The amount of information in the world today is almost unfathomable, and it’s increasing at a blistering pace. Analysts estimate that 90 percent of data in existence was created only in the last two years. What’s more, research group IDC predicts that by 2025, the world will be creating 163 zettabytes (163 trillion gigabytes) of data every year.

From Hurricane Irene in 2011 to the “blizzard of 2013” that dumped two feet of snow across much of the state, Connecticut has seen its fair share of extreme weather. Not only do these natural disasters disrupt people’s daily lives and prevent them from coming into work, they also disable or damage critical business infrastructure and utilities such as power, electricity, and heating.

With news of another cyber attack in the headlines every other week, it’s hardly surprising that businesses of all sizes and industries are growing more and more concerned. 68 percent of organizations believe that they are “very vulnerable” or “extremely vulnerable” to a data breach.

It can be scary out there in the digital world. It seems like not a week goes by where we don’t hear about phishing emails, unpatched vulnerabilities, or the latest strain of ransomware exposing the data of millions of people and businesses to the prying eyes of malicious actors. Every person and every business are potential targets with some of the largest companies in the world susceptible to the same vulnerabilities as the average Joe at their home computer (phishing being a prime example). But all is not lost as October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month! What better time to review your cybersecurity practices, discover where you can make improvements, and seize the chance to make positive change? Consider it a fall “spring cleaning” for your digital life and business.

What are Network Support Services? Network support services focus on the maintenance of an existing business network.

In many ways, Connecticut is a state in search of an identity. Could we become known as the Cybersecurity state? In Europe, some already know us that way. After a very enlightening conversation with Art House, Chief Cybersecurity Risk Officer for the State of Connecticut toward the end of last year, he was gracious enough to come back to the Kelser offices this fall for a follow up interview to give us the latest on the global cybersecurity landscape and how Connecticut fits in.

A well-known Connecticut business recently hired Kelser to hack them with a simulated phishing attack. Here’s how we did it. Over the past year, we’ve been working with Hoffman Auto Group, one of Connecticut’s largest auto dealers, to strengthen their cybersecurity posture and make sure their customer data is as safe as possible. After putting all the latest technology in place, it came time to address employee awareness since most cyber-attacks involve human error.

Employees are the most critical component of your organization’s cybersecurity. Mistakes made by employees cause anywhere between 25%-40% of data breaches.