Increasing the risk of attack is the way applications are used in today’s corporate environment.  In other words, companies don’t work in a vacuum.  Instead, the majority of applications used today are connected to the Internet.  Cloud computing has taken uploading and storing data to new levels.

Even if businesses use the Internet in limited ways, like getting updates or registering information, the risk is still very real.  It only takes one Internet connection to allow a hacker in to compromise data.  Some of the things hackers look for in corporate applications are cross-site scripting, insufficient authorization, weak passwords, sessions hijacking and more.

A security scan by a service provider can offer major benefits.  Working like a search engine, the scanning technology crawls the site to discover vulnerabilities.  It will perform a variety of tests to evaluate the level of security in corporate applications.  Most importantly, security scanning addresses vulnerabilities from a hacker’s point of view.

Taking advantage of the Internet and cloud computing technologies provide key advantages for corporate apps.  But, this mode of operation requires very diligent safeguarding of data. Security scanning is a proven way to quash any threats before they wreak havoc on business operations.

Continue to read the CoreLink Data Centers’ Blog for more information about our managed security solutions.

Although the advantages are significant, the move itself has its fair share of challenges for health care organizations.  The transition requires investments in time, money and effort.  But it’s not a matter of if health care providers make the move to EHR, it’s when.  And, the “when” is probably going to come sooner rather than later.

Putting pressure on making the change quicker are federal regulations and incentives.  For example, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (the “stimulus”) included the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH).  HITECH incentivizes health care providers by offering funding for healthcare IT systems.

Current governmental goals mandate  adoption by 2014.    And, as healthcare providers transition into digital records, the government has structured incentives so Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements will increase.  If healthcare organizations do not make the move to EHR by 2014, federal regulations call for penalties including reduced payments.

So what’s the status of EHR adoption among healthcare providers?  A recent study conducted by Healthcare Informatics Research concluded 49 percent of respondents have implemented EHR, and 24 percent are in the process.

However, 27 percent of healthcare providers have plans to implement, are considering implementing, or have no plans as of yet.  This is still a significant number of healthcare organizations which have not begun the transition to electronic health records.

The deadline for compliance in 2014 is just around the corner.  These organizations should seek professional advice from a service provider with healthcare IT expertise as soon as possible.

Continue to read the CoreLink Data Centers’ Blog for more information about our healthcare IT solutions.

Recently, Atlanta-based Global Payments, Inc. announced it had a security breach which may have involved 50,000 to even hundreds of thousands credit card accounts.  As more and more announcements like this hit the news, customers’ concerns over identity theft heighten.

In addition to the January-February, 2012 attack at Global Payments, Citigroup had 360,000 card numbers, names and e-mail addresses hacked in May 2011.  Epsilon Data Management experienced unauthorized access of customer names and e-mails in April 2011.  Several other prominent attacks took place over the years.

The consequences of these breaches are many. Obviously, customer goodwill takes a hit after a hack attack.  After a breach, customers question whether the company they do business with has taken the appropriate measures to protect their private and personal information.  Companies suffering a breach may risk losing its customers to competitors.

But, the price the company may pay after a security breach doesn’t stop there.  If they’re a public company, their stock could take a dive.  For example, Global Payments shares fell nine percent once investors found about the attack.  Companies may also risk fines, penalties and lawsuits.

Global Payments is one of a large group of primarily unknown companies playing a middleman role between merchants and banks.  These third-party processes are responsible for processing billions of transactions daily.  These companies contract with merchants to process credit, debit and gift card transactions.  Because they handle such a huge volume of transactions, they’re a prime target for hackers.

So how does a company protect against unauthorized access and hacker attacks?  One approach is to outsource security to an expert provider.  Experienced service providers are well equipped to manage security for all types of customers.  And, they have intimate knowledge of the latest threats and technologies to mitigate risks from these threats.

When companies outsource security, they avoid the distraction of having to keep ever-vigilant to avoid breaches.  Instead, they can focus on their core business and let experts manage escalating security threats.

