The Datamax Thinking Blog

Considering a Managed IT agreement? Go straight to the partner you're looking to outsource to and ask them these five questions. These inquiries will reveal both their capabilities and what your expectations should be moving forward.

We are a nation of outsourcers. From groceries to household chores to business game plans, we hesitate little in handing it over to someone who specializes in x, y, or z.

To remain secure against increasingly-sophisticated attacks, organizations need to take a more practical approach: One that involves heightened employee awareness and full executive stewardship of a collaborative, company-wide security initiative.

IT Security: It can often still be considered an “IT issue.”

But it’s more than that. Just as revenue and performance are routinely reviewed, assessed and collaborated on, security should be a talking point inside the executive boardroom and an initiative that involves all employees. It’s not just an IT issue. It’s a business issue that involves your entire organization.

Beyond the infrastructure in place, what about employee education? What is your company doing to educate its team for recognizing and avoiding these sly, malicious tactics?

Human error. It’s an inevitable part of life and conducting business every day.

We’re only human, after all.

But such human error can be especially damaging in today’s cybersecurity climate. According to Verizon’s 2018 Data Breach Investigations Report, phishing or other forms of social engineering cause 93% of all data breaches. This means that employee negligence is generating a majority of cyber attacks. It's possibly only a matter of time before one of your employees is hoodwinked by human-manipulating tactics.

Those who embrace change in the way they conduct business every day, across an evolving digital landscape - from automating tasks to taking a firm stance on data and network security – will produce measurable business value and soar ahead of the flock. 

Former General Electric CEO Jack Welch once said, “change before you have to.”

Innovative leaders understand well the idea of change as the rule rather than the exception. In mid-flight, they do not hesitate to travel beyond the flock of the industry companions around them, even if it means flying solo.

Technology plays an intimate role in the potential innovation of businesses, particularly in seeking a competitive edge and a notable advantage in productivity. Those who embrace change in the way they conduct business every day, across an evolving digital landscape - from automating tasks to taking a firm stance on data and network security – will produce measurable business value and soar ahead of the flock. Assuming, of course, they do so strategically and with a partner that understands and thoughtfully considers their core business objectives.

The dedicated team of scribes here feel that through collaboration, we can strategically identify technology challenges and properly disseminate our carefully crafted ideas on overcoming them. 

Perhaps without coincidence, our top read blog for 2018 was on the topic of “effective collaboration.”

Collaboration:  It’s a key word in defining how the Datamax Thinking Blog operates. We remain committed in our pursuit of  “educating, collaborating, and sparking ideas for maximizing the technology that matters” - be it office equipment, document workflow, network security and many business technology initiatives in between.

The dedicated team of scribes here feel that through collaboration, we can strategically identify technology challenges and properly disseminate our carefully crafted ideas on overcoming them. 

One can only tip-toe over network and infrastructure insecurities for so long before the surface beneath you cracks.

For ice fishing enthusiasts embracing their favorite winter pastime, the warning from officials is abundantly clear: don’t tread on thin ice! In fact, Minnesota’s Department of Natural Resources recommends ice at least 4 inches thick for foot travel.

A measurement any less than 4 inches could result in disaster.

The technology footpath that you tread across every day bears inherent risk. The cybersecurity climate is volatile, forcing organizations to be consistently mindful of the environment surrounding them. The solid technology foundation you create determines how confidently your organization can navigate with necessary tools to conduct business efficiently day to day.

With a legitimate framework in place, and the proper education continually enforced, employees can universally identify both risk levels and types and, more importantly… understand exactly what these findings mean. 

Finding themselves in an environment entangled with cyber threats and potential data breaches, the map to compliance that healthcare organizations unfold often leads to a risk analysis.

But these organizations should know that the journey does not stop there.

Social Engineering is really no different than any old school scam from the past, other than modern technology is the setting (for the modern attack)." - Justin Huffaker, Vice President of Strategic Technology, Datamax Inc.

Most recall the Martin Scorsese film “Catch Me if You Can,” which follows New York teen Frank Abagnale (played by Leonardo DiCaprio) posing as a Pan American World Airways pilot, a Georgia doctor and a Louisiana parish prosecutor to successfully execute million-dollar cons.

Abagnale’s ploys, while sophisticated, relied heavily on the ingrained, trusting nature of humans to carry out his elaborate schemes: Much like Social Engineering in 2018, some 60 years after Abagnale’s antics.

Ransomware, namely the WannaCry and NotPetya viruses, filled newsfeeds last year as the most prolific cyber security attacks in history. How prolific? The two Ransomware attacks combined to infect 200,000 machines in 100 countries, and NotPetya caused an estimated $1.2 billion in damages.

The most common shark attack against humans is known as the “hit-and-run” attack. Typically occurring in the surf zone amid murky waters, the swimmer or surfer seldom even sees its attacker.

The same could certainly be said for Ransomware in 2017.

A Network Risk Assessment can dispel security concerns and propel your team to the ultimate goal for your organization and its network infrastructure – peace of mind.

For me, there’s perhaps no better mind-clearing, stress-relieving pastime then a jaunt along the trails at a nearby state park. The sun poking its way through the towering pine trees, coupled with the low-volume sounds of the early morning surrounding me, provides me peace of mind to empower a productive week ahead.

Isn’t peace of mind – in our homes and our workplace – what we all ultimately crave? Given today’s volatile cyber security climate, fear and uncertainty of everything from downtime to network intrusion can disrupt an organization’s collective contentment.