Black Friday and Cyber Monday. We already know how crazy Black Friday can get. One keyword search on YouTube brings up countless videos of people recklessly clawing at each other for electronics, toys, appliances, and other items whose prices have been drastically slashed for the occasion.
Cyber Monday trades the mob mentality of Black Friday for a more concentrated panic online. The consequence is directed at the protection of personal identification and data.  This time last year, the National Retail Federation found that 122 million Americans planned to shop online. That number is sure to increase this year, however, that doesn’t necessarily mean consumers aren’t wary of the risks of online shopping.

How Safe is Online Shopping?

In a 2016 identity fraud study, it was discovered that there were 15 million victims of identity fraud in the U.S. — 16% more than the year before. Of course, it is the responsibility of the consumer to exercise good password habits, ideally alphanumeric, and routinely changed. They must also exercise good judgement when choosing where to make their online purchases. This isn’t just referring to sketchy retail sites. Legitimate and established online retailers aren’t immune to security breaches. Recently, Forever 21 notified customers that certain stores reported a possible payment data breach due to non-operational security encryption tools that were installed back in 2015. This isn’t the first time Hostway has discussed the topic of data breaches in major enterprises. Recently, we wrote about managed security issues with AWS that led to the exposure of data for several organizations such as Dow Jones and Verizon.  And that wasn’t the only Amazon cloud server breach this year.
“Cyber Monday trades the mob mentality of Black Friday for a more concentrated panic online.”

With events like Cyber Monday, it’s important to make sure your business security protocols are up-to-date, scalable, and PCI-compliant. Without taking these precautions, the cost to your business could be substantial. The average cost of a data breach per record — for instance, a single compromised credit card — was $172 for the retail industry in 2016. At that cost, with an average of 122 million online shoppers, that presents a very expensive risk that should not be taken lightly. Not only for profits, but for customer trust and loyalty.

It’s Your Job to Protect Shopping Online

For many businesses that depend on the cloud, it is their obligation to safeguard the customer information stored within it. And the first step is to perform a risk assessment of your infrastructure. Instead of remaining vulnerable to threats, work with a trusted managed security provider that can provide expertly managed cloud solutions that are compliant and secure. This way you can focus more on your business while making sure customers receive the care they deserve.
Finally, in another survey, 57 percent of online shoppers believed the greatest identity theft risk they face is the data breach of an online retailer. Forty percent of those surveyed said businesses are not doing all they can to protect their information. This is a clear call to action from the consumer to the business.
Don’t wait until your organization has become a victim to cyber threats. Experience the Hostway difference and request a free security consultation or contact a Hostway cloud hosting expert at 1.866.680.7556.
 
 
 

A heartfelt message from our CEO and President, Emil Sayegh, on this Veterans and Remembrance Day to our employees in the United States and Canada.
Tomorrow, Canada and the United States will share the date for an equally important annual holiday to honor the millions of American and Canadian men and women who’ve served our countries in defense of peace and freedom everywhere.  Both these holidays are a remembrance of November 11, 1918 (Armistice Day), the day that WW1 ended.
This is a solemn time where citizens humbly salute those both living and deceased who dedicated their livelihood to protect the peace and prosperity of their fellow citizens.  As our two countries commemorate Veterans Day and Remembrance Day this week and reflect on the contributions of our Armed Forces servicemen & women have made, let’s also consider the potential these individuals offer the world of business, and specifically Hostway.
So many of our colleagues and customers have served to defend us, and for that we should always be deeply grateful.  Please take a moment to share your deepest gratitude for them, and say THANK YOU to all the veterans in your life and at work.
 

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As severity of malicious activity increase – so does the risk that mission-critical data will be compromised. As a result, it is extremely important to mobilize forces into preventive measures – proactively avoiding attacks before they begin.

In this paper, Hostway has compiled a comprehensive set of best practices for managing the risks associated with security breaches.

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October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month (NCSAM). Taking the time to learn about cybersecurity, and how you can protect yourself and your business should be of the utmost importance. It’s an especially important time as breaches and leaks continue to grow and are a major part of our online lifestyle. It doesn’t matter how large, small, or popular a company is, it seems like data breaches and hackers are becoming a part of our daily lives. But there are ways to mitigate security risks.
“With the increase of data being stored online and the recent large-scale compromises of personal information, it's more important than ever to focus on efforts to secure data. Cyber Security Awareness Month is a great way to get more people thinking about how they secure and protect the data they are entrusted with,” says Hostway's Director, Security Services, Peter Marsh.
NCSAM is presented by the Department of Homeland Security and promotes a variety of ways to decrease the likelihood of being hacked through increased awareness and cybersecurity. America isn’t the only country using October to buckle down on safety online. Canada’s Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness said, “[threats] can rob you of your money and identity and do serious harm to infrastructure, economy, and national security.” The desire to protect data and private information is felt worldwide.

5 Ways to Increase Your Cyber Security

“Staying ahead of hackers, DDoS attacks, internet hijacking, and other cyber-attacks may not be possible for everyone, but there are steps anyone can take to lessen your chances of being hit,” says Marsh.

1. The more characters, numbers, and letter mixtures there are in a password, the more secure it is. It’s time to stop toying with security with obvious passwords like “password.”
2. Sharing public networks may be easy hunting for hackers. Make sure to alter device settings to ensure files aren’t open to anyone poking around.
3. Remember that Myspace account? It’s time to double check your personal data from sites you may have forgotten about. Shut them down, remove credit card details, or just delete.
4. Weakness in your online security may be because of outdated security patches. Installing operating systems should help combat breaches.
5. Seems instinctual but backing up your data, especially by using an encrypted backup service like managed cloud hosting, makes it even more difficult for hackers to access your data.

