Umbrella
Quarterly Update
About the Umbrella Quarterly Update:
Each quarter Umbrella creates an update of all the new services and enhancements that we will be adding in the next three months. In addition, we aggregate all the news and content we’ve created over the past three months. For the Q1 2022 update, we are continuing the conversation on cybersecurity. As always please forward the update to colleagues and friends.
Umbrella Communication Recap:
Holiday Hugs Toy Drive for Kids
The Shadow Buddies Foundation is a non-profit charitable organization devoted to providing support and knowledge to young children with severe illnesses and disabilities. This year the Umbrella team joined forces with the Shadow Buddies Foundation for their Toys for the Kids Toy Drive. The Umbrella Team donated over $1,700 in new toys to this amazing organization. You can learn more about this organization and our work with them by visiting our blog.
14 Years & 14 Thousand Feet - Happy 40th Trent!
Umbrella Managed Systems was business idea number seven for Trent and I. During college we’d walk across Brush Creek on the Plaza for a pitcher of beer at Fred P. Otts every Wednesday. For an hour we’d dream up horrible ideas for businesses we would someday start. A few years later we’d stumble across the idea for Umbrella.
We’ve been at this for 14 years now as 50/50 partners. Ask anyone who’s done this and they will tell you 50/50 is the worst possible way; somebody has got to make the decision when in deadlock. There have been times when we’d go into a room and whoever comes out least bloody got their way! But Trent and I have been fortunate to consistently have our business and life goals aligned together. There have been times when we both bent for each other. It’s not always easy but, we’ve done it deliberately and willingly.
Trent has been encouraging and joining me in my stretch goal to climb all of Colorado’s 14ers. This summer, in year 14 of business, we crossed 14,000 feet at the summits of Castle and Conundrum Peaks together. I’m blessed to have one of the smartest people I know as my business partner but more so a lifelong friend. Thanks for not pushing me off the mountain!
Umbrella’s Holiday Party
We celebrated this holiday season in the brand new Be Amazing Room at Chicken N Pickle. A few of the highlights included an update from our executive leadership team and a warm welcome to all our new team members. The evening was packed full of good food, drinks, loads of fun and fellowship. We hope you and your family had a wonderful Holiday Season!
Blog Recap
Ransomware Resources
As you know Umbrella strives to keep our clients informed and ready to combat any cyberattack. This last quarter we prepared a list of ransomware resources to help contribute to the education and awareness of phishing/ransomware threats. The goal is to help our clients better able to prevent, detect, and mitigate breaches caused by ransomware. You can click here to check out this full list of resources.
Past Critical Communications
Critical vulnerability detected for the ubiquitous Java log4j logging framework
On December 9, 2021, a zero-day vulnerability concerning Java was detected by several threat-detection researchers. Named CVE-2021-44228, it exploits a weakness in the Java logging utility log4j. Given the ubiquitous nature of the Java logging library and the potential for numerous entry points, CVE-2021-44228 presents a serious security challenge. You can learn more about how the vulnerability works and our response here, we will also send out updates as information develops.
The OCR Notifies Healthcare Industry on Securing Legacy Systems
The Office for Civil Rights in Action (OCR) recently notified the healthcare industry with guidance on securing their legacy systems. Additionally, the OCR stated that as time goes on, legacy systems will become more and more susceptible to cybersecurity attacks. Umbrella has shared the OCR’s full recommendation here.
ITMS 3.0 Enhancements - 2021 Recap
In the last quarterly update of 2021, we explained that cybersecurity breaches have grown from a minor disruption to a serious business threat. As you may recall we are focused on putting new features in place to protect our clients from cybersecurity threats. Our goal is to ensure your organization has the best services & technologies to keep your data safe, your employees productive, and enable you to achieve your business goals. Here is a final recap of all that we accomplished last year.
Status: Complete
In 2021, we expected Business Email Compromise (BEC) to continue as the most financially damaging online crimes. This is part of the reason why Umbrella made the decision to further increase email security. Throughout Q1 of 2021 our Professional Services Engineers deployed the following features during their onsite visits:
- VIP Dark Web ID Monitoring
- External Email Banner Notification
- Phish Alert Button
Status: Complete
Managed Detection and Response (MDR) from Umbrella is a collection of technology and services that actively hunts threats and responds to threats once they are discovered. Umbrella’s MDR works in conjunction with Umbrella’s End-Point Protection (EPP) system to create another layer of cybersecurity protection.
