The costly impact of IT downtime on small and medium-sized businesses

IT downtime

No matter your industry or size, technology has become the backbone of business operations. From the local coffee shop that relies on a point-of-sale (POS) system to process payments, to the mid-sized manufacturing company utilizing sophisticated software for inventory management, technology is integral to the smooth functioning of small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). However, when IT outages or IT downtime … Read More

2FA for Enterprises: A Must-Have Security Measure

2FA

Businesses of all sizes live in the shadow of a cyberattack. Whether it’s targeted at your firm, or you just find yourself to be collateral damage, the threat is ever-present. A single data breach can have devastating consequences, costing businesses millions of dollars in lost revenue, damaging their reputation, costing legal fees, etc.. Your first line of defense? 2FA. Two-factor … Read More

LastPass breach, part II — what you need to know

LastPass_breach2

The LastPass breach was a pretty stunning turn of events for a company on the cutting edge of cybersecurity best practices. It proves that regardless of how sophisticated or careful a company is, with enough time and motivation, talented hackers can breach some parts of said system. Here’s what happened, and what you can learn from the breach. Incident 1 … Read More

5 biggest cybersecurity threats facing small businesses today

cybersecurity threats

There’s a reason large enterprises not only have IT departments, but increasingly now have entire cybersecurity teams as well. But as small businesses increasingly rely on digital systems themselves, they become more vulnerable to cyber threats. Small businesses also tend to be easier targets for hackers because they often lack the resources or expertise to secure their systems independently. While … Read More

Business computers: The pros and cons for your company

Business computers

Regardless of whether you’re a lean startup or a massive enterprise corporation, you can’t get very far without computers (I know, pretty obvious by this point). And while we all know how critical computers are for modern operational efficiency and productivity, I still get a ton of questions from our various clients and partners about whether they should outfit their … Read More

The state of cybersecurity in 2023

State of Cybersecurity

Jen Easterly is the director for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). Recently, she gave a speech at CES that functioned sort of like a State of the Union, but for cybersecurity. Her comments reflect that the state of cybersecurity, most unfortunately, is “unsafe.” “We live in a world…of massive connections where that critical infrastructure that we rely upon … Read More

Lastpass hack proves how vulnerable we all are. Here’s how to fight back.

Lastpass hack

LastPass is one of the most popular password manager services out there. I love it and have used it for years. But even the most secure systems can be breached, unfortunately. To wit: Lastpass recently suffered a data breach that has raised concerns about the security of using such services. So, I want to explore the details of the hack, … Read More

Leverage’s best of 2022

Leverage

2022 has been a crazy year on several fronts — re-opening the country post-covid, a new normal for work, rampant inflation, war in Ukraine… it’s been a lot. The same is true for businesses as we navigate an ever-more hostile security environment, a constant need to innovate and upgrade our tech stacks to keep pace, etc. Leverage has been publishing … Read More

AI — the 2023 cybersecurity trend to watch

AI

We write about cybersecurity a lot on this blog… and with good reason. Cyber incursions are more prevalent, more expensive and more top-of-mind than ever before. Regardless of the line of business you’re in, you quite simply have to take preemptive measures to keep your company, your people and your data secure. And given how important cybersecurity is now and … Read More

Your VPN might not be as secure as you think on iOS

VPN

A VPN, or virtual private network, is a hallmark of good cybersecurity defense. Most companies utilize some form of VPN these days, and with good reason. As Kaspersky puts it, “VPNs encrypt your internet traffic and disguise your online identity. This makes it more difficult for third parties to track your activities online and steal data. The encryption takes place in real … Read More