Get Help and Enjoy Peace of Mind
Whether you’re concerned about your personal computer, company computer, or hundreds of thousands of pieces of data, having your data stored on a managed hybrid cloud will further secure your private personal information. Hostway's team offers managed backup, monitoring, firewalls, and storage to keep your data safe while you carry on with your life.
For more information on Homeland Security’s National Cyber Security Awareness Month, please visit https://www.dhs.gov/national-cyber-security-awareness-month.
To learn more about building a highly secure and scalable hyperscale public cloud solution, contact a Hostway cloud hosting expert at 1.866.680.7556 or chat with us today.

Hurricane Irma hit Florida on September 8, 2017, causing the largest evacuation in Florida’s history. While hundreds of thousands fled, schools and public buildings closed, and even Walt Disney World shut down, some dedicated, brave Hostway'ers hunkered down in Hostway's Tampa-based data centers to take shelter from the storm and maintain customer’s uptime holding true to the Hostway Customer Pledge.
Unprompted and unasked by anyone, these Floridians stayed in Tampa to keep customers’ data secure, up and running, and to protect the data center facilities. While the Hostway staff was repeatedly advised to do what was best for their safety, they wanted to stay near the data centers to uphold our core values and customer pledge and keep their families safe. That’s why those that stayed brought their families to the offices adjacent to our data centers in Tampa, as it was far safer and offered protection from the elements.
 

Why They Stayed

Hostway has a trusted pledge—keep customers first in everything we do. The employees of the Tampa data center clearly take that promise very seriously.

With Hurricane Irma’s threat lingering, staff decided they’d protect both the customer’s we serve and their families by being inside the facility to work while their families lived out the winds, rain, and dangerous weather in the ruggedized Hostway offices.
One of the brave employees that stayed on campus is Charles Charmatz, Senior Director, Network and Datacenter. “Being prepared was our top priority,” Charmatz said. “Additional fuel and fuel tanks were brought in, food and water, adjacent offices and conference rooms were used for our family. The data center was the safest place to be for our customers and our families.”
Deciding to stay was the right thing to do not only for their safety but for another Hostway Customer Pledge—providing peace of mind. That includes 100% uptime guarantee per our trusted infrastructure. That promise was forefront in making sure power, connectivity, and security were top priorities, regardless of weather conditions.

Working Together Through Irma

The Tampa team prioritized and put customer communication at the top of the list. They utilized several communication tools besides phone and email that allowed customers to contact or get updates in real-time. Hostway's support team posted on their respective Twitter handle @HostwayNOC, on their dedicated Service Notifications web page, and sent multiple forms of communication before, during, and after the storm.
“Working as a team in the data center allowed us continuous communication with customers, the rest of Hostway, and each other,” Charmatz said.
Preparedness worked and Hostway employees, their families, and Hostway customers based in the Tampa data center stood strong against Irma.
Thank you to all those who remained, worked hard as a team, and withstood Irma. You definitely showed why we follow another part of our Hostway Customer Pledge—investing in world-class people. Your contribution and dedication are felt throughout the Hostway organization and our customers.
As you consider business continuity and disaster recovery planning for your organization, Hostway has the team that fulfills the promises that keep your business up and running.  Check out our comprehensive infrastructure protection and optimization platform today.  You can also call +1.866.680.7556 or chat with us 24x7x365.

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With more than two-thirds of companies partnering with managed service providers in some capacity, the managed services market is projected to be worth $193.34 billion by 2019.

This trend certainly applies in the cloud hosting space, where IT organizations are looking for providers with an extensive portfolio of managed service and support offerings.

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HIPAA compliance simplified

Any organization that deals with protected health information (PHI) must ensure it has the appropriate security measures in place to meet HIPAA compliance requirements.
HIPAA compliance doesn’t just apply to healthcare organizations. It also extends to service providers and subcontractors that have access to health information.
If your data is hosted by a service provider, that provider must be compliant with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), as well.
This guide provides you with a high-level overview of compliance issues you need to consider, and what to look for in a cloud hosting company in order to meet HIPAA requirements.
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Download our White Paper

The overall security threat landscape is getting more and more complex.

Cybercriminals are using extremely sophisticated breach strategies.

This white paper will provide you with a baseline understanding of the major types of cyber threats and the stages of a typical attack.

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Today's enterprises have numerous assets to organize and manage. From employees and furniture to technological endpoints and the buildings that house these items, business decision-makers have to know where all of their investments are, all the time. Unfortunately, keeping track of these holdings, as well as the space they occupy, is typically easier said than done.

Underpinning the high level of service delivered by RSC is the Hostway Virtual Private Cloud, powered by Windows Azure Pack. RSC leverages this platform not only for their client-facing application interface, but also for their own internal processes.

Previous to the Hostway Virtual Private Cloud, RSC had been running virtual machines on dedicated managed servers. Unfortunately, this approach did not deliver the flexibility and redundancy required, spurring the decision to upgrade the infrastructure and migrate workloads to the Virtual Private Cloud.

MAXIMIZING BENEFIT FROM VIRTUAL PRIVATE CLOUD:
A FOUR-PRONGED APPROACH

1. Hosting client instances of the RSC IWMS platform, allowing clients to access data and information about their company's physical assets and building space.
2. Running development processes, including the creation and promotion of application updates and new capabilities.
3. Internal administrative activity, including RSC-specific development work.
4. Marketing purposes, including hosting generic versions of the IWMS application for demonstrations.

Previous to the Hostway Virtual Private Cloud, RSC had been running virtual machines on dedicated managed servers. Unfortunately, this approach did not deliver the flexibility and redundancy required, spurring the decision to upgrade the infrastructure and migrate workloads to the Virtual Private Cloud.

Download the Case Study to learn more.