Managing distributed IT environments is no easy task. As networks grow increasingly complex and interconnected, centralizing their management becomes a daunting challenge. Traditional tools often fall short, struggling to balance centralized control with the unique configurations and autonomy required at each location. This challenge only amplifies as operations scale, leading to inefficiencies, inconsistencies, and operational silos that hinder productivity.

Top tips is a weekly column where we highlight what’s trending in the tech world and list ways to explore these trends. This week, we focus on ways to stop attackers and safeguard your organization. It’s a classic warfare method to thwart attacks: deception. Enemies use deception tactics to combat their foes on the battlefield, and it’s a method that’s all too common. But deception in technology? What exactly is that? Is it even a standard practice? It very much is.

2024 has seen a significant uptick in the discovery and exploitation of zero-day vulnerabilities. These unpatched security flaws present a serious challenge to cybersecurity teams, as attackers can exploit them before any patches are available. As a result, zero-day vulnerabilities have become a go-to tool for cybercriminals aiming to infiltrate enterprise networks.

The rise in cyberattacks has become a pressing concern for organizations worldwide, threatening sensitive data, operational continuity, and trust. Cybercriminals are using increasingly complex strategies to attack vulnerabilities in systems and networks in a variety of organizations. By offering safe, segregated virtual networks in the cloud, Amazon Virtual Private Cloud (Amazon VPC) provides a strong defense against these attacks.

A virtual local area network (VLAN) is the network segmentation method where administrators can divide one large network into smaller sections. This differs from physical segmentation, as it doesn’t require any hardware like routers, switches, and firewalls. Network resources of the organization can be virtually divided and monitored, which helps simplify management.

As 2024 draws to a close, we at DDI Central are thrilled to reflect on the innovations and milestones that that solidified DDI Central as the go-to solution for unified DNS, DHCP, and IP address management (IPAM). In January 2024, DDI Central was introduced to the world, marking the beginning of a transformative journey in DNS, DHCP, and IPAM (DDI). With our debut of DDI Central, we set out to redefine how networks are managed—efficiently, securely, and seamlessly.

Top tips is a weekly column where we highlight what’s trending in the tech world today and list ways to explore these trends. This week, we’ll look at three common holiday season scams and how to spot and avoid them. ‘Tis the season to be jolly—and wary. The holidays are the time when friends and families come together, make merry, and revel in the festivities.

In a surprising development, Bumblebee Malware (a popular malware downloader) has resurfaced with an approach that was believed to be long gone: VBA macro-enabled documents. This comes just four months after Europol dismantled various trick bots—including Bumblebee, IcedId, Pikabot, TrickBot and systemBC—during a crackdown called Operation Endgame.

Firewalls are the guardian of your network, effectively blocking unnecessary ports and potentially harmful IP addresses. With a list of ports or IP addresses to keep an eye on, your firewalls will make sure you never have to go through the discomfort of coming across those on the hit list. Consider your firewall as a proactive measure that ensures only authorized traffic is allowed, thereby maintaining a secure environment.