KRS TECH CHRONICLE
Insider Tips To Make Your Business Run Faster, Easier And More Profitably
WHAT'S NEW
'tis the season to be jolly, but also to be vigilant!As the year draws to a close and the holiday rush is in full swing, we are all scrambling to check off those last-minute errands and wrap up endof-year work tasks
One thing we must ensure our fellow followers, friends, and family members are mindful of is to avoid the allure of being too click-happy when shopping online, especially during this time of the year! Even if it’s enticingly popping up on your social media feed, with their “TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE” offers!
DATA BREACHES
Fear not, because we’ll fill you in shortly with an upcoming tech tip that is sure to enlighten you Meanwhile, take heed, stay cautious, and for goodness sake keep yourself well-informed
This monthly publication is provided courtesy of
Josiv Krstinovski, President
and CEO of KRS IT Consulting
includesrecordsforpeopleintheUS, CanadaandtheUK.
OUR MISSION:
To build a community of successminded entrepreneurs that inspires excellence, encourages collaboration and expands the capacity of all members to achieve great things.
TechCrunch,thisyearhas seensomeofthemostdamagingdata breachesinhistory.In2024alone,hackers stolebillionsofpersonalrecords,andit’s almostguaranteedyourdataisamong thosestolenrecords.Let’slookatthis year’srecord-breakingattacksandwhat youneedtoknowaboutprotecting yourinformation.
National Public Data (2 Billion-Plus Records)
What happened: InDecember2023, hackersaccessedthesystemsofNational PublicData,abackground-check company.InApril,2.7billionrecords withhighlysensitivedatafor170million peoplewereleakedontothedarkweb.
Compromised data: 2billion-plus recordscontainingfullnames,currentand pastaddresses,SocialSecuritynumbers, datesofbirthandphonenumbers.
Who is exposed: Thestolendata 1 2
Change Healthcare (38 Million Records)
What happened: InFebruary,the UnitedHealth-ownedtechfirm
ChangeHealthcarewashackedbya Russianransomwaregangthatgained accessthroughsystemsunprotectedby multifactorauthentication.Theattack causedwidespreaddowntimefor healthcareinstitutionsacrosstheUS andcompromiseddataformany, manyAmericans.
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Now,whatwouldyougetinreturn?Let’stakealook...
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Passionisthekeytosuccess–that’swhat manyofushavebeentaughttobelieve.Ifyou wanttobegreat,youmustbepassionate. However,TimGroverbelieveswe’vebeen toldwrong.
TimGroverisarenownedspeaker,author andperformancecoachwithover20yearsof experiencespeakingtobusinesses, entrepreneursandleadershipteamsaimingto bethetopintheirfields.Knownforhiswork withathleteslikeMichaelJordan,Kobe BryantandDwyaneWade,Groverteaches audiencesthemindsetofeliteprofessionalsso theycanapplyittotheirownsuccess.Ata recentindustryconference,Groversharedhis secrettosuccess:It’snotpassionthatequates tosuccess.It’sobsession.
Be Obsessed
Groverdrawsaclearlinebetweenbeing interestedinsomethingandbeingobsessed withit.“Interestispassive,”heexplains.Ifyou wanttotakeyourbusinesstothenextlevel, youmustbeallinbecausewhenyou’re obsessed,youpayattentiontoeverytiny detail.Asaperformancecoach,Groverread everyinjuryreportforhisathletessoheknew howtolacetheirshoes.Hewatchedhoursof videofootageandkneweverystepand landingsohecoulddesigntrainingplans. “That’sobsession,”hesays.“That’swhythey keptmearoundforsuchalongtime.”
Act On Your Passions
“Youdon’tfollowyourpassion,”Grover explains.“Youactonit.Youexcelatit.”In business,hesitationcanleadtomissed
opportunities.Onceadecisionismade,you mustfullycommittoitbecauseexcellenceisa longgame.Therewillbemomentsofpressure drivingyoubeyondyourcomfortzoneand momentsthatfeelveryisolating.“Excellence createsdistance.Itcreatesdistancebetween you,yourfriends,yourenemies,yourfamily, yourfreetime,”Groversays.Thisisolation isn’tnecessarilynegative;it’sabyproductof strivingforgreatness.Itwillseparateyoufrom everyonewhoisaverage–frompeoplewho don’tunderstandthebehind-the-sceneswork ittakestotrulysucceedinyourpassion. Peoplewilltrytopullyoudown,eitheroutof jealousyoralackofunderstanding,but excellencerequiresasingularfocusthatmany won’tunderstand.
Balance Is A Myth
Peopleoftensaythatsuccessfulpeopleneed balance.Groverarguesthatifyoutryto balanceeverything–work,life,relationships –whilestrivingforsuccess,you’llbemediocre atallofthem.You’llnevergrowifyou’re pulledintoomanydirections.Thekeyto successisditchingbalance,focusingonfewer, moreimportantprioritiesandcuttingout distractions.“Everyonehastimeforwhatthey putfirst,”heexplains.
