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Data regulation and our business: 
You are probably regulated by these laws

Small firms are probably aware that there are laws regulating the handling of data, but they probably assume that these apply only to larger firms and that they are too small to have any data that is worthwhile or protected under state/provincial or federal laws. Think again. Data protection laws generally worry about the content of your data, not the volume of it. That is, you don’t need to have “tons” (not the technical term) of data to be to regulated by data privacy laws. If you maintain personally identifiable information (PII) you may be regulated by these laws which may include penalties and fines for non-conformance. PII means you store a person’s first name/initial, last name and then link it to another piece of personal information, such as, but not including:

• Social Security Number
• Driver’s license, or state ID
• Passport
• Some financial account number, e.g. credit/debit card, checking account, etc.
• Health insurance ID

You are very likely required to observe regulations regarding protection of that data, and reporting of data breaches.

This isn’t an issue for the faint of heart. Contact a managed service provider with expertise in your specific industry or field of business to make sure you are in compliance. Failure to maintain compliance can lead to some very expensive fines and penalties.

A security hack doesn’t have to mean the
end of your company

Statistics are showing that each year over 50% of small firms are victims of a cyber attack or data breach. Why does this matter? Most smaller firms have not prepared business continuity plans to keep their IT infrastructure going in the event of an attack. Failing to do so often leads to the failure of the business. Delaying the creation of a business continuity plan is a bit like a younger person delaying writing a will, on the grounds that they are not likely to die soon. That may be true, but if the worst occurs the consequences can be severe for their heirs.

If the chance of a breach that could compromise your data or cripple your IT infrastructure is over 50%, there is every reason to immediately develop plans for how your business could maintain operation in the event of an attack on your IT systems.

This is an effort that shouldn’t be delayed. Contact Empower Information Systems to help you develop a complete and holistic business continuity plan immediately. Your income and your future depends upon it.

Don’t steal… It isn’t nice and makes you
vulnerable to security hacks

Don’t steal. It isn’t nice. And… it make you extremely vulnerable you security hacks if you “steal” software packages. Smaller firms often will use unlicensed software packages to save money. This is especially true if they only need a program for a specific task. Aside from the legal and ethical issues involved here, there is a very selfish reason not to do this. Software providers are constantly sending users updates to their programs, and those updates aren’t just about features. They include fixes to security holes and protections against specific new viruses that have been discovered. So, the longer you have an old, outdated software program on your PC or laptop, the more vulnerable you become. Is it really worth saving $200.00 when your entire business’s IT infrastructure could be put at risk? We suggest not.

Cybercrime: In-house protection that only YOU can provide

From the political world to the corporate, all we hear about is hacking, hacking, hacking. Everyone gets hacked, data is stolen, etc. So, the cry goes up for better security protections for everyone’s data. Firewalls, virus software, etc., etc., etc.

Want to know one of the best ways to protect your data? Train your employees to stop opening any emails or links unless they absolutely know they are safe. Scam emails that try to trick you into opening a link to a bogus site, or worse, trick you into providing your password or ID for a known site are exceptionally effective ways for hackers to get into your internal system and compromise data. Yes, ransomware is a serious issue, and malware is out there, but employees naively opening phishing emails remain one of the biggest risks to data security. Talk to your employees on an on-going basis and provide training and tips on how to ID phishing scams

VoIP: A money saving solution for your
company’s technology backbone

When small business managers think about their IT infrastructure, they think about their employee’s mobile devices, cabling, Wi-Fi, laptops, a printer, and Internet connectivity. These are the basics of their IT infrastructure. However, there is one other aspect of a modern corporate IT infrastructure and that is an internal phone system that can connect “voice” over the internet, rather than traditional copper wires. Once upon a time, every office had an internal phone system that connected to the world via wire/cable/fiber. That wire/cable/fiber then connected a person in your office to a person somewhere else via the local phone company and a long distance carrier. And they did it for a per minute fee. And a very high per minute fee if you called internationally.

A VoIP phone system eliminates the phone company’s per minute connection, sidestepping them and running the voice call over the Internet.

Talk to your managed service provider about this money saving addition to your firm’s technology backbone.

SAFETY PUP SAYS…. Update

One thing smaller firms and individuals are often reluctant to do is download updates to their operating systems and individual apps and programs. Why? Well, because it takes time and you have to reboot the device. Other reasons are a fear that the newest update will have a bug and cause problems. The perception is that it is better to wait a few weeks. Finally, there is a fear that anytime you update a program or OS, something always starts acting weird.

All of these may have a certain legitimacy. Even procrastination has its defenders. But why should you download updates ASAP? Because they are not only about new features and a new gadget – they include patches to security issues that have been identified. One of the easiest ways to protect yourself from hacking malware and other nefarious online viruses is to always update your software. Do it the day the update comes out, because it may be released specifically due to the discovery of a brand new malware or ransomware hack.

Everyone talks about security. Be the person who acts. It is easy.

With Ransomware, The ONLY Cure Is Prevention

It just keeps showing up in the news. Ransomware seems to just not come to an end. If you haven’t heard, ransomware is a particularly nasty virus that freezes access to your data and then demands a ransom, usually in bitcoin. The worst thing about it is that once you are hit, there is almost nothing you can do. There are only 2 options: don’t pay the ransom and lose your data, or pay it. There is no “downloadable” fix. You are stuck. With ransomware, the ONLY cure is prevention.

In the case of ransomware you need to be constantly updating your data and securing it in isolation from your network. Even then, if your backup system overrides your older data each time it backs up, you can actually save the virus if it has infected your system at the time of the backup. To make sure you are as protected as you can be, we strongly recommend you contact a technical security expert to consult on the best way to protect against ransomware and other security hacks.