KRS Newsletter Feb 2024.pdf

KRS TECH CHRONICLE

Insider Tips To Make Your Business Run Faster, Easier And More Profitably

Spring Around the Corner

Wow February already!!

Over at KRS IT, we heard a little rumor that Mr Groundhog DID NOT!!! See his shadow in front of thousands of spectators and THUS

We may just have an early Spring!! While we definitely love Spring time, I am reminded of Spring cleaning We at KRS IT don’t really do house cleaning Hell, sometimes we don’t even do a good job at cleaning our office and we get in trouble!! But what we do very well though is ensure that networks are squeaky clean and safe/protected!

That said, take the opportunity to not just do your Spring cleaning in your house, but also in your company. Let KRS make sure that we clean house of all threats/hackers and make 2024 a great year to get organized and protected

Email info@KRSIT.com and title it, “Spring Cleaning” and let’s jump on a call to see just how we can help your company CLEAN UP AND BE SAFE!!

SHOW SOME LOVE TO YOUR BUSINESS CONTINUITY PLAN

This monthly publication is provided courtesy of Josiv Krstinovski, President and CEO of KRS IT Consulting OUR

MISSION:

Wintertimecanfeellikeawonderland. There’shotcocoa,cozyfireside conversations,glisteningwhite snowfall…icestorms,poweroutagesand tonsofemployeesickdays.Youcan’t predictthefuture,butabusiness continuityplan–BCPforshort–ensures thatunexpectedeventsdon’tslowyou downbecause,inbusiness,everyminute counts–literallyDowntimecostsSMBs $137to$427perminute,accordingtoa 2020IBMreport.Althoughthelossis smaller,extremedowntimeistheultimate undoingformanySMBs

Thismonth,whileyou’rerushingoutto buyflowersorbeforeyousettleinfora cozyNetflixseries,don’tforgettoshow yourBCPsomelovetoo.

caseofanunplannedeventlikeanatural disaster,cyber-attackorhumanerror.A BCPoutlinesprocessesandprocedures yourcompanywillfollowduringacrisis. Itconsidersoperations,assets,human resources,technologyandsafety;inother words,itkeepsnecessaryfunctionsin yourorganizationrunninguntilthe disasterishandled.

Isn’t A Disaster Recovery Plan The Same Thing?

“I don’t care if it costs me more money, I am going to make sure that every single client of ours has the absolute best security and solutions in place. If I am not doing my job. Plain and simple.”

What Is A Business Continuity Plan?

It’sjustlikeitsounds–aplantokeep yourbusinesscontinuouslyrunninginthe

Disasterrecoveryplansfocussolelyon restoringyourITsystems.It’sone–albeit critical–componentofyourBCP.Ifa winterstormknocksoutyourInternet,a disasterrecoveryplanrestoresdataaccess andanyITservicesyoumayhavelost.

Why A BCP Is Important

Let’ssayyourofficesuffersamajorfire

incident.Doyouknowwhereandhowyour employeeswouldwork?Wouldtheybeableto handlecustomercalls?Wherewouldyour executiveteammeettomakecritical,timesensitivedecisions?Inadditiontoprovidinga planforrestoringyourITsystems,aBCPisa practicalframeworkforyourentirecompany’s resiliencyandfinancialsustainability.

Additionally,peoplewanttoknowyouhaveit together.Ifyouhesitateorflounderinresponse toanemergency,you’lllosethetrustofyour teamandcustomers,andthat’sincrediblyhard togetback.

What Your BCP Needs

AfewbasicelementsmakeupasolidBCP frameworkforeverybusiness,nomatter yourindustry.

Your company’s critical functions. What arethemust-doactivitiesinyourbusiness? Thiscouldbeanythingfromorder fulfillmenttocustomersupport.Knowing what’sabsolutelycriticaltoyourcompany helpsyouprioritizeduringadisruptive emergency.Assessthelikelihoodand impactoftheseriskstounderstandwhat you’repreparingfor.

Risk assessment Whattypesofcrises coulddisruptyourbusiness?Thesecould rangefromnaturaldisasters,likefloodsor earthquakes,tocyber-attacksorakey employeeleavingunexpectedlyButdon’t lingertoolongonthisstepbecauseyou can’tpossiblythinkthrougheveryscenario –focusonrecovery

Recovery strategies. Foreachcritical functionandprocess,developstrategiesto recoverduringadisruptionThismight includealternativemethodsofoperation, usingdifferentlocations,employingbackup systems,etcProTip:ditchwordymanuals anduseflowchartsandcheckliststo communicateplanstoyourteam

Data backup and recovery Check(and double-check)thatallyourcritical companydataisregularlybackedupand canberestoredquickly.Decideonoff-site storageandcloudbackupsandestablish protocolsfordatarecovery

Communication plan. Thisincludeshow you’llcommunicatewithemployees, customersandstakeholdersduringacrisis Whosayswhatandthroughwhich channels?Includecontactlists, communicationtemplatesand disseminationmethods(eg,e-mail,social media,websiteupdates).

