Picking Your Cloud Partner? Why Interlock IT is the Smart Choice for Canadian Businesses

 

Moving your business to the cloud can feel like a huge step. You know it's important for working smarter, staying competitive, and keeping your data safe. But with so many IT companies out there, how do you pick the right one to help you make the switch?

At Interlock IT, we believe it's not just about technology; it's about partnership, trust, and real results for your business. Here's why Canadian companies choose us to guide their cloud journey, whether it's with Google Workspace or Microsoft 365.

We've Been Cloud-First Since Day One

We like to think that we are cloud natives. While many IT companies are still catching up to the cloud, we've been living and breathing it since 2009. We didn't just jump on the bandwagon; we helped build the road! This means our team truly understands the ins and outs of cloud solutions, helping you avoid common pitfalls and unlock every benefit.

As Canada's very first Google Workspace Premier SMB Partner and a top Microsoft 365 specialist, we've helped hundreds of Canadian businesses, big and small, move their operations to the cloud smoothly. We've got the experience to make your transition stress-free and successful.

It’s About Your Needs, Not Our Numbers

Here's the thing: we're not tied to selling you just one type of software. Our focus is squarely on what works best for your business. We partner with both Google and Microsoft, plus other leading cloud tools like Copper CRM, Hiver, Xero, and Afi.ai. This lets us build a cloud solution that perfectly fits your unique needs, rather than trying to make your needs fit a specific product.

Our main goal? To free you from IT headaches and costly old systems. We want you focused on what you do best – growing your business – while we handle the tech.

Making Cloud Migration Simple & Seamless

The idea of moving all your data to the cloud can seem overwhelming. But that's where we shine. Whether you're moving from old servers, merging companies, or just upgrading, we're experts at making data migration easy and secure. We handle the heavy lifting, ensuring your data is safe and your team can keep working with minimal disruption.

And it's not just about moving. We connect all your cloud apps – from customer management and accounting to team communication – so they talk to each other. This means less wasted time, fewer errors, and a complete picture of your business at your fingertips.

We are Your Local Cloud Expert

We're proudly Canadian, and we understand the unique challenges and opportunities for businesses in our country. We combine this local knowledge with the very best global practices in cloud security, data management, and architecture. You get the peace of mind that your cloud setup is secure, compliant, and built for success, right here at home.

We're Your Partner for the Long Haul

Our relationship doesn't stop once your cloud system is up and running. We're here for the long term:

• Happy Users: We'll help your team learn and love their new cloud tools.

• Flexible Payments: We offer convenient payment options, whether you prefer annual or monthly billing, to suit your budget.

• Always Optimizing: We'll help you get the most value from your cloud investment, ensuring it keeps performing perfectly.

• Future-Proofing: We'll keep you ahead of the curve as cloud technology evolves.

Ready for a Smarter Way to Work?

Choosing Interlock IT means partnering with cloud experts who truly care about your success. We take the complexity out of cloud adoption, maximize your investment, and unlock the full power of Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, and the entire cloud world for your business.

Ready to see how easy the cloud can be? Contact Interlock IT today for a friendly chat about your business goals.

Why Your Business Needs Organized Data More Than Ever (and How It Helps You Grow)

We all know the frustration of searching endlessly for something important – a lost paper, a misplaced tool. For many small businesses, this feeling is constant when their company data is a mess. Your business collects so much information daily: customer names, sales numbers, inventory, and more. But having data isn't the whole story. True success happens when you can actually understand, use, and trust what your data tells you. It all begins with getting organized.

The Hidden Drag of "Data Chaos"

When your business information is spread out, or just plain messy, it creates what we call "data chaos." This might look familiar:

• Important files scattered across different computers, personal cloud drives, and even old USB sticks no one can find.

• Decisions being made using old sales reports or inventory numbers that don't match reality.

• Employees spend precious hours hunting for a document they know exists, but can't pinpoint.

