TeliApp: Addressing Cybersecurity and IT Challenges for Government

In the ever-evolving landscape of technology and security, understanding the distinction between Information Technology (IT) and cybersecurity has never been more crucial. IT teams are responsible for setting up, maintaining, and administering technology to ensure users can complete their tasks efficiently. Cybersecurity professionals on the other hand, scrutinize new software installations, assess security implications, provide training and guidance, monitor network traffic, and ensure that robust security measures are in place. Yet, the common misconception sometimes persists that cybersecurity is a subset of IT or a branch of risk management.

TeliApp, a distinguished technology solution provider for government entities, recognizes the need to differentiate IT and cybersecurity. Since 2012, the company has offered a comprehensive range of managed technology solutions, including IT, network, cloud, voice-over-internet protocol (VOIP), and webmaster services, with a primary focus on cybersecurity training and real-time cybersecurity defense. “In most cases, cybersecurity breaches occur due to human error, which makes cybersecurity training and awareness paramount. There is no such thing as a 100% guarantee to protect against a cyber-attack, which is why ongoing cybersecurity training for is so critical, as it significantly reduces the risk of a successful cybersecurity breach,” says Joshua Weiss, CEO of TeliApp.

TeliApp has devised a multifaceted cybersecurity training platform to address the human error component related to cybersecurity defense. The platform includes engaging, high-production-quality, interesting, and animated videos that convey crucial cybersecurity lessons. Users from subscribing organizations are required to watch these informative videos every month, each lasting under 5 minutes. After each lesson, users take a brief quiz to assess their comprehension. Those who miss even one question on the quiz are mandated to attend TeliApp’s face-to-face quarterly cybersecurity training sessions. During these sessions, participants not only review quiz content but also discuss best practices, emerging cybersecurity trends, and potential threats. The donuts, coffee, and excitement the TeliApp team brings to these sessions often help attendees come on time.

Another key component of TeliApp’s approach involves sending ethical phishing email simulations. These emails mimic legitimate communications but are designed to test users’ ability to detect phishing attempts. Clicking on a link within these emails results in a pop-up message explaining that it was a phishing test, rather than leading to malware.

Users who do not pass these tests must also attend quarterly one-on-one training sessions, during which they discuss the emails, and review what factors contributed to the taking the bait, and reinforces fundamental cyber do’s and don’ts.

TeliApp also provides a valuable service in monitoring clients’ account credentials on various hacker forums and data leak sites. If it detects a client’s email address associated with a data leak, then it promptly informs them, advising them to change their password and enable two-factor or multi-factor authentication where possible.

TeliApp’s cybersecurity training platform also offers a myriad of customizable templates of policies, plans, and procedures that they help fine-tune for their clients. TeliApp also maintains and evolves dozens of awareness posters and content that can be printed and hung up within an organization’s buildings to continuously remind its team members about cybersecurity threats and how to prevent them.

In most cases, cybersecurity breaches occur due to human error, which makes cybersecurity training and awareness paramount

Beyond training initiatives, TeliApp’s platform offers affordability and high effectiveness in enhancing cybersecurity. The company emphasizes that the most effective way to prevent cybersecurity incidents is by ensuring that individuals within an organization are well-trained and vigilant. This becomes particularly crucial for large organizations that must continually defend against email-based phishing attempts while also guarding against more sophisticated threat actors (hackers) attempting to infiltrate their technology infrastructure.

An illustrative example sheds light on how TeliApp addresses cybersecurity needs. One local entity had encountered an issue when software installed for monitoring newly deployed parking kiosks required continuous administrator privileges to function properly. TeliApp strongly discourages this practice due to security concerns, because granting users with administrator privileges makes it simpler for threat actors to access a computer and its network. TeliApp resolved this conundrum by provisioning a dedicated laptop with administrator access solely for running this software. The isolated laptop connects to the Internet via a hotspot, lacks additional features like email or applications, and is meticulously separated from the organization’s network to mitigate security vulnerabilities. If that device is ever compromised, then a threat actor would not have any access to the organization’s data, making device remediation far simpler, faster, and less painful.

TeliApp’s cybersecurity approach underscores the need to secure devices, maintain a robust security posture, and preserve productivity. It also emphasizes the separation of roles within an organization, one in which individuals responsible for IT and cybersecurity are distinct, minimizing conflicts of interest and upholding an unwavering commitment to security.