These numbers come from a study performed by the Poneman Institute and IBM Data, where 283 companies from all over the world were examined. The results may be quite shocking, especially for a small business that may never have experienced a data breach. Here are some of the highlights of the study: The United States leads in terms of sheer overall cost of breaches by record value. The value per record is $223 on average. In total, the average cost of a data breach in the United States was roughly $7.01 million. Particular industries, like healthcare, education, and finance, have a higher value per record at $355, $246, and $221 respectively. 48 percent of all data breaches were the result of malicious intent, like hacking attacks and network infiltrations. Encryption and other security protocol decrease the costs of data breaches by up to $16/record. How quickly a company responded to the security breach had a positive impact on the overall cost of the breach. There?s a 26 percent chance that an enterprise will be hit by one or more data breaches of over 10,000 records within the next two years. Think about it; a data breach has far more repercussions than just the strain on your budget. It can lead to a damaged reputation, as well as lost clients and revenue. Can you afford to lose clients and revenue, and more importantly, can you recover data that?s lost or stolen due to your negligence? It?s estimated that businesses that fail to recover their data following a breach, will go out of business within one year following the incident. Another point of interest is the cost associated with data breaches and loss associated with these three leading factors: Data theft due to malicious intent$236 per record. This is data that?s considered lost or stolen due to a hacking attack, like ransomware or a network virus. Really, the sky?s the limit for data theft in this category; there are so many threats out there that it?s basically impossible to specifically prepare for each one. Data loss due to hardware failure$213 per record. This is data that?s lost due to system malfunctions or hardware failure, like a server or workstation crashing unexpectedly. Unlike hacking attacks, this is something that you can prepare for, by taking proper care of your technology and keeping an eye out for warning signs. Data loss due to human error$197 per record. This is data that?s lost when your users do something on accident, like move a file or expose credentials to hackers, that puts your data in harm?s way. This is a bit more difficult to protect from, as you?re relying on your end users knowing what they?re doing. Be sure to educate them on best practices, and ensure that they only have access to data that they absolutely need for their position. Is your business prepared to handle the many situations that could lead to expensive and costly data breaches? If you?re not sure, reach out to White Mountain IT Services. We offer several solutions that are designed to protect your business from all manners of threats, including proactive security solutions (firewall, antivirus, spam-blocking, content-filtering), backup and disaster recovery, and user access control. To get started, all you need to do is call (603) 889-0800.

If your business is using technology that focuses on mobility, you?ll recognize the many benefits that it can provide. However, mobile technology doesn?t come without its fair share of problems. Here?s how mobile devices can help your business, as well as some of the problems frequently associated with them in the workplace. The Benefits of Going MobileMobile technology is capable of helping your business push beyond the barriers associated with the traditional office environment. Here are just a few reasons why your business should focus on improving technological mobility: More Productivity If your team has mobile devices, they can be productive from anywhere, anytime. Your employees can check their email, organize schedules, and communicate while on the road or work remotely. Basically, mobile technology allows employees to streamline the way that they do work and accommodate it in their life outside the office. Workplace VersatilityEmployees like having options for where and how to work. If your team is equipped with mobile technology, and your office accommodates many different places for them to work, your employees will be far more productive and happy with their working situation. This is particularly helpful when someone needs peace and quiet, and there?s an absurd amount of chatter going on in the office. Increased EfficiencyThe act of making your technology infrastructure more mobile comes with the added efficiency of being able to access data and applications from the cloud. This helps your business stay productive by staying connected to crucial parts of your business. As long as you have an Internet connection, you can access critical resources from anywhere. The Challenges of Mobile TechnologyAs is the case with any technology that accesses your network, you need to ensure that it?s not putting your business?s data at risk. This is especially true for mobile devices that leave the office. How can you be certain that employee-owned smartphones, tablets, and laptops aren?t unintentionally sharing your information with the outside world? If these devices take data off the premises, and they were to get hacked or share information with other networks, you could be dealing with a data breach. Therefore, some kind of oversight is necessary in order to continue being productive without compromising on security. Does your organization want to take advantage of mobile technology to enhance productivity? If so, you need to implement a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policy that?s designed to protect your business?s critical assets. One of the best and most practical ways to leverage BYOD is to use a mobile device management solution, which is designed to restrict the flow of data on these devices and limit its exposure to threats. If you?re ready to delve into the world of mobile device management, give White Mountain IT Services a call at (603) 889-0800.

