Cybersecurity Awareness Week 4: Putting It All Together

 October is Cyber Security Awareness Month (CSAM). The goal of CSAM is to help Canadians stay cyber-safe by equipping them with knowledge through the following four themes:

• Week 1:  You Got Phished
• Week 2:  Where, Why and How It Happens
• Week 3:  Prevention
• Week 4: Putting It All Together

For the final week of CSAM we're focusing on the theme, “Putting It All Together”. This week, we're discussing how to spot the 7 red flags of phishing, cybersecurity tips for older adults and children, and how to equip colleagues with knowledge of phishing.

The 7 Red Flags of Phishing

Phishing is a common method that hackers will use to steal valuable information from individuals and organizations. Phishing scams are often disguised as messages from people and organizations that you trust, making them easier to fall victim to.

The most important way to avoid a phishing scam is to learn how to recognize one. Here are seven red flags to look out for:

1. Urgent or threatening language: Look out for threats of closing your account or taking legal action, and pressure to respond or act on something quickly.
2. Requests for sensitive information: Be on alert for links directing you to login pages, requests to update your credentials, and demands for your or your company’s financial information.
3. Anything too good to be true: Avoid actions on messages that claim winnings from contests you’ve never entered, prizes you must pay to receive, and inheritance from long-lost relatives.
4. Unexpected emails: Disregard emails such as receipts for items you’ve never purchased and updates on deliveries for things you didn’t order.
5. Information mismatches: Look out for incorrect (but maybe similar) sender email addresses, links that don’t go to official websites, and errors in spelling or grammar that a legitimate organization wouldn’t miss.
6. Suspicious attachments: Avoid attachments that you didn’t ask for that have weird file names or uncommon file types.
7. Unprofessional design: Be on alert for incorrect or blurry company logos, image-only emails, and company emails with little, poor, or no formatting.

If you encounter any of these red flags in an email or message, do not interact with it. Rather, delete the email or message. If you are unsure, ask the sender about the message through a different channel.

Cybersecurity Tips for Older Adults and Children

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQ9ZNShXbC0

Learning how to be cyber safe can seem like an overwhelming task. For older adults and children, there is a lot to learn about practicing safe online behaviour, as well as ensuring your devices are protected from cyber threats. The best way to prevent falling victim to a cyber-attack, such as phishing, is to know how to recognize and prevent yourself from becoming a victim.

Our devices do a great job of making our lives more convenient! For example, older adults can turn to their computers and tablets to chat with their family and friends, and kids can turn to their smart speaker and ask for homework help (“Hey Google, what is 2 x 2?”), learn about any topic of their choosing, play music, and more! But, just like other internet-connected devices, smart devices can give potential cybercriminals access to our information.

If you encounter any of the seven red flags of phishing in an email, phone call, or text message (aka smishing), do not interact with it. Delete the email or text, do not answer the call (or hang up), and if relevant report it.  Phishing attempts are becoming more sophisticated, so if you are unsure ask the “sender” about the message through a different channel.

For example, if your child receives an email from their teacher asking them to send them personal information- it is likely a phishing attempt as teachers, or the school would reach out to the parent. In this case, you or your child can ask their teacher directly in their next online or in-person class to confirm if the request was legitimate or not.

Older adults must also be on the lookout for the red flags of phishing as they can become a target of cybercrime such as romance scams, tech support scams and grandchild scams.  Some actionable steps that both older adults and parents of young children can take to practice cyber safety include:

• Teach children about cyber safety
• Think twice before you share any personal information online
• Always verify requests with a trusted source
• Use anti-virus and malware protection
• Backup your data
• Only visit trusted websites and do not click on unknown links or attachments
• Protect your accounts with MFA
• Use complex passphrases and passwords

How To Equip Colleagues with Knowledge Of Phishing

Whether you’re working at the office or remotely, cyber security practices should be taken seriously. Businesses of every size can be a target of cyber crimes such as ransomware, phishing, and malware. While not completely unavoidable, proactive measures should be taken to avoid cybercrime and protect your business networks.

Cyber security is a team effort that requires action from both management and employees. The best way to equip your team to prevent becoming a victim of cybercrime is to learn how to recognize and prevent it! Here is what you can do to ensure your team is prepared to avoid common cyber crimes, such as phishing:

• Implement Email Best Practices: Combat the inevitability of cybersecurity breach attempts through email by communicating best practices with your employees. Practices such as: separating internal and external emails, prohibition of all unknown email link clicks and keeping an updated SPAM filter.
• Educate Your Team: Ensure that your team understands what is at stake with a business’s cybersecurity. Highlight case studies to show your team how poor cyber habits cost other businesses and share examples of what an attempted cyberattack looks like. Learn the seven red flags of phishing, and always be on alert.
• Implement Information Regulations: Create strict rules on when it is appropriate for an employee to give out personal, sensitive or business-related information through any form of electronic communication or online medium.
• Implement Browser Best Practices: Combat the inevitability of cybersecurity breach attempts through online websites by communicating browser best practices with your employees. Practices such as firewall implementation, browser monitoring/usage limitations and education on online safety features (such as SSL).
• Implement Personal Account Regulations: Create regulations surrounding what personal accounts employees can and cannot access on the business network (such as personal banking and email accounts).

Your colleagues are your first line of defense against common cyber attacks, including phishing and ransomware. Did you know that AlphaKOR offers Cyber and Phishing User Training services? These services include dedicated training and educational materials to educate your employees about cybersecurity risks. 

Your Cyber Security Partner

As Cyber Security Awareness Month comes to an end, be sure to extend what you have learned this past month into your everyday cyber habits! 

Cybersecurity Awareness Week 3: Prevention

 October is Cyber Security Awareness Month (CSAM). The goal of CSAM is to help Canadians stay cyber-safe by equipping them with knowledge through the following four themes:

• Week 1:  You Got Phished
• Week 2:  Where, Why and How It Happens
• Week 3:  Prevention
• Week 4:  Putting It All Together

This week’s theme, “Prevention” focuses on 5 actionable steps to prevent becoming a victim of cybercrime.

Tip #1: Use Strong and Unique Passphrases and Passwords

Did you know that at least 65%  use the same password across multiple sites? Although this makes remembering your credentials easier to do, this also makes your accounts vulnerable to cyberattacks.

By creating complex passphrases and unique passwords for each site you use, you instantly tighten up your security, making your accounts less attractive to hackers. Some best practices for creating complex passphrases include:

• Avoiding family, pet, company, and familiar names that can be easily guessed by others
• Using unique combinations of letters, numbers, symbols, and cases for each site you use
• Creating passwords with at least 4 words and 15 characters long

Tip #2: Use A Password Manager

Our passwords protect the things that are important to us, such as our financial information, our social media accounts, and more. But with all the platforms and websites we actively use, it can be difficult to keep track of unique and complex passwords for each platform.

Password managers such as Google Password Manager help you create complex passphrases and store them so that you never forget a password again.

Tip #3: Enable Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)

Multi-factor authentication (MFA) is an added layer of security that is catered to you so that only you can access your accounts and private information. This dual layer of security is simple to implement and consists of two or more independent credentials to verify you are who you claim to be. Three of the most common credentials consist of what the user knows (password), what the user has (security token) and what the user is (biometric verification).

Some common forms of MFA include:

• Fingerprint scanners
• Voice verification
• Facial recognition
• Security questions
• PIN numbers
• SMS authentication
• App-based authenticators
• Hardware tokens

Implementing MFA is an excellent way to add an extra security layer to your system. Did you know that by adding something as simple as MFA to your accounts, you can protect yourself from automated bots, phishing attacks and targeted attacks?

In short, MFA works to prevent malicious activity on your network, keeping your sensitive data safe and secure. We suggest you allow MFA everywhere it can be used and if you don’t have the capabilities perhaps it’s time to invest in a little extra digital security.

Tip #4: Regularly Backing Up Your Important Data

Your important data is important! Be sure to keep it safe on your devices so that it does not get lost, corrupted, or fall into the wrong hands. One of the best ways to keep your data safe is to regularly back up your important data.

