February | 2023

Databranch is excited to announce that in March we will be introducing a new workflow for service tickets to better serve our clients and improve the service experience with Databranch.

During some service engagements, our engineers will require additional information or testing from a client to complete the service ticket and confirm resolution. In March, tickets that get moved to this status will send an automatic follow-up to the user associated to the ticket for five days until we are able to proceed with next steps. If a response is not received after five days, the ticket will close and can be re-opened at any time.

If you have any question about this new service process, please reach out to your dedicated account manager or respond to this email.

Microsoft has announced an upcoming change to the default method used in its Authenticator App. Starting May 8th, 2023, users will be required to input a verification number into the authenticator app. This date was previously February 27th, but Microsoft recently released a revision to the start date.

This number matching method is replacing the approve/deny push notification sent to mobile devices. Number matching is a key security upgrade to traditional second factor notifications in Microsoft Authenticator.

Microsoft will remove the admin controls and enforce the number match experience tenant-wide for all users starting May 8th, 2023. 

Please note that this change will occur for both PCs and mobile devices. No action is required by the end users, this change will happen automatically by Microsoft.

If you have any questions regarding this upcoming change, or need any assistance, please contact Databranch Service at 716-373-4467 x4.

Put in Place a Disaster Recovery Plan & Practice It

You don’t need to be a large enterprise to create an Disaster Recovery (DR) plan. The DR plan is a set of instructions for employees to follow should any number of cybersecurity incidents occur.

Along with this, it is the Business Continuity Solution put in place by the business to monitor backup processes, implement recovery objectives and restore your data to its former state.

Here is an example. In the case of ransomware, the first step should be disconnecting the infected device. DR plans improve the speed and effectiveness of a response in the face of a security crisis.

Having a practiced Disaster Recovery plan reduces the cost of a data breach by an average of $2.66 million per incident.

Need help setting up your Disaster Recovery plan? We’re ready to help you with a custom-built business continuity solution that meets the needs of your unique business. Give our experts a call at 716-373-4467 x115 or click here to get started.

Adopt a Zero Trust Security Approach

Zero trust is a collection of security protocols that work together to fortify a network. An example of a few of these are:

• Multi-factor authentication
• Application safelisting
• Contextual user authentication
• Restricting administrative privileges

Approximately 79% of critical infrastructure organizations haven’t adopted zero trust. Doing so can significantly reduce data breach costs. Organizations that don’t deploy zero trust tactics pay about $1 million more per data breach. 

Use Tools with Security AI & Automation

Using the right security tools can make a big difference in the cost incurred during a data breach. Using tools that deploy security AI and automation brought the biggest cost savings.

Data breach expense lowered by 65.2% thanks to security AI and automation solutions. These types of solutions include tools like advanced threat protection (ATP). They can also include applications that hunt out threats and automate the response.

Here at Databranch, we use a number of automated remote monitoring tools that will inspect your system 24/7, 365 days a year to help prevent attacks from happening to your organization. Click here to learn more.

How to Get Started Improving Your Cyber Resilience

Many of these ways to lower data breach costs are simply best practices. You can get started by taking them one at a time and rolling out upgrades to your cybersecurity strategy.

Databranch will even help you put together a roadmap to achieve this in the most efficient way possible. Address the “low-hanging fruit” first. Then, move on to longer-term projects.

As an example, “low-hanging fruit” would be putting multi-factor authentication in place. It’s low-cost and easy to put in place. It also significantly reduces the risk of a cloud breach.

A longer-term project might be creating an incident response plan. Then, you would set up a schedule to have your team drill on the plan regularly. During those drills, you could work out any kinks.

Need Help Improving Your Security & Reducing Risk?

Working with Databranch can take a lot of the security burden off your shoulders. Contact us today at 716-373-4467 x 115 or info@databranch.com to discuss your security needs.

Article used with permission from The Technology Press.

Technology Trivia

Where did the word “Bluetooth” originally come from?

The first person to email us at info@databranch.com and give a correct answer gets a $25 Amazon Gift Card!

Need a Laugh?

Did you hear about the Monkeys that shared an Amazon account?



They were Prime-Mates