Security & Monitoring

Ensuring the security of your network and devices is more important than ever before, given the increasing frequency of high-profile data breaches and cyber-attacks.

Regardless of the size of your business, you are at risk of being targeted by hackers if you handle sensitive data or financial information.

The introduction of GDPR regulations in May 2018 has placed even greater emphasis on the need for robust data security measures. In the event of a data breach involving any EU citizen or business, businesses are required to resolve the breach and inform the relevant parties and regulatory bodies within 72 hours. Failure to do so could result in significant fines of up to €10 million or 2% of the global turnover of the business. Additionally, businesses are now required to demonstrate that they have taken appropriate measures to protect their networks and data.

At Silver Cloud, we offer a range of technologies from the following trusted providers, to help safeguard your business from the financial and reputational damage that can result from a cyber-attack. We adopt a layered security approach. This includes monitoring of the Office 365 / cloud environment, DNS protection and server / endpoint protection.

Trend Micro Worry-Free to our customers as this product provides the best balance of security and performance for the cost. Some examples of how Trend Micro can help include:

Trend Micro Worry-Free Services Anti-Virus. This is the primary anti-virus we offer to all our customers, and we also use this internally. Trend has been regularly rated the best anti-virus to defend against a ransomware attack.
Trend Micro InterScan Web Security. This is a web-filtering service that can be deployed to all endpoints. This works to stop staff accessing websites or services which are either not relevant to the business or potentially could be damaging to the business.
Trend Micro Endpoint Encryption. This software will encrypt the hard disk of any PC. This avoids the risk of a laptop / desktop being stolen from an office or whilst travelling and having the data accessed. Without this the data on a hard drive can be accessed readily.
Trend Micro Hosted Email Security. This is an external email scanner to Office 365 which scans all inbound and outbound email. This provides advanced scanning algorithms to ensure the business email is kept safe. For example, you can specify key staff who are likely to be impersonated and they will be kept on a watch list to check their names again rogue emails.

Trend Micro Worry-Free

Password management can be a nightmare for users. To keep safe online we always recommend users do the following:

Keep every single password unique
Keep passwords secure, at least 16 characters or more
Do not use personal information in passwords

The problem is these passwords then get written down or stored in potentially unsecure places, like notebooks, phone notes, contacts, post it notes, Chrome. These can easily be lost, misunderstood or hacked.

We are proud to offer two solutions to our customers; NordPass and 1Password for Teams. Both of these products provides each user with a personal vault to easily store and manage their online sign ins, and also access Shared Vaults across the team. Need to share the Social Media logins with other users? Easy! We can have a shared vault for Social Media and the passwords are stored in there and readily accessible, securely.

This can also be used for notes, financial information and more.

Both provide high levels of encryption and security to keep your valuable passwords safe, whilst keeping a intuitive and friendly interface to use on all devices. Both systems also support Apple PassKeys allowing you to keep on the cutting edge of security.

Password Management and NordPass

Contact us

To discuss your requirements or a specific project, please get in touch.

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Microsoft Defender P1 is an add-on for Office 365. This provides additional security solutions through Microsoft that aim to protect against advanced cyber threats and enhance the security of organisations.

Microsoft Defender: Defender is a comprehensive cloud-based security solution designed to help organisations detect, investigate, and respond to advanced threats across various endpoints, email systems, data centres, and cloud platforms. It provides advanced threat intelligence and analytics capabilities to proactively identify and defend against sophisticated attacks, including malware, zero-day exploits, and advanced persistent threats (APTs). ATP integrates with other Microsoft security products to provide a unified and coordinated defence against evolving threats.
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint P1: Microsoft Defender for Endpoint P1, is a component of Microsoft 365 Defender, which focuses on protecting endpoints such as desktops, laptops, and servers. It combines threat intelligence, behaviour-based detection, and machine learning algorithms to provide real-time protection against various threats. Defender for Endpoint P1 helps organisations prevent, detect, investigate, and respond to advanced threats and breaches. It offers features like endpoint protection, vulnerability management, attack surface reduction, automated investigation and remediation, and advanced hunting capabilities.

Office 365

With any business-critical software it is key to ensure it is kept secure. One small issue, left undetected, could become a major issue for business operations. To keep on top of this we provide our Enhanced Security Monitoring for Microsoft 365.

This is enabled on the Microsoft 365 tenant.

Monitoring and alerting of: user mailbox permissions, inbox rules, mail forwarders, new admins, transport rules, mail enabled distribution groups, login locations, external sharing from SharePoint, ensuring unified audit log is enabled.
All alerts, rules and configurations are protected and cannot be tampered with/damaged/removed. All self-healing.
Monthly security report, detailing the users on Office 365, mailbox access, mailbox rules, external access to 365 from 3rd parties, connection protocols in use, licensing, DKIM, OAUTH status and more.

Both Microsoft ATP and Defender for Endpoint P1 provide organisations with advanced security features, intelligence, and tools to defend against a wide range of cyber threats, strengthen their security posture, and minimise the risk of security breaches and data loss.

Another Microsoft security solution is Bitlocker. BitLocker is the disk encryption included with Windows 10 / 11 Business and Pro editions. This locks the hard drive so it can only be unlocked by using the TPM 2.0 module, a password (Windows 10 only), or via the recovery key.

