April 2017 Newsletter
Frequent Password Changes
Is It Helpful or Does It Hurt?

This question depends a lot on the regulations of your industry. The financial and health care industries have made it a requirement that you change passwords regularly regardless of real benefits. Because of this, you really don't have much choice, you just need to comply. A study done at UNC-Chapel Hill on password change frequency, found that people tended to create simpler passwords that followed a clear pattern when they were forced to change them frequently.

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5 Ways to Safeguard Small Business Data
Recently, I was talking to someone in our office about the problems that come with using older versions of Office. He automatically mentioned that various employees using different versions under a single network can make it difficult to make a complete update on everyone's computer at once. Then, I questioned if there were security issues with having older versions of Office. He had completely forgot that you are more vulnerable from doing this.
Sometimes we forget that there are simple ways to keep our data safe, such as safeguarding our data by using the newest version of Office.

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How to create an effective cyber hygiene program
used with permission from the Microsoft Secure Blog
by Ann Johnson, Vice-President, Enterprise Cybersecurity Group
As noted in the 2016 Verizon Data Breach Incident Report, 63% of confirmed breaches involved leveraging weak, default or stolen passwords, 30% of phishing messages were opened in 2015, and 12% of targets clicked on the malicious attachment or link. Given this, organizations of all types can make significant gains in their security posture by educating their user base on best practices for digital engagement and cyber hygiene.

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6 Tools Every Small Business Owner Needs to Succeed in 2017
used with permission from HP Technology at Workwith permission from SBA.gov
by Bridget Weston Pollack
The dawn of 2017 likely brings with it new optimism — not just in your personal life, but for your business as well. But are you ready to take on this new year wisely?

Before you start making sweeping changes in your small business, take a look at these six tools which can help you along the way. They'll inform your business decisions (and maybe some personal ones, too.)

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The Personal Impact of Cybercrime
used with permission from Norton by Symantec
by Christina Schubert
Fifty-one percent of people think that over the past five years it's become harder to stay safe and secure online than in the real world. Yet, 689 million people in 21 countries experienced cybercrime within the last year alone. The reason for this staggering number is simple. Most people don't take the right precautions to protect their digital lives. While some are unaware of online dangers others think it can be dealt with after it happens. The truth remains that cybercrime is evolving rapidly and impacting the daily and digital lives of people.

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