Coleman Technologies Blog

Personal Information

Before we get into the strategies of protection, let’s identify what constitutes personal information. It includes:

• Full Name
• Phone Number
• Email address
• Birthdate
• Social security number
• Passwords
• Biometric data

If you consider how many times a business has asked you for this information, you will understand just how exposed your personal data is. You may not consider it a big deal until you are in the throes of a situation where your identity has been stolen. 

You Need to Maintain Control

Your personal information is exchanged in nearly every transaction you take part in online. In response to this, you need to understand what these organizations use this information for, and how exposure of your sensitive data diminishes your data privacy. Obviously, the goal is to keep this information out of the hands that will take advantage of it and bring detrimental situations to your doorstep.

Once you realize that you can’t trust companies with your personal information, you have started to understand the lay of the land. In Europe, the establishment of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) brought the first major privacy protection law, and you are beginning to see more governments considering what to do in regard to data privacy. In many parts of the world, privacy has been nonexistent. Monitoring your information is a great way to turn that trend on its head.

As of now, people continuously distribute their information to organizations with the confidence that those organizations are going to keep that data safe. This hasn’t worked out that well for the individual, but that doesn’t seem to deter them from sharing this information anyway. 

Only 10 percent of people feel like they have control over their own data, but less than 25 percent of surveyed respondents believed companies are doing enough to protect it. What is strange is that 92 percent of respondents of the same survey said that they would like to have absolute control over their personal data, with 87 percent seeking the ability to remove personal data from the Internet if it negatively affects their reputation. 

Privacy Solutions

Just being diligent about who you give your data to simply isn’t enough to protect it; and with so few options available to do so, an individual’s best bet is to understand the threats they face. These include:

• Vulnerabilities in applications - Data breaches are mostly caused by software that isn’t updated with up-to-date threat definitions. This problem can happen to any organization that isn’t diligently updating the software it uses.
• Poorly trained workers/sabotage - You wouldn’t believe just how many massive data breaches are caused by the people that a business depends on the most. If your staff isn’t properly trained, or you have disgruntled employees that have access to sensitive information, those situations could end poorly for you. 
• Lack of response - Even if you have all the security you need in place, breach is still a possibility. That’s why it is crucial to be prepared in the event of a breach that your organization has the tools and expertise to mitigate the situation before it becomes a problem. 
• Refusal to dispose of data - Your organization may find the data it takes in useful for multiple reasons, but if you sever ties with customers, vendors, and staff, it is your responsibility to securely dispose of their personal information. A failure to do so in a timely fashion could lead to a negative situation. Get rid of the data you no longer need, especially if it contains sensitive information.
• Collection of unnecessary data - If data is a form of currency, it stands to reason that it will be shared between companies. If you don’t need the data, however, why do you have it? Possessing data you don’t intend to use--or don’t need--can lead to losing track of it. 

People provide personal information all the time, and unfortunately, the organizations they are giving it to don’t understand how to protect it properly; or, worse yet, actively use it for their own monetary benefit. With the lack of effort by these organizations, individuals have no choice but to take a diligent approach to keep sensitive data away from hackers, and keep their identities secure. 

If you would like more information about data security, visit our blog at www.colemantechnologies.com today.

Two years ago, a friend of mine had a swimming pool built behind his house. It had a real nice deck, a deep end, a slide for his kids, and a little sectioned-off shallow end that was heated with jets. Talk about a nice way to cool off after a long week! This pool was in constant use - his kids had pool parties, he hosted cookouts. This investment of his was bringing his family a lot of joy and happiness.

Fast forward to this summer. Apparently the ground had settled and shifted, causing a leak that not only slowly drains his pool, but has been washing out the dirt under the pool. Even worse, some of the excess water has found its way into his newly renovated basement. This is not an ideal situation.

Now the thing that used to bring my friend a lot of satisfaction is the bane of his existence. It’s a problem, and it’s causing stress and costing money.

Your business technology can work the same way. It’s designed to help you do more and keep track of more, but when things go bad, it can really be a disaster, especially if you’ve been relying on it. 

My friend now hates his pool. He regrets it. In all seriousness, I feel terrible for him. More than half of the summer went by before he was able to get the problem fixed. By the time it was fixed, the joy that his swimming pool once brought him was gone. After a particularly hot weekend, I asked him if he was glad that he got his pool fixed so he could enjoy it again. He just shrugged and said it barely crossed his mind.

I was thinking, this guy must be crazy! I would have spent the entire weekend in this swimming pool. Then I realized that I’ve seen this before. I’ve felt this.

It’s really easy to get disenchanted by something that once made you excited or brought you a lot of joy. Once it’s a burden, you can get burnt out by it.

For a lot of business owners, your technology is going to feel the same way. There’s a lot of good it can do for you, but once you’ve dealt with years of annoying issues, unexpected bills, and users reporting problems, it starts to really weigh you down.

I don’t want any of my clients to feel the same way about their business as my friend feels about his swimming pool. I want your technology to work for your business. I want it to help you make more money, not be an expense. If anyone feels burnt out or let down by their IT, please give me a call at (604) 513-9428 so I can help you love it again.

That’s all I wanted to say; there’s no pitch here, there’s no IT lesson. You don’t deserve to be constantly frustrated by your IT, and it doesn’t have to be that way.

The Cloud

One computing trend is being utilized above all others by all types of businesses from all over the world: cloud computing. The feature-rich options available in the cloud make it a perfect technology for the modern SMB.