There are many benefits to taking the time to back up your data, including:

• Ensuring you always have a backup in case of a disaster such as a cyberattack or breaking your device
• Freeing up storage space on your device
• Protecting your special moments from accidental corruption

Backing up files is easy to do! You can back up your data physically and/or digitally. To back up your files physically, you’ll need an external device such as a USB stick or an external hard drive. Once your files are backed up physically, you’ll want to ensure that you keep your external device stored in a safe location.

To back up your data digitally, you can use a reputable online cloud server. There are many great options to choose from! Some online cloud servers offer free storage up until a certain amount, while others have subscription fees.

Whether you decide to back up physically or digitally, choose what works best for you.

Tip #5: Protecting Your Small Business Against Phishing Attacks

No business is too small to become a victim of a phishing attack. More than half of email scams and phishing attempts target small businesses.

Phishing is a common method that hackers will use to steal valuable information from both individuals and organizations. Phishing scams are often disguised as messages from people and organizations that you trust, making them easier to fall victim to.

It’s important for small businesses to take steps to protect their private and important information. The following are simple tips for small businesses to follow:

• Only visit legitimate and trusted websites while working from a business computer or device used for business operations
• Verify that you are only providing personal and business information to trusted sources
• Always question why your personal information is required when asked for it
• Do not remove or disable any security safeguards on your business network and devices such as anti-virus software

Always

Stay Cyber Safe

Whether it’s Cyber Security Awareness Month or any other day, always keep cybersecurity practices in mind to keep your cyber safe. 

Cybersecurity Awareness Week 2: Phishing - Where, Why and How It Happens

October is Cyber Security Awareness Month (CSAM). The goal of CSAM is to help Canadians stay cyber-safe by equipping them with knowledge through the following four themes

• Week 1:  You Got Phished
• Week 2: Where, Why and How It Happens
• Week 3: Prevention
• Week 4: Putting It All Together

This week’s theme, “Where, Why and How It Happens”, focuses on what phishing is, where it happens, the motivation behind cyber threats and how it works.

What is Phishing?

Phishing is a common method that hackers will use to steal valuable information from individuals and organizations. Phishing scams are often disguised as messages from people and organizations that you trust, making them easier to fall victim to.

What are the different types of phishing?

Phishing can take on many different forms, as well as come from a variety of mediums including email, phone, online shopping, gaming, social media, and direct messages. The following is a quick overview of the most common types of phishing campaigns that cybercriminals use to steal your information.

Smishing

Smishing is a phishing attempt that occurs through text message (SMS) and involves a cybercriminal impersonating someone to steal information from you. In many cases, smishing messages contain a link they are trying to get you to click on.

To protect yourself against smishing attacks, always be cautious about the messages you receive from people you do not recognize. If you are unsure, try to verify the information and confirm if the identity they are taking on is legitimate. For example, if you receive a message claiming to be your school, call your school using the contact information available on their official website and verify whether the request is real or smishing.

Spear Phishing

Spear phishing is a message that is tailored to the target's potential line of work, interests, and/or personal characteristics. To do this, cybercriminals conduct research about their victims and use their findings to make their messages seem authentic. They then send these spear phishing attempts disguised as a credible source, with the subject being something relevant to their victims in hopes to increase the success rate of their attempts. When successful, victims hand over their personal information, such as a credit card number, to the cybercriminal.

Whaling

Whaling attacks are sophisticated messages that target high-profile victims who have the authority to issue large payments. Whaling attempts are designed to trick these victims into thinking they must make a payment to another organization, but in reality, the payment is directed to the pockets of the cybercriminal.

Phishing Trends

Now that you know the various types of phishing, it’s important to be aware of phishing trends so that you can spot any potential attempts.

Banking Scams

Cybercriminals will pose as your financial institution and send urgent, or too good to be true messages in hopes of their victims taking action. If you receive a phone call, email, or message that asks you to claim the money in exchange for verifying your credit card number or asking you to pay for outstanding banking fees, be wary and do not give over your information. Always verify with your banking institution by visiting in person, or calling the phone number listed on their official website to verify if the request is legitimate.

Romance Scams

There is plenty of phish in the sea! Looking for companionship online has been made easy with the help of dating websites and apps, but sometimes profiles are too good to be true. Romance scams happen often when a cybercriminal creates a fake profile with the goal of taking advantage of someone looking for romance.

To avoid becoming a victim of a romance scam, always be cautious about what information you share on dating websites and apps. Never give your personal information such as your SIN number, banking information, or even the answers to security questions such as your mother’s maiden name.

Event-Based Scams

Event-based scams happen when cyber criminals take advantage of events, such as a concert or sports games, to steal information and money from their victims. When it comes to phishing, cyber criminals will typically send out messages posing as event organizers and include a link. When the link is clicked, you are likely to be prompted to enter sensitive data such as a credit card number or credentials to your financial institution.

Spoofing is a tactic that is often used with event-based scams, which is when a cybercriminal will create a fake look-alike website or app to trick users into making fake purchases. Be sure to guard your personal information and always verify that the websites you are using to purchase event tickets are legitimate.

Malware and Ransomware

Malware is one of the most common ways people experience a cyber attack. Malware is software  specifically designed to interfere with, damage, or gain unauthorized access to a computer system. If your device is infected, it can cause freezing and crashing, poor performance, unwanted pop-ups, and toolbars, and even send out unwanted emails.

Malware presents itself in many forms, including viruses, worms, trojan horses, spyware and adware, and ransomware.

With a ransomware attack, access to your computer or electronic device is blocked until a ransom is paid to the cybercriminal. These common forms of malware are sometimes difficult to recognize. The following best practices can help you protect your computer system against malware:

• Install and use anti-virus software
• Avoid suspicious links and email attachments
• Download only from trusted sources
• Use a VPN on unsecured networks like public Wi-Fi

Beware of Social Engineering

A social engineering attack is a web user is tricked into doing something dangerous online. There are various types of social engineering attacks, with a prominent form of it being phishing.  Always think twice before you share your information online and take actionable steps to protect your devices against phishing, malware, and ransomware.

Stay Cyber Safe

Whether it’s Cyber Security Awareness Month or any other day, always keep cybersecurity practices in mind to keep your cyber safe. 

October is Cyber Security Awareness Month

 October is Cyber Security Awareness Month (CSAM). The goal of CSAM is to help Canadians stay cyber safe by equipping them with knowledge through the following four themes:  

• Week 1:  You Got Phished
• Week 2: Where, Why and How It Happens
• Week 3: Prevention
• Week 4: Putting It All Together

This week’s theme, “You Got Phished”, focuses on actionable steps to take to recover from a phishing attack.

Before we get started, it’s important to understand what Phishing is. Phishing is a common method that hackers will use to steal valuable information from individuals and organizations. Phishing scams are often disguised as messages from people and organizations that you trust, making them easier to fall victim to.

How to tell if you have been phished or hacked

The most evident sign that you have been phished or hacked is when you notice changes to your accounts. This might look like not being able to access your email accounts, noticing suspicious charges to your bank or credit card accounts, or even receiving notifications on social media from friends alerting you that your accounts have been compromised.

Before you notice these clear signs of unusual behaviour, there may also be notifications from your accounts alerting you of changes. For example, if a malicious actor is attempting to sign into your email account, you may receive notifications asking you to confirm that “you” are trying to sign in from a certain location. In some cases, these alerts may also come after a successful sign-in attempt from a malicious actor. Banks may also block purchases from being made on your card until you confirm whether the transaction is coming from you.

To help keep you safe from phishing, we’re sharing 4 easy tips, as well as what to do if you have been phished.

Tip #1: Change passwords and upgrade passwords to passphrases

Did you know that at least 65% of people reuse the same passwords across multiple sites? Although this makes remembering your credentials easier to do, this also makes your accounts vulnerable to cyberattacks.

By creating complex passphrases and unique passwords for each site you use, you instantly tighten up your security, making your accounts less attractive to hackers. Password managers such as Google Password Manager and LastPass can easily help you create complex passphrases and store them so that you never forget a password again.

Some best practices for creating complex passphrases include:

• Avoiding family, pet, company, and familiar names that can be easily guessed by others
• Using unique combinations of letters, numbers, symbols, and cases for each site you use
• Creating passwords with at least 4 words and 15 characters long

Tip #2: Enable anti-Malware and anti-virus software

Malware is one of the most common ways people experience a cyberattack. Did you know the majority of Canadians have had malware on their computer?  Malware is software specifically designed to interfere with, damage, or gain unauthorized access to a computer system. If your device is infected, it can cause freezing and crashing, poor performance, unwanted pop-ups, and toolbars, and even send out unwanted emails.

