Entries by Lawrence Strauss

Guide to the Uptime Mindset

September 16, 2025 in /by
It’s hard to argue with the simple strategy of ‘fix it when it breaks.’ And when it comes to pencils and pens – absolutely. There is no risk in using these till you can’t anymore. Throwing a pencil away and picking up a new one is meaningless.

But the stakes are entirely different when it comes to how much organizations’ operations are now built on tech tools. If a server fails or becomes inaccessible or a database gets corrupted, the impact to many people in and outside of your organization can be great. And so the strategy for maintaining the operation of these tools should match the stakes … [6 min. read]

Endpoint Detection and Response, a guardian on the inside

August 18, 2025 in /by
Traditionally security was added at the perimeter – things like firewalls, passwords, MFA, etc. – creating a cordoned-off area in which we could get on with our work. What Bryley’s seeing lately are attempted attacks disguised as legitimate software. As an example, recently Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) helped Bryley stop a data-exfiltration attempt that used two pieces of legitimate software (rclone [a file-copying program]) and Chrome Remote Desktop. Traditional perimeter defenses, dependable as they’ve been for years, would not be aware of good software being misused like this.

EDR at its core takes a behavioral approach to attacks. It watches systems for suspicious activities – like when a program suddenly attempts to encrypt dozens of files or when an unusual network connection appears during non-work hours … [4 min. read]

Bryley recognized as a regional top IT Services Provider

August 18, 2025 in /by

In Worcester Business Journal’s annual Book of Lists Bryley was ranked seventh largest among Central Massachusetts IT Services Providers. It gratifies us to see Bryley’s name listed near the top. And sincere thanks to the clients that have entrusted their IT support to Bryley. But is there any reason that the size of an IT operation should matter to you and your organization? [4 min. read]

 

Bryley Awarded 11th MSP 501

July 14, 2025 in /by

An IT-industry symbol of reliability

The MSP 501 award is meaningful in the IT industry. It’s a thorough 60-point evaluation that includes measures of growth and verified financials to identify IT providers with true operational strength.

The award is an independent endorsement, so organizations can better recognize which IT companies have built something solid and sustainable, worthy of their trust … [3 min. read]

A Salt Typhoon Wake-Up

July 12, 2025 in /by

A Salt Typhoon wake-up

A vulnerability had a rare maximum severity score, but went unpatched

Chinese-state-backed hackers spent months inside America’s largest telecom networks, reading private messages from government officials and accessing law enforcement wiretap requests. The Salt Typhoon attacks compromised AT&T, Verizon, Charter and others by exploiting unpatched Cisco router vulnerabilities – vulnerabilities that were discovered and had patches released by the manufacturer up to seven years ago. Not only this, but among the vulnerabilities, one had a rare National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) severity score of ten – the very highest priority according to NIST’s calculus of what should be addressed.

As far as bottom-line relevance, first, there is a documented connection between the attack methods at the highest levels and cybercrime operations that go after businesses of all sizes; the heavy-hitters clear the paths that others imitate. But these breaches also reveal patterns that can teach us how to improve our defenses … [4 min. read]

Huntress ITDR in Action

June 6, 2025 in /by

Not all cybersecurity tools are equal – and there are a lot, so Bryley evaluates potential partners to offer an effective mix of security and value. This evaluation process helps us identify partners who provide reliable performance and whose products integrate well with our existing solutions.

We’re excited about the analysis and alerts that our partner Huntress’ Identity Threat Detection and Response (ITDR) has provided us. With several Bryley clients’ systems the ITDR has shown itself to be an invaluable tool … [5 min. read]

Achieving Business Continuity

June 5, 2025 in /by

An accountancy thought their daily backups were protecting their data. They thought encryption was protecting their data.

But weeks ago their office manager clicked a malicious link in an email. And nobody ever knew about it. Operations just continued as normal.

Until they didn’t … [6 min. read]

OneDrive’s Files On-Demand, Backup and Archiving

May 2, 2025 in /by

It’s on me. I never really examined the defaults, but I was surprised one day to learn Windows 11 by-default puts the files you’re working on on your bit of Microsoft’s OneDrive servers. I tried to work without internet access and the file I expected to have on my laptop was just a ghostly bookmark to my file on some distant, unreachable server … [6 min. read]

Garin Livingstone Becomes CEO

April 22, 2025 in , /by

In a race to adopt the newest technology buzzword, it’s easy for any business to lose sight of its purpose. How much more so IT providers, who are in the thick of new tech introductions. I had the opportunity to speak with CEO Garin Livingstone about his refreshing perspective on IT service … [5 min. read]