Questions to ask a Hawaii MSP before signing in 2026
The 25 questions a Hawaii business should ask an MSP before signing in 2026 — coverage, security, contract terms, references, and onboarding, with the answers that signal a weak fit.
Insights
Field notes from a Hawaii MSP and SOC.
Short perspectives and service guides on managed IT, cybersecurity, and SOC operations from the engineers and analysts behind HI Tech Hui and Cyberuptive. Each card summarizes a viewpoint and links to the related service for full detail.
Managed IT vs in-house IT for a Hawaii SMB in 2026
A head-to-head comparison of managed IT versus in-house IT for a Hawaii small or mid-sized business in 2026 — cost, coverage, risk, and the realistic breakeven points for each model.
Cyber insurance renewal in Hawaii: 12 controls insurers now require in 2026
The 12 controls Hawaii businesses need in place before a 2026 cyber insurance renewal — what underwriters check, how they verify, and how to document each control before your broker asks.
Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager arbitrary file write (CVE-2026-20262): what Hawaii businesses need to do
CVE-2026-20262 is an actively exploited zero-day in Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager (formerly vManage). CISA KEV deadline June 29, 2026. Fixed releases, IOCs to hunt for, and what Hawaii MSPs and IT teams should do this weekend.
Ransomware recovery for Hawaii businesses: the first 72 hours
An hour-by-hour first-72-hours ransomware recovery playbook for Hawaii businesses — containment, evidence, notification under HRS 487N and HIPAA, and ordered restoration that cuts recovery from weeks to days.
Check Point VPN IKEv1 authentication bypass (CVE-2026-50751): what Hawaii businesses need to do
CVSS 9.3 authentication bypass in Check Point Security Gateways and Spark firewalls using IKEv1. Actively exploited since May 7, 2026 by a Qilin ransomware affiliate. Patch sk185033, mitigations, and the log-review window Hawaii businesses need.
HIPAA IT controls for Hawaii medical practices: what’s required in 2026
A plain-English checklist of HIPAA Security Rule IT controls for Hawaii medical practices — what’s required today, what the pending NPRM update will add, and the order Honolulu clinics should tackle the work in.
How much does managed IT cost in Hawaii? A real 2026 pricing breakdown
Honest 2026 ranges for managed IT in Hawaii — per-user and per-device pricing, what should be in the base fee, hidden costs Honolulu buyers miss, and a worked example for a 30-person business.
Best managed IT providers in Honolulu: an honest evaluation framework for 2026
A buyer’s framework for evaluating Honolulu MSPs — six-criterion scorecard, red flags, contract terms to inspect, and the seven questions every Hawaii business should ask before signing.
CMMC vs SOC 2 vs HIPAA: which compliance framework does your Hawaii business actually need?
A plain-English decision guide for Hawaii SMBs: which framework applies, current 2026 deadlines (CMMC Phase 2, HIPAA Security Rule update), realistic Hawaii costs, and how to avoid paying for the wrong one.
SolarWinds Serv-U CVE-2026-28318: what Hawaii businesses should do before the June 19 deadline
CVE-2026-28318 hit CISA’s KEV catalog on June 5 with a federal deadline of June 19. The exposure check, Serv-U 15.5.4 Hotfix 1 plan, and interim mitigation for Hawaii businesses.
How should a Hawaii business prepare for IT downtime during hurricane season?
NOAA forecasts an above-normal 2026 Central Pacific hurricane season. The five-move business continuity plan every Hawaii business should run before peak in August and September.
CVE-2026-45657 Windows Kernel TCP/IP RCE: what Hawaii businesses should do now
A wormable, pre-authentication Windows Kernel RCE (CVSS 9.8) shipped in the June 2026 Patch Tuesday. The exposure check, patch priority, and interim mitigations for Hawaii businesses.
