Blog - Page 10 of 22

What Every Paramus Business Needs to Know About Microsoft 365 Security

Microsoft 365 security risks in Paramus. Many businesses in Paramus rely on Microsoft 365 for email, collaboration, and file storage—but few realize just how vulnerable those accounts can be. Microsoft provides a powerful platform, but it’s not fully secure out of the box. Without proper configurations and layered protections, your business could be exposed to phishing attacks, data theft, and email compromise.

As more companies in Paramus move to cloud-based platforms, cybercriminals are following closely behind—looking for weak passwords, unmonitored logins, and unsecured mailboxes. Understanding the risks and how to fix them is critical to keeping your systems safe in 2025.

Common Microsoft 365 Security Gaps

Basic or reused passwords with no multi-factor authentication (MFA)
Unsecured mobile device access to business email
No outbound email encryption for sensitive client data
Limited monitoring for suspicious login activity
No backup plan for lost or deleted email content

Simple Ways to Strengthen Microsoft 365

Securing Microsoft 365 doesn’t require expensive software—just smart configuration and the right tools. At Cost+, we help Paramus businesses lock down their accounts, train their teams, and reduce the risk of a breach.

Recommended services include:

Email+ for Microsoft 365 security, encryption, and spam protection

Security+ for real-time protection against phishing, malware, and login threats

Recovery+ for mailbox backups and disaster recovery

Need Help in Paramus?

If your company is already using Microsoft 365—or considering a move—don’t wait for a security incident to find the gaps. Our team works with businesses across Bergen County to secure their accounts and reduce long-term risk.

Explore our IT and cybersecurity services for Paramus

Request a Free Microsoft 365 Security Review

We’ll assess your current setup and provide practical recommendations—no pressure, no hard sell. Just real help to keep your business safe.

Book your free consultation now or call 800.840.9690 to speak with our team to learn more about Microsoft 365 security risks in Paramus.

cmcwplgnomg4042025-06-11T11:41:43-05:00June 11, 2025|

Why Saint Johns Businesses Are Leaving Break-Fix IT Behind

Reactive support is costing more than you think. Here’s why companies in Saint Johns are switching to a proactive IT model.

IT support in Saint Johns has traditionally followed the “break-fix” model—wait until something fails, then call someone to fix it. While that may have made sense for small operations in the past, it’s increasingly becoming a liability for growing businesses in Saint Johns.

This part of Northeast Florida is seeing rapid development, from commercial growth along Race Track Road to new office parks near CR-210. Businesses here are no longer running on homegrown systems or part-time tech help—they need uptime, predictability, and protection. The break-fix model no longer delivers any of that.

Downtime Costs More Than Just Money

When your server goes down or your email crashes, it’s not just an inconvenience—it halts operations. Productivity stalls, customer inquiries go unanswered, and you lose both time and trust. In fast-moving business environments like Saint Johns, even an hour of downtime can have ripple effects.

And there’s another risk: the vulnerabilities that accumulate when patches, updates, or antivirus protections are delayed. If no one’s watching your system until something breaks, that means no one is actively protecting it either.

Proactive IT Support in Saint Johns: What It Looks Like

Switching to a proactive model means your systems are monitored, maintained, and supported continuously. At Support+, we work with Florida businesses to ensure patches are applied promptly, backups are scheduled and verified, and potential issues are resolved before they impact your team.

We’re not “on call”—we’re already there, working in the background to keep your systems stable and secure. For growing Saint Johns companies, this means no more surprise invoices, emergency repairs, or long waits for someone to show up.

Better Support, Predictable Costs

One reason many businesses stick with reactive support is the assumption that it’s cheaper. But it rarely is. Break-fix support often means paying a premium when you need help most. You’re also risking unplanned capital expenses, like full system replacements that could have been avoided with better oversight.

With Cost+, our fixed-rate model gives Saint Johns businesses true cost control—no billing surprises, just reliable service. And because we’re based in Florida, we offer expert-level support without inflated metro-area pricing.

IT Support That Matches Your Growth

Whether you’re expanding offices, hiring remote workers, or just trying to stay ahead of cybersecurity threats, your IT strategy needs to grow with you. The old model of “call when it breaks” doesn’t scale. But proactive support does—and it’s more accessible than many companies realize.

Learn how we support businesses in Saint Johns with reliable IT support, smart cybersecurity, and no-nonsense pricing.

Schedule Your Free IT Assessment

If your business is still relying on reactive IT support, we’ll show you a better path. Schedule a free assessment and see what proactive support could mean for your operations and why we’re the logical choice for IT support in Saint Johns.

cmcwplgnomg4042025-06-09T23:32:28-05:00June 10, 2025|

Why Shadow IT Creates Real Operational Risk

Shadow IT risk is a serious problem. In nearly every organization, employees use tools that IT never approved. A free file-sharing service. A personal messaging app. A cloud-based platform set up with a corporate credit card. It’s convenient, fast, and often well-intentioned—but it’s also risky. This phenomenon is known as Shadow IT, and while it may seem harmless on the surface, it can quietly undermine security, performance, and compliance across the business.

