Technology Advisor Blog

On Friday July 19, 2024, the world woke up to a major tech outage as a routine update from security software vendor CrowdStrike inadvertently caused computers to crash worldwide. Flights were cancelled, hospitals were shut down, and banking was disrupted. CrowdStrike clarified early in the day that the incident was NOT a cyber attack, but rather a (really) bad update, and a fix was available pretty quickly.  Still, undoing the damage was a major effort.  What can we learn from this?

The more you know about the various types of cyber scams out there, the safer you'll be online. We recently received a question from someone in our community who's doing a lot of hiring and reported that someone had posted a job on a spoofed website - "domaincareers.com" instead of "domain.com".  Why do scammers do this?  They're trying to trick people into providing personal information like a social security number and possibly financial information so they can steal it.  It is true that before you start a job, you'll need to give your employer your social security number and you'll probably want to set up direct deposit of a paycheck, but if a company is asking for this information too early, its a scam.   Both employers and potential employees need to know about these scams.

Business continuity planning helps your business operate nearly seamlessly in the event of a natural disaster, critical hardware malfunction, or even a cybersecurity breach. These events can cripple or even destroy your organization. But when you take precautions now before such things happen, you save yourself massive headaches down the road.

Data security in Boston, and other major business centers, is becoming a pillar of business readiness, as leaders look to proactively protect their business data.

Ransomware protection for your Boston area business can save you from going out of business. What would you do if your files and essential data suddenly became inaccessible, stolen, and sold on the dark web? Could you operate critical business functions without this data?

Hiring an experienced full-time Chief Information Officer can be expensive, especially for small businesses. Fortunately, using virtual CIO services, or hiring a VCIO, can be just as effective. Besides saving businesses money, a virtual CIO can still help companies achieve the benefits of an efficient, high-functioning IT network while also helping establish safeguards to prevent cybersecurity threats.

This guide will explain not only why cybersecurity training for board of directors is important, but also give you the critical questions that boards should be asking their CEOs and themselves to address their organization's cyber defenses.

Vulnerability scanning is a cybersecurity service designed to identify, assess, and help manage security weaknesses in your computer systems, networks, and software. Think of it as a health check-up for your business's digital environment. This service uses specialized software tools to scan for known vulnerabilities, such as outdated software, missing security patches, or configurations that could easily be exploited by hackers.  We talk to a lot of small businesses in the greater Boston area, and we're seeing more and more insurance companies and banks ask for vulnerability scans.

Large corporations have a Chief Executive Officer, a Chief Operating Officer, a Chief Financial Office, a Chief Information Officer - and maybe some more "Chiefs" on the team.  Each plays a separate and vital role moving the business forward.   While smaller organizations can't afford to have so many full time employees at the top, there's no reason you can't benefit from the vital role the Chief Information Officer (CIO) can play in your organization - maybe just on a fractional or virtual basis.

QR codes, short for Quick Response Codes, are the gateway between the physical and digital realms, offering a seamless bridge in our interconnected world.  Just point your camera at a QR Code and you'll be conveniently directed to a website.  Easy, right?   However, their simplicity and widespread adoption have opened the door for innovative cybercriminals to exploit. These tech-savvy fraudsters ingeniously manipulate QR codes, turning them into tools for executing scams, potentially leading to significant security breaches and financial damage. As a small business owner in the digital age, it's imperative to understand the nature of QR code scams and the strategies to effectively recognize and thwart them. This article will arm you with essential tips and insights, empowering you to safeguard your business against the hidden dangers of these seemingly innocuous codes.