We are so excited to officially launch Capstone-on-Demand. This one-of-a-kind service gives you the ability to fill resource gaps as they happen. Capstone-on-Demand allows your team dedicated access to all our in-house professionals. Each time you need one of our experts they are simply a phone call or e-mail away. With our support team behind you, you will benefit from on-call access to an experienced practitioner who is familiar with how your team works, your organizational culture and the projects rolling out to meet your strategy. Personalized services - when and how you need them! Click HERE to learn more about Capstone-on-Demand.

The Capstone team is currently leading Nova Scotia’s 911 emergency response transition assisting Emergency Management Office’s, Public Safety Access Points and other emergency services to proactively adjust from legacy systems and practices to Next Generation 911 technology and services delivery. Across Canada, the public safety 911 community is facing a critical, pivotal moment in its history. The existing 911 system was designed in an era of landline telephones and assumes the calls are coming from fixed, known addresses. Today, the high majority of 911 emergency calls originate from smartphones and IP devices, often while away from home addresses. As a result, these changes are driving this historic evolution to Next Generation 911. With NG911, private citizens in need of emergency assistance can send photos, videos, texts, as well as make voice calls to 911 professionals. It's an exciting, fast-paced and critically important project that the Capstone team is extremely proud to be a part of. If you'd like to learn more about the NG911 project, click HERE.

Don't forget to check out our upcoming events! Scroll down to get more information and register for our next Encore demonstration and a free webinar we're hosting in partnership with Digital Nova Scotia about Capstone's PMO Broker.

Pay for what you use & avoid long, complicated contracts - that's Capstone-on-Demand! This is a unique service, where you, your business and your team have dedicated access to our in-house professionals. Each time you need one of our experts they are simply a phone call or e-mail away. With our dedicated support team behind you, you will benefit from on-call access to an experienced practitioner who is familiar with how your team works, your organizational culture and the projects rolling out to meet your strategy.

Take advantage of our suite of services. You can choose to engage in a single service or ramp up as you need more support. 

• Avoid long, complicated contracts.
• Engage through a monthly retainer.
• Cancel anytime for a refund of the remaining retainer.
• Receive weekly updates on engagement levels.
• No minimum engagement required; use one or all of our resources as you need them.
• Respond to emerging challenges, team capacity issues & other problems with experienced business resources.

Check out all of the services available to you through Capstone-on-Demand by clicking HERE.

Want to learn more about Encore and how this powerful business and project management tool can help your organization? The Capstone team will be hosting free Encore demonstrations on the last Monday evening of each month for anyone wishing to attend.

The next free Encore demonstration will be held on Monday, March 28th at 6:00pm AST.

Through our proud partnership with Digital Nova Scotia, Capstone's President & CEO Cynthia Giles will be delivering a free webinar coming up in May. Selecting the right project management tool can be an overwhelming and frustrating process, but it doesn't have to be. Join us on Tuesday, May 17th from 10am - 11am AST to learn all about Capstone's PMO Broker and how we make the process easier for you.

Protecting your digital information has never been more critical than it is today; both for businesses and individuals. Below are some tips on how to protect your data at the office, at home and on the go. It's a long article, but hang in there as there's some fantastic information below...we promise!

• Browse in incognito mode. “Incognito mode” is a term coined by Google Chrome to describe an internet browsing mode in which your web browser automatically deletes your browsing history and cookies at the end of a session. The name might suggest that your browsing activity is completely disassociated from your identity online but browsing incognito only hides your activity from others who use your device. It doesn’t shield your identity from sites you visit, nor does it hide your browsing from your internet service provider (ISP) or the person in charge of your network. 

• Use Antivirus software. Antivirus software is a dedicated software that helps in detecting cyber threats such as malware, spyware, and phishing. 

• Use a VPN. A VPN (Virtual Private Network) is a simple software that was created to protect your online privacy and make life harder for hackers by anonymizing your traffic and location. 

1. VPNs encrypt all the data you send over the internet 
2. When you connect to a VPN server, your IP address won't be visible. 
3. Some VPNs block malicious websites, ads, and trackers 

• Limit info on social media. Consider carefully the kind of personal details you provide on your social media profile. Never provide sensitive information such as nearest schools, political affiliation, bank account information, former or current workplace, Social Insurance numbers, or general interests, among others. Providing this information may appear harmless, but it can be used to scam you or serve you unnecessary ads. Also consider your security settings, are they set high enough? 