Alternative operations. Ifyourmain officeisn’tusableoraccessible,wherewill yourteamwork?Doyouhave relationshipswithalternatesuppliersif yourprimaryonesareunavailable?

Review schedule. Yourbusinesswill evolve,andsoshouldyourcontinuity plan.Createascheduletorundrillsand updateyourplanregularly.Also, distributeittoeveryonewhoneedsto know,soeveryoneknowstheirrole duringacrisis.

Is A BCP Right For Your Business?

Thereisabsolutelynocompany–bigorsmall –that’snotatriskofadisaster.Accordingtoa 2022threatreportbyConnectWise,nearly twointhreemidsizebusinessesexperienceda ransomwareattackinthelast18months.One infivevictimsspent$250,000ormoreto recover.Theoddsarenotinyourfavorwhen itcomestobusinessrisk.

Remember,thegoalofaBCPistominimize disruptiontoyourbusinessandhelpyouget backtonormaloperationsasfastaspossible. GetwithyourteamandreviewyourBCP today.Ifyoudon’thaveone,considerthis yoursigntogetitdone.

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RESISTANCE TO RESILIENCE: Learning To Live Without Limits

Morethanhalfofuswillhavegivenuponour NewYear’sresolutionsbyDecember(and someofusalreadyhave).Accordingtoa2020 Ipsossurvey,55%ofrespondentsquittheir resolutionsbeforeyear’send.Ofthose,onein 10gaveupinlessthanamonth.

Ourresolutionsareoftenthingswecare deeplyabout–health,financesand relationships–so,whyisitsohardtokeep them?Speaker,authorandself-proclaimed “mostnoticeablestudent”inschoolNick Vujicicsaysit’saboutaligningourhearts, mindsandactionstostayresilientintheface ofinevitableresistance.

Growing Through Resistance

Bornwithoutarmsorlegsduetoacondition calledphocomeliasyndrome,Vujicicfaceda lotofresistanceearlyinhislife.Whenhewas bornin1982,Australianlawprohibited disabledstudentsfromattendingmainstream schools–untilhismotherhadthelaw changed.Onceinschool,Vujicicfaced relentlessbullying.Itgotsobadthat,atage 10,hetriedtoendhislife.Hesurvivedand decidednevertolethimselforothersimpose limitsonhimagain.

Today,Vujicicspeakstoaudiences worldwide,remindingusthatwhenwehit wallsofresistance,“Youdon’tgothroughit; yougrowthroughit.”Becausewithout resistance,headds,there’snoresilience.

whenwe’rehandcuffedbetweenouremotions andminds,ruminatingoverwhatpeoplesay orthinkaboutus,trueorotherwise.You allowyourselforotherstolimityourbeliefs aboutwhatyoucanorcannotachieve.But whencraphitsthefan,positivityisn’tenough, Vujicicsays.Whenfacedwithresistance, heart-mind-actionalignmentiscriticalto unlockingyourresilience.Torealignyour heartandmindtoproducemeaningfulaction, Vujicicsuggestswritingdownthewords Faith,Family,Friends,Fitness,Financeand Funtocreatea“GridofHappiness.”Next, writedown10short-termgoalstoachieve overthenext45daysthatalignwithyour happinessgrid.Why?Vujicicsaysthat achievingyourdreamswithoutshort-term goalsislikepaddlingaliferaftwithone paddleintheopenocean.“Youseenoislands, andyougettiredquicklybecauseyoudon’t seeprogress.”

Onceyoureframeyourmindset,thenextstep inachievingyourgoalsisinvestinginthe skillsandknowledgetoreachthem.Then,set asidethetime,likethreehourseverySaturday, toworktowardit.Thiswillgetyoutoyour goalsmuchfaster,andyouwillhavemore resilienceinthefaceofresistance.

Forexample,ifyouwanttowriteabook,seta goaltoinvestinacoachorreadahow-to book.Then,spendthreehourseveryweek workingtowardsmallgoals,likewritingthe outline,andthenthefirstchapter.

AI: A CHEAP DATE OR THE DOWNFALL OF SOCIAL CONNECTION?

