Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, June 2, 2020 – Chickasaw Telecom, Inc. today announced that CRN, a brand of The Channel Company, has named the company to its 2020 Solution Provider 500. This annual list ranks the largest North American IT channel partner organizations by revenue. The Solution Provider 500 is the industry standard for recognizing the highest performing technology integrators, strategic service providers, and IT consultants. It is the industry’s predominant channel partner list.

With remote teams of employees becoming much more commonplace, employers are tasked with effectively managing their distributed workforce. Many technologies exist to enable and control resources available to remote employees. Voice-over-Internet-Protocol, or VoIP, provides many features at a fraction of the cost including real-time collaboration, call recording, video conferencing, and more. These features effortlessly deliver the communication options critical for today’s distributed workforce. Below are just a few examples of how VoIP and business Cloud applications support mobility and the distributed workforce.

Telecommuting Made Easier

Using a telephone system that is hosted by the Cloud, your employees need only an Internet connection to securely connect to the system. Many VoIP products offer communication features specifically designed to improve the management of a distributed workforce. Features such as call routing and conferencing allow unparalleled access to employees working in remote locations by allowing them to use their smartphones and laptops as if they were working in an actual office. VoIP also provides a consistent and professional experience for your customers and prospects. Using the Presence Management capability of VoIP, calls can be automatically routed to any number or extension. The call transfers are seamless, making it appear as if the employee they are speaking to is in the office, no matter where they are located.

Increased Productivity

Because VoIP is an Internet-based communication system, your employees can make and receive phone calls from anywhere anytime. They can use audio and video conferencing to organize and attend business meetings, make sales presentations, or conduct training remotely. Even when you or your employees are not in the office, you can:

• Check the availability of others in your business.

• Know when other employees are engaged and should not be disturbed.

• Easily communicate by instant message (IM) with anyone on your team.

• Use a smartphone to access voice messages and collaboration features.

• Get real-time call alerts online.

In addition, VoIP allows you to log a record of all calls. This gives you some insight into how your employees are managing their time as well as the number of contacts made with customers, vendors, and others.

Cost Savings

One of the biggest benefits of VoIP systems is that they are very cost-effective. Whether audio or video, so long as it’s sent through the Internet, it’s virtually free. The costs of calls themselves are also, greatly reduced as there are little to no charges for long-distance or international calls. This is a tremendous benefit if you have a workforce that is spread across the country. And because VoIP systems have flexible and changeable structures, it’s easy to expand or scale back as needed. VoIP also makes it easier to manage your business. You can rely on the system to route calls using the most effective path, increasing your business’s efficiency. It helps you achieve the almost effortless communication necessary to run your business effectively and to ensure that you and your employees can be attentive to the needs of clients and prospects. Additionally, using VoIP to employ a remote workforce, companies can spend less on overhead expenses, possibly even eliminating them altogether.

Collaboration and Teamwork

The video conferencing option of VoIP gives employees a way to connect even when they can’t meet in person. Employees can hold meetings with team members and clients from wherever they are so long as they have an Internet connection. This saves time and travel expenses. Businesses can also manage critical business data using Cloud-based file management and backup solutions, such as SecuriSync by Intermedia. Employees can instantly and securely access content from any device, share folders with colleagues, vendors or customers, and co-edit files in real-time with multiple collaborators. Your business data is automatically backed up and protected from ransomware attacks, hardware failure, or accidental file deletions. The flexibility of VoIP systems means they can be tailored to fit your specific needs. Your Ideacom Network telecom provider can help you find and customize a VoIP telephony system that’s just right for your business.

As the features and conveniences of smartphones have grown, so have the risks of using them. The more you and your employees use your smartphones to check email, make purchases, access bank accounts, download music, etc., the more tempting your phone becomes to hackers.

There are many different types of smartphone hacking methods — from hacking into a live conversation or hacking into someone’s voicemail and the data stored on smartphones. As we increasingly store sensitive data on our mobile devices, the opportunity to hack our smartphones becomes much more tempting to cybercriminals.

How are hackers getting to your smartphone and how can you protect yourself and your business? Most methods used to attack PCs are also being used to hack mobile devices.

Ways Your Smartphone Can Be Hacked

1. Malware. Your phone is vulnerable to the same things that once only threatened your computer, such as malware. Smartphone users often download the malware to their phone thinking that they are downloading a legitimate application such as the latest game or application.

