Technology Advisor Blog

We all know what we "should" do about passwords, but reality is quite a bit different as a recent report by LogMeIn shows, in collaboration with the National Cybersecurity Alliance.  At Ekaru we're on a mission to help Small Businesses stay strong in the face of cyber threats.  The more you know about the threats you face, the better your chances of keeping your data safe an your name out of the headlines.

As countries, states, and cities begin to ease lock-down restrictions, this checklist for reopening businesses can help you jump-start your return.

These are challenging times for all, and 2020 hasn't gone as planned for anyone.  But there are still seven months left to the year!  This week we hosted a guest speaker at our webinar to help our community step up to the challenge and do our best in 2020.  Herb Cogliano of Aspire Growth Advisors walked us through the Scaling Up methodology, based on the best-selling books Scaling Up and The Rockefeller Habits, by Verne Harnish, to get refocused on 2020.  Herb is a former INC 5000 CEO, multi-year recipient of the Boston and South Florida business Journal Best Places to Work award, and serves on the Carroll School of Management Board of Advisors at Boston College.

For those fortunate enough to be able to make the move to work from home during the pandemic, the rapid change has been a lot to handle.  Cybersecurity threats increased sharply while users are adjusting to a new way of work.  Last week we hosted security expert Jay Ryerse, CISSP, of Connectwise to speak to our community about the impact on small business.  Ekaru wants the cybersecurity culture of our community to transcend the office walls to protect you, your family, and your business.

Zoom meetings have become so popular these days that the word has become a verb!  There are many great collaboration tools (GoToMeeting, Microsoft Teams, etc), and Zoom has emerged as a crowd favorite with huge growth resulting from their popular free version.  

Cyber criminals are working overtime to take advantage of the disruption and confusion caused by the pandemic.  The FBI reports a four fold increase in cyber threats recently and its more important than ever to stay alert, and talk to your team about cybersecurity.  The most common attack vector these days is eMail, and an unknowing employee may click on the wrong link thinking they're getting important safety information.  Think before you click!

Cybercrime instances appear to have jumped sharply since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, according to the FBI. The bureau’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) reported last week that it’s now receiving between 3,000 and 4,000 cybersecurity complaints each day, up from the average 1,000 complaints per day the center saw before the pandemic. 

With the current pandemic, so many workplaces have been disrupted.  For those of us fortunate enough to have jobs that we can work from home, the hasty move to a home office has typically resulted in a less than ideal work environment.  For a week or two, we can all manage with working from the kitchen counter, but with longer shutdowns, it's time to pay more attention to a proper work set up.   

Over the past several weeks, Ekaru has helped many businesses in the greater Boston area set up remote offices.  As businesses scrambled to set up a remote workforce, the initial focus was on business continuity - trying to continue operations after leaving the physical office.  Now as employees have settled in, security needs attention.  Major events like the Coronavirus pandemic create new opportunities for cybercriminals to exploit, but smart defense doesn't let them.  These tips can help keep systems and data safer in uncertain times.