Romance has crossed a new line that sci-fi movies like Her have been hinting at for years AI relationships Apps like Replika, Character ai and Snapchat’s My AI allow you to transform a chatbot into a companion or lover In 2018, a Japanese man even married his AIpowered hologram. People use AI chatbots to “cure” their loneliness, and the ability to customize interactions makes AI a comforting partner The challenge is to balance these technological advancements with the need for genuine human connection. “When we spend less time with each other, we lose practice in getting along in shared spaces,” Daniel Cox writes in Business Insider “This is why AI is such a poor substitute for real-world interactions. We need to spend more time with each other.”

Heart-Mind-Action Alignment

Troubleusuallyariseswhenwegetstuckin

Evenifyou’vefailedonce,twiceormany timesbefore,learnfromitandmoveon becauseVujicicremindsus,“Aslongasyou’re breathing,yourstoryisn’tover.”

What do you think –is AI a cheap date or harmful to humanity?

CEO SPOTLIGHT:

KRS’ CEO Honored as Prominent and Up-N-Coming CEO of 2024

It's always a privilege to work with a CEO who has a strong vision and unwavering beliefs At KRS, we are fortunate to have Josiv as our CEO, who is dedicated to providing the best IT management and education to small and medium-sized businesses With his positive outlook on technology and cyber opportunities, we are confident in venturing into the future Josiv's passion for equipping clients with the right tools to succeed and develop their businesses is what sets us apart

At KRS, we are committed to delivering the best IT management services to help our clients avoid the risks of poor IT management

Here’s a better look into our CEO and KRS’ story: www.theusaleaders.com/industryleaders/josiv-krstinovski

OLD MALWARE, NEW TRICKS

Anoldmalwarescamisreemergingwith dangerousnewtricks,causingsignificant problemsforanyonewhousesawebbrowser –ie,nearlyallofusHackersusingthe “updateyourbrowser”scamfoundnewways tohidemaliciousfiles,makingitharderfor securityexpertstolocateandremovethem We’llseemoreofthisscam,soyouneedto beonthelookout.

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The Business Owner’s Guide To IT Support Services And Fees

Resistance

YOUR NEXT FIVE MOVES

By Patrick Bet-David

If being an entrepreneur and business leader were easy, more people would do it.

Being successful in business today means constantly innovating and rethinking how you do things. And that’s exhausting

Your Next Five Moves by Patrick Bet-David is a strategy playbook for entrepreneurs feeling stagnant, lacking motivation or searching for innovative tactics to improve their business It promises clarity and offers strategic thinking for different scenarios, growth tactics for good and bad times, guidance in building a valuedriven team and insights into leveraging power effectively

Rooted in Bet-David’s journey to becoming a successful CEO, this book is more than a manual: it’s a strategic advisor for anyone serious about reinvigorating their business and making impactful decisions for its future

What Is The Fake Browser Update Scam?

Awebsitegetshackedbycybercriminals, whomakeafewchanges.Namely,hackers useJavaScriptrequeststocovertlyreplace theexistingwebsitecontentwitha deceptivepromptforabrowserupdate.For example,ifyouuseChrome,you’llseea pageaskingyoutoupdateyourChrome browser.Clickontheupdatebutton,and you’lldownloadmalwareonyourdevice. Hackersknowthatusersaretoldinsecurity trainingtoonlyclickonlinksontrusted sites.Theytakeadvantageofthattraining byhostingtheirscamonalegitimatesite, luringyouintotheirtrick.

Butthistime,thescamhasanewtactic. Insteadofhostingharmfulfilesonthe compromisedsiteasthey’vedoneinthe past,they’vedevelopedawaytostorefiles oncloudservicesorevencryptocurrency blockchain.Thismakesitalotharderfor cybersecurityexpertstofindandremove.

Thefirstscamofthiskind,ClearFake,was uncoveredinOctober2023Sincethen,security expertsatProofpointhaveidentifiedfourthreat actorgroupsusingthefakebrowserscamto attackvictims

Wekeephearingit–cybercriminalsareusing thelatesttechtofindnewwaystoexploitusers. Thisisjustthelatestexample.

WhatCanYouDoAboutIt?

First,nobrowsertargetedinthisscam–Chrome,FirefoxorEdge–willeverhavea pop-uporshowyouapagestatingyour browser is out-of-date. To check your browser’sstatus,godirectlythroughyour browser’ssettingsmenu.Also,makesure you’re running very effective antivirus protectiononallyourdevices.Antivirus willconstantlyrunonyourdevice,alerting youtosuspiciousactivity.

Additionally,trainyourteamonthisnew scam.Becauseitgoesagainstusualtraining, you’llneedtostepinandtalktothemabout howtolookforsignsofthefakebrowser updatescam.

Weusebrowserstodoalmosteverything, sothiswon’tbethelasttimeyouhearabout scamslikethis.Besuretokeepyoursystems updated(viayoursettings,NOTpop-ups) anduseastrongantivirusprogram.