Cisco Meraki: Your First Year is on Us

Cisco Meraki: Your First Year is on Us

Are you thinking of switching or experiencing the simplicity of the Meraki Dashboard? Or are you a current Meraki user looking to expand your Meraki lineup?  You’re in luck! For a limited time only, Meraki will be running a “First Year on Us” promo.

For a limited time only, any customer that purchases a new Cisco Meraki cloud management license for 3 years or more will get an additional year added at no extra cost! The extra 365 days are added automatically in the dashboard. No further steps required.

First Year On Us is available globally. License renewals do not qualify for this promotion.

Why Cloud Networking and the Meraki Dashboard

Meraki is a powerful tool that businesses can use to manage their network infrastructure efficiently and effectively. It provides a user-friendly interface that enables IT administrators to monitor and control their network from anywhere, at any time.

One of the main benefits of using Meraki is its ease of use. The dashboard is designed to be intuitive and straightforward, with a simple drag-and-drop interface that makes it easy to configure and manage network devices. This means that even non-technical staff can quickly learn how to use it.

Another advantage of using Meraki is its scalability. It is designed to work with networks of all sizes, from small businesses to large enterprises. As your business grows, you can easily add new devices and expand your network without having to worry about compatibility issues or other technical challenges.

Meraki also provides comprehensive network visibility and analytics. It allows you to monitor your network in real-time, so you can quickly identify and troubleshoot any issues that arise. Additionally, it provides detailed analytics and reports that can help you make informed decisions about your network infrastructure.


For more information about this promo, you may reply to this email or directly call us at 893-9515 and we would be happy to help!

*Terms and conditions will apply.

A Closer look at Processor Vulnerabilities

A Closer look at Processor Vulnerabilities

The past few years has been rough on processor security, this especially for Intel as one of the biggest processor vulnerabilities Meltdown and Spectre was for nearly all their modern CPUs.  Although patches came out almost immediately to solve these issues, this was just the start to the security vulnerabilities as other attacks such as MDS (Microarchitectural Data Sampling) have been popping up.  So why are these vulnerabilities and security flaws only now coming to light?  These issues actually are quite complex and would need a further understanding of the advances of CPU technology such as the following below:

  • L1/L2/L3 caches
  • Speculative execution
  • Pipelines and buffers
  • Hyper-Threading

If you are unfamiliar with the above technologies, they basically function as ways to help improve the speed of the CPU.  In theory, without these components, we could have a much more secure processor at the cost of performance.  Vendors are caught in a predicament of wanting to increase performance but also have to consider the security implications of newer technology.  This shows in the patches for recent vulnerability fixes which brought performance down of the CPU by 5-30%.  The latter number can be alarming but does not usually affect home users as the 30% is more frequent for servers.

Although vendors are still working on improving their security to prevent future vulnerabilities from happening, there are still ways to make sure that your data is protected like adding an additional layer of security.  With the help of 3rd party security vendors such as Trend Micro can help with products such as Deep Security through virtual patching.

To get a more in depth understanding of the processor vulnerabilities, you can refer to this article here.  To learn more about Trend Miro Deep Security, you can visit our page here or contact us directly at 893-9515 and we will be more than happy to answer your inquiries!

Cisco Umbrella: Camuto Group Case Study

Cisco Umbrella: Camuto Group Case Study

The Challenge

A US footwear and lifestyle brand company, the Camuto Group, has been thriving in their industry due to the unique designs that sets them apart from the competition.  However, the company’s creativity is also one of its IT’s main pain points when it comes to security.  With almost 100 employees working remotely and another 250 roaming laptop users, it makes it difficult for IT to allow the flexibility to access the wide range of edgy sites which many web filtering solutions block incorrectly.

Tom Olejniczak, Camuto Group’s network engineering manager says that they found the traditional approach to securing the web experience (Proxy servers) caused too many problems that needed manual resolution.  Meaning whenever someone could not access a site, someone from IT had to go to that user to help resolve the issue, which was not feasible for them given the multiple remote and roaming users.

They needed to find a network security solution that protected on and off-network devices which didn’t add to their latency that could help them as malware and social media started to cut into the productivity of the users.

The Solution

Tom says that the company has been following Umbrella as their first line of defense since it was still OpenDNS.  However, to test if there were better alternatives, they decided to try two similar products to Umbrella.  The result of the test was that Umbrella outperformed both products whether it was by malware protection and overall user experience.