This isn't just an annoying office quirk; it's actively costing your business money and missed opportunities. Disorganized data often leads to:

• Wasted Time: Your team gets stuck playing digital detective instead of doing what they do best.

• Poor Decisions: Relying on incomplete, outdated, or wrong information means your choices about where to invest, what to sell, or how to market will be off target.

• Lost Customers: Inconsistent customer info can lead to frustrating experiences – sending the same promotion twice or calling about an issue that's already solved.

• Security Weaknesses: Data that's all over the place is much harder to protect, leaving you more open to cyberattacks.

The Power of Organized Data

On the other hand, when your data is clean, up-to-date, and available exactly when and where you need it, your business information transforms from a burden into one of your most valuable assets. Here's how tidying up your data can lead to seriously smarter decisions:

1. Deeper Customer Connections: With all your customer interactions, purchase history, and even website visits neatly brought together, you can instantly see what products resonate, what challenges customers face, and truly personalize your outreach. This leads to more effective sales and customers who feel genuinely understood. Tools like Hiver, which help organize shared inboxes within Google Workspace, significantly contribute here by centralizing customer communications and ensuring no inquiry falls through the cracks, leading to better customer data.

2. Sharper Financial Insight: Clean sales figures, expense records, and forecasting tools (perhaps integrated into your cloud accounting software) allow you to quickly pinpoint where money is going, identify your most profitable services, and spot financial trends. This empowers you to make informed budget choices, secure better financing, and confidently plan your next big move.

3. Faster Problem Solving: When a client calls with a concern, your team can instantly pull up their complete history in a neatly organized system. Resolving issues becomes a swift, smooth process, leading to much happier customers. For teams using Google Workspace, Hiver centralizes shared email accounts like support@ or sales@, allowing team members to assign emails, track their status, and collaborate on responses directly within Gmail. This ensures faster, more organized customer support, where every team member has the context needed to solve problems quickly.

Protecting Your Organized Data

Even the most perfectly organized data is vulnerable if it's not protected. Whether it's accidental deletion, a malicious insider, or a sophisticated ransomware attack, data loss can derail your business.

This is where a backup solution like afi.ai becomes critical. While Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace offer some built-in recovery options, they aren't comprehensive backups designed for your business's specific needs in every scenario. AFI.AI provides:

• Comprehensive Data Protection: It backs up all your critical Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace data – including emails, files, contacts, and shared drives – independently.

• Fast, Granular Recovery: If data is lost or corrupted, you can quickly restore specific files, emails, or even entire user accounts from any point in time, protecting your organized information from disappearing.

• Ransomware Defense: afi.ai's intelligent engine can even perform preemptive backups if it detects suspicious activity, giving you an extra layer of defense against modern cyber threats.

Let Interlock IT Guide Your Data Organization

It's easy to feel overwhelmed by years of accumulated data – it can seem like an impossible mountain to climb. The good news? You don't have to tackle it by yourself. Interlock IT specializes in helping small-medium sized businesses turn their data chaos into a clear, strategic asset. Our approach includes:

• Implementing Smart Solutions: We help you set up and fine-tune cloud platforms like Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, and integrate powerful tools like Hiver for communication efficiency and afi.ai for complete data protection.

• Building a Future-Proof Data Strategy: We partner with you to create an ongoing plan for data management, ensuring you always have the reliable, accurate information you need to make the best decisions for your business's future.

Don't let disorganized data hold your business back any longer. Ready to make your information work for you? Start making smarter, data-driven decisions that push your business forward.

Don't Lose Your Data! Why You Need Backup for Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace

You've moved your business to the cloud, using amazing tools like Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace. That's fantastic for teamwork and working from anywhere! But here's a common misunderstanding: just because your data is in the cloud, it doesn't mean it's automatically fully backed up by Microsoft or Google in a way that protects your business from every problem.

It's a big surprise for many business owners, but it's a crucial point.

