Business Solutions & Software Group Blog

The International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is designed to showcase new technology and products to the world, with a focus on industry professionals and companies that want to showcase their latest projects. The show, which was held in Las Vegas in January, saw the introduction of many consumer products, but the ones that showed off new virtual and augmented reality capabilities made a considerable impact on attendees.

Mobile devices are one of the greatest tools available for business use today. However, because society has come to rely so much on mobile devices, these devices have become a treasure trove for cybercriminals to obtain information from. For this week’s tip, we’ll go over some simple ways to protect yourself from such threats.

From the fun, to the fit, to the just plain weird, CES 2018 had quite a bit to show off. The Consumer Electronics Show is a chance for the technology industry to show off what they have to offer, for better or for worse. Today, we’ll go over some of the highlights that graced Las Vegas this year.

If you were a cybercriminal, what would be your preferred method of launching a ransomware attack? Would you rather create a catch-all threat that could capture as many potential victims as possible, or a calculated approach to land a big one? Despite the proven results of larger ransomware initiatives, most cybercriminals have made the shift to smaller, more targeted attacks against specific companies, and in some cases, individuals.

Google Drive lets its users take advantage of a lot of great tools and utilities, and this is only augmented by Google Chrome’s extensions. With these tools at your disposal, you can optimize the way your company takes advantage of Google Drive. Here are some of the best extensions out there that let you utilize Google Drive’s best assets to your advantage.

While the Internet of Things has increased in use, that doesn’t mean that its users necessarily trust it just yet. Furthermore, many of these users aren’t fully aware of the actual extent that the IoT has in their lives. These results, from a recent survey by Cisco, could be pertinent to your business and how you manage it. With so many new devices connecting to your network, how can you expect them to affect operations?

January 28th marks Data Privacy Day, a day intended to raise awareness of the importance of data privacy and educate users and business owners of its benefits. Spearheaded by the National Cyber Security Alliance, there are plenty of lessons the NCSA has to share with businesses as this day puts their, and their clients’, privacy in the spotlight.

The NCSA, in conjunction with the U.S. Small Business Administration, provides a few guidelines for businesses to follow in order to preserve privacy as far as company data and personal information are concerned.

Protecting Your Business

Nearly every business collects and utilizes personal information from its clients, employees, and vendors. Therefore, it is also the responsibility of the business to make sure that this data remains private and secure. In this digital age, businesses need to be transparent with their data privacy policies, as even the accusation of a data loss event or misusing their information in any way can be catastrophic. There should never be a time that a customer could accuse you of collecting more data than they consented to, without you having proof that they had been notified and provided their consent. A privacy policy should be available for you to provide to your clients.

However, this needs to be more than a policy. It needs to become a tangible part of your organization, and enforced as such. Not only should you frequently remind your employees of the importance of privacy and data security, it should become integral to your company culture. As the NCSA and the SBA say, you should “communicate clearly and often what privacy means to your organization,” as well as being sure to “educate employees about their role in privacy [and] security...”

Your diligence should extend not only to your internal employees but also to any external (or third party) resources you may use. You need to ensure any of your partners or vendors with access to your network and its sensitive data are taking your security as seriously as you are. Many businesses require all external resources to sign a network use agreement that holds them liable in the event their actions result in a breach of privacy.

Privacy in the Home

Data security does not just apply to work done within the walls of your offices, either. You need to cultivate an even greater awareness and respect for privacy at home or while traveling, as well. Any device that is used for work must be treated with the same security-minded processes that you and your employees would subscribe to in the office.

Remind members of your household that they need to be careful with their personal information as well. While they may not have a company to manage, there are still plenty of consequences to deal with if their data is breached. Therefore, the entire family needs to be mindful about what they share online, avoiding sharing too much and keeping personal details close to the chest. This is especially true if you have children and teens under your care and supervision, as they could face a lifetime of ramifications.

