuration, and by extension, the possibility of a data breach caused by human error.

When Erebus access is activated for a user, the software generates a dedicated proxy instance that handles encryption keys between the Conclave server and Erebus server. Users receive the full protection Conclave has to offer, without needing to rely on tedious and complicated encryption configurations. Accessing and using Erebus is as simple as signing in and uploading or downloading files in just a few clicks – while Conclave handles the rest and keeps them protected.

Secure access and file management

Whether on a desktop or mobile device, Erebus users never access the file server directly. Instead, a dedicated third-party proxy instance is generated for each Erebus user. These instances act as intermediaries in the connection, ensuring potential snoopers are misdirected and the server is protected. Not even your own users need to know where the server is hosted, adding another layer of protection against human error and insider attacks.

These user access URLs can be generated, re-generated, or destroyed in just a few clicks. Uploaded files can also be configured so they’re destroyed automatically after a certain amount of time or downloads.

Simple and intuitive access control

Erebus servers can be configured in minutes, and administrators can easily control user access to files and the capabilities within Erebus using groups and permission assignments.

All data is individually encrypted for each user assigned access to specific files, so as user permissions are modified, the data itself is modified to suit that permission. This ensures that when user access is removed, users will no longer be able to decrypt the relevant data.

Speakeasy – Videoconferencing As It Should Be

Millions of users rely on videoconferencing to do their jobs remotely, and in the modern environment of work-from-home, the number of users who rely on this technology to stay connected with their teams will only grow. Videoconferencing has become (and will become even more of) an essential part of business continuity for effective communication, collaboration, and productivity. However, most video conferencing solutions are provided by third party vendors, and run on vendor-owned infrastructure, in a way that allows those vendors to observe, record, store, exploit, and even potentially leak an organization’s media streams and other private data.

For organizations concerned about the privacy of their communications and the safety and security of their staff, this creates an unacceptable level of risk. In addition to these administrative risks, most modern videoconferencing solutions introduce technological risks as well. These solutions rely on a technology called “Web Real-Time Communications” (WebRTC) to deliver their service. But WebRTC is not designed to be secure; it’s designed to be convenient. In order to get around firewalls and other infrastructure-specific limitations, WebRTC makes use of “Session Traversal Utilities for NAT” (STUN) and “Traversal Using Relay NAT” (TURN) services to facilitate their operation. And they do facilitate operation…at the cost of revealing information about individual users and their network locations that those users (or their organization) might not want revealed. What’s more, every user connects to the same videoconferencing server, which allows a third party observer to correlate which users are talking to whom, and when, and which organizations they are a part of.

Because current videoconferencing solutions do not address this risk landscape in a way that allows an organization to visualize, manage, and mitigate the dangers inherent in the technology, in order to protect their people and their intellectual property, it becomes imperative to change the organization’s whole approach to videoconference-based collaboration.

Speakeasy: secure, anonymous, untraceable video teleconferencing, from Dexter Edward

Since 2015, Dexter Edward has been the premier provider for secure, traceless, and anonymous online communications. With the addition of the Speakeasy product, Dexter Edward applies this track record for discreet communications to the suddenly-burgeoning area of videoconferencing for remote collaboration.

Speakeasy leverages Fognigma’s revolutionary Portal Proxy and ZeroProfile capabilities in order to provide secure conference rooms for collaboration, as well as individual, unique, single-use proxy access points for each participant. With Speakeasy, conferences are completely undiscoverable by any third party, and are protected within a Fognigma Network using ZeroProfile smart firewalls. Each participant receives a unique network path to use to access the conference, ensuring that no two users can be correlated with one another or with the videoconference server or service.

A third-party observer cannot even tell that the participant is part of a videoconference at all. And because each network path is unique and separate, there are no WebRTC STUN/TURN data leaks to worry about. Even better, Speakeasy can be completely automated, creating and destroying conference rooms and access points as needed, so your users always have what they need, when they need it, without increasing administrative overhead.

