This past week Howard University had to cancel classes due to “unusual activity on the University’s network”. As a result, their Enterprise Technology Services (ETS) team shut down the school’s classes for the day to investigate the situation which they identified as a ransomware attack. This incident brought to light the consideration of how deep...
Last week the President met with leaders in the private sector as well as those in education to discuss the need to address cybersecurity threats to the nation and efforts needed across the board. The increase in incidents and the ongoing threat of attack is something that transcends all the invisible borders that we put...
Last week we saw the mobile phone carrier T-Mobile fall victim to cybercriminal activity when a hacker accessed the personal data of their users. They learned of the breach via claims that were made on an online forum. This led to an investigation and hiring of cybersecurity experts to help with the situation. They have...
Working from home. It was fun while it lasted for many of us. Some people are scrambling to get back to the office to escape makeshift dining room desks that compete with family life and chaos, or just crave the social interaction and other structure that office environments provide. You might be in a combination...
SmileDirectClub (SDC) is a business that offers teledentistry services throughout the world. They produce and sell transparent retainers that fix crooked teeth in the way that traditional braces work. With 60-75% of people in need of their services, they are poised for long term success, with a large audience of potential patients. Sure, there is...
There’s a March Madness of a different kind that happens each year during this time of tournaments: the onslaught of phishing emails that users fall for over and over again. With pools that take place in our offices, among friends, or to the individual who wants to join a group online, hackers are handed a...
We tend to not ask too many questions and let things slide when we aren’t certain about the situation. Is that normal? Should that happen like that? I guess so. I don’t really know. I mean, it seems ok?? And as with all things related to COVID-19, there’s an air of uncertainty that hasn’t left...
This week a friend shared a story about her college-aged daughter Jane and her recent experience in finding a job. She is in graphic design and has a portfolio, so when she came across a well-known company that creates sports-branded gear that was hiring, it was something she wanted to pursue. She sent them her...
The end of the year in the usual circumstances brings about reflection even if it hasn’t given us challenges to face or decisions to look back on. This year was one of extraordinary circumstances, and while the situation was unprecedented, the summary of what transpired lends itself to the age’s old advice: Preparation is key....
With the election season winding down, and a new administration announcing plans for the future, there will be another factor that contributes to the uncertainty of our times. (When does the list of uncertainties stop growing, I wonder?) And again, we find hackers and cybercriminals in a power position to take advantage of our uncertainty...