Arraya Insights

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It’s been called “groundbreaking” and “almost peerless,” and it’s been lurking in the wilds of the cyber landscape undetected since at least 2008. It’s a piece of malware known as “Regin,” and it has thoroughly impressed – and baffled – hardened security experts since its recent discovery.

The malware, which was first made public by Security firm Symantec, has been secretly collecting data and monitoring the activities of individuals and organizations around the world. Russia, Saudi Arabia, and Mexico are some of the countries most frequently targeted by the program.

Among Regin’s many capabilities are: taking screenshots of an infected machine, assuming control of a mouse’s point and click functions, capturing passwords, gaining access to deleted files and keeping watch on network traffic. [Read more…] about New, Highly Advanced Digital Security Threat Uncovered

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The season of giving has only just gotten started, but Cisco is clearly already in the holiday spirit. Forget about tacky sweaters, this year the networking giant is offering something customers will likely be much more interested in: a chance to save while upgrading their Cisco collaboration endpoints.

Recently, Cisco announced customers would be able to trade-in select older models of desk phones and conference stations and in return they would receive a steep discount on certain new models. Customers can trade in their 7900 Series devices and receive a substantial credit for Cisco 78xx and 88xx Series models.

Not sure whether or not to make the switch? Here are some features to consider. [Read more…] about Cisco Offers Customers a Chance to Save on Communication Upgrades

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It’s one of the most fundamental challenges facing IT teams right now: Providing a secure and efficient way for users to collaborate with each other, even as those same users become more mobile and less tied to one specific type of workstation.

At the Collaboration Summit 2014, Cisco announced a new business application which would better equip IT and users to handle those challenges and make cloud-based social collaboration that much easier. The app is called Project Squared and it’s been hailed as Cisco’s answer to the day-to-day problems users encounter while trying to juggle working on the go with staying in the loop at work. The app gives users chat, audio, video, multi-party meeting and content sharing capabilities.

Project Squared has its foundations in the Cisco Collaboration Cloud, which is a new, next-generation platform aligned with Cisco’s Intercloud strategy. [Read more…] about Cisco Unveils New App for Easier, Safer Remote Collaboration

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The early forecasts are in and it looks like the cloud is going to occupy an even more prominent place on the to-do lists of IT leaders in the coming years. That’s one of the takeaways from a pair of recent studies which examined the projects companies expect to invest the most in over the next few years. 

TechTarget’s annual “IT Salary and Careers Survey” asked high-ranking IT leaders to name the area that would likely be commanding their attention the most in 2015, and the cloud was right at the top of that list, tied for the number one spot. Cloud computing shared the honor with security, as each captured 21% of the vote. The two are intertwined, so it isn’t surprising they were running neck-and-neck. As decision makers consider moving service workloads offsite, their attention (rightfully) shifts toward protecting those workloads once they’re there.

The cloud has come a long way since last year’s study, where it came in fifth. Comparing the results from this year’s study to last year’s paints a pretty clear picture of just how much, and how quickly, cloud has become a top-of-mind issue for IT leaders. [Read more…] about What Does the Future Hold for the Cloud?

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Faster problem resolution, a more-streamlined IT environment. Those are the kinds of things that make all IT leaders stand up and take notice. Something else that’s bound to catch their eye, especially in today’s world of tight budgets, the word free.

Industry-leading cloud and virtualization provider VMware is putting its money where its mouth is and offering a free 30-day Optimization Assessment to any vSphere customer. According to VMware’s estimates, 9 out of every 10 virtual machines (VM) have been over-provisioned. Its goal in offering the free assessment is to let customers see for themselves exactly how vCenter Operations Management can minimize risk and make those VMs more agile. [Read more…] about Cut Cost and Risk with VMware’s Free vSphere Optimization Assessment

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Heads up: Microsoft has just released a critical update needed to patch an elevation of privilege vulnerability lurking in Kerberos KDC.

This flaw – known as Kerberos Checksum Vulnerability – could give an attacker the ability to increase the privileges of a standard user account up to the level of domain administrator. From there, the attacker might use those elevated privileges to compromise any computer in that domain – including the domain controllers.

The security update needed to correct the flaw has been rated critical for all supported editions of Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2012, and Windows Server 2012 R2. The update is also being offered on a defense-in-depth basis for all supported editions of Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1. [Read more…] about Microsoft Releases Patch for Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability

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How about a quick history lesson? Back in the 1950s, Toyota introduced the Just-in-Time (JIT), or lean, method. This meant creating or purchasing only enough items to meet demand instead of to build a surplus. Gradually the idea of slimming down operations began to spread to other companies. Dell is a modern day example of this. The tech giant adopted a lean business model of its own and kept only a few hours’ worth of supplies on hand at any time. This ended the long-time tech industry struggle of excess inventory and pre-ordered parts that became obsolete before they even reached the market.

Although JIT was conceived for manufacturing operations, at Arraya Solutions we saw an opportunity to take that innovative mentality and apply it to the services we provide. Instead of having a surplus of backed inventory or canned solutions, we had a different objective in mind.   [Read more…] about Maintaining a Lean Operation: The Just in Time Method

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What makes a truly great managed services partner? While there’s no precise recipe, most of the best-of-breed providers have more than a few key ingredients in common.

Sifting through the possibilities and finding the right managed services provider to partner with can be a demanding process for IT pros. Let’s face it, time isn’t exactly something most IT teams have to spare these days.    

Make the wrong choice though and it could mean even more work and more expense down the road when the time comes to correct what went wrong with the previous provider. Avoiding those wasted resources are why it’s so important to be able to identify the must-have elements right off the bat. [Read more…] about 5 Questions You Need to Ask Before Choosing a Managed Services Provider

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October has come and gone and with it so has another National Cyber Security Awareness Month. The month-long celebration sponsored by the US Department of Homeland Security, in cooperation with the National Cyber Security Alliance and the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center was designed to bring digital security issues to the forefront.

Throughout the month, Arraya posted a series of tips and news stories which IT leaders could use as a way to kick start a conversation with end users and their teams about security best practices which can sometimes be overlooked.

Arraya’s first post in the series covered how employees can stay safe while using email. It included four steps employees should and shouldn’t take if they encounter an email they didn’t request or that seems a little fishy, including not interacting with it and using another point of contact to confirm the legitimacy of the email. That way they won’t put the company’s data in harm’s way by falling into a phisher’s trap. [Read more…] about Cyber Security Month Recap

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There’s nothing quite like walking away from a conversation feeling like you need to Google a big chunk of it in order to figure out what the heck the other person was talking about.

Some of the jargon and buzzwords in the technology field can leave even savvy IT pros scratching their heads on occasion. If you’re new to the field or an outsider looking for a consultant? Chances are it probably sounds like you’re listening to a totally different language.

Now few companies, if any, have the extra room in their budget to employ a full-time IT translator. So, here’s a list of some of the most common – and yet most mysterious – IT buzzwords and what they really mean. If these buzzwords are already old hat to you, this list can also help you put them in the most basic terms so next time you can be sure your message is hitting home – no matter who your audience is. [Read more…] about IT Buzzwords Defined