Dexter Edward’s Speakeasy capability provides these important features:

Compatibility With Any Device: Users can virtually communicate face-to-face using any device running any major operating system; no special hardware or software is required.
Chat and Screen Share: To maximize communication and collaboration in virtual meetings, Fognigma’s video conferencing solution has chat and screen share capabilities.
Global Accessibility: No matter where in the world your team members are located, they can reach their Speakeasy conferences with the click of a button, and you can even tailor their access points to be geographically near to the participants’ worksites, so that they do not draw undue attention.
You own the infrastructure: Video conferences run on servers your organization owns, meaning no one else has access to see your private company information.
Completely Private and Invisible: Conferences exist only when you need them, and their existence (as well as any information about who is accessing them, and when) is completely undetectable from outside your organization. Even people within your organization will only be aware of conferences they have been invited to participate in. So your communications are protected from external threats as well as the most dangerous risk of all: the insider
AES-256 Encryption: Fognigma protects all communications within the system with AES-256 encryption. Every session, every conference, and every interaction is uniquely keyed, every time. When a conference is completed, the system destroys it, as well as all of the access points to it, completely, which leaves no forensic footprint for an adversary to attempt to investigate.

How It Works

Using the Fognigma console you create and issue a unique access point for the Speakeasy conference server to every user in your organization who is authorized to create Speakeasy conferences. Users use that URL to access the Speakeasy console whenever they need to create a room for collaboration. To create a room, the user simply clicks “Reserve Conference” and selects the number of participants who will be making use of the room. The Speakeasy server then builds the conference room and the unique access points for each participant. The user then provides those access point URLs to the participants, who click on them to join the conference from any network-connected device with a web browser. Once the conference is complete, the user who reserved it returns to the Speakeasy console and clicks “Terminate”. The server then deletes the conference room and all of the individual access points to that room, so even if an adversary managed to discover one of those unique URLs, he or she would not be able to use it to trace back to any of the participants, the server, or your organization.

Videoconferencing and remote collaboration are more important than they have ever been, and they are here to stay. Your organization needs a solution that protects its intellectual property, its people, and its budget. Speakeasy, from Dexter Edward, is your solution for the rapidly-evolving remote-collaboration environment.

Securing Your Network In A Bring Your Own Device World

When the entire world shifted to remote working, many companies did not have bulk technology available to let their employees take home to continue doing their job. This forced many to enforce ‘bring your own device’ or in other terms, they had to let their employees use their personal devices to continue working from home. Although this may seem like a benefit, the cyber security challenges and privacy concerns of using personal devices will cost companies more in the long run.

The Risks Of Employees Bringing Their Own Devices

Data Leakage

When employees access company information using their personal devices, especially from anywhere, it increases the possibility of company data being leaked. Mobile devices are the most susceptible to attacks. Additionally, mobile devices and tablets require frequent updates to prevent security loopholes, and if one update is missed and an employee has company data on their device, your company’s data becomes extremely vulnerable.

Higher Chances of Vulnerabilities

When employees access data from their personal devices, its nearly impossible for companies to track what data is saved on their devices. With that, if any employee connects to a public or suspicious WiFi signal, loses their phone, or forgets to install an update, whatever company data is on that device is at risk.

Malware Infections

Employees are not as careful on their personal devices as they need to be. If any employee unintentionally downloads malicious malware on their device, which is connected to the rest of the company’s network, depending on what type of malware it is, it could end up connecting to other devices on your company’s network. This would allow unauthorized users to gain access to usernames, passwords, and sensitive data posing a huge security risk.

Protecting Your Network While Allowing Your Employees To Use Their Own Device

Limit Access

Giving employees access to everything in the company is a huge security vulnerability. Employees only need access to the stuff they need to do their jobs. To ensure your company’s network security, you need to implement role-based access into your cyber security strategy. This limits employees access to only systems and data required for their job roles.

Two Factor Authentication

Nowadays, both passwords and physical devices can be stolen, which is why many companies are implementing two-factor authentication on their employee’s accounts. Two-factor authentication requires users to have two pieces of information to confirm identities before accessing whatever account they are trying to login to. Most two-factor authentication processes have a strong password with a second factor like a code sent via text message or phone. This ensure safety because even if a password were hacked or a device was stolen, the criminal would need the second piece of information to gain access to the account.

Enable Network Access Controls

Network Access Control (NAC) only lets devices connect to a network that are up to date on their software. Devices that are not will be denied access. This will save your company from a significant amount of vulnerabilities.

Lost or Stolen Protocols

Having a policy in place regarding when a device is lost or stolen will safeguard your data that is stored on that device. Its important to be able to remotely wipe the data that is on the device so that unauthorized users cannot use the device to access corporate data.