Continue to read the CoreLink Data Centers’ Blog for more information about our security solutions.

When it comes to data center operations, businesses often have to make build versus buy decisions.  These decisions should be analyzed when a company begins operations, but also whenever a new technology surfaces.  New technologies require investments in technology and expertise. Therefore, the company needs to decide if it makes better financial sense to keep data center operations in-house or outsource to a service provider.

When a company analyzes whether or not to build a data center, it needs to consider many things, especially if it wants to take advantage of virtualization technologies.  Although a business may have successfully managed data center operations internally so far, the move to virtualization holds many challenges.

Because experienced data center service providers have experienced personnel, they are often better positioned to manage virtualized data center operations.  And, these providers can typically offer data center and virtualized services at attractive cost structures.

Continue to read the CoreLink Data Centers’ Blog for more information about our data center service solutions.

The ISSA summit will deliver unbiased knowledge and guidance to over 600 attendees to better manage and protect organizational IT infrastructures and valuable data against attacks that threaten profitability and jeopardize business’ overall reputation.

CoreLink Data Centers will showcase the relentless managed security solutions it provides from their data center locations in Chicago, Las Vegas, Phoenix and Seattle. These data centers protect small through enterprise-sized organizations and businesses and service provider networks against the ongoing threat from worms, trojans and viruses. CoreLink’s data center security offerings include managed firewall protection, intrusion detection and protection, virtual private network (VPN), PCI DSS compliance and web application firewall services.

“We view the ISSA LA Information Security Summit as a premier event to educate key  business decision makers about current and inevitable network security risks, while also providing a strong platform to demonstrate options for strengthening infrastructures against cyber attack,” said Scott Brueggeman, CoreLink’s Vice President of Marketing, Inside Sales, and Corporate Communications.

“As the nation’s second largest metropolitan area, Los Angeles’ 300,000 businesses, not-for-profits and government agencies combine to form the world’s 18th largest economy,” Brueggeman noted. “CoreLink is excited and proud to share key information and offer security solutions to help a proactive, visionary portion of these attending the summit to better secure critical IT infrastructure and the data residing on it.”

ISSA LA members and non-members can register the event here.

Contact CoreLink Data Centers for more information about managed security solutions and data center services, including managed services and enterprise hosting.

However, effective network security polices don’t have to be complex. In fact, managed security can be done in a more straight forward, simple manner and still be very effective.  Many security functions can be centrally managed and automated. Enforcement of security can be automated as well.

Examples of what should be included in a corporate managed security strategy would be:

• managed firewall protection
• managed intrusion detection and prevention
• managed virtual private network (VPN) protection
• PCI compliance

Each business must start with a system analysis to determine the appropriate security policies.  Then, a company needs to look at its specific business in terms of size, risks, costs and more.  A managed security service provider can help businesses determine the appropriate level of security for their operations.

It’s important to look at managed security in terms of the costs incurred from network breaches.  For example, a worm or virus planted in a company network can take IT staff significant time to repair.

During this time, network services may be unavailable.  And, any system downtime costs companies money.  Many options, technologies and services exist to provide adequate network security at costs easily justified.

The need for managed security is critical, regardless of company size. It’s not an option, but a requirement.  Even small company networks become targets for attacks by viruses and other hacker threats.

Continue to read the CoreLink Data Centers’ Blog for more information about our managed security solutions.

In addition to providing an up-close look at its Mt. Prospect data center’s state-of-the-art technology and infrastructure, including its security, power, cooling and fire detection systems and service offerings, CoreLink will provide breakfast at the Wednesday morning event.

“We are excited to host area company leaders to discuss common business and technology related challenges and concerns, and provide an opportunity to network with fellow executives and entrepreneurs,” said Scott Brueggeman, CoreLink’s Vice President of Marketing, Inside Sales, and Corporate Communications. “We are also pleased to provide a full look at the infrastructure CoreLink has in place to deliver 24/7 expert help and support to a growing number of small, medium, and large-enterprise companies.”

