Innovation, leadership, and culture writer Max McKeown once said, "All failure is failure to adapt; all success is successful adaptation." Staying up to date on contemporary technological changes is key to maximizing efficiency and maintaining adequate security in your small to midsize business.

Ransomware is the leading cyber security threat in 2018. In a recent podcast, Hal Lonas, CTO of the security software provider Webroot, offered a succinct explanation of how ransomware has flipped the security threat paradigm on its ear. “It used to be that the bad guys wanted data because it was valuable to them,” he said. “With ransomware, they’re essentially asking: ‘your data isn’t valuable to me, but how much is worth to you?’ It’s scary how smart it is.” New types of ransomware will continue to surface. Hackers are constantly modifying ransomware code to evade detection by defense technologies, such as security software. This year, we’ve witnessed a surge in “polymorphic” malware, which is malware that changes automatically to appear unique to different endpoints. Security software often fails to discover these variants. To decrypt files, hackers typically demand a ransom in the form of bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies.

In my two previous posts, I've talked about email safety and the importance of educating your end users. The goal being that your employees become critical consumers of information and data on the internet. As I mentioned before, one of the most important investments that you can make towards the security of your business is to educate your employees about email safety and best overall practices. So, what is the next smartest thing business owners can do to securely manage their IT assets?

 I started with SumnerOne in 2006. It was a different world of technology at that time. The technology advances that we had were moving into affordable color copying in an office. Its crazy to think that at that time, a color print cost $.15 and black and white prints were $.013. And that was considered a bargain! Since then, the world of office technology has moved past printers and copiers and further into the realm of the digital age. In my experience, I can tell you that one thing is certain: technology is constantly changing and if you want to stay relevant, you better be changing with technology. I can assure you that if my sole expertise was telling you what printer fit your business, I'd have a lot of spare time on my hands. So how has SumnerOne evolved into more than just a printer and copier dealer? Let me tell you how we've done it:

As a business owner, your focus is to ensure that your business systems and data are secure from threats. There are many ways to make that level of information security happen. You may find yourself asking, what is the best way? Which solution will provide the most return on your investment? Would it be a new firewall? Fresh antivirus and anti-malware apps to protect against cyber attacks? Actually, the answer might surprise you. The best return on your invested dollars is to help educate your end users. One ignorant end user can bring down your entire infrastructure no matter what you might have invested.

The past few months, we have discussed the “IT” problem. It’s well-known that the biggest security risk for a company is its people. Educating your employees on possible threats is the first line of defense, but this can only help so much in the battle of keeping your network secure. The devious cyber criminals that are trying to wreak havoc on your business are pretty sinister and tricky. The need for IT support for any business is inevitable, but which type of IT services is right for you?

As small and medium-sized business owners, we make every effort to ensure that our networks are protected from malware, viruses, and spam. It only takes one user to click on a link in a spam or phishing email to bring down the whole network. How do we educate our users so that they become critical consumers in a high-tech workplace?