A Trusted Software Solution

In a bring your own device world, companies need a solution that secures their data no matter where their employees work, and what they are working on. Fognigma’s trusted patented software solution lets organization’s build secure, invisible, adaptable, networks anywhere, on any device, in minutes. Inside a Fognigma Network, users can quickly and easily deploy end-to-end encrypted, traceless communication and collaboration tools such as messaging, video conferencing, file sharing, phone calling, and more. Through Fognigma’s user-friendly interface, office administrators can create and assign users groups, ensuring employees only have access to the resources needed to do their job. Using simple software or hardware, users can instantly secure their connections and safely access company information from anywhere on any device. At the end of the workday, Fognigma Networks and resources can be destroyed in just a few clicks, ready to be redeployed the next day.

The Most Important Network Security Best Practices

Thanks to COVID-19, most businesses are sharing sensitive company data, communicating with one another, and collaborating on projects virtually. Although the internet provides a great space for businesses to stay connected while most users are working from their homes. There is a downfall to this virtual connectivity – network attacks. The PwC Global Economic Crime and Fraud Survey 2020 states that, the average number of frauds per company reported is about 6, which comes out to equal billions of US dollars lost because of these crimes. With so many threats and so much at stake, even the best network security teams cannot keep up. Companies should be following these measures to protect their business against the multitude of cyber-security dangers.

Maintain Software

One of the easiest, but most effective, solutions for network security is to update current antivirus software. Its imperative software updates are installed immediately as they become available. However, although valuable, this one single solution is not enough, especially since today’s threats are more sophisticated than ever.

Make Visibility A Priority

Most organizations think of their network security as a force repelling incoming enemies, and fail to realize that the people inside their walls are the biggest threat. According to Security Intelligence, 75% of security breaches come from insider threats. Most of these cases being unintentional but how can companies prevent insider threats? By monitoring their user’s activity within their network and restricting access to certain websites. By tracking what your users are doing, companies become aware of the situations and can see what actions happened that may have compromised their companies’ network.

Restrict User Permissions

While most insider threats are accidental, the intentional ones are the ones that cause the most damage. Most insider threats are from upset or former employees who leak/steal sensitive company information. Although it is common for most businesses to restrict access for each employee, giving users access to everything is a huge security risk. To keep your company and employees safe, employees should only have access to the resources they need to perform their job. Furthermore, organizations need to realize the malicious risks associated with employees using their own devices for work purposes. By using company-provided devices you are in control of what is on it and the accesses employees have.

Establish A Security Policy

Just by setting clear expectations and guidelines for your users can make the biggest difference. To be proactive and see where your policies fall short, perform a security risk analysis, and make adjustments where needed. To ensure employees are contributing to your network security, provide on-going security training. Its also beneficial to have a security expert on-staff, for users to reach out to when further clarification or assistance is needed.

Backup Your Data

A benefit of digital information, is that copies can easily be made. This allows organizations to copy their data information and store it in a separate, secure location off their network. This gives organizations something to refer to in case of a cyber-attack. It is important to regularly backup your data, so one data breach doesn’t ruin your entire organization.

Third Parties Are Just As Dangerous

If internal users represent such a huge part of data breaches, then third parties are just as dangerous. When organizations work with third parties, they need to access company information somehow. Giving them network access will create more entry points which creates more entry points available for malicious attacks. It is important to evaluate the third parties you are working with carefully and restrict their access as much as possible.

Education Is Key

Organizations can have a solid security strategy in place, but if their employees are not complying, your network will always be vulnerable. Securing your data and the users using the data should be a top priority. Train your employees on how to recognize and report threats, what to do to prevent them, and using/accessing data according to your company’s policy. Educating your users on how to protect your network is a huge step towards company cyber safety.

Be Prepared

You never really know when a threat is going to happen, so being prepared for the worst is crucial. Organizations must constantly monitor their networks for threats, analyze and fix the threats that do come through, and stay-up-date on cybersecurity best practices and trends.

Fognigma’s Network Solutions

Fognigma provides a variety of software and hardware solutions, that allows enterprises to completely secure their network connections. All solutions are wrapped in FIPS 140-2 validated, cascading AES-256 encryption. Fognigma’s network solutions include:

Fognigma VPN: A specialized VPN built providing streamlined, user-friendly access to private collaboration services, traceless Internet access, and discreet communications.