Status: Complete
Umbrella’s Enhanced EPP, paired with Umbrella’s MDR solution was rolled out. This technology is far more than the traditional “anti-virus” and creates a comprehensive Detect/Protect/Respond end-point security solution. Read more about MDR/EPP solutions here.
Status: On Hold
A password manager offers convenience and, more importantly, helps you create better passwords, which makes your online existence less vulnerable to password-based attacks. Microsoft is currently in Beta phase of the Microsoft 365 Password Manager development which has pushed out delivery times. We will continue to monitor this tool and deploy once it meets our strict standards.
Humble, Hungry, Smart Winner
Every team member at Umbrella strives to be an ideal team player. The ideal team player embodies three virtues: humility, hunger, and people smarts. The power of this combination drastically accelerates and improves the process of building high-performing teams. Normally our staff continually submits votes for colleagues that exemplify the HHS traits and at the end of the quarter, a winner is selected.
This quarter we are deviating from our standard HHS winner and using this opportunity to introduce you to all of our new ideal team players that have joined Umbrella over the past 90 days. This diverse group of individuals come from a variety of backgrounds and their experiences do indeed show that they are humble, hungry, and smart! Take a moment check out these new faces!
Security Awareness Training Updates:
As reported in a recent article by Wired Magazine, phishing tests continue to evolve. The bad guys are starting to look to the world of artificial intelligence (AI) to craft phishing messages. In a test conducted at the Black Hat and Defcon security conference, results showed that more users clicked on a mock phishing test generated by AI than one generated by a human.
As aways when looking at email remain vigilant and look for these common factors often seen in phishing email:
- The email makes unrealistic threats or demands.
- Phishing emails always have a catch.
- The email contains multiple spelling and grammatical errors.
- Links in the email do not match the sender’s domain.
- You are asked to provide sensitive information in an urgent matter.
Now more than ever before, Security Awareness Training is important for your organization. The leadership team at Umbrella takes cybersecurity very seriously and has made security awareness training part of the ITMS program. Every month we send mock phishing tests to our staff and our clients to help them become more aware of suspicious emails.
We're happy to report that this quarter an average of 96.3% of users phished passed their monthly test.
Top Client Feedback:
The Umbrella team works hard to delight clients daily with professional expert IT support. We love to receive feedback and highlight when we have done an excellent job ‐ here are some most recent favorite comments:
Barb gave a WOW rating to Lewis Booth for Communication, Friendliness, Knowledge, Helpfulness, Resolution Time, and Response Time.
Great experience. No one called me because they understood the request and got it taken care of without needing to interrupt my day. Thanks!
Janet gave a WOW rating to John Quick for Communication, Knowledge, Friendliness, Resolution Time, Helpfulness, and Response Time.
Thank you for making a call over to AireSpring tech support for confirmation that equipment wasn't needed. Appreciated that very much. Have a great day!
Dr. McAllaster gave a WOW rating to Michael Robins, Zach Lakin, and Matthew Skowbo for Response Time, Resolution Time, helpfulness, Friendliness, Communication, and Knowledge.
This was a very difficult problem requiring interface with a third-party vendor who was less than cooperative. Thanks for your persistence!
Critical KPI’s:
Customer Satisfaction (CSTAT)
Met Resolution SLA
% of Hours Proactive vs Reactive
Let's Grow Together!
In 2022 Umbrella’s work to become Kansas City’s favorite MSP never stops! We are committed to providing premium IT services for your organization. This includes our continued dedication to being proactive and keeping ahead of the next cybersecurity threat.
Umbrella has been in business for 14 years, providing high‐value IT services to the Kansas City metro area and beyond. Do you know anybody who is facing IT problems? Do you have a friend in your professional network who could use our services or products?
Without a doubt, referrals are the most effective way to generate new business. Who better to tell our story than our clients! In the spirit of growing together, please consider referring your industry colleagues to Umbrella. You’ll receive Karma and a discount off your monthly ITMS 3.0 Bill.
Know someone that would benefit from our services or interested in finding out more for yourself? Please get in touch with us to learn more!