Malware presents itself in many forms, including viruses, worms, trojan horses, spyware and adware, and ransomware. These common forms of malware are sometimes difficult to recognize. The following best practices can help you protect your computer system against malware:

• Install and use anti-virus software
• Avoid suspicious links and email attachments
• Download only from trusted sources
• Use a VPN on unsecured networks like public Wi-Fi

Tip #3: Enable automatic software updates

Updating your programs and operating systems regularly ensures that you are benefiting from the latest security patches and bug fixes, making it harder for cybercriminals to exploit your data with malware. Keep your systems, programs, and applications updated. Most programs and operating systems do a great job at reminding their users when an update is available. Enabling automatic updates on your devices will help ensure that you don’t miss an update!

Tip #4: Back up your data

Backing up files is easy to do! You can back up your data physically and/or digitally. To back up your files physically, you’ll need an external device such as a USB stick or an external hard drive. Once your files are backed up physically, you’ll want to ensure that you keep your external device stored in a safe location.

To back up your data digitally, you can use a reputable online cloud server. There are many great options to choose from! Some online cloud servers offer free storage up to a certain amount, while others have subscription fees.

Whether you decide to back up physically or digitally, choose what works best for you.

Keep Others Safe and Report The Scam

If you have been targeted by a phishing scam in Canada, you can help keep others safe by reporting the scam. You can report the scam by contacting:

• Your local police: file a report about the phishing scam or fraud. Remember to get a report number for your reference.
• Regulatory bodies: if the scam involves someone from a regulated profession, regulatory bodies may have the ability to take disciplinary action to prevent further incidents.

Stay Cyber Safe

Whether it’s Cyber Security Awareness Month or any other day, always keep cybersecurity practices in mind to keep your cyber safe. 

Celebrating 36 Years Of A Tremendous Journey!

 

Celebrating 36 years in the IT industry and what a tremendous journey so far!

We need to stop and celebrate the moments by sharing our positive news with each other.  This week marks 36  years since my professional career started right after graduating from the University of Windsor with a Bachelor of Commerce degree!  

Join me in smothering the Internet with positive news, accomplishments and milestones.  Share your celebrations with the world as we enjoy each others’ successes. 

Extremely grateful for everyone along this journey.  Humbled to be called “The Connector” and expert on the subject matter for cybersecurity and entrepreneurship.  The recognition, awards, accolades, podcast appearances, guest presenter, media appearances on so many different platforms to help others enriches me to continue to grow.  I see how important it is for all of us to truly care and help one another.

Thanks To My Beautiful Family

I would like to thank so many terrific people who have supported and helped me along this awesome journey!  Thanks to the lovely Carmela for her love, support and always being here for me.  To Haley & Brandon and Syd & Michael for their love and for keeping things in perspective on what's important along the way.  To my mom, dad, who was so proud of me and miss him dearly, my in-laws, all the extended family and friends for all your love and support, thank you.

Some Highlights And Milestones

Here are some highlights to share with you of a wonderful journey.

My first day was April 25th, 1988 at Computerway, a subsidiary of Epson Canada.  The manager provided a quick overview of the two main computers; the 286 or AT and the 8088 or XT..... and that's how it all started by learning specifications, talking to first-time buyers and answering their questions.  Not many options to choose from except monochrome screens available with green, white and the latest with amber text.

Around 1994 the Internet was starting to catch on and e-mail was being used first internally and then to the world.  The wealth of information on the 'Net was incredible for all of us "early adopters" and it was always interesting to see what most people were looking for.  (Hint: it was non-business related).

Joined CCD for 5 years from 1991 to 1996 as corporate sales.   It was exciting to see a small company grow over the years.   Spent most of the time "pounding the pavement", getting a lot of no's and doors slammed.   The consistency and perseverance paid off in the long run.  Incidentally, in October 2014 we purchased CCD and it sure brought back memories of that period.

Retirement - what was I thinking?

The Retirement - lasted for 6 weeks in early 1996.  For some reason, it felt right at that time for a career change.  I laugh back when I think about this.  It truly was a defining moment to shape my future.  I was so glad when Shawn called asking me to consider joining AlphaKOR.  It was a very easy decision to make since Ali, Mazen and Shawn provide the best service second to none.  I was asked to sell the "sizzle" and they always delivered the "steak".

We were well ahead of the curve in our discussions about websites in 1996 and Y2K in 1997.  Most businesses were not ready for either conversation.  The early website discussion was about having your company domain name and adding an e-mail address under your fax number.  (For the younger readers you can Google "fax machines").

Moving in the fall of 2008 on the eve of very tough economic times was a bit scary.  As most companies scaled back, they leaned heavier on us for support.  Our team more than doubled in the six years while at our Mercer location and we had to take on a second location as we were busting at the seams.

In the Fall of 2014, we challenged ourselves with purchasing our current location at Twin Oaks, buying CCD and undertaking major renovations to fit our needs.  One of my favourite days was June 18, 2015, for our Open House with Mayor Dilkens, Chamber President Matt Marchand and WEtech President Yvonne Pilon who took part in the Opening Ceremonies before we cut the "ribbon" to open our 12 000 sq. ft. two-acre location!

As we have evolved from humble beginnings in a 600 sq. ft. retail space to where we are today, we truly have to thank The AlphaKORians, for all they do.  Your gift of the tree:   "4 Partners planted in the community" is very special as it continues to grow at Dieppe Gardens.  My Partners, Ali, Mazen and Shawn working together, pursuing our dreams and aspirations are the amazing guys behind the scenes.   Thanks, guys for believing in me so I can do what I love best and tell our story!  Thanks to Charlene, Maha and Lori for all your support and for being here for us.

4 Partners Planted In The Community

In 2014, AlphaKOR was named Tech Company of the Year at the WEtech Tech Awards.  We keep growing and keep leading in Technology with Cybersecurity being a hot topic everyone needs to deal with and have a strategic plan in place.  It is exciting every day to be part of an awesome Team and to help so many both for their business and to give back to the community.

And Now We are 5 Partners 

Today we are 5 Partners and recently announced Liqaa as our CEO.  AlphaKOR celebrated 29 years of successful growth earlier this year!

I enjoy every day as the President and love sharing our story.  Connecting with familiar and new like-minded people is rewarding as we learn from each other.  Presenting to audiences virtually or in person are the highlights of this role. 

Supporting Our Community

I truly enjoy being involved in a number of organizations and have found it very enriching. Being part of Build A Dream, St. Clair College, The Giving Eight, University of Windsor, WEST, WEtech, WECYAC, WindsorEssex Chamber to name a few.  Being a mentor is one of my favourite roles working with entrepreneurs pursuing their passion.  

Building our own networking groups, the WindsorEssex Circle with my co-host Joe Di Giorgio which ram from 2009 until 2020.  My current pet project is the networking group called Wednesday Wisdom.  This group began January 2021 as a weekly virtual group and evolved into a monthly in-person group.  Thanks to everyone who shared and helped with the challenges of the "new norm".

Throughout the years with my volunteer hat, I have met so many wonderful and inspiring leaders, entrepreneurs and many caring people.   You have enriched my life, taught me how we can make a difference by caring and giving back.

Humbled & Grateful

It is an honour and humbling when the media and the community recognize our commitment and dedication to service.  It is overwhelming when a news story hits and the media calls to interview you as the expert on the subject matter.

I recall going to CBC studios for a news segment on Security Breaches the day the CRA story hit.  My Dad called me and told me what a great story it was to hear me talk about the issue. I asked if he understood the interview and he replied "No, but boy you and the reporter talked a lot and did a good job".   Thanks, Dad, my first mentor who taught us how to take care of people at our roadside fruit stand.   Who knew my sales career actually started in 1971!

We have been blessed with many accolades and awards.   We always remember where we came from, how we arrived here and everyone who helped along the way, thank you.