Wicket: A portable misattribution device that connects to a Fognigma Network and protects single users and small groups, as well as IoT and other network-enabled devices.

Gateway: A misattribution device for a headquarters environment or other facility, which provides multiple users access to multiple Fognigma Networks, over a hidden, protected network connection.

Software, web development, programming concept. Abstract Programming language and program code on screen laptop. Laptop and icons company network . Technology process of Software development

Digital Transformation Technologies That Will Help Drive Growth

While the COVID-19 crisis led organizations to face vital challenges like the inability to visit customers, decreasing sales, and stalled productions, it also drove them to improve the ability of long-distance collaboration, recognize the importance of today’s new-aged technologies, and aid digital formats of business development and operations.

Digital transformations in organizations are imperative to build long-term resilience. Just by digitalizing traditional processes will not help organizations succeed. The focus must shift to using technologies that do things in a new, improved way that embraces digital transformation. So, what digital transformation technologies will help organizations drive growth?

Automation

With social distancing becoming the new normal, businesses must adapt by automating their operations as much as possible. The benefits offered from automation is enhanced productivity and superior quality of products while keeping costs under control.

Additionally, adding automation to regular network tasks will enable services to minimize the involvement of its workforce in managing the network bringing down human error and enhancing efficiency and quality of services.

Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence is skilled at identifying patterns from big data, and this aspect alone explains how it is significant in managing the current coronavirus crisis. The features AI applications have such as predictive analytics, natural language processing, speech recognition, image recognition, video analytics, and chatbots are helping healthcare workers diagnose and trace the spread of the COVID pandemic.

Besides supporting the healthcare industry, AI is helping sustain critical infrastructure industries like utilities, gas & oil, and transportation. Organization’s currently using AI can apply predictive analytics to map the real-time and historic data transmitted by IoT sensors on their equipment. This allows them to prevent failures before they occur, while also understanding the root causes of problems. AI makes processes quicker, more efficient, more secure, and safer.

IoT Devices

When COVID first hit, the number of businesses that deployed IoT technologies skyrocketed. The worldwide number of IoT-connected devices is projected to increase to 41.6 billion by 2025. Organizations that leverage IoT in their business strategies will come out on top, especially in cases of remote monitoring and product and process diagnostics when in-person visits are not an option. IoT devices provide increased productivity, minimizes costs with smart asset management, provide intelligent supply chain solutions, and analytics allowing organizations to unlock new revenue opportunities and enhance their customer experience. By incorporating IoT into everyday business lives organizations can track and trace assets, equipment, tools, and people.

Advanced Analytics

Uncertain times and competitive markets make it crucial for organizations to access the right data points and make informed decisions. By using data-analytics solutions, a business can be active and responsive to progressing situations. Advanced analytics will also allow organizations to identify risks and take action before major impacts.

Software That Allows Employees To Do Their Job Anywhere

With many organizations continuing their work from home structure, software like Fognigma, drives organization unity and security while building resilience even while remote. With Fognigma, users can create and deploy custom VPNs in minutes, complete with secured communication and collaboration solutions like video conferencing, secure file shares, VDIs, encrypted telephony, and user-specific message and file encryption for effective productivity.

Everything inside a Fognigma VPN is completely protected from observation, interception, and tracking, securing not only users but company data as well.

Isometric business people talking conference meeting room. Team work process. Business management teamwork meeting and brainstorming. Vector illustration

IoT Device Security Challenges for Organizations

The use of IoT devices within organizations has risen at an exponential rate, increasing the number of security risks. Whether its building sensors, surveillance cameras, IP phones, conference room technology, and more, IoT devices are everywhere. Although these devices bring various benefits to organizations, they usually go unmanaged compromising network security. How can organizations continue to gain the benefits from using IoT devices while easing their security concerns? Continue reading to learn more about the overall problem and an easy-to-implement solution.

Security Challenges of IoT Devices

IoT devices are typically connected directly to the organization’s networks yet are unmanaged. And different IoT devices have different hardware, operating systems, firmware, are unregulated, have unknown vulnerabilities, and are used past there, so-called, supported life. According to the 2020 Unit IoT Threat report, 98% of all IoT device traffic is unencrypted and 57% of IoT devices are vulnerable to medium or high severity attacks.