Secure Boot certificates expire June 2026: what Hawaii businesses must do before the deadline
The 2011 Secure Boot certificates start expiring June 24, 2026. Windows PCs update automatically — but Windows Server requires manual action. Here’s the readiness check and rollout plan.
Microsoft Entra passkeys are GA: the phishing-resistant rollout plan for Hawaii businesses
Passkey profiles and synced passkeys are now generally available in Microsoft Entra ID. Here’s how to roll passkeys out by group, enforce attestation for admins, and require them with Conditional Access.
Palo Alto GlobalProtect auth bypass (CVE-2026-0257): what Hawaii businesses should do now
An actively exploited PAN-OS GlobalProtect flaw lets attackers forge a VPN session in a specific configuration. Here’s the exposure check, the patch, and the interim mitigation for Hawaii businesses.
Patch triage signals that actually work (CVSS isn't enough)
A practical patch-prioritization framework for Hawaii businesses: use exposure, exploitability signals, and asset criticality (not just CVSS) to cut risk faster.
CIRCIA cyber incident reporting: what Hawaii businesses should do before the final rule
A coming federal rule will give covered organizations 72 hours to report a serious cyber incident and 24 hours to report a ransom payment. The rule is not final yet — which makes now the cheapest time to get your incident-response plan, detection, and evidence handling ready. Here’s the readiness checklist we run for Hawaii managed IT clients.
· Incident response
Read the CIRCIA readiness checklistExchange Online SMTP AUTH basic-auth shutoff: the December 2026 deadline for Hawaii printers and line-of-business apps
Microsoft’s revised January 27, 2026 timeline disables SMTP AUTH basic authentication by default in late December 2026. The population at risk is mostly machine-to-mail — multifunction printers, warehouse scanners, line-of-business apps, and scripts. Here’s the inventory and five-path migration decision tree (OAuth, High Volume Email, Azure Communication Services, on-prem relay, Microsoft Graph) we’re running for Hawaii managed IT clients.
· Microsoft 365
Read the SMTP AUTH migration planMicrosoft Azure MFA mandate: the July 1, 2026 deadline Hawaii businesses cannot postpone again
Microsoft’s Phase 2 mandatory MFA enforcement for the Azure Resource Manager layer — CLI, PowerShell, REST APIs, and Infrastructure-as-Code tools — reaches its final postponement deadline on July 1, 2026. Here’s the five-week readiness audit we’re running for Hawaii managed IT clients: role inventory, user-identity automation migration, break-glass FIDO2, and Conditional Access for Azure Management.
· Identity
Read the MFA readiness auditUsing the CISA KEV catalog as a patching SLA for Hawaii businesses
CVSS tells you a vulnerability is dangerous in theory. CISA’s Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog tells you it is being used against real organizations this week. Here’s how we wire KEV into a defensible patching SLA for Hawaii managed IT clients — inventory, daily monitoring, internal due dates, and exception governance.
· Vulnerability management
Read the KEV SLA playbookAiTM phishing and Microsoft 365 token theft: a defense plan for Hawaii businesses
Microsoft’s April 2026 adversary-in-the-middle campaign reached 35,000 users across 13,000 organizations in 72 hours, with healthcare, finance, and professional services in the crosshairs. Ordinary MFA does not stop it. Here’s the phishing-resistant MFA, Conditional Access, and detection plan we’re running for Hawaii clients now.
· Identity hardening
Read the AiTM defense planStill on Windows 10 in May 2026? The ESU Year One plan for Hawaii businesses
Windows 10 reached end of support on October 14, 2025. Seven months later, the fleet has not gone away — and Year Two ESU pricing doubles in October 2026. Here’s the practical inventory, enrollment, and Windows 11 migration plan we’re running for Hawaii clients still on Windows 10.
· Lifecycle planning
Read the Windows 10 ESU planVerifying May 2026 patch compliance: day 3–7 checks for Hawaii IT teams
The first 48 hours after Patch Tuesday is deployment. The next several days are verification. Here’s the out-of-band evidence model we use for the May 2026 cumulative update — KB reconciliation, reboot validation, KEV monitoring, and exception handling that holds up to an audit.
