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Palitto Consulting Services

RMM Solution Quickly Fixes DNS Vulnerability

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Last week, a vulnerability (CVE-2020-1350) was discovered in Windows DNS Servers which has been classified as critical by Microsoft. It has a CVSS score (Common Vulnerability Scoring System) of 10.0 out of 10.0, which is the worst possible score. This vulnerability impacts major versions of Windows Server from Windows Server 2003 to Windows Server 2019 with the DNS role enabled.

Many of our customers have a Remote Monitoring Management toolset which pushed a workaround to those servers within 24 hours of its release.

Remote Monitoring Management, also known as RMM, is a software solution that allows for remote network management. It provides a set of tools to efficiently secure and maintain IT systems.

If your company does not have an RMM solution, reach out to our team. As threats continue to come from many different angles, it’s important to be as proactive as possible to keep your systems secure.

PCS During the Coronavirus Outbreak

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pcs-support-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak

March 17, 2020. Palitto Consulting Services wanted to make a statement about the Coronavirus situation. As we all know, many institutions and businesses closed in recent days. Life will change for some weeks, if not longer.

The impact this historic situation will have on businesses is significant. Our group of professionals is prepared to serve your business in any way possible in the weeks ahead.

In an email to our entire team over the weekend, Bryon Palitto stated, in part: “We care! The 5-way win demands that we each take responsibility for making sure every entity in every transaction that we are a part of is cared for.  Our core ideology is as important as ever in light of the current situation with COVID-19… We care about our customers and want to assist them all during this challenging time. They need their technology now as much or more than ever. We want to serve them to the best of our ability – safely! ”

Our team is ready to help. As an IT company, each of our team members are equipped to be productive from the office, from home, from virtually anywhere. We see it as our responsibility to help keep your systems up and running. We realize that this situation may cause some to want to use more advanced technology. We can help. We also realize that all this must be done while keeping a big focus on security.

On that note, we must all remain on high alert when it comes to security. Cybercriminals will try to take advantage of a bad situation and make it worse. A case in point is that Bloomberg is reporting that “The U.S. Health and Human Services Department suffered a cyber-attack on its computer system, part of what people familiar with the incident called a campaign of disruption and disinformation that was aimed at undermining the response to the coronavirus pandemic and may have been the work of a foreign actor” (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-03-16/u-s-health-agency-suffers-cyber-attack-during-covid-19-response). We cannot stress enough that we all must remain vigilant.

Some of our clients are no longer permitting vendors to access their facilities. We understand these decisions and will pursue more remote opportunities to support your business. Also, after hours’ on-location work may be possible, too.

It is not our role to comment on the specifics of the COVID-19 Outbreak. There are many helpful resources that are being updated. CDC is a good place to start: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html

We care about our customers and their families. We care about our team members, partners, vendors and their families. We also care about our community. We will be praying for you and we have faith we will get through this. In the meantime, we are committed to helping in any way we can.

Please let us know how we can help.

PCS Developers Attend CodeMash Software Development Conference

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Several Palitto Consulting Services team members attended CodeMash, a software development conference that took place between January 7th and 10th, 2020. Our team members regularly find time to attend events like this to help them learn and improve their skills. At PCS, we believe that continual improvement is the best way to ensure that we meet and exceed the needs of our clients today and tomorrow.

CodeMash

Team members Jay Holliday, Erinn Lynn and Chris Stevens went to CodeMash in early January 2020. This conference is a wide-ranging software development and technology event. It was the perfect gathering for learning about the latest trends and ideas in our field. Our three team members came back with several important takeaways:

  • WEB UI/UX & Frameworks: JavaScript has been dominant in this area for years. However, Blazor, an open-source framework being developed by Microsoft, is a noteworthy new competitor. It allows developers to easily use C# and HTML for web apps.
  • Mobile Development: Unsurprisingly, mobile is still hot on many people’s minds. Cross-compiling for iOS and Android is probably one of the most important current trends.
  • Cloud: Current-day cloud computing is significantly maturing. Whereas previously it was a bit of a novelty, more advanced functionality is moving to the cloud.
  • DevOps: A major focus in this area is on tools that can push out new code “automagically.”
  • Architecture: Two major themes in this area are test-driven development and dependency injection and decoupling.
  • Security: As more and more systems become interconnected, this is only growing in importance.
  • Document DBs: Expect to see more as this type of database grows in importance this year.