Fun Moments

Three of my favourites are Entrepreneur of the Year, Chamber BEA 2012, Tech Mentor of the Year, WEtech 2017 and Mid-Size Company of the Year, Chamber BEA 2014.  By the way, I dedicated the Tech Mentor award to the AlphaKORians' who have inspired me to share their stories and all the great stuff they do.

Volunteering and giving back to the community by sitting on Boards, and being a mentor helping others has been self-rewarding.   Never be afraid to get out of your comfort zone!

The AlphaKORians' Rock!

Special thanks to the AlphaKORians, our loyal clients, associates, friends and families, for being a part of our success.  I am truly blessed for leading such an awesome team.  The AlphaKORians' do rock and have been here taking care of everything all the time. 

Enjoying every day sharing our story as your President for 29 years and counting.  Cheers to many more!

THANK-YOU!

Enjoying The Holidays

As the year winds down, it’s time to thank everyone for being a part of my journey with a year of overcoming new challenges, helping others, and continued growth personally and professionally.      

IT JUST KEEPS GETTING BETTER

Every year just keeps on getting better.  In reflecting on all the good things and the challenges we had, it is exciting to see how we continue to grow and move forward in a positive and successful direction.  There are many great people to thank, including my business partners; Ali, Liqaa, Mazen, and Shawn, our spouses, who are always there for us, the incredible AlphaKORians’ and our clients (the extended team).

Thanks to our families, friends, and associates who play a role in our successes.  I thank each and every one of you, thank you!

BALANCING WORK AND THE HOLIDAYS

How do you balance work and the holidays?

This year, the month of December is filled with holiday company events, customer appreciation events, holiday networking events, friends and family holiday events, and many other gatherings.  How many events can you attend and how many do you want to attend?

We had our company holiday dinner after three years and it was enjoyed by all who attended.  It is wonderful to continue this annual tradition of enjoying the AlphaKORians and significant others in a social setting having dinner and good conversations.

Finding the right balance between work and holiday commitments can be challenging.  When clients and suppliers invite you to their appreciation events, it is important to make the effort to attend.  Don’t forget to wish them a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

UNPLUGGING WITH THE FAMILY

Looking forward to this Holiday Season with some time off to enjoy unplugging for a bit while making time for the family.  We seem to forget this as we get swept away by all the activities and invitations.  Our annual tradition is to celebrate Christmas Eve with my family.  My sister is hosting this year.  Everyone brings a dish, so no one has to prepare it all.   

Christmas Day is spent with Carmela’s side of the family.   Another big meal and too many sweets and desserts and of course espresso.  It is always a wonderful time and we enjoy playing cards after the big meal in between naps.  

Happy balancing during the Holiday Season!

SEE YOU NEXT YEAR!

To everyone who supported Wednesday Wisdom virtually and in person, we will continue this monthly event to connect and network with others next year.  Thank you for following the Building Circles blog and appreciated all your comments, feedback and support over the years.

Looking forward to seeing many of you soon and in the New Year!  Thank you, everyone, have a great holiday, and all the best in the new year.  Merry Christmas and enjoy the moment.  Be responsible and take care of your loved ones to ensure everyone gets home safely. Enjoy your holidays and all the best in 2023!

(Originally published on 12.14.22)

The Importance Of Contributing To Your Community

As the year winds down and we head into the holidays, I like to reflect on the things that made the year special. From our partners to our clients and community partners, the AlphaKORians' take pride in contributing to our local community.

In this post, I will be discussing the importance of contributing to community by establishing meaningful connections, as well as sharing how AlphaKOR is involved in the Windsor-Essex community.

Establishing Meaningful Connections

From our humble beginnings, AlphaKOR was founded in Windsor, ON, and grew to be the company it is today. For over 27 years, AlphaKOR has proudly been providing business technology solutions to businesses in the Windsor-Essex area and beyond.

Building meaningful connections in the community with Academia and many Non-Profit organizations, AlphaKOR supports and gives back to be a Community Partner.  Volunteering, sitting on boards/committees, and supporting and participating in community events are some of the ways we have made these connections.

This year, Wednesday Wisdom met monthly to foster new connections, reconnect with established ones, and created a network community to help each other, both professionally and personally.

Giving Back to the Windsor-Essex Community

AlphaKOR is built upon four core values that perfectly define everything we stand for: integrity, excellence, teamwork, and client focus. These values have grown to define the AlphaKORian culture, whether in-house, in the community, or on-site, this is what to expect from each other.

Beyond the call of duty, our incredible team bands together to support local causes, our community, and our education system. Each year, the AlphaKORians’ give back to the community through several causes and fundraising events.   It is important for those who can give back, especially at this time of year.

Over the years, AlphaKOR has proudly given back to the Windsor-Essex community by donating to various causes and participating in a variety of charitable events. During the holiday seasons, we have supported The Hospice of Windsor and Essex County with the help of our long-term client, John Martel. Additionally, we have supported The Windsor Youth Centre, a program of The United Church Downtown Mission of Windsor Inc., with a holiday food and care drive organized by The AlphaKORians, in addition to other local charitable causes.

Keep Giving Back

This year, AlphaKOR will be supporting The Windsor Youth Centre with an in-house HUGS drive.  The AlphaKORians are encouraged to give back to the WindsorEssex youth by donating clothing, hygiene products, winter gear, gift cards, snacks, and more essential items. We also invite any drop-in clients of ours to contribute to the HUGS drive as 100% of contributions will be donated.

There are other ways to contribute to the Community and I would like to circle back to Wednesday Wisdom.  In the Fall of 2020, many were asking how and where networking could take place during the pandemic.  January 2021 Wednesday Wisdom began as a weekly virtual networking group to bring professionals in the Community together.  This evolved into a monthly in-person networking group and peaked at 85 attendees last month!  This has helped many in our Community connect with others, create jobs, and create business opportunities, and the best part it has created relationships and friendships during this challenging time.

Fostering Growth in Windsor-Essex

As a technology leader in the Windsor-Essex community, it is important for us to contribute and give back to our community.  We like to lead by example for others to follow and give back when and where they can.  This year has been special as we continue to move forward together with a hybrid business model and more venues opening up to in-person interactions while continuing virtual interactions to help continue growing our Community.  We are excited about the new investments and opportunities as we wind down this year and welcome these in 2023.

What are you doing as a leader to contribute to Windsor-Essex Community?

(Originally published on 11.30.22)

Sales Builds Character, Character Nurtures Sales

 As a leader, having a charismatic personality attracts people to listen to what you have to offer. In this week's Optimize Yourself podcast, I am invited by podcast host Moutasem Seifi to discuss my journey to becoming a successful seller.

In this episode, I share my educational background, learning experiences that helped me in my career, and challenges that I have faced in the world of business.

With Seifi, I dive into my beginnings in computer Sales before the internet existed. In this role, doing my homework and building genuine relationships with customers were very important. Taking in everything I learned helped pave the way to building a successful career today as President and CEO of AlphaKOR.

Watch the full episode:

[embed]https://youtu.be/Jxai5VgdTiE[/embed]

What do you do to be a successful seller? Share your insight and tips in the comments below!

(Originally published on 11.23.22)

Building Relationships

 

HOW ARE YOU BUILDING STRONG RELATIONSHIPS?

Communication is always an important key to successful relationships. How often do you communicate to ensure it is often enough and not too often?

Understanding each relationship and treating everyone as individuals instead of grouping them helps balance the right amount of communication.  All of us have a threshold of how often we want to be contacted and when you understand this you will see positive results.

THOSE LITTLE THINGS

What about the little things?  Most relationships are challenged due to the little things.  On one hand, these little things do not seem to matter. On the other hand, they make all the difference.

What little things do you do to maintain the relationship to set you apart from the rest?

We take pride in dropping off products to our clients. Most of the time it leads to a good discussion and an opportunity. This little thing strengthens and provides value to the relationship.

MAKE IT PERSONAL

What do you know about the other person such as their favourite sports team, hobbies, and interests?  What do you have in common?   Make a personal connection that is real and genuine.

When following up, ask about their non-business involvement.   If their favourite team won a game recently, know about it and mention it or ask about the golf tournament they entered over the weekend.  Wish them a happy birthday or happy anniversary and better yet, mail them a card instead of e-mail or text.

CONSISTENT AND PROACTIVE

Make your communications consistent and be proactive. The conversation is about building the relationship first and adding the business dialogue afterwards resulting in a well-rounded relationship.  Sell after the relationship is built.

