April 2023 Tech Upload
NEW Digital News
New Investor Mentorship Program
Now accepting 2nd cohort mentors and mentees
The mentorship advantage – unlock your potential!
Cohort 1 was a huge success with our first three pairings of mentors and mentees. We are now expanding to six (6) pairings in the 2nd cohort of NEWDA’s Investor Mentorship Program!
What is in it for you?
- Grow your desired skillsets through a guided mentor/mentee relationship
- Gain outside perspective from local IT Talent
- Build relationships with likeminded professionals
- Expand your network
Commitment
Twice a month, attend 1×1 sessions for one hour for 3 months.
Become a mentor or mentee
We are looking for both mentors and mentees for the 2nd cohort. If you are interested in becoming a mentor or mentee, reach out to Jack Brown at jack_brown@secura.net to apply or learn more. Deadline is Wednesday, April 12.
What makes a good Mentor?
- Able to commit the time to grow the mentee
- Broad set of experiences
- A good listener and communicator
- Desire to grow leadership skillset
- Self-aware of strengths and opportunities
- Ability to guide a mentee and provide feedback that fits their style
What makes a good Mentee?
- Able to commit the time and be respectful of the mentor’s time
- Open to feedback and the desire to take action on feedback
- Ability to ask probing questions
- Have goals in mind and work with Mentor to achieve those goals
- Come prepared to 1x1s with topics
How cybersecurity boosts business resilience
Mar 15, 2023
By: Tom Wojcinski
Running a successful wealth and asset management business is filled with competing priorities and challenges. Market volatility and uncertainty in the economy ratchet up the pressures even further. But one of the biggest threats that many firms fail to take as seriously as they should is data security — their clients’ and their own.
While recognizing the importance of adequate cybersecurity is essential to business resilience, many companies overestimate the effectiveness of their current defenses and are ill-equipped to limit the impact or recover effectively when a breach occurs.
Widespread risk
No organization flies below the radar when it comes to threat risk. Regardless of the size of your firm, attackers are out there trying to break into your networks, infiltrate your cloud systems and steal or ransom your data.
While companies are still fearful that their data – their intellectual property – could be stolen and sold to others, cybercriminals, overall, have shifted mindsets, going from “your data has value to someone else” to “your data has value to you.”
The rise of ransomware, fueled by cheap access to ransom services and tools and the emergence of access brokers, has democratized cybercrime. There’s a relatively low cost of entry for criminals to start targeting you.
Adapting to changing risks requires constant vigilance and commitment to action. It’s useful to shine a spotlight on some key realities about cybersecurity that may help you focus on vulnerabilities at your organization you may not have recognized.
- Smaller businesses are an easier target than larger organizations
- Trusted insiders pose just as big a threat as external attackers
- Insufficient identification and authentication of your system users leaves your business exposed
- Failing to validate your security systems regularly increases your risk
What can a YubiKey do for you?
March 15, 2023
By: John Rohland
Cybercrime has become a growing concern for individuals and businesses in today’s digital age. With the increasing sophistication of hackers and the growing frequency of data breaches, traditional Two-factor authentication (2FA) methods like SMS and TOTP are no longer enough to protect online accounts and sensitive data. This has led to the rise of hardware-based 2FA devices like YubiKey, from Yubico, which provide a more secure, convenient, and reliable way to authenticate identity.
YubiKey offers more robust protection against account takeovers and can also provide cost savings for businesses in the long run. In this blog post, we will explore the limitations of SMS and Time-Based-One-Time-Password (TOTP) based 2FA, the benefits of using YubiKey, and the cost savings that can be achieved by implementing YubiKey within the security measures of a business.
In recent years, two-factor authentication (2FA) has become a widely used security measure to protect sensitive data and online accounts. 2FA adds an extra layer of security on top of passwords by requiring a second form of authentication, such as a one-time passcode (OTP) sent via SMS, email, or generated by a Time-Based One-Time Password (TOTP) app. However, recent statistics suggest that 2FA via SMS and TOTP is no longer sufficient to protect against cyber-attacks.
Key benefits when implementing a YubiKey into your business security measures are:
- YubiKey can be used with various online services, including Microsoft, Citrix, DUO, Google, Facebook, and more.
- YubiKey has already gained significant traction in the tech industry, with companies like Microsoft, Cisco, and Google offering support for the device.
- YubiKey is not only more secure than SMS and TOTP-based 2FA, but it is also more convenient.
- YubiKey has been designed to be user-friendly, with a simple tap-and-go authentication process.
- YubiKey is designed to be durable and reliable.
- YubiKey is available in various form factors to suit different needs and preferences.
- Adding YubiKey to a business’s security measures significantly reduced the risk of a data breach.
Is Now the Time to Rethink Your Aftermarket Strategy?
How the right sustaining services keep you a move ahead.