An unencrypted disk can be connected to another PC via an adapter. This can provide full unrestricted access to the contents of the hard drive; documents, photos, emails and passwords. There is no password required in this scenario and therefore zero security.

BitLocker resolves this by scrambling the data on the drive which can only be unlocked via one of the above methods. Where possible we enable 256bit security rather than the default 128bit, providing the extra level of protection and often meeting compliance requirements.

Devices running Home editions of Windows can be upgraded to Pro, Business or Enterprise.

Windows 11 has a requirement that all devices have TPM 2.0 installed, so a BitLocker password cannot be used. This does mean older devices that have no TPM or TPM 1.2 will not be compatible.

To ensure we keep an up-to-date list of your hardware configuration we provide our RMM monitoring tool. This is a small software agent which runs on servers, laptops, PCs and Macs.

Provide an up-to-date list of the business assets
System components / hardware configuration
Serial number
Software packages
Operating system and update version
Encryption status
Last known user
IP addresses (internal/external)
Monitoring for network devices such as network switches, firewalls, UPS devices.

This agent also references the Event Viewer built into Windows and Mac to look for hardware / software issues. We will be notified to alerts that relate to hardware failure, extended low performance (high CPU / RAM utilisation), low disk space.

It also allows us to remotely administer the device, push certain software packages, amend update policies, and carry out tasks without notifying the user in some cases.

Device Monitoring & Auditing

Cisco also offer their Duo Multi- Factor Authentication. It is an alternative Multi factor solution for Microsoft Office 365 and other services requiring MFA/2FA.

One app can manage them all! When a user goes to sign into a new device, they will receive a prompt on their mobile device via the Duo app. Approve the sign in and the sign in will be complete. Easy!

Multi-factor authentication from Cisco's Duo protects your applications by using a second source of validation, like a phone or token, to verify user identity before granting access. Duo is engineered to provide a simple, streamlined login experience for every user and application, and as a cloud-based solution, it integrates easily with your existing technology.

This can also be used as a single sign on product, allowing you to use one sign in to numerous other services.

Cisco Duo 2 Factor Security

Cisco Umbrella

Umbrella is another factor in a layered security approach. This essentially is a more robust firewall which is remotely managed for each device. This provides additional security to the device it is running on by protecting the DNS requests, IP network, port configuration and more.

DNS layer security: Umbrella’s DNS-layer security provides the fastest, easiest way to improve your security. It helps improve security visibility, detect compromised systems, and protect your users on and off the network by stopping threats over any port or protocol before they reach your network or endpoints.
Secure web gateway logs and inspects web traffic for full visibility, URL and application controls, and protection against malware. Use IPsec tunnels, PAC files, or proxy chaining to forward traffic to our cloud-based proxy to enforce acceptable use policies and block advanced threats.
Firewall logs all activity and blocks unwanted traffic using IP, port, and protocol rules. To forward traffic, simply configure an IPsec tunnel from any network device. As new tunnels are created, policies are automatically applied for easy setup and consistent enforcement everywhere.
Cloud access security broker exposes shadow IT by providing the ability to detect and report on cloud applications in use across your organization. For discovered apps, view details on the risk level and block or control usage to better manage cloud adoption and reduce risk.
Interactive threat intelligence provides unprecedented insight into malicious domains, IPs, and URLs. Available via a console and API, Umbrella Investigate provides real-time context on malware, phishing, botnets, trojans and other threats enabling faster incident investigation and response.

Beyond Encryption provide advanced encryption technology and tools to safeguard sensitive information from unauthorised access, interception, or data breaches. Beyond Encryption's primary goal is to ensure that sensitive data, such as personal or financial information, remains confidential and secure during transmission and storage.

Their solutions typically involve encrypting data at the source, which means that the information is encoded or scrambled using complex algorithms before it leaves the sender's device. This encrypted data can only be decrypted and understood by authorised recipients who possess the necessary decryption keys or credentials. This process helps prevent eavesdropping, interception, or tampering with the data while it is in transit.

Beyond Encryption's solutions also focus on securing data at rest, meaning when it is stored or archived. They employ robust encryption techniques to protect data stored on various devices, servers, or cloud platforms. This ensures that even if unauthorised individuals gain access to the stored data, they would be unable to decipher its contents without the proper decryption keys.

Beyond Encryption

Switch Data Secure Exchange

Switch Data Secure Exchange is a comprehensive data management platform designed to provide organisations with a secure and efficient solution for exchanging, storing, and managing sensitive information. With a focus on data confidentiality, integrity, and availability, the platform employs advanced encryption techniques to safeguard data during transit and storage, protecting it from unauthorised access or interception. By establishing secure communication channels, such as encrypted email or secure file transfer protocols (SFTP), the platform ensures that data exchanges occur in a protected environment, minimising the risk of data leaks or tampering. Furthermore, Switch Data Secure Exchange offers robust access controls and permission settings, allowing organisations to define granular access rights for different users or user groups, ensuring that only authorised individuals can access specific data sets.

This not only enhances data privacy but also ensures compliance with regulatory requirements. The platform also incorporates comprehensive auditing and monitoring features, enabling organizations to track and review data exchange activities, promptly detecting any unauthorised access attempts or suspicious behaviour for timely response and mitigation. With its end-to-end encryption, secure communication channels, access controls, and monitoring capabilities, Switch Data Secure Exchange provides organisations with a robust and scalable solution to securely exchange sensitive data while maintaining compliance and protecting valuable data assets.