The most prevalent of the benefits of cloud computing is that it doesn’t typically come with large capital costs. There are plenty of options where a business can get the computing that they need--outfitted competently with tools, storage, security, infrastructure, and more. By having options to get the computing resources and tools they need, and being charged monthly for them, businesses have access to affordable resources that can really help them build a better business. 

Get Smart (BI & BA)

In a trend that is more recent, SMBs are using business intelligence and business analytics to get more detailed information about their business. Using this information, decision makers can strategically alter operations to fit the needs of their consumer base, spend their marketing budgets more wisely, and obtain a better understanding of their business; and, how to strategically improve it. 

Everything Digital 

Like BI and BA, the digital transformation of a business was, up until recently, thought of as an enterprise gig. A complete digital transformation of a business that includes document management, remote work solutions, and customer-facing computing strategies. Prioritizing a single digital standard will go a long way toward cutting printing and paper costs, and promote boosts to productivity and efficiency. 

If you would like to talk to one of our technology professionals about innovative solutions that bring with them rapid ROIs and higher productivity, call Coleman Technologies today at (604) 513-9428.

VoIP and Conferencing

Every business needs to have a telephone system, that much is understood. Traditional telephone companies haven’t invested in their infrastructure and it shows. While some telephone companies have started updating their systems, the functionality that the modern business needs necessitates interactive capabilities. This is where a VoIP solution comes in. For a fraction of the cost of a traditional telephone system, companies can use their existing Internet connection to run an enterprise-level telephone system that has all the features they need. 

A base Voice over Internet Protocol solution comes with some of the features you most expect out of a business phone system such as call forwarding, voicemail, call routing, and more; but, when you expand a VoIP solution, you can get very powerful tools such as conferencing, instant messaging, and even video chat solutions. Hosted in the cloud or on dedicated local hardware, VoIP is one of the strongest and most cost-effective communications tools you can get for the modern business. 

Email

Most businesses use an email system for business correspondence. Some even use commercially available solutions. This isn’t ideal as there is plenty of information exchanged in the course of business that would be sensitive in nature. That’s why we believe that it is important for a business to use business-grade email. There are quite a few different options to choose from as businesses can opt to host their own email, or select a cloud-hosted solution. 

If security is a concern--and it almost always should be--a locally-hosted server could be the way to go. Today’s cloud-based email platforms, especially those that come with high-end productivity suites, are created with advanced tools like built-in encryption and artificial intelligence. These tools go a long way toward making the cloud-hosted email a viable selection for the modern business. 

Messaging and Collaboration

No matter what communication solutions a business chooses, it has to be able to fuel increases in productivity. Today, there are cloud-based productivity suites on the market that provide people the ability to work together in real time. This collaborative growth is a main component of the development of new and exciting productivity software.

In fact, the need for organizations to maximize their resources on projects has pushed software developers to begin to create better collaborative software. New software with hundreds of third-party software integrations, real time instant messaging, and other great features are revolutionizing project management. 

With more people working together from different locations, and more businesses outsourcing key parts of their operations, communications are going to continue to be one of the most important aspects of the business landscape going forward. If you would like to talk to an IT professional about which new communications tool would be a good fit for your business--and, how these tools will save your company money--call the IT experts at Coleman Technologies today at (604) 513-9428.

Any data you collect, you must protect. You might not think your business is big enough (or noteworthy enough) to be targeted by hackers, but the truth is, those are the reasons you are a target. It is estimated that by 2020, more than 24 billion devices will be connected to the Internet, so it is imperative that you follow simple, yet crucial, steps to ensure your data and information are kept safe.

Here are some variables you--and the other people on your network--need to be aware of. 

Phishing

Phishing attacks are some of the most prevalent attacks being made in 2019. Basically, users will send you an email that seems to be from a user the recipient might know. If a user interacts with that email by clicking on a link or downloading an attachment, the phishing scam is a success. A successful phishing scam is a huge problem for your business. 

You will want to train your staff on how to spot and avoid phishing attacks. Phishing attacks have been developed to be subtle and admittedly easy to miss. There are, however, several tell-tale signs that an email is legitimate. Hackers know that the weakest link in any business or organization is the employees. Do your employees know how to recognize an out of place email? It is crucial that you take the time to train your employees the art of phishing identification. 

Secure Passwords

Passwords are the standard in which most people use to keep files secure and to authenticate access to devices, platforms, programs, etc. Understanding what makes a strong password can go a long way toward securing your IT resources. Some best practices include:

• Creating strong, unique passphrases
• Changing passwords frequently
• Using Upper and Lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols

Multi-factor Authentication 

Multi-factor authentication, often rolled out as two-factor authentication, puts an additional step between you, and potential threats to your network or data. You use a password to unlock a 2FA/MFA platform that requires you to get a randomly-generated code from a third-party device to gain access. Since you need a third-party device/account to open the application, account, or device protected by 2FA/MFA, that account is more than twice as secure. 

Applications and Software Updates

In order to say ahead of security attacks, the software you use cannot have vulnerabilities. As a result, patching and updating software is essential to comprehensive security. If you are going to remain secure you will want to be sure to stay up-to-date on your updates. 

How Do I Know If My Systems are Safe?

So, you want to know if you are safe from a cyberattack? To put it lightly: nobody is. By associating security preparedness with cybersecurity and routinely taking proactive, preventative measures to enhance your security position, you reduce the chance that your organization will have to suffer from downtime, data loss, and reputation damage that a data breach would bring your company.

If you would like more tips; or, if you would like to talk to one of our experts about network security, call us today at (604) 513-9428.