This is where the rule of the three keys to success sets in: follow-up, follow-up and follow-up.  As a leader, I cannot stress this enough:  be consistent and proactive in all your relationships.  By following this rule, watch your relationships grow stronger   When someone reaches out for an update, you have not followed this rule effectively.  Listen to what they are asking and adjust your communication to strengthen this relationship.

OVERCOME CHALLENGES

When there are challenges, it is very rewarding for one party to contact the other and share their concern. Working together on a challenge is the ultimate sign of a successful relationship. You actually do not have to agree; however, you both have to accept each other’s facts and move forward together.

Saying thank you and showing your appreciation is another way to maintain relationships.

How are you building your relationships?

(Originally published on 11.16.22)

Accomplishing Great Things

One of my life long motivators to accomplish great things is the fear of failure.  Sometimes we do fail and at other times we need to fail so we can learn from it.  This helps leaders keep focused on being successful.  To accomplish these great things, we are positive and we are energetic.

Being Optimistic

What really moves me about this fear is the ability to think positive, to be optimistic and  focus on achieving the goals at hand.  This is not blind optimism.   You have to be reasonable when you are setting that bar high to ensure it is within reach.

Being optimistic is not just smiling and pretending all is wonderful and good.   It is your passion and your positive vibe you bring every time.  When you channel your energy  to move forward in a positive and confident way to overcome the obstacles along the way is being optimistic.  Navigate your way against all the negative chatter and turn the conversation in a positive direction.  I call this "smother them with positive news!"

Create Your Own Destiny

The result of this motivation?

When we focus on being successful, we can create our own destiny.  It is easy to get frustrated when we hear all the "nay-sayers" around us.  Focusing our energy onto the positive side will help you stay on your path of success.  The person you see in the mirror is the only one you can hold accountable!

This destiny leads to achieving great things.  The positive feedback, the difference one can make and the feeling of successfully accomplishing something great are the motivation drivers to keep yourself going.

Accomplishing Great Things

What do you want to accomplish to make a difference?  We are facing this challenging time together by helping everyone we can along our journey.  The AlphaKORians' are dedicated and focused into helping and playing a role for so many to accomplish great things.  We thank them for all they do!

Take time to reflect on your successes and where you want to go from here.   Set some big goals and some smaller goals.   Take them one at a time.  Make plans to successfully achieve them.  Keep leading your team with direction, support and positive recognition.    They will make you a better leader.   Being a better leader results in accomplishing more great things as you continue to grow.

Share your story on the great things you are accomplishing.

(Originally published on 11.09.22)

How To Spot Phishing: The Seven Red Flags

October is Cyber Security Awareness Month (CSAM). The goal of CSAM is to help Canadians stay cyber-safe by equipping them with knowledge through the following four themes:

• Week 1: You Got Phished
• Week 2: Where, Why and How It Happens
• Week 3: Prevention
• Week 4: Putting It All Together

For the final week of CSAM we're focusing on the theme, “Putting It All Together”. This week, we're discussing how to spot the 7 red flags of phishing, cybersecurity tips for older adults and children, and how to equip colleagues with knowledge of phishing.

The 7 Red Flags of Phishing

Phishing is a common method that hackers will use to steal valuable information from individuals and organizations. Phishing scams are often disguised as messages from people and organizations that you trust, making them easier to fall victim to.

The most important way to avoid a phishing scam is to learn how to recognize one. Here are seven red flags to look out for:

1. Urgent or threatening language: Look out for threats of closing your account or taking legal action, and pressure to respond or act on something quickly.
2. Requests for sensitive information: Be on alert for links directing you to login pages, requests to update your credentials, and demands for your or your company’s financial information.
3. Anything too good to be true: Avoid actions on messages that claim winnings from contests you’ve never entered, prizes you must pay to receive, and inheritance from long-lost relatives.
4. Unexpected emails: Disregard emails such as receipts for items you’ve never purchased and updates on deliveries for things you didn’t order.
5. Information mismatches: Look out for incorrect (but maybe similar) sender email addresses, links that don’t go to official websites, and errors in spelling or grammar that a legitimate organization wouldn’t miss.
6. Suspicious attachments: Avoid attachments that you didn’t ask for that have weird file names or uncommon file types.
7. Unprofessional design: Be on alert for incorrect or blurry company logos, image-only emails, and company emails with little, poor, or no formatting.

If you encounter any of these red flags in an email or message, do not interact with it. Rather, delete the email or message. If you are unsure, ask the sender about the message through a different channel.

Cybersecurity Tips for Older Adults and Children

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQ9ZNShXbC0

Learning how to be cyber safe can seem like an overwhelming task. For older adults and children, there is a lot to learn about practicing safe online behaviour, as well as ensuring your devices are protected from cyber threats. The best way to prevent falling victim to a cyber-attack, such as phishing, is to know how to recognize and prevent yourself from becoming a victim.

Our devices do a great job of making our lives more convenient! For example, older adults can turn to their computers and tablets to chat with their family and friends, and kids can turn to their smart speaker and ask for homework help (“Hey Google, what is 2 x 2?”), learn about any topic of their choosing, play music, and more! But, just like other internet-connected devices, smart devices can give potential cybercriminals access to our information.

If you encounter any of the seven red flags of phishing in an email, phone call, or text message (aka smishing), do not interact with it. Delete the email or text, do not answer the call (or hang up), and if relevant report it. Phishing attempts are becoming more sophisticated, so if you are unsure ask the “sender” about the message through a different channel.

For example, if your child receives an email from their teacher asking them to send them personal information- it is likely a phishing attempt as teachers, or the school would reach out to the parent. In this case, you or your child can ask their teacher directly in their next online or in-person class to confirm if the request was legitimate or not.

Older adults must also be on the lookout for the red flags of phishing as they can become a target of cybercrime such as romance scams, tech support scams, and even grandchild scams. Some actionable steps that both older adults and parents of young children can take to practice cyber safety include:

• Teach children about cyber safety
• Think twice before you share any personal information online
• Always verify requests with a trusted source
• Use anti-virus and malware protection
• Backup your data
• Only visit trusted websites and do not click on unknown links or attachments
• Protect your accounts with MFA
• Use complex passphrases and passwords

For more tips about how older adults can stay safe online, check out this article by Get Cyber Safe.

How To Equip Colleagues with Knowledge Of Phishing

Whether you’re working at the office or remotely, cyber security practices should be taken seriously. Businesses of every size can be a target of cyber crimes such as ransomware, phishing, and malware. While not completely unavoidable, proactive measures should be taken to avoid cybercrime and protect your business networks.

Cyber security is a team effort that requires action from both management and employees. The best way to equip your team to prevent becoming a victim of cybercrime is to learn how to recognize and prevent it! Here is what you can do to ensure your team is prepared to avoid common cyber crimes, such as phishing:

• Implement Email Best Practices: Combat the inevitability of cybersecurity breach attempts through email by communicating best practices with your employees. Practices such as: separating internal and external emails, prohibition of all unknown email link clicks and keeping an updated SPAM filter.
• Educate Your Team: Ensure that your team understands what is at stake with a business’s cybersecurity. Highlight case studies to show your team how poor cyber habits cost other businesses and share examples of what an attempted cyberattack looks like. Learn the seven red flags of phishing, and always be on alert.
• Implement Information Regulations: Create strict rules on when it is appropriate for an employee to give out personal, sensitive or business-related information through any form of electronic communication or online medium.
• Implement Browser Best Practices: Combat the inevitability of cybersecurity breach attempts through online websites by communicating browser best practices with your employees. Practices such as firewall implementation, browser monitoring/usage limitations and education on online safety features (such as SSL).
• Implement Personal Account Regulations: Create regulations surrounding what personal accounts employees can and cannot access on the business network (such as personal banking and email accounts).

Your colleagues are your first line of defence against common cyber attacks, including phishing and ransomware. Did you know that AlphaKOR offers Cyber and Phishing User Training services? These services include dedicated training and educational materials to educate your employees about cybersecurity risks. Click here to learn more.

Your Cyber Security Partner

As Cyber Security Awareness Month comes to an end, be sure to extend what you have learned this past month into your everyday cyber habits! For more tips cyber security awareness tips, be sure to check out all of our CSAM blogs.