“We fully recognize the increasing importance of continuous network operability in maintaining and elevating customer service levels as among the most important aspects of a business’ ability to ensure its reputation and bottom-line profitability,” Brueggeman said. “CoreLink’s suite of data center hosting and managed services, including security and disaster recovery, is designed for the types of companies that will be represented at this open house breakfast event.”

Registration is required for the Business Before Hours breakfast and open house; space is limited. You can click here to RSVP or email the Greater O’Hare Regional Business Association at: Lori@theGOA.com by 2 p.m. CT on May 1st.

Contact CoreLink Data Centers for more information about managed security solutions and Chicago data center services, including managed services and enterprise hosting or call 866-435-2375.

For example, network connectivity is a big issue. Inadequate network infrastructure can increase company costs if availability issues occur.  Companies need to determine an acceptable level of network downtime and ensure their providers can meet their requirements.

In addition, companies should test network performance prior to making a decision to outsource data center operations.  Testing the network from the company’s locations for latency issues makes good sense.

Another important decision factor is the provider’s physical facility.  Is it constructed using industry best practices?  Are advanced security measures in place?  What about the equipment and infrastructure technologies?

Businesses need to carefully evaluate the cooling and power systems in place.  If these functions aren’t performing at peak levels, systems availability can be negatively impacted.  One way to determine functionality is to review maintenance procedures and records.

Companies must know the facility they expect to have run their IT functions is expertly and regularly maintained.  Records should indicate critical equipment replacements are done at the appropriate intervals.

Around-the-clock support is an absolute requirement for most businesses.  To really ensure 24/7 support, a company rep can call the data center provider during late night hours to evaluate the level of service.

Finally, businesses considering outsourcing data center operations need to understand how providers handle disaster recovery and business continuity.  What happens during extended periods of systems downtime?  How does the data center provider address generators and fuel resources?

When it comes to hiring a data center service provider, companies need to know important details of the solution to separate marketing hype from reality.

Continue to read the CoreLink Data Centers’ Blog for more information about our data center service solutions.

Watch our video presentation on Healthcare IT Management as we discuss the various issues healthcare providers face when choosing a data center that offers a 100% uptime guarantees, reliability and security. After watching this video presentation, you will know exactly what to expect from a HIPPA security compliant data center and understand the most crucial elements to a healthcare IT environment.

For more information on healthcare IT management, continue reading our blog or contact CoreLink Data Centers today.

The Power Usage Efficiency (PUE) calculation provides some objective insight into how a colocation provider’s facilities stack up when it comes to energy conservation.  PUE gives a baseline indication of efficiency.  Providers can then compare all subsequent power strategies against this rating to gauge improvement efforts and adapt accordingly.

PUE calculates the ratio of the available power to the amount of power used.  The result will be a number greater than one; the lower the number, the more efficient the operation.

The Data Center Infrastructure Efficiency (DCiE) calculation represents the inverse of PUE.  It’s the ratio of the data center’s power usage compared to the total power available.  The result will be less than one; the closer ratio is to one, the greater the efficiency.

The PUE and DCiE ratings were developed by Green Grid, a collaborative organization committed to improving the resource efficiency of data centers.  These ratios provide a framework for data centers to continually evaluate how efficiently they consume power.  And, they can help guide ongoing strategies and process improvements.

Fine-tuning power usage efficiencies in the data center is a challenging and ongoing project.  Many companies with internal data center operations may not have the staff or expertise to regularly monitor and adjust operating strategies for improvements.

Fortunately, many colocation providers are well versed in measuring and improving power consumption.  An experienced data center operator will understand the trade-offs and be able to balance efficiency gains against budget constraints.  And, they’ll be able to prioritize efforts to gain the maximize benefit for the lowest costs.

Continue to read the CoreLink Data Centers’ Blog for more information about our colocation solutions.