Archives for January 2015

These days, most of us carry a mobile device of some kind — everywhere we go. Our devices often serve as a lifeline to work, friends, shopping, school and even family. Would you be lost if your smartphone, laptop, or tablet went missing, got broken or was stolen?

Unfortunately, more thieves are targeting expensive personal mobile devices for theft. Not only is the device valuable, but a savvy hacker can access your personal information – email, bank accounts, online shopping transactions, and more – to steal your identity and your money. The risk can be even greater to business and organizations that allow their employees to work remotely — theft can lead to expensive data loss, asset theft and worse.

That’s why it’s so important to protect yourself by taking the following steps to stay ahead of hackers! Here are the four things you should do to protect yourself in case your mobile device gets broken or goes missing. (There’s also a special bonus tip for business leaders at the end of the list.)

Tip #1: Change your passwords regularly. This might seem obvious, but consider: It’s likely that your laptop, tablet or phone automatically “remembers” your passwords and logs into your most used accounts. Be sure to set strong passwords to limit the damage, and use a different password for each account. If your device is lost or stolen, immediately change all of your account passwords.

Tip #2: Enable a two-step authentication process for your most sensitive accounts. Add an extra layer of password protection by requiring a notification be sent to your smartphone or laptop, and a second password be entered every time your account is accessed from a different device.

Tip #3: Use tracking programs and software to keep track of your mobile devices. Did you know that you can remotely monitor everything someone does while using your computer? There are software programs you can download and install to track your device through the Wi-Fi networks it uses, and can log activity such as keystrokes, use the webcam, and even delete or retrieve files.

Tip #4: Back up all of your information. Does your organization use cloud service for file storage? If so, you may already have the advantage of an additional layer of protection because your data can be retrieved from the cloud if you lose your hardware. You can also back up your data on an external hard drive.

Bonus Tip: Set company policies that protect sensitive data. Are your employees accessing the company email system or other files from a smartphone, personal laptop or tablet? You can protect sensitive data by limiting the access, based on the needs of your organization.

Have any questions? Please let us know! We’re proud to share our tech expertise and years of experience in helping customers make great decisions. We invite you to get in touch!

Are you up-to-date on the new tech laws taking effect in 2015?

Many business leaders are spending more than ever to upgrade to the latest technology and stay competitive in the marketplace. Regardless of how current your IT systems, it also pays to keep track of the new laws to avoid compliance issues, and just to set best practices for your organization. Here are some things to note as you’re planning for the upcoming year.

First, many of the laws that specifically govern tech require organizations to protect sensitive data and secure consumers privacy. For example, healthcare organizations must follow federal laws to protect medical records from unauthorized access.

Tech privacy laws are only going to get broader this year. In Delaware, state law now requires businesses to properly destroy all articles that contain employees’ personal identifying information.

Regardless of the laws in your state, your organization should update all data systems that contain sensitive information with added protections from hackers. It’s also a best practice to control which employees have access to sensitive files.

Another tech best practice for the year? Recycling your hardware, including computer hard drives, servers, and mobile devices. More states are starting to write this into law, although it’s always been a smart move for businesses and consumers. In New York, residents are now required to recycle electronic equipment properly to avoid it going into landfills. This protects the environment, and consumers’ privacy.

Proper recycling of tech equipment isn’t yet a requirement in all states, but it pays for your business to properly dispose of all equipment to protect sensitive data. Scammers have been known to take old hard drives out of the garbage, and use the hardware to steal info that hasn’t been completely wiped.

Finally, lawmakers are starting to put additional measures into place to help protect consumers protect their data from loss or theft. In California, all smartphones manufactured after July 1, 2015, must have a kill switch to allow for remote de-activation.

Although kill-switch laws can help to protect owners and employees, it will pay for business leaders to get ahead of the law by setting effective policies governing BYOD devices used by employees — including laptops, tablets and phones — to protect data against loss, theft, and other troubles.

Have questions? You can learn more about recent new tech laws here. We also invite you to get in touch with us to learn more about how to set effective tech policies at your organization, and the services we offer!

Happy New Year from all of us at Oram Corporate Advisors!

Right now, many of us are looking forward to setting goals to make it a productive and successful year. Tech experts, too, are currently crunching the data and analyzing trends from this last year to make educated predictions for the business environment in 2015.

In our industry, we’re hearing a lot about the growing demand for IT services to keep businesses competitive. Based on recent IT hiring trends, the experts are reporting that there are areas of expertise that are hotter than ever in the tech world. Are you ready to stay competitive with the best professional tech expertise in the following areas for your organization?

Database Administration: The basic foundation of tech service, database administration and management is needed at almost every organization. The IT professionals most in demand for 2015 will be able to interpret the data to help business leaders make informed decisions, and understand the big picture of how the database has been put together to provide flexible, effective service.

Data Security and Compliance: The risk and potential for a business-killing security breach is growing along with innovation, as businesses increasingly adopt new tech to stay competitive. Add to that the number of companies allowing employees to bring-your-own-device to work, and the need for IT professionals with data security and network administration skills is growing along with it.

End-to-End IT Service Management: There is an ongoing need for help desk service and technical support, which will only increase as more organizations take on greater levels of tech complexity to manage and support all kinds of projects. The best IT professionals will be able to provide support that crosses departments and keeps communication open with customers.

If you’re searching to update your IT support and service in these areas in 2015, you don’t have to hire another employee to meet your needs. Instead, you can outsource for this level of IT expertise.

We invite your to get in touch with us at Oram Corporate Advisors with any questions about the outsourced IT services we provide. We wish you a productive, successful year!