For all your cyber security needs, be sure to reach out to our security experts at AlphaKOR! Use the orange chat button on the bottom right of your screen or visit our Contact page to send us a message.

(Originally published on 10.26.22)4

CSAM Week 3: 5 Tips To Prevent Cybercrime

October is Cyber Security Awareness Month (CSAM). The goal of CSAM is to help Canadians stay cyber-safe by equipping them with knowledge through the following four themes:

• Week 1:  You Got Phished
• Week 2:  Where, Why and How It Happens
• Week 3: Prevention
• Week 4: Putting It All Together

This week’s theme, “Prevention” focuses on 5 actionable steps to prevent becoming a victim of cybercrime.

Tip #1: Use Strong and Unique Passphrases and Passwords

Did you know that at least 65% of people reuse the same passwords across multiple sites? Although this makes remembering your credentials easier to do, this also makes your accounts vulnerable to cyberattacks.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YeUFL3GTFT0[/embed]

By creating complex passphrases and unique passwords for each site you use, you instantly tighten up your security, making your accounts less attractive to hackers. Some best practices for creating complex passphrases include:

• Avoiding family, pet, company, and familiar names that can be easily guessed by others
• Using unique combinations of letters, numbers, symbols, and cases for each site you use
• Creating passwords with at least 4 words and 15 characters long

Tip #2: Use A Password Manager

Our passwords protect the things that are important to us, such as our financial information, our social media accounts, and more. But with all the platforms and websites we actively use, it can be difficult to keep track of unique and complex passwords for each platform.

Password managers such as Google Password Manager and LastPass can help you create complex passphrases and store them so that you never forget a password again.

Tip #3: Enable Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)

Multi-factor authentication (MFA) is an added layer of security that is catered to you so that only you can access your accounts and private information. This dual layer of security is simple to implement and consists of two or more independent credentials to verify you are who you claim to be. Three of the most common credentials consist of what the user knows (password), what the user has (security token) and what the user is (biometric verification).

Some common forms of MFA include:

• Fingerprint scanners
• Voice verification
• Facial recognition
• Security questions
• PIN numbers
• SMS authentication
• App-based authenticators
• Hardware tokens

Implementing MFA is an excellent way to add an extra security layer to your system. Did you know that by adding something as simple as MFA to your accounts, you can protect yourself from 100% of automated bots, 96% of phishing attacks, and 76% of targeted attacks?

In short, MFA works to prevent malicious activity on your network, keeping your sensitive data safe and secure. We suggest you allow MFA everywhere it can be used and if you don’t have the capabilities perhaps it’s time to invest in a little extra digital security.

Tip #4: Regularly Backing Up Your Important Data

Your important data is important! Be sure to keep it safe on your devices so that it does not get lost, corrupted, or fall into the wrong hands. One of the best ways to keep your data safe is to regularly back up your important data.

There are many benefits to taking the time to back up your data, including:

• Ensuring you always have a backup in case of a disaster such as a cyberattack or breaking your device
• Freeing up storage space on your device
• Protecting your special moments from accidental corruption

Backing up files is easy to do! You can back up your data physically and/or digitally. To back up your files physically, you’ll need an external device such as a USB stick or an external hard drive. Once your files are backed up physically, you’ll want to ensure that you keep your external device stored in a safe location.

To back up your data digitally, you can use a reputable online cloud server. There are many great options to choose from! Some online cloud servers offer free storage up until a certain amount, while others have subscription fees.

Whether you decide to back up physically or digitally, choose what works best for you.

Tip #5: Protecting Your Small Business Against Phishing Attacks

No business is too small to become a victim of a phishing attack. In fact, more than half of email scams and phishing attempts target small businesses.

Phishing is a common method that hackers will use to steal valuable information from both individuals and organizations. Phishing scams are often disguised as messages from people and organizations that you trust, making them easier to fall victim to.

It’s important for small businesses to take steps to protect their private and important information. The following are simple tips for small businesses to follow:

• Only visit legitimate and trusted websites while working from a business computer or device used for business operations
• Verify that you are only providing personal and business information to trusted sources
• Always question why your personal information is required when asked for it
• Do not remove or disable any security safeguards on your business network and devices such as anti-virus software

For more information about securing your small or medium-sized business, check out this guide from Get Cyber Safe.

Stay Cyber Safe

Whether it’s Cyber Security Awareness Month or any other day, always keep cybersecurity practices in mind to keep your cyber safe. For more information about CSAM, tune into our weekly CSAM articles for the month of October.

For all your cybersecurity needs, contact our security experts at AlphaKOR today!

(Originally published on 10.19.22)

Phishing: Where, Why And How It Happens

October is Cyber Security Awareness Month (CSAM). The goal of CSAM is to help Canadians stay cyber-safe by equipping them with knowledge through the following four themes

• Week 1:  You Got Phished
• Week 2: Where, Why and How It Happens
• Week 3: Prevention
• Week 4: Putting It All Together

This week’s theme, “Where, Why and How It Happens”, focuses on what phishing is, where it happens, the motivation behind cyber threats and how it works.

What is Phishing?

Phishing is a common method that hackers will use to steal valuable information from individuals and organizations. Phishing scams are often disguised as messages from people and organizations that you trust, making them easier to fall victim to.

What are the different types of phishing?

Phishing can take on many different forms, as well as come from a variety of mediums including email, phone, online shopping, gaming, social media, and direct messages. The following is a quick overview of the most common types of phishing campaigns that cybercriminals use to steal your information.

Smishing

Smishing is a phishing attempt that occurs through text message (SMS) and involves a cybercriminal impersonating someone to steal information from you. In many cases, smishing messages contain a link they are trying to get you to click on.

To protect yourself against smishing attacks, always be cautious about the messages you receive from people you do not recognize. If you are unsure, try to verify the information and confirm if the identity they are taking on is legitimate. For example, if you receive a message claiming to be your school, call your school using the contact information available on their official website and verify whether the request is real or smishing.

Spear Phishing

Spear phishing is a message that is tailored to the target's potential line of work, interests, and/or personal characteristics. To do this, cybercriminals conduct research about their victims and use their findings to make their messages seem authentic. They then send these spear phishing attempts disguised as a credible source, with the subject being something relevant to their victims in hopes to increase the success rate of their attempts. When successful, victims hand over their personal information, such as a credit card number, to the cybercriminal.

Whaling

Whaling attacks are sophisticated messages that target high-profile victims who have the authority to issue large payments. Whaling attempts are designed to trick these victims into thinking they must make a payment to another organization, but in reality, the payment is directed to the pockets of the cybercriminal.

Phishing Trends

Now that you know the various types of phishing, it’s important to be aware of phishing trends so that you can spot any potential attempts.

Banking Scams

Cybercriminals will pose as your financial institution and send urgent, or too good to be true messages in hopes of their victims taking action. If you receive a phone call, email, or message that asks you to claim the money in exchange for verifying your credit card number or asking you to pay for outstanding banking fees, be wary and do not give over your information. Always verify with your banking institution by visiting in person, or calling the phone number listed on their official website to verify if the request is legitimate.

Romance Scams

There is plenty of phish in the sea! Looking for companionship online has been made easy with the help of dating websites and apps, but sometimes profiles are too good to be true. Romance scams happen often when a cybercriminal creates a fake profile with the goal of taking advantage of someone looking for romance.

To avoid becoming a victim of a romance scam, always be cautious about what information you share on dating websites and apps. Never give your personal information such as your SIN number, banking information, or even the answers to security questions such as your mother’s maiden name.

Event-Based Scams

Event-based scams happen when cyber criminals take advantage of events, such as a concert or sports games, to steal information and money from their victims. When it comes to phishing, cyber criminals will typically send out messages posing as event organizers and include a link. When the link is clicked, you are likely to be prompted to enter sensitive data such as a credit card number or credentials to your financial institution.

Spoofing is a tactic that is often used with event-based scams, which is when a cybercriminal will create a fake look-alike website or app to trick users into making fake purchases. Be sure to guard your personal information and always verify that the websites you are using to purchase event tickets are legitimate.