One of the biggest fears associated with IoT devices is they can be weaponized for launching cyber-attacks. Cybercriminals know where to find vulnerabilities allowing them to attack VoIP phones, office printers, video decoders, and more to infiltrate corporate networks. With that, organizations are faced with assessing IoT devices risks and trying to implement security policies.

To limit IoT security vulnerabilities organization’s must adapt their security policies and become aware of the IoT devices currently in their existence, isolate IoT devices on separate networks, restrict access, change credentials, and do regular updates and patches. Luckily for organizations, Fognigma is here to help!

A Solution So Simple, Non-Technical Users Can Protect Their IoT Devices

Fognigma’s patented portable misattribution device, Wicket, connects to a Fognigma VPN and completely protects IoT and other network-enabled devices. Whether organizations are looking to protect one VoIP phone system, multiple surveillance cameras, office printers, or multiple workstations, all they need to do is place a Wicket between their modem and router for complete security under a Fognigma network.

Wickets are small, easy to carry, and simple to set up – allowing employees to protect their IoT devices at home and on travel as well as in the office. Everything on a Wicket is protected from observation, interception, and tracking. Wickets even obscure user’s physical location by connecting to Fognigma Exit Points that are disposable and can be deleted and recreated with new IP addresses and new physical locations, with no user interaction required.

Wickets are designed for complete ease of use – allowing even non-technical users to completely protect their IoT devices, anywhere.

How COVID-19 is Reshaping the Workplace in Organizations

Did you know only about 12% of organizations felt prepared to shift their on-office workforce to work remotely? Most organizations lacked available technology, had unclear management structures, and weak risk management strategies in place. Now, fast-forward a few months and although many states are starting to lift their stay-at-home orders, organizations have decided to continue their work from home strategies. COVID-19 may have turned our world upside down, but it sure has accelerated the adoption of digital technology. Even though many organizations did not intended for this digital adoption, these practices are likely to stay. Here are a few ways COVID-19 is reshaping the workplace in organizations.

Less Employees In The Office

Aside from essential businesses, nearly all organizations shifted their workforce to work from home. And now that employees have gotten a taste of what remote work is like, many are asking to continue this structure. Since most organizations have realized employees are just as productive at home as they are in the office they are on board with this new work style. Additionally, by implementing more people to stay at home it reduces the number of people in the office which promotes employee safety. Organizations have started to implement flexible work schedules and unified communication and collaboration systems to keep their employees happy, healthy, and productive.

Contactless

Meeting rooms, shared offices, office lobbies, break rooms, company-wide coffee machines and fridges are germ magnets. With that, experts are predicting a huge increase in contactless amenities for workspaces. This can include voice-activated lights, doors, coffee machines, and more.

Focus on Digital Marketing Efforts

Businesses that were focused on in-person sales and services needed to adapt to keep their business running. To do so, many decided to shift to marketing automation and digital marketing. Marketers were challenged to communicate digitally to retain loyal customers during this pandemic when in-person delivery was no longer an option. For example, trade shows were turned into virtual events and video marketing has increased even more than it already was. And this is just the beginning for digital marketing!

Modernized Workplace Communication and Collaboration

When more than half the US workforce was forced to work remotely, the need for modernized communication and collaboration had never been higher. This meant communication and collaboration between team members, leaders, and customers needed to be just as efficient remotely as it was in the office. Many organizations were challenged and are still challenged on coming up with an effective approach to help employees stay connected and do their jobs from their own homes. That’s where an all-in-one solution that allows organizations to message, file share, video conference, and secure their networks in one central location comes in.

Bring Your Team Together – Virtually and Securely

The time to adapt to the new normal telework lifestyle is now. It is imperative organizations improve their employee’s remote work experience with automation and new technologies. By doing this, organizations can ensure their team members have everything they need to do their jobs by providing effective communication and collaboration tools needed for virtual work. Unified communication and collaboration solutions, like Fognigma, combine secure networks, chat messaging, telephony, video conferencing, and file sharing into a single platform that allows employees to safely and securely do their job from anywhere, on any device. Solutions like this bring employees together no matter the distance. Providing your employees with this type of solution will significantly prepare organizations for this new normal remote workplace.