Shadow IT refers to any technology used within an organization that hasn’t been vetted or authorized by the IT department. That includes software, devices, storage systems, communication platforms, and even third-party services. As more business functions move into the cloud, and as employees seek tools to work more efficiently, Shadow IT has become more common—and more dangerous.

man with device assessing shadow IT risk

Where Shadow IT Comes From

Shadow IT typically emerges when teams feel underserved or constrained by official systems. A sales team starts using a free CRM to manage leads. A designer signs up for a cloud drive to share large files. A manager subscribes to a project management tool for a single client. In many cases, these decisions are made in good faith—but without visibility, IT cannot monitor, secure, or support these tools.

Why It’s More Than an Inconvenience

Unmanaged technology introduces complexity. It fragments data, weakens oversight, and creates gaps in security coverage. Systems may lack encryption. User accounts may remain active after an employee leaves. Sensitive information may be stored in platforms that aren’t backed up, logged, or protected by corporate policies. And when an incident occurs, IT teams are left trying to triage systems they didn’t even know existed.

Operational Risks Associated with Shadow IT

Data loss from unmonitored or unsupported platforms
Increased attack surface from unmanaged user accounts
Compliance violations due to unsecured storage or communications
Integration failures or data duplication across unsanctioned tools
Inefficiency due to lack of central support and training

Balancing Control and Flexibility

Eliminating Shadow IT entirely is unlikely—and often counterproductive. The better way to aproach shadow it risk is to increase visibility, educate users, and provide alternatives. When employees understand the risks and have access to approved, user-friendly tools, they’re more likely to follow policy. IT’s role isn’t to block progress—it’s to enable secure, supported innovation across departments.

Conclusion

Shadow IT (and shaddow IT risk) is a byproduct of modern work culture, but that doesn’t make it harmless. The more tools that operate outside of IT’s view, the harder it becomes to secure the organization and maintain reliability. Managing this risk starts with awareness and ends with governance. Business leaders who take it seriously can protect both agility and control—without sacrificing either.

cmcwplgnomg4042025-06-23T22:13:03-05:00June 10, 2025|

Qualcomm Chip Exploits and Patch Guidance: What IT Leaders Must Know

Qualcomm chip exploits and patch guidance are critical to stay current with—especially after multiple zero‑day vulnerabilities were disclosed in Q2 2025. With millions of mobile endpoints relying on Qualcomm chipsets, IT leaders must act swiftly to assess device exposure, apply vendor patches, and mitigate active exploitation risk.

Why This Matters Now

In May 2025, Qualcomm issued an urgent security bulletin addressing several CVEs in Snapdragon and other chip families (qualcomm chip exploits and patch guidance). These zero‑day flaws could enable remote code execution or privilege escalation—threats that have been confirmed as actively exploited in the wild by threat intelligence platforms and CERT alerts. While the issue made headlines in consumer circles, the implications for enterprise IT are equally serious.

What Your Security Team Should Do

Here’s a focused action plan for security and device management teams:

Inventory affected devices: Identify all company-owned and BYOD endpoints using Qualcomm chips. Check device models against the list below.
Prioritize patching: Immediately apply vendor firmware or OS updates. For older or unmanaged devices, enforce temporary deactivation from sensitive networks.
Segment networks: Create isolated VLANs or apply zero‑trust access for IoT and mobile endpoints.
Deploy advanced monitoring: Use endpoint detection and response (EDR) solutions capable of spotting abnormal process behavior.
Schedule recurring reviews: Reassess patch compliance weekly and conduct vulnerability scans focusing on chip-level weaknesses.

Affected Chipsets and Patch Status

Chipset Family	CVE IDs	Patch Release
Snapdragon 8 Gen 1	CVE‑2025‑29401, CVE‑2025‑29402	May 15, 2025
Snapdragon 865 / 888	CVE‑2025‑29403	May 22, 2025
Snapdragon 778G	CVE‑2025‑29404	June 1, 2025

Source: Qualcomm Security Bulletin

How Attackers Exploit These Flaws

The vulnerabilities allow attackers to run malicious code directly on the chipset—below the operating system level—making traditional antivirus solutions ineffective. Once exploited, malware can remain stealthy, bypass sandboxing, and persist even through OS updates. In enterprise settings, this may compromise corporate email, encryption keys, and sensitive client data.

Why This Is a Game-Changer

The chip-level nature of these vulnerabilities means that endpoint security must evolve. Merely installing OS updates is no longer sufficient. Security strategies must expand to include firmware-hardened EDR, rigorous patch orchestration for endpoint devices, and stricter network segmentation.