Excellenceisalong-termjourneythat demandsobsession,actionandarefusalto settleformediocrity.“Writeyourownstory,” Groversays.Putdowntheself-helpbooksand “lookdeepdowninsideyourselfandstop lookingforeverybodyelsetogetyoutothat nextlevel.”
REMINDER: REMINDER:
It’s no denying, we could all use an extra bit of cash and/or gift perks this time of the year ��
So here’s a quick lil reminder on from us tech savvy elves here at our workshop!
KRS is offering an effortless way for our friends to pocket some extra cash simply by spreading the word about us to their friends and colleagues! By connecting us with their social circle, you could snag $300 just for you! And who knows, with a successful referral, you might end up with even more cash in your pockets! 'Tis the season to be merry and financially smart – so why not make it a win-win for all?!
Be sure to check out our referral page for more details:
www krsitconsulting com/referral-program
DJI Mini 3
TRIVIA
What does the ZIP in ZIP file mean?
ARE YOU MANAGING YOUR VENDOR SECURITY RISKS?
Astheyearwindsdown,innovative businessesoftenreflectonwhat’sgoneright–andwhatneedsimprovement.Beyond wrappingupprojectsandplanningfornext year,onecriticaltaskshouldn’tbeoverlooked: managingvendorsecurityrisks.Vendorsplay anessentialroleinyourbusiness’ssuccess,but theyalsopresentaseverecybersecurityriskif youdon’tvetandmonitorthemeffectively, especiallyiftheyhandlesensitivedata.
What’s A Vendor Risk?
A. Zigzag Insertion Point
B. Zonal Integrated Process
C. Zero Information Packaging
D. Zipped Information Protocol
Manybusinessesrelyontrustedvendors, suchascloudservicesorfile-sharingtools, tocarryoutday-to-dayoperations.Ifthat vendorgetshacked,yoursensitivedatais suddenly–anddangerously–exposed.A perfectexampleisthe2023MOVEit Transferbreach,whereattackersexploited vulnerabilitiesinthevendor’ssoftware, givingthemaccesstocriticaldatalike customerinformationandbusinessrecords forthousandsoforganizations.BlueVoyant’s StateofSupplyChainDefensereportshowed thatorganizationsexperienced,onaverage, 4.16supplychainbreachesin2023that impactedoperations.
Vendorbreachesaremorethanannoying–theycouldalsoleadtodataloss,diminished customerloyaltyorevenlegalissues.This year,consideraddingthesebestpracticesto yourend-of-yearreviewtomanageyour vendorrisk:
1. Review Vendor Contracts
Likeyou,vendorsneedtobeheld accountableforfollowingindustry-standard practiceslikeencryption,securedatastorage andincidentresponseprotocols.Startyour vendorriskreviewbycheckingtoseeifyour contractshavethenecessarysecurityclauses, andmakesureyouragreementsoutlinethese
BEWARE OF WIFI
expectationsclearlysoyouandyourvendors knowwhat’satstake.
2. Conduct Vendor Security Audits
Ifyouhaven’tdoneitrecently,it’stimefora thoroughsecurityauditofyourhigh-risk vendors.Thiswillhelpyouunderstandif they’reimplementingstrongcybersecurity measures,suchasmultifactorauthentication, encryptionandregularsystemupdates. Knowingwhereyourvendorsstandgives youabetterhandleonyourownsecurity.
3. Monitor For Emerging Risks
Cyberthreatsevolvequicklyandsodothe risksyourvendorsface.Regularmonitoring ofyourvendor’ssecuritypractices,like trackingvulnerabilitiesorbreaches,willkeep youontopofanyemergingthreats.
4. Update Your Vendor List
Nowisagoodtimetocleanhouse.Cutties withvendorswhoaren’tlivinguptoyour securitystandardsandtightenyour relationshipwiththosewhoareproactive aboutprotectingyourdata.Consider creatingstandardizedonboardingand offboardingprocessesforvendors,too,soold vendorsdon’thaveunwarrantedaccessto yourorganization.
SQUATTING
Whendidyoulastcheckwhohasaccessto yourWiFinetwork?Ifit’sbeenawhile,you’ll probablybesurprisedbywho’shanging around.ManagingyourWiFiaccessisan importantsteptokeepingyourdatasafe becauseunwantedWiFisquatterscould,at best,slowyourWiFispeedsand,atworst, haveaccesstoanydeviceorfileconnectedto yournetwork,likehouseholdsecurity cameras.ToseewhohasaccesstoyourWiFi, findyourrouter’sIPaddress(youcanfind
instructionsonline abouthowtodothis), typetheIPaddress intoyourbrowser andlogin.Next,look foralistcalled“DHCP Client”or“Connected Devices.”Reviewthe list,andifanyunknown devicesareonit,updateyourWiFipassword andreconnectonlythedevicesyoutrust.