2. Phishing, or SMiShing, uses text messaging to bait you into disclosing sensitive personal information. You may receive a text message posing to be your banking institution requesting that you call a phone number, or that you click on a link to enter information. You might also receive a text message that advises you to download software to your phone.

3. Bluetooth®. Unfortunately, this ingenious technology that makes it possible to use and enjoy the many features of mobile phones is the same technology that makes those phones vulnerable. Bluetooth makes it easier for you to talk on your phone while driving, use wireless headsets, and even sync your phone to your computer. But, while you are using Bluetooth, you’re allowing hackers easier access to your phone and the information it contains. In general, mobile phones comprise about 60% of overall Bluetooth technology usage.

o Bluejacking: If you are using your phone in a public area, hackers can use Bluetooth’s Business Card feature to send unsolicited messages to all discoverable devices within that area. To protect yourself from Bluejacking, be sure to put your phone in the “invisible” or “non-discoverable” mode to protect it from being hacked.

o Bluesnarfing: This is a more dangerous hack that gives criminals access to some of the information on your phone. Criminals use special software to request information from your device, using the Bluetooth OBEX push profile. Even if your phone is in invisible mode, hackers can attack your phone. However, having it in invisible mode requires the hacker to guess the name of your device — making this type of hack less likely.

o Bluebugging: The electronic business card feature in Bluetooth can also be used to open your phone to takeover by a hacker. Fortunately, newer phones are pretty safe from this type of hack, but older phones and outdated firmware can still be vulnerable.

o Back-door Entry: One of the biggest dangers is when a hacker creates a back door into your phone, gets control of it, clones your phone card, then uses your account on another phone. This is the hack that will hit your pocketbook. All the usage on that other phone will be billed to you.

How to protect your phone from hackers:

Setting up your phone to be secure is one of the first things you should do when you get a new phone. If you or your employees have not taken these steps, then they should right away.

Change the PIN on your voice mail

A phone that is still using the default voice mail or pairing PIN is vulnerable to being accessed by hackers. Changing your PIN often and avoiding PINs that may be available on the Web, such as your birthday, anniversary, etc., is your best protection.

Make your Bluetooth more secure. Just like your computer, your mobile phone should have anti-virus and anti-malware security software. There are dozens available and there are many Websites that rank the software for effectiveness. Since you access the Web from your phone, you’ll want protection from any sites you may visit that have infected downloads or other malware

Use caution when connecting to Wi-Fi. People who are using devices with sensitive business information on them should use additional caution when connecting to Wi-Fi. Business travelers, especially, often use Wi-Fi connections at hotels or conference centers. Because most prominent hotels and event venues are committed to maintaining the security of their Wi-Fi users, this is typically an OK practice. However, free public Wi-Fi in areas such as cafes and airports are often far less secure.

Here are some other tips that will increase your phone’s security:

• Disable your Bluetooth when you aren’t using it.

• Keep your phone in non-discoverable mode.

• Avoid pairing your phone unless necessary.

• Use non-regular patterns as PIN keys while pairing a device.

• Make sure your phone is registered with its manufacturer so you can be sure to get updates that continuously improve your phone’s security.

• Always enable encryption when establishing a Bluetooth connection to your PC.

• Use a security app to increase protection on your phone.

Today’s phones hold large amounts of personal and business data that you will want to keep secure. This data is of value to hackers, which is why it’s important to take every measure possible to protect it. By following the above steps, you can better avoid the dark side of mobility and keep your important data secure.

As today’s businesses embrace the cloud, the number of web apps in their IT environment quickly adds up—and quickly overwhelms the ability to ensure security, manage costs and maintain control.

User password behavior is becoming less secure due to the fact that it is nearly impossible for the average user to remember strong passwords for the multiple cloud services most businesses typically run. Because of this, users take shortcuts and use simple passwords, reuse passwords, and even write them down.

You can help to eliminate poor password practices with a single sign-on solution (SSO) such as AppID by Intermedia. Single sign-on services provide users with a single portal for accessing all of their cloud apps while only needing to remember one password.  This eliminates the temptation for users to take password shortcuts that can introduce security holes.

