Information Technology Navigator

Read More

One of the most common cyberattack vectors is compromised credentials. Malicious actors with access to AI technologies have increased the sophistication and effectiveness of their attacks. The rise in phishing attacks and malicious actors gaining access to AI technologies has resulted in sharp increases in credential theft. In addition to credential theft, token theft or hijacking is also on the rise. Staying one step ahead of the bad guys is a constant battle for organizations of every size.

Why is This Critical Now? The Deadline is Looming.

In March 2023, Microsoft announced the deprecation of managing authentication methods in the legacy multifactor authentication and self-service password reset (SSPR) policies. Beginning September 30, 2025, authentication methods can't be managed in these legacy MFA and SSPR policies.

Enter Microsoft Entra ID!

Getting Started with Entra ID

Read More

Pure Storage Portworx has established itself as the gold standard for cloud-native Kubernetes data storage, offering scalable persistent storage, multi-cloud data mobility and zero RPO data protection and disaster recovery. At Daymark, we have been impressed with Portworx and view it as being in a class of its own when compared to other suppliers of storage for Kubernetes-orchestrated container apps. Once you transition from development to production with Kubernetes, persistent storage and enterprise data services become critical components of your Kubernetes environment.

A recent report by research house GigaOm concurs, recognizing Portworx as an “Outperformer” — the only product with that designation in the report. The GigaOm Radar for Kubernetes Data Storage Report reviewed nine vendors in the Kubernetes data storage space, down from twenty-two vendors in 2021.

Read More

Companies performing work in the Defense Industrial Base (DIB) often contemplate whether they should use a cloud service provider for their business, then wonder which version of the cloud service they should consider. The rules and regulations passed down to the DIB from the Federal Government are quite confusing when it comes to trying to figure out what their requirements are. In this article, we will try to clear some of that up!

Read More

Protecting sensitive and classified information when working for the Federal Government requires constant vigilance. When the government issues a contract, it must specify to the performing contractor when covered defense information (CDI) or controlled unclassified information (CDI) will be generated under the contract. Many prime contractors “flowdown” every FAR and DFARS clause to subcontractors and vendors without considering if that subcontractor or vendor will be processing, storing, or transmitting CDI. Anticipating where CDI may reside once awarded a contract can be a challenge. Here is guidance on ways CDI can flowdown to subcontractors and the defense industrial base (DIB), and steps those organizations should take before signing an agreement.

An Introduction to DFARS

Read More

DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance) is an email authentication, policy, and reporting protocol. It builds on the widely deployed SPF and DKIM protocols, adding linkage to the author (“From:”) domain name, published policies for recipient handling of authentication failures, and reporting from receivers to senders to improve and monitor the domain’s protection from fraudulent email.

DMARC is designed to fit into an organization’s existing inbound email authentication process. The way it works is to help email receivers determine if the purported message “aligns” with what the receiver knows about the sender. If not, DMARC includes guidance on how to handle the “non-aligned” messages. Because cyber security continues to be a top priority for businesses, DMARC adoption is on the rise for several good reasons.

Top 3 Reasons to Implement DMARC

Read More

Many companies are currently evaluating how they might fund initiatives necessary to move their businesses towards compliance with the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC). There are a few ways to fund these initiatives, but many key items have the potential to impact the amount of funding needed to prepare your organization for certification. So, where do you start to appropriately scope the project, and how do you know how much it will actually cost?

Whether your company plans to meet the CMMC objectives or to stop doing business with the Federal Government, keep in mind that cybersecurity is an important part of maintaining your business health and ensuring resiliency in the future. When businesses suffer a cyberattack and cannot afford the cost to recover, they often go bankrupt. In addition to the new federal regulations being pushed out by the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulations (DFARS), many states have laws requiring levels of protection for different types of information. Other federal governments have also enacted cybersecurity protection measures for their citizens (such as GDPR). Not doing so can also leave you open to lawsuits in the event of a breach or incident.

5 Phases for Cybersecurity Compliance

Read More

Over the past few months, Microsoft has slowly rolled out Copilot for Microsoft 365 through their many channels, making it available to all customers. As I mentioned in my last blog, "Copilot for Microsoft 365 – What You Need to Know," there are still some prerequisites for purchasing, including a minimum term of 1 year, however, the minimum purchase quantity of 300, which was a limiting factor for most, has been eliminated. This major shift by Microsoft resulted in a sharp increase in activity with most organizations being very interested in the promise of the significant productivity gains touted by Microsoft.

However, those same organizations tend to fall into one of two camps:

• First are those that are fast-tracking a pilot or internal testing.
• Second are those that are concerned about data privacy and protection and will not allow Copilot, or any other AI, to be used in their organization.

Read More

The ever-increasing impact of AI is everywhere you look. We at Daymark are excited by the prospect of leveraging AI to help us and our clients optimize their businesses. One technology we are particularly enthusiastic about is Copilot for Microsoft 365. We are very excited to announce that Copilot for Microsoft 365 is now available to organizations of all sizes. This will enable all customers to purchase Copilot for Microsoft 365 and leverage the AI advancements Microsoft has integrated into the world’s most popular productivity suite, Office 365.

Microsoft is making significant investments in AI, and we believe they are ahead of the curve on many fronts, so there is a lot to unpack. In fact, we plan to write several blogs on Copilot for Microsoft 365 and the many other Copilot features coming to all Microsoft platforms as the technology continues to mature. This blog is intended to provide an introduction to Copilot for Microsoft 365 with basic knowledge on what Copilot for Microsoft 365 is, how it works, and how you can get started.

Read More

It’s a priority for Daymark and its employees to give back to the local community. The food pantry in Burlington, Massachusetts, espouses “People Helping People,” and that’s exactly what Daymark employees did last month to assist in making sure the families in Burlington have enough food and essential supplies as winter arrives. The employee-driven Daymark food drive resulted in multiple carloads of food being donated to those with the greatest needs.

 The pantry serves between 150 and 200 Burlington families per month, or around 550 people. 40 percent are children, and 15 percent are seniors. The pantry has more than 200 volunteers and operates as a drive-thru, where food is largely custom-packed while families wait in their cars. Each family is asked a list of questions about their food preferences for the week. This list guides the volunteers as they custom pack the food from what is available at any given time and within family size allocations.

Read More