Getting the right products to market on time is definitely not the finish line. Your success and your company’s overall impact on the planet depend on what happens to your product long after it’s in your customers’ hands. This basic principle hasn’t changed, so why is now the right time to consider your aftermarket strategy and how you will sustain your product’s market position?
Financial pressures, geo-political tensions and overall instability are putting companies under pressure like never before. It’s no longer possible to continue to operate in the same way and expect the same results. Companies are looking for new ways to mitigate the risks posed by this challenging macro-environment, without losing their focus on remaining profitable. To stay ahead of the competition, new strategies are required to:
- Relieve costs pressures,
- Overcome supply chain constraints and
- Contribute to the circular economy
Formulating these strategies is driving companies to be more purposeful, to look at things from a new perspective and specifically change how they manage their products post launch.
We consider three areas that should influence thinking on sustaining services strategy.
Nine Top of Mind Issues for CISOs Going Into 2023
January 10, 2023
By: Richard Archdeacon
As the majority of the global Covid fog finally started lifting in 2022, other events – and their associated risks – started to fill the headspace of C-level execs the world over. In my role, I regularly engage with CISOs in all kinds of sectors, representatives at industry bodies, and experts at analyst houses. This gives me an invaluable macroview not only of how the last 12 months have affected organizations and what CISOs are thinking about, but also how the upcoming year is shaping up.
Using this information, last year I wrote a blog summing up the nine top of mind issues I believed will most impact CISOs as we headed into 2022. Many of them still ring true now and will continue to do so, but some new concerns have risen up the agenda. Here are the topics that I think will be top of mind in 2023, and what CISOs can do to prepare.
- CISO in the firing line
- Increasing demands from insurers
- Getting the basics right
- How Zero Trust will progress
- Ransomware and how to deal with it
- From Security Awareness to Culture Change
- Resignations, recruitment and retention
- Don’t sleep on the impact of MFA Fatigue
- Third party dependency
Regional News
Raising IT Awareness & Interest
The shortage of IT talent is a barrier for organizations to implement emerging technologies, but college students often lack awareness and interest in information systems (IS). To address this issue, the University of Wisconsin – Oshkosh College of Business created an IS Career Day in a Class in 2016, which combined elements of a career day, job shadow, and panel presentation to expose students to IS discipline and career paths. The event showcases the value of technology and digital skills, the day-in-the-life of an IT employee, numerous IS-related career paths. Students found the event valuable and expressed more interest in pursuing an IS-related career.
Information Systems Assistant Professor, John Muraski (DBA, PMP), recently published an article in the Journal of the Midwest Association for Information Systems (JMWAIS) on the IS Career Day his Essentials of Information Systems course hosts. This event brings in 20-30 IT professionals from across northeast Wisconsin each semester. His paper offers implementation suggestions and explores participants’ perception of the event and their interest in IS academic paths.
You can read his full journal article here: IS Career Day in a Class: Raising College Student Awareness and Interest in Information Systems.
Award for Aspirations in Computing
The Wisconsin Affiliate of the NCWIT Award for Aspirations in Computing honors 9-12th grade women, genderqueer or non-binary students for their computing-related achievements & interests. In 2021, 138 students were honored! A great way to support this program is through giving the gift of your time at the annual Award Recognition event. For our 2022 Award Recognition event taking place on May 7th at MSOE, we are looking for women IT professionals to join us and engage with the awardees, their parents and educators.
If you are interested in attending or have questions, please email us at ncwit.wi@gmail.com indicating your interest with your full name and organization.
Inspire the next generation of coders & creators in NE Wisconsin
The Microsoft Philanthropies TEALS (Technology Education and Learning Support) brings computer science education to high schools. This is done with a unique partnership of tech industry professionals and high school teachers: the IT professionals provide computer science knowledge, and the classroom teachers provide the education expertise.
Microsoft TEALS are currently recruiting in person and remote volunteers for the 2023/24 school! You can learn more about the program by registering for a volunteer info session or by contacting your Regional Manager, Shannon Suda. You will hear about how the TEALS program works, the curricula provided, and how you can become a tech industry volunteer.
- Click here to register for an info session: Volunteer Info Sessions – TEALS (tealsk12.org)
- Sign up to volunteer: New volunteer application – TEALS (tealsk12.org)
- Contact your Regional Manager, Shannon Suda: Shannon@tealsk12.org
100 (Free) AI Courses
Some of the biggest changes – and opportunities – today are being driven by artificial intelligence (AI). We know how important building AI-related skills will be to navigating virtually every role and industry, whether you’re an everyday professional in fields like marketing or sales or a seasoned developer. That’s why we’re making over one hundred AI courses free through June 15, 2023 to help you succeed in your job and career.
Courses are offered in multiple languages. Check out all of the course topics and highlights: 100 FREE AI Courses.