This was achieved by deploying Umbrella’s virtual appliances.  This gave them the visibility to see if internal networks or Active Directory users were infected or targeted by attacks without the need to touch devices or reauthenticate users.  Users working out of the corporate network are protected via Umbrella’s roaming client which was simple to put in place as adding someone to a group in Microsoft Active Directory.

The Camuto Group saw immediate impact on the security, almost four hundred detections of malware were redirected on a daily basis.  The solution itself also was great for user experience as it is unobtrusive and even helped improve the speed of the internet slightly, about five to ten percent.

The ability to white and black list sites was one of the main concerns of the company that Umbrella helped solve quite easily.  Tom says that they are able to choose safe and HR-acceptable categories for content filtering fast, it would usually take them about 3 minutes make a change.

To learn more about the Cisco, you may check out our product page here or you can contact us directly at 893-9515 for more details!

Trend Micro Awards CT Link as Partner of the Year for 2018!

Trend Micro Awards CT Link as Partner of the Year for 2018!

On February 26, 2019, Trend Micro hosted their annual Partners Appreciation Night, at the B1 Sports lounge New World Makati, to celebrate the achievements that each partner has contributed to help make 2018 a successful one.  Here they presented CT Link Systems, Inc. with four awards, which included the biggest award of the night, Partner of the Year!  This award is to acknowledge the partner with highest total of new and renewal revenues of all TM products for the year.

Below is the full list of awards CT Link received:

  • FY18 Partner of the Year – CT Link Systems, Inc.
  • FY18 User Protection Champion – CT Link Systems, Inc.
  • FY18 Sales Person of the Year – Malou Cruz
  • FY18 Sales Engineer of the Year – Bren Natal

Trend Micro awarded CT Link with the FY18 User Protection Champion award to acknowledge our efforts in providing endpoint security solutions to our customers.  These solutions include the following:

OfficeScan – provides advanced endpoint and ransomware protection for Windows, Mac and Virtual Desktop Infrastructure

Vulnerability Protection – prevents network-based exploits and zero-day ransomware threats via vulnerability shielding

Endpoint Encryption – secures data with full disk, folder, file and removable media encryption

Integrated Data Loss Prevention – guards private data and intellectual property with integrated modules

Keep your data secure. Contact CT Link Systems, Inc. via our contact form or through our landline 893-9515.

About Trend Micro

Trend Micro is a global leader in cybersecurity solutions, dedicated to making the world safer for exchanging digital information. Founded in 1988, Trend Micro has grown to become a trusted provider of cutting-edge security solutions for businesses and consumers alike.

Trend Micro’s comprehensive range of cybersecurity solutions includes endpoint security, network security, cloud security, and security management services. These solutions are designed to protect against a wide range of threats, including malware, ransomware, phishing attacks, and other forms of cybercrime.

One of Trend Micro’s core strengths is its ability to stay ahead of emerging threats. The company employs a team of experts who constantly monitor the latest cyber threats and develop innovative solutions to counter them. Trend Micro’s solutions are designed to provide proactive, real-time protection against both known and unknown threats.

Trend Micro’s commitment to cybersecurity extends beyond its products and services. The company is also dedicated to raising awareness about the importance of online safety and promoting best practices for cybersecurity. Trend Micro regularly publishes research and insights on the latest cybersecurity trends and hosts events to help educate businesses and individuals about the importance of cybersecurity.

Ransomware Lunch & Learn With Cisco!

Ransomware Lunch & Learn With Cisco!

Ransomware is becoming more prevalent now as more companies are starting to have their networks infected with these disruptive malware.  With this in mind, Cisco has been improving their security portfolio to keep your IT infrastructure same from these malicious malware attacks.  Learn more about it from our Cisco experts on July 17, 2018 at Discovery Primea at our Ransomware Lunch & Learn event!  Get a chance to win a Smart TV and other goodies as well as you learn more about how you can stay safe from ransomware attacks.  To learn more about the event or how to register for it, please contact us at 893-9515!

About Cisco

Cisco is a multinational technology corporation that specializes in networking and communication technologies. The company is headquartered in San Jose, California, and has offices and operations in over 100 countries worldwide.

Founded in 1984, Cisco has become a leading provider of networking equipment and solutions for businesses and organizations of all sizes. The company’s products and services include routers, switches, wireless access points, security solutions, collaboration tools, and software-defined networking solutions.

Cisco’s networking solutions enable businesses to connect their devices, applications, and data across local and wide-area networks, as well as the internet. The company’s products are designed to provide fast, reliable, and secure connectivity, with features such as Quality of Service (QoS), network segmentation, and advanced security protocols.

