How do you remember every password you have for all your personal and professional online accounts? Do you use easy to remember information like birthdays or names of family members and pets? Do you have passwords written down on paper? Do you let your web browser store them? Do you a single password that you use for every account you have? If you use any of these password storage tactics, you should change right now because these are all insecure methods of retaining passwords. There’s a better way to store and utilize your passwords and that’s with a password keeper. […]

Cybersecurity awareness training is included with the security services that we provide to our clients here at Bellwether. We do this because we understand that cybersecurity isn’t just about technology. It’s about behavior and training people in best practices so they don’t inadvertently let a cyber intruder onto their device and into their employer’s network. July has become known as Ransomware Month to remind people of the threat that this kind of malicious software poses to companies everywhere. Ransomware is just one kind of malware that pervades the internet. Why focus on this one kind and not the others? Ransomware […]

Companies that sell software, manufactured parts or legal services are very different types of businesses, yet all of them have something in common. They’re all faced with an increasing need to prove that they are safeguarding the data that they gather, use and store. Sometimes the need for security compliance comes from legal regulations but for an increasing number of organizations, the need for security compliance is coming from their customers or vendors. In this article, we’re going to explore how cybersecurity compliance requirements are extending into industries that haven’t traditionally been regulated and present an overview of the compliance […]

Cybersecurity is not just about technology tools and checking the right boxes to make sure all your software is working in tandem. If it was, then security strategy would be a set-it and forget-it process. Unfortunately, there is no easy button for standing up a solid cyber defense and when you work with an outsourced cybersecurity services provider, you have a key role to play in your own security success. In fact, instead of thinking about the cybersecurity services company you work with as a provider, you should think of them as a partner. For a partnership to function, each […]

Back when your cyber defense was simple, you probably didn’t think too much about the cost. Now that your cybersecurity strategy is more sophisticated and requires a bigger investment, you might wonder if what you’re paying is reasonable. While we can’t give you precise answer to that question, we can help you understand what drives cybersecurity costs. The first thing to keep in mind as you’re evaluating cybersecurity services costs is to realize that there are many different components and it’s hard to separate out a specific cost for each. That would be like going to a restaurant and asking […]

When you recognize the signs that your internal IT team or small IT support company can’t handle everything that needs to be done with security, it’s time to outsource cybersecurity services. These signs could be anything from experiencing a cyber-attack to your inability to qualify for cyber insurance. Even if you don’t know what to look for, a gut feeling that your business isn’t as protected as it should be is something that you shouldn’t ignore. Managed IT and cyber defense companies like Bellwether are here to bring you the security capability that you don’t have in-house. Not only can […]

It used to be that whatever needed to be done to manage cybersecurity could be handled by a small internal team. It’s a lot different now. There’s too much for one person to do or know. Today cybersecurity is a discipline of its own that includes different specialties. To cover all the bases, you really need a whole cybersecurity department and that’s not feasible for most small and medium-sized businesses (SMB). The way that SMB’s are getting the cybersecurity capability they need is to partner with managed IT and cyber defense companies like Bellwether. By outsourcing, companies get access to […]

It used to be possible for a small IT team to do everything that needed to be done to set up a strong cyber defense. These days, most businesses need to bring in outsourced cybersecurity consulting services and the guidance of a virtual Chief Information Security Officer (vCISO) to navigate through the complexities of a multi-layered approach to cybersecurity. Why do you need a vCISO? Can you imagine a cruise ship without a captain? Operations in different areas of the ship might be able to take place on their own. The engines would run. The kitchen would prepare food. The […]

If you don’t have a strategy that guides how your organization prevents and responds to cyber-attacks, you probably have gaps that are opening up the door to more risk than you can imagine. On the other hand, when you are strategic, you can be confident that what you’re doing isn’t just managing risk but actually lowering it. Lower Cyber Risk by Being Strategic How do you create a cybersecurity strategy that lowers cyber risk? The details are going to be specific to your company, but we’ll give you some talking points that should be included in your strategy discussions. Here’s […]