Technology Advisor Blog

Running a small business is exciting but also very risky. American business owners and managers spend countless hours building enterprises that bring value to the table. However, their survival rate doesn't look rosy according to recent statistics. Approximately 80% of businesses survive their first year, 50% survive their fifth year, and 30% survive their tenth year. The fact that their failure rate only increases over time is cause for concern.

Nancy recently attended Hubspot Inbound 2018 with 24,000 marketing pros from around the country and around the world (plus 400,000 followers!)  "INBOUND is a community of people who are passionate about marketing, selling, and delighting customers in an inbound way. Our annual event and year-round media platform inspire and educate hundreds of thousands of people so that they—and their businesses—can grow better."

Did you know, half of cyber attacks hit small businesses, and only 14% of small businesses rate their ability to mitigate threats as effective.  Cyber attacks on big businesses make the headlines, and too many small businesses think they’re under the radar.

The cost of cybercrime is no joke. This is easy to say from the perspective of someone whose business it is to know all about cybercrime trends, attack vectors, etc.  But to really quantify how big of a problem cybercrime is in the world of business, it is often easier to compare it to day to day things… like a doctor explaining a complicated procedure or a mechanic telling you why your car is making that noise. So today I would like to compare the cost of cybercrime to the most universal understanding that there is… time.

A new NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) guidebook says Cybersecurity is everyone's job.  While many people may believe that cyber threats are a technology problem looking for a technology solution, the data shows otherwise:  people are the weakest link.  Whether your organization is large or small, a mindset of security and ongoing user education will help keep your data safe.  Sometimes all it takes is ONE user clicking on the wrong link to cause a lot of damage.  

Recently there have been many reports on a clever twist on an old scam that's made more believable with your hacked password.  The email purports to be from a hacker who has compromised your computer and recorded you watching porn and will release the information to all your contacts if you don't pay the ransom (payable to a crypto currency account so it's not traceable).   

Have you experienced an increase in the number of "local" junk calls to your cell phone?  You're not alone.  Scammers have yet another tactic to get through to you by "spoofing" a phone number.  When your phone rings and you see a local number, you're more likely to pick up.  After you pick up, your number is proven to be a "real" number which is more valuable to scammers and the number of calls increases.  

In case you missed it:  Last week we hosted a technology lunch and learn event with our partner, Jive Communications.  Local business owners enjoyed networking, lunch, and technology.   

A few clients have asked us about recent notifications received from Network Solutions (and others):    "Action Required: Notice Regarding Your Domain Name(s)".  In this day and age, we recommend that all users stay alert when opening email, and we welcome questions about the legitimacy of received mail - better safe than sorry!