In addition to its hardware products, Cisco also offers a range of software solutions for network management, security, and collaboration. The company’s software-defined networking solutions provide a flexible and scalable approach to network management, enabling businesses to easily configure and manage their networks through a centralized dashboard.

Cisco’s collaboration tools enable teams to work together more effectively, with features such as video conferencing, messaging, and file sharing. The company’s security solutions provide protection against cyber threats, with features such as firewalls, intrusion prevention systems, and endpoint protection.

Your Data at Large: Some of the Common Security Pitfalls

Your Data at Large: Some of the Common Security Pitfalls

With data mobility’s rise, you would expect that security of data would increase as well.  However, many of the controls to mitigate the risk of data exposure still rely on traditional protection.  Direct attacks, simple mistake, and even negligence are still major reasons as why data is lost.  Below are some of the most common examples of common security pitfalls:

  • Loss or destruction of endpoints
  • Using consumer-grade collaboration and file sharing tools
  • Transferring files over insecure media including USB drives
  • Emailing sensitive information to personal email accounts
  • Social engineering (i.e. phishing) – the human factor and malware

These days, we use new IT services built on multiple cloud infrastructures to work in conjunction with the legacy and custom applications (business critical apps) built on-prem, this results in business data sprawled across multiple devices and locations.  This makes the traditional enterprise perimeter almost completely eroded.  The industry’s response has been to solve each gap in security with slew of security products, which each have their own unique policies, capabilities and limitations.  This creates even more complexity in the already complex problem which can do ultimately do more damage than help.

In the global study from Citrix and The Ponemon Institute, they  discovered that:

  • 64 percent of respondents say their organization has no way to effectively reduce the inherent risk of unmanaged data (e.g. downloaded onto USB drives, shared with third parties, or files * with no expiration date)
  • 79 percent of respondents are worried about security breaches involving high-value information
  • 52 percent of respondents do not feel that their security infrastructure facilitates compliance and regulatory enforcement with a centralized approach to controlling, monitoring and reporting of data

That requires a purpose-built architecture, one that is designed and hardened for security from the ground up. Integral to this architecture is the inherent security Citrix provides by:

The solution to the problem?  Control must be given back to IT while delivering security to the business without affecting the users experience.  This type of architecture is inherent in the security Citrix provides by:

  • Centralizing and keeping data off endpoints
  • Containerizing and encrypting data on mobile devices
  • Controlling access to data contextually
  • Using file level access and control (DLP and IRM) for data in motion
  • Partnering with industry leaders to protect data

At the end of the day, people need and want to work efficiently, if we make data sharing onerous it would create more problems rather than help solve them.

To learn more about Citrix products, please visit our product page or call us directly at 893-9515.

CT Link Systems, Inc. joins Security TRENDs 2017!

CT Link Systems, Inc. joins Security TRENDs 2017!

Enterprises and organizations are facing next-tier, multifaceted threats that are both familiar and uncharted. As the cloud and the Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystem become more interconnected, it is essential for organizations tore-evaluate and redefine their understanding of threats, risks, and solutions in an ever-changing landscape.

With that, organizations and enterprises must ask: what threats should they prepare for? What risks are involved? What processes and procedures should be implemented?

In the face of next-tier threats, businesses must step up their game and LEVEL UP their defence against these threats.

In lieu of this, CT Link Systems, Inc. has joined Trend Micro’s Security TRENDs 2017 Executive Threat Defence Summit as an exhibitor to help educate businesses in the Philippines on the importance of Cyber Security.

To learn more or register to the event, please visit the site Here!

About Trend Micro

Trend Micro is a leading provider of cybersecurity solutions designed to protect individuals and businesses against various online threats. Trend Micro Security offers advanced security features such as anti-malware, anti-phishing, and anti-ransomware to safeguard against malicious attacks. With easy-to-use interfaces and automatic updates, Trend Micro Security provides comprehensive protection against viruses and other threats while optimizing system performance. With over 30 years of experience, Trend Micro has become a trusted name in cybersecurity, serving millions of users worldwide.

Introducing the Threat Grid for Meraki MX

Introducing the Threat Grid for Meraki MX

When Cisco announced the integration of Cisco Advanced Malware Protection with the Meraki MX last July, it was to provide a simple and effective way for MX customers to monitor, detect and remediate advanced threats.  Now they are taking it a step further, they have now integrated their Threat Grid into the Meraki MX platform.   This integration allows security teams to be able to better understand, prioritize and mitigate attacks by combining advanced sandboxing with threat intelligence.

