The ACCENT Learning Hub

We’re living in a time where cybercrime and ransomware attacks are announced like the next big box office hit. They’re making an impact worldwide, and it’s causing many businesses to suffer downtime, loss of business, and increased costs to recover from attacks. One of the most common types of scams affecting businesses is referred to as phishing. Phishing attacks are generally emails that entice users to perform an action, like clicking a link to an infected webpage, opening a malicious attachment, or even wiring money.

A good day at work for Chris Frye is when he’s found a way through a challenge. That’s a good thing, because as Professional Services Manager for Accent, every day has its challenges. Whether he finds the solution on his own or by collaborating with his team, it’s the challenges that keep things fresh and exciting for Chris.

It’s not uncommon for your customers to give you specifications about how they want to do business with you. These specs increasingly include cyber security expectations, specifically compliance with the NIST(1) Cyber Security Framework. What should you do if someone with whom you do business places this requirement on you? Here’s what you need to know.

Have you ever stopped to think of all the ways that Information Technology (IT) weaves through your business? You might think that IT is just your workstations, servers and printers but these days, office lighting and environmental controls could just as easily be part of your IT systems. Now, think of how your business operations run. Could you serve your customers without IT? 

Think back to what your life was like 16 years ago. The year was 2003. Were you thinking about cyber security back then? Probably not, but that was when National Cyber Security Awareness Month (NCSAM) was started through a collaboration between the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA). In 2019 cyber security is more important than ever and this year’s awareness theme focuses on personal accountability.

Business owners and financial executives are often responsible for managing the IT function of their company. A common way they choose to handle it is by outsourcing some or all of IT to a technology services provider. For many small and medium sized businesses, outsourcing the management of their technology helps them cut costs without sacrificing good service, reliability, and efficiency.

If you have your laptop, you can work from just about anywhere if there’s an internet connection to your company servers. Out on a sales call and need to log in to grab your proposal? Need to get to your email from home? Updating your project timelines while you’re waiting at the airport for your next flight? No problem! No problem unless…

Did you know that October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month (NCSAM)? The Department of Homeland Security describes this nationwide initiative as "a collaborative effort between government and industry to raise awareness about the importance of cybersecurity and to ensure that all Americans have the resources they need to be safer and more secure online.”

Many business executives see IT as a necessary evil. You definitely need it to get your job done – emailing, processing orders, billing, etc. – but it’s just something that keeps the business humming along. These executives are missing out because the most successful companies today are the ones that see a clear relationship between a well-executed IT strategy and its power to help move the business forward. What if there was a way to go from “humming along” to using technology as a competitive advantage – an advantage that could move the needle toward growth, increased profitability and improved customer satisfaction?

Email communication is a necessity in any organization, which also makes it a breeding ground for cyber attackers. All too often, we hear from executives about concerns that email will become an open door for a data breach or malicious software such as a virus. They ask us, “How can we tighten email security to avoid becoming a victim of these hackers?"