Additionally, Business Solutions & Software Group understands how important your privacy truly is. When you have built up and maintained a business, you want to protect it, and maintaining data privacy can help keep both it and you safe. We appreciate how big of a commitment it is to be entrusted with that responsibility, and we’d embrace the chance to live up to it with your data.

Please, lean on Business Solutions & Software Group for more assistance and advice. Call us today at (954) 575-3992.

As a business owner, you should know that you shouldn’t abuse the software licenses that your business relies on to function, or use pirated software to fulfill that need. While there are many people do such things, the response from software companies in an attempt to stop such activities has created a system that can award those who exploit it.

It is an expectation for the modern business to rely on the Internet in order to complete its daily function. As a result, anytime there is an Internet outage, many employees may find themselves lacking purpose or direction. However, a lack of Internet doesn’t have to mean a lack of productivity. For this week’s tip, we’ll review some ways your staff can be productive without an Internet connection.

With every new year comes great new opportunities, and 2018 is no different. However, change can be a good thing, and with a new year also comes more perspective and knowledge that you can use to make considerable improvements to the way you run your organization. Here are four ways that you can use developments in cybersecurity to help your business succeed in the new year.

If you were considering increasing your investment into your information security in 2018, you certainly aren’t alone. Gartner released a report that indicated a considerable rise in plans to invest in key security considerations.

It’s just good business to hand out your business card to prospective clients, and it has been for a very long time. As far back as the Renaissance, special guests were announced with name cards that displayed who the guest was and what types of greetings were due. It wasn’t until the Industrial Revolution that business cards became primarily a means of displaying trades or professional skills. Business cards are mostly used for marketing and networking in the modern age, and your organization should be using them.

You’d think that Intel would make sure their firmware is of sound integrity, but unfortunately, a recently discovered vulnerability has revealed that it’s not as secure as previously thought. The issue involving Intel’s chips could potentially lead to a permanent nosedive for your CPU’s capacity to perform as intended, which could have disastrous implications for your business.

There is no shortage of threats on the Internet, from situational issues to deliberate attacks meant to damage your company or steal your valuable data. While new threats pop up almost every day, some have been around for some time--so long, that many seem to not consider them as viable threats.

Unless you’re the trade-in or hand-me-down kind of person, it’s likely that you have a supply of old Android devices squirrelled away somewhere. You know, just in case the one who have now breaks. However, these old devices can be useful in other ways around the office. For this week’s tip, we’ll go over three alternate uses for your mobile device in the office.

To many, email scams have become a joke. Sitcoms have throwaway punchlines that reference a character getting an email from a rich uncle in Nigeria, or some friend needing funds to get home from an overseas trip. One of these scams may not at first seem to be amusing, as it threatens the recipient’s life, but if read further, proves to be quite the drama.

When a business utilizes any kind of technology, there will come a time when that technology needs to be replaced--which means that the business will need to be sure that any data on the old machines cannot be recovered. This, in turn, means that the machine’s hard drive must be destroyed. In order to be absolutely certain that this has been accomplished, it helps to lean on the guidelines established by HIPAA.

The term “best practice” has been used by businesses for years to describe the optimal way of performing a particular task. However, before fully adopting them into business operations, it is important for these practices to be examined and deemed to be beneficial to an individual company’s circumstances. If they are not, a company risks much by adopting a misplaced best practice.

For the modern business, having a strategy to manage your employees smartphone use is essential. This is because most of the people that work for you have smartphones. One study shows that upwards of 90 percent of people under 30 own a smartphone. If you have any design on running a business, or employing millennials (who are the largest generation in the current workforce), you’ll need to know what you are doing to protect your business from the increasing amount of threats that are out there targeting smartphones.

The holiday season is coming to a close, with meals shared and gifts opened. You may have even received a new gizmo or doodad that you’re looking forward to trying out. Not to burst your bubble, but there is unfortunately a chance that the gizmo you had hoped to get (or purchased for a loved one) may lead to a security breach.