With how advanced today’s malware and other advanced attacks are, it is harder for companies to just to rely on their first line of defenses.  Even with some of the best security tools in place, it is still highly likely some of them will eventually get into your system.  However, with Threat Grid, you can be able to avoid these situations.  It rapidly analyzes files and suspicious behavior across your environment while providing your security team context-rich analytics.  It also provides threat intelligence so your team will know what a file is doing or attempting to do which helps in quickly responding to the threats.

The integration starts with the AMP for Meraki integration.  Files that pass through MX will be queried against AMP which will respond with a disposition of clean, malicious or unknown.  The clean files are allowed through while malicious files are blocked and the unknown files are automatically sent to Threat Grid to be analyzed.  After the analysis is complete, a detailed report and threat score will be displayed on the Meraki Security Center.  Files with threat scores of 95 and higher are considered malicious which will trigger an alert as to notify the security team so they can remediate it ASAP.

Threat Grid for MX is available now as an add on to the MX Advanced Security license. Customers must have the Advanced Security License to purchase Threat Grid. To find out more contact us at 893-9515 and we will be happy to help!

Click here for more information.

Arup: Engineering Firm Transfers Files Worldwide with Citrix ShareFile

Arup: Engineering Firm Transfers Files Worldwide with Citrix ShareFile

Arup Group Ltd. is a multinational professional services firm headquartered in London, U.K., which provides engineering, design, planning, project management and consulting services for all aspects of the built environment. The firm has over 13,000 staff based in 92 offices across 42 countries and has participated in projects in over 160 countries.

The Challenge

Transferring their work to their clients all across the globe.  Sending Digital Models, Documents and CAB files from their custom built transfer system (which was capable of handling files of up to 2GB) proved to be inadequate as the years went as the size and amount of files needed increased.  Longer upload speed and download speed frustrated both employees and their clients.  This caused 60% of their employees to start using personal file transfer services, however these 3rd party services lacked effective security and control.

The Solution

Arup looked at many file based sharing solutions, but they ultimately chose to go with Citrix ShareFile Enterprise.  The simplicity of sending files of any size and the ShareFile Microsoft Outlook Plug-in which allows for file sending within the email client for optimal use and convenience were big factors in their decision.  Not only did this solution give them a better way for file sharing, but it also helped increase their employee agility by securing the access of files from their mobile devices.  Also by setting up multiple storage zones in each region to serve as local storage, it helped increase the speed of sharing to the point that their employees now use it for any file over 5 MB.

The Key Benefits

Below are the key benefits that Arup experienced when they adopted Citrix ShareFile

  • Increased Productivity by accelerating workflows
  • Improved client service through more effective file sharing
  • Secured and controlled shared files

Arup is still expanding its ShareFile Implementation and plans on introducing mobile functionality soon while already viewing Citrix as one of its key technology partners.

Join us in our upcoming event Cisco Start!

Join us in our upcoming event Cisco Start!

Technology is evolving at an unprecedented pace, and its impact can be seen in every sphere of life. Whether it’s communication, education, healthcare, or entertainment, technology has revolutionized every aspect of our lives. Cisco, the leading technology provider, is at the forefront of this revolution, and it’s time to unleash the power of technology with Cisco Start!

Cisco is a technology giant that specializes in providing networking hardware, software, and services to businesses worldwide. Its solutions are tailored to help organizations of all sizes connect and collaborate securely and efficiently, regardless of whether it’s through LANs, WANs, data centers, cloud computing, or IoT.

Cisco’s product portfolio is extensive and includes routers, switches, wireless access points, security appliances, telepresence systems, and more. However, the company’s focus is not just on the technology it offers, but on the outcomes it can enable for its customers. Cisco’s business strategy centers around helping businesses achieve digital transformation, by leveraging emerging technologies such as AI, ML, and automation to drive innovation and productivity.

Cisco is well known for its expertise in network infrastructure and security, with many businesses relying on its products and services to power their operations. The company is committed to providing high-quality products and services, with a strong focus on customer support and satisfaction.

 

On June 29, 2017, Comstor, in partnership with CT Link Systems, Inc., will be hosting an educational event for white space companies, Cisco Start!  Learn more about Cisco’s brand new offerings 2017 for their datacenter, networking and security products in an informative seminar from 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM at the Makati Diamond Residences.  Get freebies while learning how you can improve your business efficiency and workforce performance!  Be able to get a chance as well to win our grand raffle prize, a Sony PS4!  For inquiries on how to register, please call us at 893 -9515.