Our Dedication to Learning

We are firmly committed to continual learning. It is the most robust way for us to ensure the continued success of our clients. Conferences like CodeMash help us stay ahead of trends.

Contact Us

Want to learn more about PCS development capabilities? Contact us today to discuss how we could help your organization.

Autodesk and IOT: Predictability, Manageability and Visualization

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Autodesk University 2018

Team member, Chris Stevens, attended Autodesk University Las Vegas 2019, joining thousands of other professionals to learn of new and upcoming technologies in the design and engineering space.

Autodesk is a leader in 3D design, engineering and entertainment software solutions. Autodesk is known as the maker of AutoCAD, but has many other world class software solutions that serve the construction, manufacturing, architecture, engineering, and media creation industries.

The PCS development team has experience designing and implementing customization of the powerful Autodesk platforms. Our goal in attending Autodesk University was to learn of the latest technologies and meet with existing and potential clients and partners. A theme of the conference focused on the Internet of Things (IOT). It’s clear that IOT will increasingly have an impact on predictability, manageability and visualization. Tools provided by Autodesk will allow business to create a digital twin and then create valuable enhancements. At Palitto Consulting Services, we continue to position our team and resources to assist with these opportunities.

Serving under the mantra of “Helping Business Make Intelligent Use of Technology” our growing and dynamic team of developers look forward to assisting companies with their Autodesk development needs. If you have a need in this area, please do not hesitate to contact our team to begin the discussion.

Learn About Cyber Security With Bryon Palitto of Palitto Consulting Services

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Cyber Security

Technology helps businesses become more efficient and connected, but it comes with downsides as well. Flaws in security can allow criminals to access important data, putting both companies and clients at risk. Cyber security is getting the attention of many businesses, but few know what to do.

Recognizing this issue, Bryon Palitto, CEO and founder of Palitto Consulting Services, has spoken on the topic at several venues over the course of 2019. Even if you can’t hear his presentation in person, you can learn about the most important points: why you’re a target, recent attacks and how to avoid becoming a victim.

Reasons Cyber Criminals Target Businesses

Bryon Palitto News Story PhotoCommercial enterprises have a wealth of data, even if they don’t know it. According to a recent survey, 54% – 68% of small businesses have personal customer information on file, including the following:

  • Billing addresses
  • Email addresses
  • Phone numbers

Online crooks can use this information to access accounts and potentially gain more critical data such as credit card numbers.

Businesses are also at risk for ransomware. These programs lock down systems so hackers can hold them hostage and demand ransom. In the end, cyber criminals are looking for power to force others to give them what they want.

Attacks You Should Know About

According to 2018 surveys, 67% of businesses were affected by attacks, making cyber security more important than ever. You may have heard of some of the biggest cases:

  • DDoS attack on Telegram Messenger
  • Stuffing attack on Dunkin’ Donuts
  • Hackers breach Citrix servers
  • Toyota data breach

Ways To Protect Yourself

Despite the dangers, there are ways to prevent breaches. First of all, you should hire professionals to do a risk assessment. This identifies weak areas in security protocol and systems, which you can then bolster.

You should also make sure all employees understand basic email security, password protocol and other relevant cyber security measures. Everyone is responsible for protecting a company, from the CEO to part-time workers.

Want to improve your security? Interested in Bryon speaking at your event? Palitto Consulting Services has been helping businesses protect their technology for over 20 years. For more information, give us a call at 330-335-7271 or contact us online.