The "Shared Responsibility" Rule

Microsoft and Google are responsible for making sure the cloud platform itself is working, the servers are running, and their services are available. This is called the "Shared Responsibility Model."

But you, the business owner, are responsible for your data. This means protecting it from things like:

• Accidental Deletion: Someone on your team deletes an important email or an entire folder by mistake. It happens more often than you think! While these services have a "recycle bin," it only holds items for a limited time (often 30-90 days). After that, it's gone for good.

• Malicious Insiders: A disgruntled employee intentionally deletes crucial files or emails before leaving.

• Ransomware and Cyber Attacks: Imagine a hacker encrypts all your files, demanding money to unlock them. Even though your data is in the cloud, ransomware can still spread and encrypt files in your OneDrive, SharePoint, or Google Drive. Without a proper backup, you might be forced to pay the ransom or lose everything.

• Sync Errors: Sometimes, a glitch or a third-party app can cause files to be corrupted or deleted across your synced devices.

You might think these are rare events, but unfortunately, they're not. Even large organizations relying on Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace have faced serious data loss due to these very issues.

• Cyberattacks are constantly evolving. Just recently, there have been reports in early 2024 of sophisticated attacks in Microsoft and Google where hackers exploited weaknesses to gain access to emails and documents. While both companies work to fix these, what if your data was affected before a fix was in place, or if the attack came from a phishing email that tricked one of your employees?

• Human error is a constant threat. We've seen countless cases where important documents or entire team drives were accidentally deleted, only to be discovered after the short recovery window provided by Google or Microsoft had passed. Without an independent backup, that data is simply unrecoverable.

• Consider scenarios where, even with Microsoft's efforts to provide recovery, they highlight that they are not traditional backups and for long-term protection against things like ransomware or insider threats, a dedicated solution is needed. They focus on availability of the service, not comprehensive, granular, long-term data recovery for specific incidents.

This is why a separate, specialized backup solution for your Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace data isn't just a "nice to have"—it's essential.

A dedicated backup service provides:

• Longer Retention: Keep your data for as long as your business needs it, not just for a few weeks or months. This is vital for legal and compliance reasons too.

• Point-in-Time Recovery: Easily go back to a specific day or time before data was lost or corrupted. Did an employee accidentally delete a critical spreadsheet last month? You can retrieve that exact version.

• Protection Against All Threats: Whether it's a cyberattack, human error, or a technical glitch, a dedicated backup gives you a safety net to restore your data completely and quickly.

• Control Over Your Data: It gives you true ownership and control over your business's most valuable asset, even when it lives in the cloud.

Don't wait for a data disaster to strike. Understanding that responsibility for your data ultimately rests with you is the first step. Adding a robust backup solution for your Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace environment is the smart next step to keep your business safe and running smoothly.

Ready to make sure your business data is truly safe? Contact Interlock IT today for a simple chat about securing your Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace data with the right backup strategy.

Heads Up, Gmail Users Need to Do This Now!

 

Just when you think you've got a handle on online security, something else will appear on your feed. This time, it's a new Gmail attack that's got everyone talking. Google has confirmed a new attack that uses weaknesses in their system along with clever scams. 

This latest attack first surfaced on X and in the crypto circles, which makes sense since the initial victim was none other than an Ethereum developer, Nick Johnson. He described it as an "extremely sophisticated phishing attack" that "exploits a vulnerability in Google’s infrastructure." What's even more concerning is his warning that because Google hasn't fixed it yet, we're likely to see a lot more of this.

The attack itself is disturbingly clever. It starts with an email that looks completely legitimate, coming from a genuine Google address. Johnson pointed out that it was sent from no-reply@google.com, passed all the security checks, and Gmail happily placed it right alongside his other real security alerts.

Even if you have two-step verification (where you get a code on your phone), it's not enough anymore, especially if those codes come by text message. It's too easy for these attackers to steal your password and those text message codes.