· Patch verification
Read the verification playbookKerberos RC4 hardening (CVE-2026-20833): what breaks in April/July 2026 and how to fix it
Microsofts April 2026 updates start enforcing an AES-first posture for Kerberos on domain controllers when encryption types arent explicitly configured. Heres what commonly breaks (service accounts, keytabs, Azure Files) and the remediation plan.
· Active Directory
Read the RC4 hardening playbookMay 2026 Microsoft Patch Tuesday: Netlogon, CVE-2026-41089, and what to fix first
Microsoft’s May 12, 2026 release includes a critical Windows Netlogon RCE (CVSS 9.8) reachable over the network without authentication. Here’s the patch priority list we’re running for Hawaii managed IT clients this month, and how the timeline maps to CISA BOD 22-01.
· Patch management
Read the May 2026 patch briefWhy most Hawaii businesses don’t need a bigger security stack
Most environments we audit have plenty of tools and not enough operational discipline. The fix isn’t another product — it’s configuration, identity, monitoring, and a tested runbook.
Perspective · Cybersecurity
See cybersecurity servicesWhat a real 24/7 SOC actually looks like
The difference between a paid alert subscription and a SOC: detection engineering, threat hunting, and live human triage at three in the morning. Here’s how to tell which one you’re buying.
Perspective · SOC operations
See 24/7 SOC servicesThe five questions to ask a Hawaii MSP before you sign
Coverage, escalation, security operations, pricing, and exit terms. The contract is the easy part; the operational answers tell you the truth.
Perspective · Managed IT
See managed IT servicesIdentity is the new perimeter — here’s the unglamorous work
MFA on owner accounts, conditional access on the legacy admin, dormant accounts cleaned, privileged identity reviewed quarterly. Boring. Effective.
Perspective · Identity
See cloud & M365 servicesThe five HIPAA gaps we still find in Hawaii clinics
Audit logs not reviewed, MFA missing on owner accounts, vendor access never reviewed, backups never restored, and an IR plan that exists only on paper.
Perspective · Healthcare
See healthcare IT servicesStopping partner-impersonation wire fraud at Hawaii law firms
The combination of email security, identity hardening, and partner training that closes the most common attack we see hitting firms in 2024–2025.
Perspective · Legal
See law firm IT servicesLooking for press, awards, or partnership announcements? See Resources.
Archive
More from the HI Tech Hui archive
Selected articles from our archive on cybersecurity, managed IT, and protecting Hawaii businesses. Originally published on our blog and preserved here.
2026
- How to Choose an IT Provider in Hawaii (Without Getting Locked Into the Wrong One) · May 25, 2026 · Cybersecurity
- 5 Signs Your IT Support Is Slowing Down Your Business (Not Helping It) · May 22, 2026 · Managed IT
- Why Hawaii Businesses Take Longer to Recover from Cyberattacks (And How to Fix It) · May 18, 2026 · Cybersecurity
- IT Support Checklist for Hawaii Businesses: Are You Missing Any of These? · May 15, 2026 · Cybersecurity
- What Should a Managed IT Provider Actually Do for Your Business? (Hawaii SMB Guide) · May 11, 2026 · Cybersecurity
- The Real Cost of IT Downtime for Hawaii Businesses (And Why It’s Higher Than You Think) · May 8, 2026 · Cybersecurity
- What Happens If a Hawaii Business Fails a Compliance Audit? (HIPAA, FINRA, and More) · May 4, 2026 · Cybersecurity
