Written By: Heather L
Source: http://www.smbnation.com/content/news/entry/heartbleed-bug-update-community-response
As many of you remember, we covered the Heartbleed Bug news break last week. This latest security flaw has grabbed the attention of IT Professionals and SMB end users alike due to its attack on the OpenSSL standard, and the fact that it took so long to uncover. We have recently received two responses from our community with tips for ensuring safety in the wake of this bug.
To start, long-time SMB Nation Community member, Carl Mazzanti, CEO, eMazzanti Technologies, sent over an e-mail with information on how they are keeping their eCare customers safe:
“For our eCare Network Management customers’ plans and processes were quickly implemented to rectify this vulnerability as it began to hit the message boards. A “Fixed OpenSSL” software update has been released and deployed throughout our customer environments. Additionally, our partners at LogMeIn and WatchGuard have stepped up efforts to address specific concerns. For example, LogMeIn has released a new version of its software, and WatchGuard has informed us that, although they are unaware of ANY breaches related to Heartbleed, they have released an update with critical patches on their firewalls to continue to prevent any future potential exposure. Both of these upgrades have been rolled out on appliances free of charge to our eCare customer base.”
Carl took some time out of his busy schedule today to speak with me about his experiences with the Heartbleed bug as it relates to his clients. In fact, he let me know that he was recently speaking to one of the Principals of a law firm client, who said that his computer stopped working, and that he thought he may have the virus. Carl then said something profound about this particular bug: “There are no real symptoms to this bug. It just listens and collects your information,” Carl says. “This is the first real security item in a long time.”
Our second response came from Presstacular, who reached out to us with tips on drafting an e-mail to send to end-users. In particular, the e-mail should have the following four points:
- What is the Heartbleed bug?
- How does it work?
- Who is affected?
- What you should do?
Presstacular also let us know that they have e-mail templates available with the above information for their community members.
How are you handling the Heartbleed bug? Let us know in the comments section, or on our Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/smbnation
Carl Mazzanti is Co-Founder and President of eMazzanti Technologies, Microsoft’s four time Partner of the Year and one of the premier IT consulting services for businesses throughout the New York metropolitan area and internationally. Carl and his company manage over 400 active accounts ranging from professional services firms to high-end global retailers.
eMazzanti is all about delivering powerful, efficient outsourced IT services, such as computer network management and troubleshooting, managed print, PCI DSS compliance, green computing, mobile workforce technology, information security, cloud computing, and business continuity and disaster recovery.
Carl Mazzanti is also a frequent business conference speaker and technology talk show guest and contributor at Microsoft-focused events, including frequent prominent roles at the Microsoft Inspire (Worldwide Partner Conference / WPC).
Carl, a serial Entrepreneur, gives back to the community through Entrepreneur teaching engagements at Georgetown University, the company’s ocean wildlife conservation effort, the Blue Project, and Tree Mazzanti.
