Why You Get Better Results When Outsourcing IT
There are several good reasons why companies choose to outsource IT to a third-party specialist. Apart from cost saving and improved efficiency, outsourcing IT ultimately delivers better results. As we all know, IT is a fast-moving industry. You only have to look at the recent Optus and Medibank data breaches to see how quickly companies must act to improve online security. However, that’s just one part of the IT puzzle. You’ve also got hardware and licensing, offsite backups, end-user support… the list goes on. Now, if you think that handing over IT management sounds riskier than keeping it in-house – keep reading. We’ll show you why your company will be safer and achieve better results when outsourcing IT. What are the benefits of Outsourcing IT? Outsourcing IT can be highly beneficial to companies of all sizes. The cost savings, increased flexibility, access to specialised skills and improved operational efficiency all point to a safer and better managed IT system. Cost Saving By outsourcing IT, your company can save money on hiring, training and retaining employees, as well as purchasing equipment and infrastructure costs. Additionally, outsourcing IT delivers cost predictability, as your company knows the monthly fixed price for IT services.
Mobile Malware Has Increased 500% – What Should You Do?
Cybersecurity researchers uncovered an alarming mobile statistic. During the first few months of 2022, mobile malware attacks surged by 500%. This is alarming both in scale and because many people aren’t yet protecting smartphones. For years, mobile phones have become more powerful. They now do many of the same functions as a computer – just with a much smaller screen. Yet, people tend to secure their computers better than they do their smartphones. This is a behavior that needs to change. Over 60% of digital fraud now occurs through mobile devices. That makes them highly risky if proper safeguards aren’t followed. Many of these are the same types of protections you have on your computer. It’s time to start thinking about your smartphone as a mini-computer and keeping it just as secure. Tips to Improve the Security of Your Smartphone Use Mobile Anti-malware Yes, your mobile phone needs antivirus/anti-malware too! Malware can and does infect smartphones and tablets. You need to ensure you have a reliable mobile anti-malware app installed. And beware of those freebies. Freebies are great when you’re talking about food, but not security apps. Malware is often hidden inside free apps. These apps are ironically supposed
Have You Had Data Exposed in One of These Recent Data Breaches
There’s a reason that browsers like Edge have added breached password notifications. Data breaches are an unfortunate part of life. And can have costly consequences for individuals. Hackers can steal identities and compromise bank accounts, just to name a couple. Cybercriminals breach about 4,800 websites every month with form jacking code. It has become all too common to hear of a large hotel chain or social media company exposing customer data. Hackers can breach your personal information and passwords without you knowing it. And the time from breach to notification of the breach can be lengthy. One example is the data breach of CafePress. This is a popular online retailer that prints personalized items. CafePress suffered a data breach in February 2019. That breach exposed millions of names and addresses, security questions, and more. Hackers also breached social security numbers that weren’t encrypted. As mentioned, the breach happened in February. But many consumers weren’t notified until late summer. The FTC recently took action against the company. This was due to its careless security practices. The point is that months or years can go by without you knowing about compromised data. Unless you happen to look at the right website, you
2023 Trends in Data Privacy That Could Impact Your Compliance
Data privacy has been a growing requirement ever since the internet age began. So much personal information is flying around through computer networks. Protecting it has become a mandate. Most companies must follow HIPAA, GDPR, or another industry or locality-based privacy rule. By the end of 2024, 75% of the world’s population will have their personal data protected. It will fall under one or more privacy regulations. You don’t need to be a large enterprise organization to have data privacy compliance at the top of your mind. It goes hand in hand with cybersecurity. Additionally, privacy requirements hit all sized companies. Between July 2020 and July 2021, GDPR violations rose by 113.5%. The number of associated fines also jumped, by 124.92%. When it comes to HIPAA violations, each incident can carry a penalty between $100 to $25,000. It’s important to make data privacy a priority and factor it into all your data collection processes. When companies collect, send, or store personally identifiable information (PII) it needs protection. This means putting adequate safeguards in place. To stay on top of your privacy compliance obligations, you should also keep up with trends in this area. Next up, we’ve documented the biggest data
8 Tech Checks to Make Before You Travel
Our technology inevitably comes with us when we travel. Most of us won’t even travel to the end of the block without our smartphones. When you go on a trip, not having your technology there when you need it can ruin your day. Travel smarter and more securely by doing several checks before you go. Use our handy tech travel checklist. It can save you from suffering from lost devices, missing chargers, or a data breach. 1. Check Your Apps Have you ever sat at an airport gate wondering why it looked so empty? You then found out that your gate had changed, and you had no idea. You go rushing to the other end of the concourse, hoping you’re not too late. How did everyone else know about the gate change? They most likely had the app for the airline and received a notification. Before you leave for a trip, make sure to download any apps you may need. It’s better to download them when you’re at home on your own Wi-Fi. If you wait until you’re at the airport, reception may be an issue. Some of the apps you may want to grab or update before your trip
7 Most Exciting App Announcements at Microsoft Ignite 2022
If you follow Microsoft products, then you may know about Microsoft Ignite. Held annually, it generates many exciting updates and announcements in the Microsoft world. Microsoft held its most recent conference last October. In the rush of the recent holidays, you may have missed some of the highlights. So, we’re bringing them to you now. One thing you’ll notice is that Microsoft Teams got a lot of love at the event. Microsoft is now describing Teams as “the app at the center of Microsoft 365.” We can see why the company keeps enhancing this virtual workspace. Teams now has over 280 million users. It’s not surprising seeing that Microsoft has introduced over 450 new Teams features. And that’s just in the last year. We’ll go over some Teams features below, along with other Microsoft App announcements from Ignite. These may give you some ideas for your next digital workflow upgrade. Teams Premium There is a new Teams Premium offering from Microsoft that adds a whole new AI component to the platform. This service includes several AI-powered features. They make it seem like you have your own meeting assistant. Some of the cool features include automatically generating chapters from a Teams