An SSO allows companies to embrace the productivity benefits of cloud apps without getting lax on security. With a good SSO solution, you can:

1. Manage Passwords. Whether it’s Salesforce, QuickBooks, NetSuite, or even proprietary apps, an SSO solution eliminates the need to remember multiple passwords making it easy for employees to comply with strong password policies. Businesses can also protect their data by encouraging users to keep their personal and work-related passwords separate. This enables businesses to significantly reduce the risk of unauthorized users unlocking a company’s private data via personal login information. It’s a quick fix that can prevent long-term problems.
2. Add 2-factor authentication. Decrease the likelihood of a security breach by requiring 2-factor authentication on all critical systems, applications, and services – especially those that are exposed to the internet. 2-factor authentication requires a second piece of information during the login process. This could be a password and the answer to some personal question only the official employee would know. Adding another authentication factor makes it much more difficult for intruders to breach a company’s systems. DUO has a great solution for 2-factor authentication.
3. Increase employee productivity. Once a user logs in to the SSO portal, they have one-click access to all their applications on one convenient page. With an SSO, users do not need to spend their time finding and logging into different apps and can spend more time working. Additionally, because users only need to remember and enter a single set of credentials, an SSO also minimizes the time users spend dealing with password-related frustrations.
4. Protect your data. Employee turnover along with the flood of devices in the workplace can make it challenging for IT departments to secure employee access to workplace data. Identity and access management tools can prevent potential security risks when an employee leaves or their device is lost or stolen. Businesses can successfully revoke employees’ access to online company resources with just one click.

Because passwords remain a primary path to security, it is essential to implement a strong business password policy as the best defense against intruders accessing your systems. A single sign-on service is a simple, easy-to-deploy solution that keeps passwords safely encrypted. Create strong unique passwords for every web app you use without having to remember any of them.

Cell reception is no longer considered a luxury. To most cell phone users, it’s a modern-day necessity making it essential to have reliable cell coverage at your place of work.

While provider coverage maps may show strong signals in your area, it does not guarantee great reception in your workplace. Building materials, geographic or structural interference, cell tower location, cell tower user capacity and a variety of other factors can have a negative impact on your cell phone signal.

Spotty service and dropped calls are frustrating, and if employees are using their cell phones to conduct business, problems like these can have a negative impact on communication with your customers, vendors and on your bottom line.

Fortunately, there are ways you can help ensure that the cell signal inside your business facilities is consistent and strong:

Avoid Inhibitors. Open a window, move away from walls and metal surfaces, and move to a higher level.

Charge Your Device. As batteries lose voltage, the amount of power available to communicate with the cellular tower also dwindles.

Close Unused Applications and Pages. Closing apps and pages that are running in the background enables your mobile device to devote all performance to the task at hand.

Enhance Your Cellular Signal. Cell phone signal boosters, also known as cell signal repeaters, are a great solution for most any space that has cell reception outside or nearby the facility. An in-building cell signal repeater such as SureCall’s signal booster, typically supports most cellular providers, including AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, and T-Mobile, in addition to smaller regional carriers if needed.

These devices are usually installed along with what is called a distributed antenna system (DAS). DAS is a telecommunications system that receives the carrier’s signal (a licensed radio frequency) on a base transceiver station or a bi-directional amplifier and then transports it into your building using a cable.

Coverage antennas are placed throughout the building as necessary to provide the best overall service for you and your employees. Cellular signal enhancement solutions come in passive or active options. The best option for you will depend on the size of your facility.

Passive systems

These systems use coaxial cable, a coverage antenna and other components that do not require AC or DC power to function. Passive solutions are more cost effective to install and work best in buildings that are under 100,000 square feet. Passive systems require the radio frequency power to be balanced among multiple coverage antennas so there is a strong and consistent signal throughout the building. The downside to this option is that it is difficult and costly to expand over time, should you want to increase the square footage taken up by your business in the same building.

Active systems

These systems require AC or DC power and consist of changing the radio frequency into other types of signals, such as optical. Then, antenna-like devices are placed throughout the building to receive the signal and change it back into a radio frequency used by cellular phones. Active systems are more costly than passive and are used in very large buildings as well as in campus-like settings of multiple buildings. This option, unlike a passive system, is easy to expand should the need arise.

Chickasaw Telecom can help you assess your needs and find the solution that can best improve the cellular signal in your business.