The scary part is how they pulled this off. Apparently, these attackers found a way to send a correctly formatted Google email to themselves from Google. They can then forward copies, and because it retains that original legitimate signature, it looks the real deal. But the end goal is the same old trick: a fake login page designed to steal your credentials.

Thankfully, Google has acknowledged this. They've said they're "aware of this class of targeted attack" and have been rolling out protections over the past week, promising a full deployment soon to shut down this method of abuse. In the meantime, their advice is blunt: get on two-factor authentication and, even better, start using passkeys. They emphasize that these offer much stronger defense against these kinds of phishing attempts.

What really helps? Passkeys. These are like digital keys linked to your phone or computer. To log in, you need to unlock your device – so if an attacker doesn't have your phone, they can't get in, even if they have your password. Google isn't getting rid of passwords completely yet, but you should stop using them to log in.

These smart attacks, and the ones we've seen lately, can be stopped if you update your security. And with AI getting better, these kinds of attacks will become much more common. Microsoft even warned that AI is making it easier for criminals to create believable scams.

You can find out how to add a passkey to your Google account – you should do it today.

The news is full of this latest Gmail problem, but the main point is simple: Google will never email you out of the blue about security issues or ask you to do something to stay safe. Also, if you follow their security advice, your account will be much safer.

Set up passkeys now if you haven't. And remember, just like with bank scams, if someone contacts you pretending to be Google and asking you to do something, it's a scam. It's a constant fight, and it's getting tougher. Google's old advice to just use two-step verification isn't good enough anymore, especially if it's just text messages.

Don't just rely on two-step verification, especially not text messages. There are other security keys you can use, but passkeys are the easiest. If you use Gmail, all three billion of you should set up passkeys now. Google is moving away from text message codes, and you should too. In your account settings, turn on an authenticator app or Google prompts on your other devices as well – and definitely use a passkey.

If you have strong security like this, you don't have to worry as much about how clever the attacks are. But you need to stop typing in your password to log in, and make sure your two-step verification is stronger than just text messages. Google and others still let you use passwords as a backup, even with passkeys, and that's a weak spot.

Think about it: if someone gets into your email, they can probably get into everything else linked to it, like your bank or social media. They can ask for password resets and see security alerts.

You've been warned. Do this now to protect yourself.

Thinking of Moving from OneDrive to Google Drive?

 

Thinking about switching from OneDrive to Google Drive? Now's the perfect time. Google's powerful migration tool is generally available, and with the added customization features, moving your business data is smoother than ever. Interlock IT, a proud Microsoft and Google Partner, is ready to guide you through the process.

Why Choose Google Drive?

Many businesses are making the switch to Google Drive for its powerful collaboration tools, seamless integration with the Google Workspace ecosystem, and enhanced security features. If you're looking to boost team productivity and streamline your workflow, Google Drive is a compelling option.

Google's Enhanced Migration Tool: Easier Than Ever

Google's migration tool is now generally available, giving admins the power to move files for up to 100 users simultaneously while preserving crucial file sharing permissions. And with the latest updates, you get even finer control:

• Migrate only the files you need by specifying a date range.

• Exclude unwanted file types and large files to streamline the migration.

• Let Google automatically match users between OneDrive and Google Drive (no manual mapping needed) meaning save time and effort by letting Google automatically map users.

Interlock IT: Your Migration Partner

Migrating your business data can be a complex undertaking. Interlock IT, as both a Microsoft and Google Partner, simplifies the process. We offer:

• Personalized Planning: We'll work closely with you to understand your unique needs and develop a tailored migration strategy.

• Expert Execution: Our team will handle the technical aspects of the migration, ensuring a smooth and efficient data transfer.

• Minimized Downtime: We'll work to minimize any disruption to your business operations during the migration.

• Ongoing Support: We'll be there to support you after the migration, answering your questions and helping you maximize the benefits of Google Drive.