- Employee Offboarding Checklist: How to Remove Access and Prevent Former Employee Account Risk · Apr 30, 2026 · Cybersecurity
- Critical Cisco SD-WAN Flaw + Data Leaks + Geopolitical Noise: Why “Network Risk” Is a Business Risk Now · Apr 27, 2026 · Cybersecurity
- Shadow IT Is Growing — and Leadership Often Doesn’t See It · Apr 25, 2026 · Cybersecurity
- AI-Powered Cyberattacks Are Here — What Small Businesses Need to Know Now · Apr 23, 2026 · Cybersecurity
- AI Is Writing the Phishing Emails — and They’re Better Than You Think · Apr 20, 2026 · Cybersecurity
- Millions of Accounts Exposed — and Small Businesses Still Aren’t Immune · Apr 17, 2026 · Cybersecurity
- If Your IT Person Left Tomorrow, What Would Break First? · Apr 13, 2026 · Cybersecurity
- Your Employees Aren’t the Weakest Link — Your Processes Are · Apr 8, 2026 · Cybersecurity
- Cyber Insurance Won’t Save You If This One Thing Is Missing · Mar 27, 2026 · Cybersecurity
- AI Isn’t Just Helping — It’s Driving Attacks That Hit Small Business Hard · Mar 20, 2026 · Cybersecurity
- SmarterMail Flaws Being Exploited & Why Your Business Can’t Wait to Patch · Mar 17, 2026 · Cybersecurity
- Breaking Cybersecurity Update for Business Owners · Mar 10, 2026 · Cybersecurity
- When Systems You Depend On Fail — What the Verizon Outage Teaches Every Business About Resilience · Mar 6, 2026 · Cybersecurity
- Outdated Devices Are the Quietest Threat in Your Business · Mar 3, 2026 · Cybersecurity
- Your Vendors Can Break Your Business — Even If Your Own Tech Is Solid · Feb 27, 2026 · Cybersecurity
- What’s Happening Right Now · Feb 24, 2026 · Cybersecurity
- Your Backup Isn’t a Strategy — It’s a Test You Haven’t Passed Yet · Feb 20, 2026 · Cybersecurity
- If Your Email Gets Hacked, Your Business Is Already in Trouble · Feb 17, 2026 · Cybersecurity
- The 7-Point “Tech Stress Test” Every Owner Should Run Once a Quarter · Feb 13, 2026 · Cybersecurity
2025
- Ransomware Reality Check: How a Weak Password Destroyed a 158-Year-Old Company · Aug 26, 2025 · Cybersecurity
- St. Paul Cyberattack 2025: How Cities and Businesses Can Protect Against Digital Infrastructure Attacks · Aug 14, 2025 · Cybersecurity
2022
- March 2022 – Don’t Leave It To Luck When Educating Your Team About Phishing Attacks · Apr 26, 2022 · Cybersecurity
- February 2022 – SOC Catch of the Month · Apr 26, 2022 · Cybersecurity
2021
- How To Make Cyber Security An Ingrained Part Of Your Company Culture · Jun 1, 2021 · Cybersecurity
- What Are Managed Services, And Why You Should Demand This From Your IT Company · Apr 1, 2021 · Cybersecurity
- Don’t Leave Your IT Security to Luck · Mar 16, 2021 · Cybersecurity
2020
- The Mitnick Review: Hacker Turned Security Professional · Oct 14, 2020 · Cybersecurity
- 3 Critical Cyber Security Protections EVERY Business Must Have In Place NOW To Avoid Being Hacked · Sep 3, 2020 · Cybersecurity
- Cybercriminals Are Counting On You Letting Your Guard Down During This Global Pandemic – Here’s How To Stop Them · Apr 17, 2020 · Cybersecurity
- 5 Signs You’re About To Get Hacked — And What You Can Do To Prevent It · Apr 16, 2020 · Cybersecurity
- CISA Advised Protections for Potential Iranian Cyber Attacks · Jan 10, 2020 · Cybersecurity
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Talk with a Honolulu-based engineer about managed IT, cybersecurity, or a 24/7 SOC handoff. We’ll review your current environment, identify the highest-impact gaps, and outline a clear next step — with no obligation.