Action Checklist for IT Leaders

Run a full audit: Identify all Qualcomm-based smartphones, tablets, rugged devices in inventory.
Patch first, ask questions later: Enforce Update Immediately policies via MDM or endpoint management.
Enable runtime protection: Ensure endpoint solutions include chipset-level resilience.
Monitor post-patch performance: Watch for anomalies that may indicate exploitation attempts.
Educate users: Alert staff to apply updates and report unusual device behavior.

Staying Ahead of Chip-Level Threats

Disconnected from firmware vulnerabilities, your existing security posture is incomplete. Device-level flaws demand more robust countermeasures. Organizations that act quickly—by identifying affected devices, deploying patches, and upgrading their monitoring—can substantially reduce the risk of silêncio breaches at the chip level.

To ensure your endpoints are thoroughly defended, learn more about our Security+ cybersecurity service—our local-first solution for continuous device protection, threat monitoring, and firmware management support. Feel free to contact us for additional qualcomm chip exploits and patch guidance.

By Thomas McDonald
Vice President

cmcwplgnomg4042025-06-22T16:13:26-05:00June 9, 2025|

Data Retention Risk for Small Businesses

Data retention risk for small businesses is one of the most overlooked—and most expensive—liabilities in modern operations. As digital storage becomes cheaper and compliance pressures grow, many organizations take a “keep everything” approach. But in law, finance, healthcare, and professional services, that mindset can lead to real exposure: higher legal costs, regulatory complications, and greater cybersecurity risk.

The Default to Over-Retention

Ask a small business leader how long they retain client emails, transaction logs, or internal documents, and the answer is often vague. Some retain everything by default. Others aren’t sure what’s being kept—or where. In firms without formal data governance, digital clutter accumulates silently. Unused files, old databases, and archived emails may be easy to forget, but they can become discoverable in litigation or exposed in a breach¹.

The Legal Risks of Holding on Too Long

Retaining too much data can have legal consequences, particularly in sectors governed by retention and privacy laws. In the legal field, for example, over-retention can increase exposure during discovery, requiring firms to sift through years of material to produce relevant documents¹. In finance, records kept beyond regulatory mandates can introduce unnecessary scrutiny. In healthcare, improper handling of long-retained patient data can lead to HIPAA violations⁴.

There is no strategic advantage to keeping data beyond its required retention period unless there is a clearly documented business case. In fact, in litigation, courts may interpret excessive retention as negligence if sensitive data is breached or misused.

Cybersecurity Exposure Grows with Volume

Every file you store—whether active or archived—becomes a target in a breach. Attackers who gain access to your systems don’t discriminate between current projects and old ones. Retained data becomes a liability multiplier. If a backup drive contains ten years of client information, a single incident can compromise your entire firm’s history³.

Small businesses often assume their risk is low due to their size. But over-retention expands the attack surface. Unused file shares, forgotten Dropbox accounts, and cloud-based archives that no one monitors become open doors. Worse, if access controls aren’t regularly reviewed, former employees or contractors may still have access to long-forgotten data.

Regulatory Frameworks Demand a Policy

Many regulatory standards require a documented retention and destruction policy. GDPR, for example, emphasizes the principle of data minimization—holding only the data needed for a defined purpose and time². HIPAA, SOX, and state-level privacy laws follow similar logic. A failure to delete expired records can become a compliance issue, even if the data is never breached⁴.

For firms seeking certifications or preparing for audits, a vague or nonexistent data retention policy can delay or disqualify certification efforts. Regulators are increasingly asking not only “What data do you protect?” but “Why are you still storing it?”

What a Sound Data Retention Strategy Looks Like

Small businesses don’t need complex retention systems—but they do need clear rules. An effective strategy includes:

Defined retention periods for each type of data, aligned with legal requirements
Documented destruction schedules and proof of execution
Centralized access control and audit trails
Regular reviews to identify and archive or delete unneeded data
Employee training on data handling and expiration policies

Many firms benefit from engaging a third party to evaluate current practices, document a policy, and help enforce retention timelines using automated tools.

When “Keep Everything” Becomes a Liability

Business leaders often justify data hoarding as a form of insurance. But in practice, the costs of retaining too much data far outweigh the benefits. From longer breach recovery times to steeper legal discovery expenses, unneeded records become a silent drag on operations. The path to protection isn’t just about firewalls and backups—it’s about knowing what to keep, and when to let go.

Is Your Data Policy Putting You at Risk?

If you don’t have a documented retention and destruction policy, or if you’re unsure whether your current practices are compliant, it’s time for a review. Cost+ offers Compliance+ services that help you assess your exposure and implement practical, defensible policies tailored to your industry and risk profile. Data retention risk for small businesses will only get worse- the time is today to begin addressing it.

Sources

cmcwplgnomg4042025-06-21T20:40:46-05:00June 9, 2025|

Previous 91011 Next

Company

Consulting

About

Quick Links