Nobody likes talking about impending disasters or expenditures, but the failure of your mission-critical technology is something that you need to keep in mind, especially when planning your IT budget and expenses for the next few years. What happens with your old technology is of equal importance. Plan for Your Technology?s Inevitable ReplacementWhen it comes to your mission-critical technology, having a plan can go a long way. You don?t want to be caught unaware, as a hardware failure can strike at any given moment. It helps to be prepared for untimely technology troubles by having an IT roadmap; a plan which details your technology expenditures over the next five or ten years. You should account for regular technology tune-ups and replacements, as well as emergency maintenance that?s impossible to predict. Wipe All Hard Drives and DevicesIt takes a lot more than a traditional factory reset to ensure that all of your business?s data has been removed from a hard drive. Before throwing your old PC out, make sure that this data concern has been addressed. Only a trained technology professional can provide the thorough scrubbing that a used hard drive needs before it?s thrown out. White Mountain IT Services can give you a hand with this delicate task. Properly Dispose of Your DevicesOnce you?re confident that your data has been removed from your hardware, it?s time to get rid of it. This is easier said than done, though. The world has a serious e-waste problem, especially in some developing countries. Hardware components contain precious metals that, in great quantities, can cause damage to the environment. Furthermore, developing countries that receive the bulk of this e-waste will use dangerous methods of isolating these materials, which further damage the atmosphere. It?s recommended that you contact White Mountain IT Services to properly and safely get rid of your e-waste for you. Of course, if you?re just routinely upgrading your workstations, and there?s nothing really wrong with your old hardware, you might consider donating your outdated technology to local charities or nonprofits. Doing so gives your reputation a boost within your community, and can open the door to potential clientele. You can even keep it hanging around your office for use in the event that a workstation becomes unusable. Does this process sound like too big of a pain? Whatever you do, don?t just throw out your old and ailing technology. Instead, contact White Mountain IT Services. We can work with your business to build an IT roadmap to plan out future technology acquisitions, as well as help you wipe your old technology and dispose of it in an environmentally-friendly manner.

The truth is that outsourcing is a valid option for businesses these days, and it?s especially valuable for small businesses that have a limited budget or workforce. Some small businesses have trouble attracting and retaining top talent, especially in remote areas with a limited amount of talent to choose from in the first place. Others simply don?t have time to deal with routine maintenance, which will inevitably lead to broken technology. One of the best ways to take advantage of outsourcing is for your organization?s technical needs, like IT management and maintenance. You started your business so that you could do what you love and turn a profit. If you?re focused on these goals rather than managing your technology 24/7, you?ll find that, all of a sudden, your dreams are within your grasp. Besides, wouldn?t it be nice to know that your technology is being handled by professional technicians? You don?t want just any computer novice performing maintenance on your business?s IT. Information technology is difficult to handle at times, and failing to manage it properly can lead to disastrous results. If your company?s server were to fall victim to an untimely hardware failure, you could be looking at massive repair costs or replacement fees. That?s not even mentioning the irreplaceable data that was lost when the server went down. Unless you have support that?s ready and able to help at any given moment, these disasters could very well break your business and impede your progress further. By outsourcing this need to White Mountain IT Services, you can essentially eliminate this uncertainty. By having us on standby and ready to assist you with your technology at all times, you can say “goodbye” to downtime and say ?hello? to productivity. Even if you have an in-house team of technology professionals working to keep your workstations and servers working as intended, they likely don?t have enough time and resources to implement new and exciting technology solutions. We?re sure that your technicians could use a break from working around the clock, and you?ll appreciate having an extra set of eyes on issues that can prevent them from turning into major problems. Our trusted technicians want to see you succeed, and they?ll work hard to make sure that it happens; that?s more than any ordinary break-fix IT company can offer. If your organization could use a hand with both technology management and implementing new solutions, give us a call at (603) 889-0800.

Mr. Alika is set to serve 80 months in prison followed by three years of supervision upon release, and must pay $1,963,251.75 in restitution for conspiracy to commit money laundering. On the other hand, his wife must serve 21 months of jail time, followed by three years of supervision and an IRS restitution of $245,790.08 for structuring cash withdrawals to avoid the required bank reporting. They both pled guilty to their respective crimes. Their actual crime: laundering $1 million in money stolen from the U.S. Treasury by filing fraudulent forms. In particular, they filed fraudulent income tax returns using data stolen from the Get Transcript service. Get Transcript was originally created so that taxpayers could review their past returns, but the Alikas used it to obtain data that they needed to steal from the IRS. The Alikas, and their co-conspirators, would then use the funds to purchase prepaid debit cards, and register them to the identities that they had stolen. They would then file their tax returns using the fake identities and receive the refunds on the prepaid cards. The cards were then used to purchase money orders and deposit the money into bank accounts, which was then withdrawn in small amounts to avoid suspicion and bank reporting. Keep in mind that this isn?t the first time Get Transcript has been utilized for fraudulent activity. In May 2015, 100,000 tax accounts were stolen and used to steal $50 million from the IRS. That?s a ton of cash that could have been saved if it weren?t for the lax authentication requirements. In response to this case, the United State Department of Justice put out a press release outlining some best practices to keep personal information and accounts as safe and secure as possible. File Your Taxes EarlyIf you?ve already filed your legitimate tax return, refund criminals like the Alikas can?t file using your identity. The longer a return goes without being filed, the more time you?re giving hackers to file a fraudulent return using your stolen identity. Use Strong Usernames and PasswordsThis tip can be applied to all online accounts–especially those that contain sensitive information, like your tax return. You should have passwords and usernames that are unique to your person; if someone else were to get ahold of your credentials, or if you share them, the chances of them getting stolen multiply. BONUS TIP: Randomized strings of upper and lower-case letters, numbers, and (if permitted) symbols are the most secure option when selecting a password. For more information on how to keep your computer systems and your identity safe, reach out to us at (603) 889-0800.