Five Steps To Protect Your Business From Cyber Crime

         A Seattle company was recently broken into, and a stash of old laptops was stolen. Just a typical, everyday crime by typical, everyday thieves. These laptops weren't even being used by anyone in the company. The crime turned out to be anything but ordinary when those same thieves (cyber-criminals) used data from the laptops to obtain information and siphon money out of the company via fraudulent payroll transactions. On top of stealing money, they also managed to steal employee identities.

   Another small company was hacked by another "company" that shared the same high-rise office building with them. Management only became aware of the theft once they started seeing unusual financial transactions in their bank accounts. Even then, they didn't know if there was internal embezzlement or external cyber theft. It turned out to be cyber theft. The thief in this case drove a Mercedes and wore a Rolex watch... and looked like anyone else walking in and out of their building. Welcome to the age of cybercrime.

You Are Their Favorite Target

   One of the biggest issues facing small businesses in the fight against cybercrime is the lack of a cyber-security plan. While 83% lack a formal plan, over 69% lack even an informal one. Half of small business owners believe that cybercrime will never affect them. In fact, small businesses are a cybercriminal's favorite target! Why? Small businesses are not prepared, and they make it easier on criminals.

   The result? Cyber-attacks cost SMBs an average of $188,242 each incident, and nearly two-thirds of the businesses affected are out of business within six months (2011 Symantec/NCSA Study). A separate study by Verizon showed that over 80% of small business cybercrime victims were due to insufficient network security (wireless and password issues ranked highest). With insecure networks and no formal plan to combat them, we make it easy on the criminals.

How They Attack

   The #1 money-generating technique these "bad guys" use is to infect your systems with malware so that whenever you (or your employees) visit a web site and enter a password (Facebook, bank, payroll, etc.), the malware programs harvest that data and send it off to the bad guys to do their evil stuff.

They can get to you through physical office break-ins, "wardriving" (compromising defenseless wireless networks) or e-mail phishing scams and harmful web sites. Cyber-criminals are relentless in their efforts, and no one is immune to their tricks.

5 Steps To Protect Your Business

1. Get Educated. Find out the risks and educate your staff.

2. Do A Threat Assessment. Examine your firewall, anti-virus protection and anything connected to your network. What data is sensitive or subject to data-breach laws?

3. Create A Cyber-Security Action Plan. Your plan should include both education and a "fire drill."

4. Monitor Consistently. Security is never a one-time activity. Monitoring 24/7 is critical.

5. Re-Assess Regularly. New threats emerge all the time and are always changing. You can only win by staying ahead!

Free Report:What Every Small Business Owner Must Know About Protecting And Preserving Their Company's Critical Data And Computer Systems

This report outlines - in plain, non-technical English - common mistakes that many small business owners make with their computer network that cost them thousands in lost sales, productivity, and computer repair bills; it also provides an easy, proven way to reduce or completely eliminate the financial expense and frustration of these oversights.   

For your FREE copy, email us today at: news@groffnetworks.com

!!!NEW PRIZE!!!!

 Win a $20 GIFT CARD to Charles F. Confectionery and Wine Bar in Troy!

Congratulations to Tina Berish, Controller at Trudeau Architects in Latham. She was the first person to correctly answer my quiz question from last month:

"All June I bound the ___ in sheaves, Now, ___ by ___, I strip the leaves." What flowers does Robert Browning Hamilton refer to?

The correct answer was: D) rose.

Now, here's this month's trivia question...

Pagans used the term _________ for the first full moon in June, because they drank fermented honey as part of summer wedding celebrations.

(a) Moonshine

(b) Honeymoon

(c) June-moon

(d) Honeydew

E-mail us right now with your answer at:

Please note: One prize per entrant per year. Entrants who have won a trivia contest in the last 12 months are ineligible to compete for prizes.

There Is No Success Without Ex's

By Robert Stevenson

robertstevenson.org 

I was invited to speak at FedEx World Headquarters where I delivered two programs. I also had the wonderful opportunity to take a tour of their Memphis Hub Operations and see how they are able to process over 600,000 packages per night while it was actually happening. It was an amazing sight to behold. I wanted to talk to them on a personal level, so they could advance their own careers while at the same time helping their company. I also wanted to create something special for those who attended my sessions that would be memorable and have a direct correlation with FedEx. Then it hit me ... the "Ex" in their corporate name ... stands for so much more than "Express." Just as FedEx has added, evolved, changed, tweaked and greatly improved on everything they do, I told my audience, they, too, needed to do the same. I then gave them a list of "Ex's" to follow that would ensure not only their success in business but also in life. I told them they needed to ask themselves:

      Do I Excel at my job?
      Do I always give Extra?
      Do I avoid making Excuses?
      Do I Exert maximum effort?
      Do I set the right Examples?
      Do I Exceed what is required?
      Do I Exhibit the best judgment?
      Do I always strive for Excellence?
      Do I Exhaust all possible solutions?
      Do I always Extend a helping hand?
      Do I Exemplify the best standards?
      Do I strive to be Exceptional at my job?

Regardless what company, association, or organization you work for, if you follow this list of "Ex's", everyone will want you. You will be known as the person they can always count on because you always deliver ... you will be Exceptional!

To establish and maintain a position of supremacy in anything you do requires that you start incorporating the "Ex's" in all aspects of your life and business. It's your choice... you can either do it, or you will simply be "Excluded" from that list of people who succeed in life, and that is the one "Ex" I surely want to stay away from. So remember... Let the Ex's mark your path on your journey towards success.

SHINY (no pun intended) New Gadget

of the Month:

The 30-Day Lantern

It's summer time and that means more outdoor activities (hooray!). This 30-Day Lantern is the perfect companion for your cookouts and camping trips; not to mention, it's a handy gadget to keep in your vehicle or garage for those emergency situations when power is down.

This lantern provides up to 30 days of reliable light on one set of batteries. The lantern generates up to 300 lumens of bright, white light that can be seen from up to 75 1/2' away.

Made from impact-resistant ABS, with rubberized encasements, the lantern is shock-resistant and water-resistant. When the device is off, it has a green LED that flashes, which is helpful for easy location in blackouts.

The lantern has a built-in hook, which allow it to be hung upside down. It has three light output levels and a flashing mode (provides 32 hours of light on high).

Get your lantern at: www.hammacher.com 

Lauren's Corner

When I think of summer, I think of two words: ice cream. Our favorites are Snowman in Lansingburgh and Moxie's in Wynantskill.  

_____

Below: My kids, Hannah and Satya, enjoying Moxie's

Refer your friends and business associates to us for their IT needs. If we get an appointment with them, we will give you $25. If they become a client, we will give you an additional $50 and we will give them $100 off their first month's service!

For more information, call Chad at: 518-320-8906 x100 or email: clinen@groffnetworks.com

The Lighter Side:

Useless Summer Fun Facts

•  
  The Eiffel Tower can grow by more than six inches in summer due to the expansion of the iron on hot days.  

•  July is the month when most ice cream is sold in the US. Americans eat about 5.5 gallons of ice cream per year on average.

•  Popsicles were invented by accident in 1905 by 11-year- old Frank Epperson. He mixed soda and water and left the mixture out overnight with the stirring stick still in it. Since the temperature was low, the mixture froze.

•  Watermelon is not a fruit, but a vegetable.

•  Many people enjoy throwing Frisbees in summer, but they were originally designed as pie plates in the 1870s. Students started throwing them in the 1940s.