• Be careful where you click. In 2020, three out of four companies around the world were hit by a phishing attack, and these kinds of scams were responsible for 22% of data breaches. Phishing often takes the form of something an employee is expecting, making it hard to recognize. Nearly all (97.25%) phishing emails contain some form of ransomware, and these communications can have both short- and long-term ramifications. In addition to the financial burden, they can introduce viruses, halt productivity, and compromise sensitive data on a broader scale.  

• Secure smartphones. Standard smartphones do so much: thanks to a hyper-competitive marketplace there's a constant race to add more capabilities, which means that security often tends to lag. Smartphones may be our most personal devices -- we carry them everywhere, and they know more about our lives than our closest friends -- but they were never designed with security or privacy in mind. The apps we download harvest too much data (like the flashlight app that needs access to your contacts book) and the handsets themselves are just as vulnerable to hackers and malware as PCs, but harder to protect. Our phones are literally minicomputers that hold our entire lives; the Anit-virus protection you use on your computer can now be added to your phone, as an added measure to secure your information.  

• Different passwords. Remembering the passwords for multiple accounts can be frustrating, but there is hope! Here are some simple tricks that will help. First your password needs to be at least 12 characters long with a mix of numbers of special characters and upper/lower case characters. Picking an easy phrase that is related to the account you're logging into will help you keep them all straight. Whatever you do, do not write them down and do not be tempted to hit that remember password button!  

• Use two-factor authentication. Two-factor authentication (2FA) is an extra layer of security used to make sure that people trying to gain access to an online account are who they say they are. First, a user will enter their username and a password. Then, instead of immediately gaining access, they will be required to provide another piece of information. With 2FA, a potential compromise won’t unlock the account. So, even if your password is stolen or your phone is lost, the chances of someone else having your second-factor information is highly unlikely.  

• Clear your cache. The first time you visit a site, your browser will “save” pieces of the site. Because your browser can display the files stored in its cache much faster than it can pull fresh files from a server, the next time you visit that site, the use of cached files will help cut down page load time. Many times, web developers must make updates to the files that comprise your site to push a change or new feature live. If we change a file that your browser has cached, it’s going to keep serving the old, cached version of the file and you won’t see our most recent change. That’s why we ask you to clear your cache. 

• Different email accounts. Dozens of email privacy threats lurk on the web, just waiting for you to lower your guard and let them wreak havoc. A minimum of two email addresses is good; one to use for your private personal and financial life, and one for everything else. However, you can use even more than that. For example, one email might be used to access financial information connected to your bank account and PayPal account. One might be for personal use, like staying in touch with acquaintances, applying for jobs, and making business inquiries. And you might use a third to sign up for online accounts like social media or retail websites (like Amazon, etc.), where you can track your interactions on these platforms. By using multiple email accounts for security, you reduce the impact that one account being hacked can have upon you. The process of mitigating the hack is also much easier, because it won’t be able to trickle into every aspect of your life. 

• Turn off the save password feature in browsers. If you've made it this far into the article this is now self-explanatory. 

• Don’t use public Wi-Fi. Security experts have long advised people to avoid using public Wi-Fi networks because of the risk of being hacked. Despite those warnings, free Wi-Fi is becoming more widespread and popular, with consumers browsing the web courtesy of local governments, cable companies, neighborhood coffee shops, and others that offer an on-the-house hot spot. Researchers have disclosed a serious weakness in the WPA2 protocol. (Wi-Fi Protected Access II) = (WPA2) is an encryption standard used to secure many Wi-Fi networks. That allows attackers within range of vulnerable device or access point to intercept passwords, e-mails, and other data presumed to be encrypted, and in some cases, to inject ransomware or other malicious content into a website a client is visiting. 

• Disable Bluetooth when not in use. Leaving your Bluetooth on all the time can be dangerous, and hackers are exploiting the technology to access private information, spread malicious software and more. BlueBorne, an "attack vector" that can infect iOS, Android, Windows and Linux devices, is spread through the air, according to Palo Alto-based cybersecurity firm Armis. The virus allows hackers to "take control of devices, access corporate data and networks, penetrate secure 'air-gapped' networks and spread malware." BlueBorne can penetrate anything - computers, smartphones, tablets and the ever-growing world of continuously connected gadgets like televisions, light bulbs and refrigerators. Even more alarming - the attacker's device doesn't have to be paired to the victims to launch an assault. 

Sources:

Be careful where you click - Search (bing.com) 

The world's most secure smartphones -- and why they're all Androids | ZDNet 

What Is Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)? - Authy 

Why you should clear your browser's cache and how to do it | Digett 

4 Reasons to Use Multiple Email Addresses to Protect Your Privacy (hotbot.com) 

Here's why you should turn off your phone's Bluetooth when you're not using it (mynbc5.com)