Malware and Ransomware

Malware is one of the most common ways people experience a cyber attack. Malware is software  specifically designed to interfere with, damage, or gain unauthorized access to a computer system. If your device is infected, it can cause freezing and crashing, poor performance, unwanted pop-ups, and toolbars, and even send out unwanted emails.

Malware presents itself in many forms, including viruses, worms, trojan horses, spyware and adware, and ransomware.

With a ransomware attack, access to your computer or electronic device is blocked until a ransom is paid to the cybercriminal. These common forms of malware are sometimes difficult to recognize. The following best practices can help you protect your computer system against malware:

• Install and use anti-virus software
• Avoid suspicious links and email attachments
• Download only from trusted sources
• Use a VPN on unsecured networks like public Wi-Fi

Beware of Social Engineering

A social engineering attack is a web user is tricked into doing something dangerous online. There are various types of social engineering attacks, with a prominent form of it being phishing.  Always think twice before you share your information online and take actionable steps to protect your devices against phishing, malware, and ransomware.

Stay Cyber Safe

Whether it’s Cyber Security Awareness Month or any other day, always keep cybersecurity practices in mind to keep your cyber safe. 

(Originally published on 10.12.22)

Cybersecurity Awareness Month: You Got Phished

October is Cyber Security Awareness Month (CSAM). The goal of CSAM is to help Canadians stay cyber safe by equipping them with knowledge through the following four themes:

• Week 1: You Got Phished
• Week 2: Where, Why and How It Happens
• Week 3: Prevention
• Week 4: Putting It All Together

This week’s theme, “You Got Phished”, focuses on actionable steps to take to recover from a phishing attack.

Before we get started, it’s important to understand what Phishing is. Phishing is a common method that hackers will use to steal valuable information from individuals and organizations. Phishing scams are often disguised as messages from people and organizations that you trust, making them easier to fall victim to.

How to tell if you have been phished or hacked

The most evident sign that you have been phished or hacked is when you notice changes to your accounts. This might look like not being able to access your email accounts, noticing suspicious charges to your bank or credit card accounts, or even receiving notifications on social media from friends alerting you that your accounts have been compromised.

Before you notice these clear signs of unusual behaviour, there may also be notifications from your accounts alerting you of changes. For example, if a malicious actor is attempting to sign into your email account, you may receive notifications asking you to confirm that “you” are trying to sign in from a certain location. In some cases, these alerts may also come after a successful sign-in attempt from a malicious actor. Banks may also block purchases from being made on your card until you confirm whether the transaction is coming from you.

To help keep you safe from phishing, we’re sharing 4 easy tips, as well as what to do if you have been phished.

Tip #1: Change passwords and upgrade passwords to passphrases

Did you know that at least 65% of people reuse the same passwords across multiple sites? Although this makes remembering your credentials easier to do, this also makes your accounts vulnerable to cyberattacks.

By creating complex passphrases and unique passwords for each site you use, you instantly tighten up your security, making your accounts less attractive to hackers. Password managers such as Google Password Manager and LastPass can easily help you create complex passphrases and store them so that you never forget a password again.

Some best practices for creating complex passphrases include:

• Avoiding family, pet, company, and familiar names that can be easily guessed by others
• Using unique combinations of letters, numbers, symbols, and cases for each site you use
• Creating passwords with at least 4 words and 15 characters long

Tip #2: Enable anti-Malware and anti-virus software

Malware is one of the most common ways people experience a cyberattack. Did you know the majority of Canadians have had malware on their computer?  Malware is software specifically designed to interfere with, damage, or gain unauthorized access to a computer system. If your device is infected, it can cause freezing and crashing, poor performance, unwanted pop-ups, and toolbars, and even send out unwanted emails.

Malware presents itself in many forms, including viruses, worms, trojan horses, spyware and adware, and ransomware. These common forms of malware are sometimes difficult to recognize. The following best practices can help you protect your computer system against malware:

• Install and use anti-virus software
• Avoid suspicious links and email attachments
• Download only from trusted sources
• Use a VPN on unsecured networks like public Wi-Fi

Tip #3: Enable automatic software updates

Updating your programs and operating systems regularly ensures that you are benefiting from the latest security patches and bug fixes, making it harder for cybercriminals to exploit your data with malware. Keep your systems, programs, and applications updated. Most programs and operating systems do a great job at reminding their users when an update is available. Enabling automatic updates on your devices will help ensure that you don’t miss an update!

Tip #4: Back up your data

Backing up files is easy to do! You can back up your data physically and/or digitally. To back up your files physically, you’ll need an external device such as a USB stick or an external hard drive. Once your files are backed up physically, you’ll want to ensure that you keep your external device stored in a safe location.

To back up your data digitally, you can use a reputable online cloud server. There are many great options to choose from! Some online cloud servers offer free storage up to a certain amount, while others have subscription fees.

Whether you decide to back up physically or digitally, choose what works best for you.

Keep Others Safe and Report The Scam

If you have been targeted by a phishing scam in Canada, you can help keep others safe by reporting the scam. You can report the scam by contacting:

• Your local police: file a report about the phishing scam or fraud. Remember to get a report number for your reference.
• Regulatory bodies: if the scam involves someone from a regulated profession, regulatory bodies may have the ability to take disciplinary action to prevent further incidents.

Stay Cyber Safe

Whether it’s Cyber Security Awareness Month or any other day, always keep cybersecurity practices in mind to keep your cyber safe. 

(Originally published on 10.05.22)

Top 5 Instinctive Habits Of Remarkable Leaders

What instinctive habits do you have?

Communicate Effectively

This is the #1 instinctive habit seen in remarkable leaders.  Clear communication results in everyone understanding the leader.  Each person on the team always knows their expectations. Each member knows the value of their role.

Remarkable leaders invest focused time with everyone, asking questions and listening.   Speaking is only half of the equation and the other half is effective listening.  This has been a bit more of a challenge with virtual meetings over face-to-face discussions.

Make the Decision

Decisions are made.  Process the information at hand, weigh the results both positive and negative and then make the decision.   The important point to note here is to make the decision.  Sometimes the decision is to defer or to not make the decision.

If you procrastinate and wait until you have all the information, a timely decision may not be made.   Most of the time, you will not receive all the information.   Make the decision.

Praise and saying Thank-you

Saying thank you to those around you who have helped and who are contributing to the overall goals.  It is important to tell people you appreciate them.  Recognize them by acknowledging them for their contributions.

Say thank you more often and show your appreciation.  Try it and see what great results you get!

Always Challenging

Set the bar high and keeping raising the bar.  Do not accept the status quo.  Keep challenging by asking more questions such as "Can it be done better?" and "What else can we do to improve?".  Question the process and review how things are being performed.  Keep asking how it can be improved to achieve excellence.

The beauty of striving for excellence is you never achieve it because you need to keep raising the bar.

Seeking Help

Everyone should seek help from time to time to keep growing.  Remarkable leaders look to further educate themselves by reading, attending seminars, asking experts, viewing podcasts and so forth.  It is okay to ask for help and it is not a sign of weakness.   Enriching your mind, your skillset and asking others to assist, strengthens leaders into becoming remarkable leaders.

What are your instinctive habits?

(Originally published on 09.28.22)

Leaders Overcoming Obstacles

This week’s blog was inspired by Andy Stanley’s book “Next Generation Leader”.  Five primary obstacles are identified by Andy for leaders to adopt their way of thinking.

1. THE QUEST FOR BALANCE

We have heard of being well-rounded and knowledgeable in all aspects of our respected profession.  However, being a leader, it is more important to have a focus.  Focus on your core competencies and build your team to bring the well-roundedness under your leadership.  This is more challenging for leaders who are used to having their team together in one office and the hybrid office-remote team for today's leader.

Defining what you can do best and make this your focus.  Stick to it.  My core competencies are:  building trusted relationships, creating opportunities, being a leader, invigorating /energizing the team, telling our story and making new connections.

2. INABILITY TO DISTINGUISH BETWEEN AUTHORITY AND COMPETENCE

Just because you have the authority, it does not mean you have the competency to lead every single aspect or task.  Think about that for a moment.  Good leaders need to know where they are competent, seek knowledge if they must, before deciding if they should exercise their authority.  There are times when you will use “lack of authority” as part of your leadership role.

