More Perspective

New cybersecurity regulations go into effect for financial services companies in the state of New York on March 1, 2017. And the time to act is now.

Ransomware attacks are increasing. And it’s costing U.S. companies millions to extract themselves from the clutches of these blackmailers—to the tune of $209 million in the first three months of this year, according to information provided to CNN by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

Beware of the insider threat. For those of us in information security, those words represent sage advice we’ve heard (and given) for years. Long before Eric Snowden and the incident involving the National Security Agency (NSA) hit the headlines.

If you work in the area of IT security—or manage teams of people who do—I bet you’ve heard these statements before (or something similar): We’re constantly battling malware. Although we keep our antivirus software up to date, malware continues to get through. What else can we do?

Not long ago, wireless access was a novelty—a cool way to disconnect from a cubicle at work, so you could move around the building or collaborate with colleagues in a conference room and still have access to the applications and data you needed to do your job. Needless to say, much has changed since then.

​While not widely adopted yet, Software-defined WAN (SD-WAN) solutions are intriguing, and the technology continues to gain buzz in the marketplace. And it only makes sense that it would. After all, SD-WAN offers to simplify WAN operations, to improve application performance, and to lower costs.

Your business depends on applications and data. In today’s digital age, both are vital assets, and protecting them against cyber attacks is essential. But as you know, staying ahead of cyber threats is a never-ending job, and one that seems to get more difficult every day.

SSL encryption is a vital tool in protecting data in flight. Transmitting sensitive data without modification is risky because if it is stolen, the data is in clear text and easily can be used by identity thieves. SSL encryption addresses this issue by using an encryption algorithm to encode the data before it is transmitted, protecting the data in transit by preventing it from being sent in clear text.

Cyber crime is a sophisticated criminal enterprise, and billions are lost annually through breaches of businesses, healthcare organizations, and government entities; and yes, educational institutions too.

​Summer break is over, and the new school year is underway. If you’re like most school districts, you’ve had a busy summer, performing much needed system maintenance and installing or upgrading technology for the upcoming year.

The 2016 Olympic Games are winding down, and the competition has been exciting. I love watching the Olympics. What I appreciate most is hearing the stories of the athletes and their coaches. Their hard work, dedication, commitment to excellence, and competitiveness inspire me. And in my own way, I can relate to how difficult global competition can be.

Without question, today’s threats are more sophisticated than their predecessors. Cyber criminals have become experts at utilizing innovative techniques and social engineering to breach common layered-security defenses, implanting malware throughout corporate networks and stealing information.

In the face of increasing demand for new and better service levels, administrators and educators are constantly challenged to do more with less. Technology innovation helps managers meet this growing demand as well as increase efficiency, improve productivity, and reduce costs.

In the face of increasing demand for new and better service levels, administrators and educators are constantly challenged to do more with less. Technology innovation helps managers meet this growing demand as well as increase efficiency, improve productivity, and reduce costs.

New use cases for video data have emerged. And camera technology has improved, offering onboard analytics and 360-degree monitoring of viewing areas at a price point more affordable than ever before. As a result, more cameras are being deployed by both public and private entities alike.

The digital business era is here and more than ever, IT must be agile, innovative, and efficient in order for our businesses to compete.

In 2015, the number of zero-day vulnerabilities discovered increased 125 percent from the year before, according to data compiled by Symantec. In addition, massive data breaches were again reported last year, resulting in an estimated 429 million identities exposed to cyber villains. That’s a huge number.

In professional services, your people are your product. Their skills, knowledge, and experience are what separate you and your company in the marketplace. Attracting talented people and retaining them are essential, and your managers play a pivotal role.

Digital transformation is top of mind for every CEO. And it should be. Transforming organizations through technology innovation, digital business processes, and tightly integrated value and supply chains is essential in order to drive growth and lower costs. In fact, two-thirds of Global 2000 CEOs will put digital transformation at the center of their growth and profitability strategies in the next two years.

The promise of the cloud is compelling, and more companies are making the leap than ever before. In fact, Gartner predicts the worldwide public cloud services market will grow 16.5 percent in 2016 to total $204 billion. Those numbers are not surprising, given the tremendous opportunities made possible by cloud services.