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.
As reported by ITProPortal, over half of the respondents to a survey by BetterCloud believe that instant messaging will overtake email in the office; an impressive feat, especially considering how commonplace email is in today?s professional environment. However, this also means that businesses need to improve their instant messaging practices if they want to reap the benefits it provides, and to use instant messaging in such a way that it?s not a major workplace distraction. If you want to improve your business?s instant messaging practices, try these tips. Accurately Represent Your Current Online StatusYou need to give your team a proper representation of whether you are currently available or not. If you don?t, they could be wasting valuable time trying to reach out to you when, in reality, you?re nowhere near your computer. Make sure that you change your status to indicate that you?re away from your computer, or logged off for the night; that way, your team can know that they would be better off contacting someone else who is available. If It?s Going to Be a Long Conversation, Try a Different Communication MediumLong IM conversations can waste time, especially if they aren?t particularly relevant to the task at hand. In this case, it?s better to simply pick up the phone and call the person you need to communicate with or arrange for a face-to-face conversation. This way, the details get ironed out and you don?t waste valuable time getting to the point. Plus, emotions are somewhat difficult to express through instant messaging, while voice chat and in-person meetings are easier to get a feel for. If You Have a Short, Specific Request, Try to Put It at the Beginning of the ConversationThere?s no point in drawing out a conversation when all you need to do is ask a question. Doing so isn?t just wasting your time; it?s wasting the recipient?s time too. Be courteous and respectful of your colleagues? time and ask questions as soon as you can. Take Full Advantage of Your IM System?s FeaturesMany instant messaging platforms also allow for several other functions. If you fully take advantage of these features, your team can be more productive with your IM solution. For example, if your system allows for voice chat, using it can be a great way to clear up confusion or explain a particularly difficult concept. If you need to rope in another person, try adding them to the conversation when they need to be there. The idea is to play around with what works and what the limits of your IM system are. This way, you can help your team better understand how to take advantage of the features. By following these best practices, your organization will see a more fruitful use of instant messaging features. What are some of your favorite ways to use instant messaging, and do you have any specific practices that you follow at your organization? We?d love to hear about them. Let us know in the comments, and be sure to subscribe to our blog for more best practices and tech tips.
NATO has declared that cyberspace qualifies as an area where conflict can occur, (it surprisingly took this long). While many cyber attacks tend to be limited to only data infrastructures, there are plenty of instances where attacks have moved from the cyber realm to the physical world. Some examples include a Ukrainian electrical grid hack from just last year, as well as a supposed Iranian hack of a United States dam control system. In other words, technology systems have the capabilities to cause quite a bit of damage, like blackouts or shutting down critical systems. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg made a valid observation concerning the decision to add cyberspace to the list of operational domains: ?Cyber defence is part of collective defence. Most crises and conflicts today have a cyber dimension. So treating cyber as an operational domain would enable us to better protect our missions and operations.? Technology has become such a commodity in today?s world that even warfare is assisted by it, through providing access to important data and applications. Networks that are used to deploy this data could be hacked, causing important information to be either lost or stolen; thus, putting real-world lives at risk. Plus, if a hacking attack rendered citizens without heat, electricity, and other necessities, it could redefine what the world thinks of as a war of attrition. NATO plans on securing networks and focusing on helping other countries secure their own. Additionally, NATO wants to help others identify where attacks come from, and what can be done about them. In 2014, NATO changed its policies to allow them to respond to any attacks against nations involved with the organization, so this shows that cyber warfare could potentially become a major factor in ongoing conflicts in the future. Granted, measures that could be put into place are easier to talk about than to actually implement. Cyber security is generally handled on a state level, and while the US and UK have invested heavily in cyber security, other countries tend to think of it as a low priority, or don?t foresee it affecting them in the near future. This decision by NATO should drive the importance of cybersecurity in the workplace, and reaffirm that your organization needs to take a cautious and proactive stance. Additionally, you?ll need to use best practices in order to minimize the risks of working online, as you?ll probably realize far too late that you?ve been infiltrated by hackers. It?s in your best interest to take a preventative stance on network security, regardless of how much risk you feel your business is at. To learn more about IT security, reach out to us at (603) 889-0800.
Security professionals have been at war with hackers ever since the Internet was created, but a recent NATO decision has affirmed the fact that cybersecurity is a real-world problem, and one that needs to be fixed. Just like land, air, and sea, cyberspace has become a battlefield, albeit a very different kind of battlefield. The decision by NATO declares that cyberspace can be defined as an ?operational domain,? which is an area where conflict can occur. There have been some incidents of cyber attacks that have transcended from the cyber realm, to having effects in the physical world, such as the recent Ukrainian electrical grid hack, or the supposed Iranian hack of a United States dam control system. The idea is that hacking attacks can have direct effects, such as causing blackouts or turning off critical systems. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg made a valid observation concerning the decision to add cyberspace to the list of operational domains: ?Cyber defence is part of collective defence. Most crises and conflicts today have a cyber dimension. So treating cyber as an operational domain would enable us to better protect our missions and operations.? Technology is so prevalent in today?s world that it?s practically impossible to imagine warfare, of any kind, that?s not assisted by it; and where there are technology systems, there are networks that can be hacked and taken advantage of. If data that?s deployed to bases or war zones is inaccurate, lives can be lost, rather than protected. Another example would be hacking critical infrastructure, like with what happened in the Ukraine, which left countless citizens without heat, electricity, and other necessities. In particular, NATO plans on securing its networks and focusing on helping other countries secure theirs, as well as implementing ways to identify where attacks come from, and why. In 2014, NATO changed its policies on cyber attacks to allow NATO to respond in force to any attacks against nations that are involved with the organization, so defining cyberspace as a grounds for conflict shows just how quickly this situation is escalating. Of course, all of this is easier said than done. Cyber security as a whole is still handled primarily on a state level, and while the US and UK plan on investing in cyber security, other countries find that it?s of low priority, or that it?s too far off to consider at this moment. This decision by NATO should reaffirm that your business needs to take a cautious, proactive approach to network security, as well as leverage best practices in order to minimize risk while working online. If your business falls victim to a hacking attack, you?ll realize far too late that the online world is a dangerous place filled to the brim with malicious entities. Therefore, it?s in your best interest to take a preventative approach to network security. White Mountain IT Services can equip your business with the tools needed to keep your IT infrastructure safe. To learn more, give us a call at (603) 889-0800.