Providing autonomy with guidance, metrics to measure success and coaching show your competence to lead with authority.  Ask questions more often, say thank you and reach out to your team with a phone call, a virtual discussion or walk over to their desk if they are in the office.  Show them you are competent and your balance of authority to create a collaborative environment.

3. INABILITY TO DISTINGUISH BETWEEN COMPETENCIES AND NON-COMPETENCIES

Leaders who are successful in some areas feel they can have the same success in most other areas.  This is not always true.   Know your competencies and grow your success in these areas.  Know your non-competencies or more often referred to as your weaknesses.  Educate yourself, delegate or simply say no if outside your competencies.  This is my biggest challenge today:  say no instead of saying yes most of the time.   It allows me to step out of my comfort zone and learn new things.   However, sometimes due to time challenges or lack of specific knowledge it could show up as not being as competent as we would expect.

All great leaders know most of their weaknesses and are not afraid to admit them. One of mine is “letting go” as many of you have heard me share a few times as a work in progress.  Updated report:  this is getting better!  I like to be updated on fewer things now instead of everything and getting out of the way.

4. GUILT

This is a very powerful obstacle.  Leaders are reluctant to delegate certain tasks they dislike and presume others will not like them either.  This is not usually the case.  As the leader, you must learn everyone on your team benefits when you delegate tasks to others when it is not part of your focus or tasks that are out of your core competencies.

I always find myself feeling guilty handing off proposal preparations for pricing and specifications when I can do this myself.  It is best to delegate since it is virtually impossible for me to be on top of all the changes happening hourly in our sector.  We have a great team that takes care of these types of responsibilities!

5. UNWILLINGNESS TO DEVELOP OTHER LEADERS

Tough one for most leaders to fully embrace.  When we get caught in the trap: “If I want it done right, I have to do it myself” we have to look in the mirror.  As the leader, we must provide the tools each team member requires to be successful, to help them grow and understand the value of their role and responsibilities.

Remember, your team follows the way you have led them.  If there is no one to delegate to, then it is the leader’s responsibility to build up their team and create leaders.  It takes time to develop leaders.   For some roles, it could take years.   Have a plan, focus and most of all be nurturing and caring.   Today, genuinely caring about each other is at the top of the list.   This will help leaders develop other leaders.

What is the biggest challenge you are facing?

(Originally published on 09.21.22)

Do You Hear What Is Not Being Said?

Peter Drucker' shared "The most important thing in communication is to hear what is not being said”.  It made me stop and think about what we think we hear and what we miss that was not spoken.

Read Body Language

Try this next time you interact with someone face-to-face or virtual video meeting:  watch their eye movement, look at their body position and see if their face changes to convey a different meaning then the choice of words they are using.  There are times when you just do not understand where the other person is coming from.   You seem to get along, feel like you are on the same page and walk away thinking it was a good conversation.   Little do you realize, when you continue the dialogue, you feel like you really missed something.   Does this ever happen to you?

Single Tasking!

Besides observing the other person closer and effectively listening with your full attention and you can ask more questions to fully understand what you heard.  By the way, multi-tasking on your phone is NOT listening!.   This can be painful at times, however, how else can you be certain you heard everything that was not said?  Just put the phone and focus on the person speaking.

Repeating back in our own words to show you understand or not understand is another way to hear what is not being said.   Have you heard someone say, “well what I really meant to say” and some will just blurt it out “I was actually just being polite, but now that you asked.”   STOP.   Go back a read that blurt out again.  Sometimes it takes three to five “poking questions” to get to the root of what is not being said.   I do not think I have made it to questions six yet and usually have it on the second or third question.

Hello, How Are you?

Ask someone how they are doing and they reply good, fine, steady as she goes or fantastic.  Besides the politeness of the greeting, when you do want to know, ask another question.  You can say that is great you are having a good day and ask why you are having a good day?   Watch their reaction because some will not even realize what they replied!   So that brings back to what are people not saying?  I admit sometimes telemarketers' approach makes me answer with "having a horrible day" to see if they can venture off the script.  You guessed it, virtually all of them will just continue and I will stop them and say "Did you hear what I said?"  Their autopilot reply:  "You said you are having a good day" as they continue the script.  In their defense, they cannot see what I am not saying which compliments what I am saying.  Sorry, just a pet peeve of mine and wanted to share it.

Reading The Room

I recall meeting with an associate who called “out of the blue” to have lunch.   We sat down and I asked what news he brought from his end of town and he replied with he had no news.  He was bursting to share some news so instead of diving into my stuff, I said glad to have lunch and asked how he was doing in his business.  The next words out of his mouth were “Well since you asked, I will share with you I sold my business”.   You probably guessed it – that was the whole reason for lunch.   So why not just say it!

Sometimes it can be uncomfortable or difficult to share information, feedback and to be open with our feelings and emotions.  Read the room and help others to communicate what they really want to communicate.  When my emotions start to rise, you will certainly know by my body language.  I have coined this emotion "passion" to let the others know it is only because of how much I truly do care.

Skip The Sarcasm & Smiley Faces

Communication is a bit more challenging in virtual appointments, over the phone, and more so with e-mail and texting of course!  There is a lot of guessing and missing more of what is not shared over what is being shared.   Be clear, concise, avoid negativity and emotions.   Remember, e-mail and texts do not have emotions even with emoji's.   I repeat, e-mail and texts do not have emotions.   Even the smiley faces and sarcastic remarks with smiley faces might go unnoticed or make the situation worse.  What is the person not saying when they do this?

Observe, repeat, ask questions, if applicable, take notes, send minutes of meetings including action items, pick up the phone when an e-mail or text look like they are going the wrong direction.  Some communicate straight to the point by sending an e-mail or text with a simple message:  “call my cell”.  It works, enables better communication, saves time and significantly reduces misunderstanding.  I don't respond and simply call their cell if readily available or reply with "will call you as soon as I can".

What are you doing to hear what is not being said?

(Originally published on 09.14.22)

Building Your Connections

 

Building Your Connections

This Building Circles blog started back in August 2011 and reflecting on one of my favourite topics this week.  The main purpose of building your connections is to create strong long-term relationships and to reach out to them on a regular basis.  It is about Building Relationships both personally and professionally. Everyone builds relationships on a constant basis and they are built at different levels.

The two most important aspects for me are Honesty and Integrity.  Both values apply to each relationship, however, there are times when one person may not fully share the same agenda.  This leads to the negotiation side of the business relationship.

Value And Respect

All relationships are valued and respected.  When an error is made or there is a misunderstanding, the strength of the relationship is weakened.  Sometimes it is for the moment or for a short time and on rare occasions, it lingers until the relationship is severed.  We learn and we strive to improve with our experience.

Sometimes these relationships may go dormant for a while and one day, they are rekindled with both parties moving forward together.  A good practice is to always leave the door open to rebuild it in the future and the saying "don't burn any bridges" is good advice to follow.

Virtual Relationships

Creating relationships in the "virtual" world is different and we certainly had to adapt in the last couple of years.  Social Media channels such as LinkedIn and Facebook along with e-mails do not have any emotions.  These virtual relationships exist and take on dynamics of their own!  Communication is most important in what you say and how you say it as clear and concise as you can.

We will continue to build virtual relationships with the technology in place to easily allow us to communicate with anyone around the world.  Video communication does help with virtual relationships.  Focus on the conversation and leave the phone, e-mail and other distractions until you finish the conversation at hand.

In-Person Networking

During the pandemic, Wednesday Wisdom was born as a weekly virtual networking group.   It has now evolved into an in-person monthly event.  The shift was easy and supported by many who were ready to network again at venues.  We are averaging 65 people out at the monthly events and appreciate all the support!

If you have not attended any Wednesday Wisdom events, join us by registering at Wednesday Wisdom which runs the first Wednesday of the month from 5:00 to 7:00 pm.

Daily Connections

Building your connections daily with open discussions and creating win-win situations result in very strong, trusted relationships.  You can rely on each other for more than just a professional relationship and build a good personal relationship.  Sometimes it can be to share advice, either personal or business.  Other times it can be making an introduction to help others make new connections.  Other times it can be mentoring or volunteering to help others.  These connections can open doors and help you to continue to grow professionally and in your personal life.

How are you building your connections?

(Originally published on 08.24.22)