Ready to Make the Switch?

If you're a business considering a move from OneDrive to Google Drive, Interlock IT is here to help. Contact us today for a free consultation. We'll help you navigate the migration process and ensure a successful transition to Google Workspace. Let us help you unlock the full potential of Google Drive and drive your business forward.

Secret Weapon Against Phishing? This Simple Email Check Could Save You!

The recent news about Ethereum developer Nick Johnson being targeted by a sophisticated phishing attack serves as an important reminder of the ongoing threats we face online. Johnson, the lead developer of the Ethereum Name Service (ENS), fell victim to a cleverly designed email that bypassed Gmail's security filters.

The attack utilized a "DKIM replay" technique, making the malicious email appear to be a genuine security alert from Google. The email, which claimed a subpoena had been issued for Johnson's Google account, used a spoofed "no-reply@google.com" address and even passed the DKIM signature check, causing it to be grouped with legitimate Google security notifications.

Image Source: https://x.com/nicksdjohnson/status/1912439023982834120

The email urged immediate action via a link to "Review Activity," which led to a fake Google support portal hosted on a legitimate Google subdomain (sites.google.com). This added to the deception, as the URL appeared trustworthy at first glance. The attackers exploited a vulnerability in Google's OAuth system to create this convincing fake communication.

This incident highlights the increasing sophistication of phishing attacks, which are now leveraging legitimate infrastructure and authentication methods, making them harder to detect.

Understanding How to Spot Phishing Emails

While these attacks can be sophisticated, there are still key indicators that can help you identify a potential phishing scam:

• Sense of Urgency: Phishing emails often try to create a feeling of urgency, pressuring you to act quickly without careful consideration. Be wary of phrases like "Immediate Action Required" or threats of account closure.
• Examine the Sender's Email Address: Don't just look at the name displayed. Hover your mouse over the sender's name to see the actual email address. Verify if the domain matches the legitimate organization. For example, emails from Google should typically end in @google.com.
• Inspect Links Before Clicking: Before clicking any links, hover your mouse over them to see the actual URL. Check if it matches the expected website address and look for any unusual characters or misspellings. In Johnson's case, the link directed to sites.google.com instead of the primary accounts.google.com for account-related actions.
• Check the "Mailed by" and "Signed by" Information: This relates to email authentication protocols like DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) and DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance), which help verify the sender's identity. Ideally, for a legitimate email that has passed these checks, the "mailed-by" and "signed-by" domains should be the same. If these domains are different or appear suspicious, it could be a sign of a phishing attempt. 

Image Source: https://x.com/nicksdjohnson/status/1912439027224944676

• Look for Grammatical Errors and Typos: While not always the case with sophisticated attacks, many phishing emails contain grammatical mistakes or typos. Legitimate organizations usually have professional standards for their communications.
• Be Cautious of Attachments: Avoid opening attachments from unknown or unexpected senders, as they may contain malicious software.
• Verify Through Official Channels: If you are ever unsure about the legitimacy of an email, do not respond to it or click any links. Instead, contact the organization directly through their official website or phone number to verify the communication.

The phishing attack on Nick Johnson underscores the importance of staying vigilant and informed about online security threats. By understanding the tactics used by cybercriminals and knowing how to identify potential phishing attempts, individuals can significantly reduce their risk of becoming a victim.

Conclusion

Having strong email security measures in place is more critical than ever. At Interlock IT, we understand these challenges and are committed to empowering you with the tools and knowledge to stay protected. That's why we offer comprehensive DMARC report analysis to help you understand and improve your email authentication setup, a crucial step in preventing email spoofing and enhancing your overall security posture. As a trusted Google Partner and Microsoft Silver Partner, we provide expert guidance and solutions tailored to your specific needs. Don't wait until it's too late – take proactive steps to secure your cybersecurity today.

Contact us today for more information.