BlackCSI Blog

There’s a misconception in the business world that being too nice will make you appear as a pushover, but as far as cliches go, “Nice guys finish last” doesn’t have much supporting evidence in favor of it.

Small businesses have plenty of problems as it is without the added stress that poor security practices can bring about. Small businesses often overlook security because they deem themselves too small to be of any value to a hacker, but this outlook is short-sighted and irresponsible at best. Let’s go over why you’ll need to make security a priority for your business.

AI is a major topic lately, whether it’s on the topic of new and upcoming chatbots that are capable of generating text or making art that can compete with even the most skilled of artists. AI is commonly targeted as a culprit in stealing jobs, as well, and with these applications becoming more sophisticated over time, it’s no wonder people aren’t sure how to react to these developments.

If you consistently find that technology in your office causes more problems than it’s worth, perhaps it’s time to take a closer look at what you could be doing better with your infrastructure. We want you to look at failing or inoperable/inefficient technology as an opportunity for improvement rather than another large expense. A good hardware refresh centered around your organization’s needs can revitalize operations and improve your bottom line.

The past several years have brought about innovations in artificial intelligence, or AI, that has workers worried for their jobs—especially as it moves into more practical and usable mediums. This can all be tied to the Turing Test, a way of measuring the intelligence of a computer, created by one of the most notable minds behind computing, Alan Turing.

While at the moment, passwords are an important part of your security stack, it is important to acknowledge that the concept of the password was always a flawed system and is overdue to be replaced. This may become a widespread reality sooner than you may expect, too, especially with the buy-in that the big names in tech are demonstrating.

Back during the holiday season, the Federal Trade Commission shared some data that showed that members of Generation X, Millennials, and Generation Z are all more likely to fall for online shopping scams than those over the age of 60…and not by a little, either. Those under that age are apparently 86 percent more likely to fall for these scams. 

Your business might have a full-time IT person, but it also might not have one, and in cases like this, you might find yourself waiting to call your go-to person until you are experiencing a full-blown problem. The reality is that your internal, non-IT staff should not be responsible for the job of your IT department, and if you are relying on someone externally to handle your technology help, then you’ll want to make sure they tick all of the following boxes.

We focus pretty heavily on data backup as an important solution that all businesses should use, and for good reason. It can be all the difference between losing your business’ future or preserving it. We know you don’t like to hear it, but investing in a proper data backup solution is well worth the cost, even if you never have to use it.

If your team has trouble using the technology in your office, then you might be staring down an opportunity to completely revolutionize the way your business functions through the use of new business technology. It could be something as simple as your hardware being old or your systems needing a reexamination of your business processes; whatever it is, upgrading your business technology can pave the way forward.

Whether you like it or not, organizations are going to get hacked. It’s the cruel truth. There are just so many individuals and organizations looking to gain unauthorized access and siphon off data and money from businesses, that it is basically impossible to go long stretches of time to not have to confront it in some way. With the threat landscape what it is, companies now offer cyber insurance. Let’s take a quick look at cyber insurance and what you need to know about it.

Regardless of the business attempting it, data migration (or the process of moving data and systems to a new piece of infrastructure) is critical to get right. One way to improve your chances of success is to create and follow a migration strategy, evaluating it as you go. Let’s walk through some practices involved in doing so.

Any machine needs regular maintenance which includes periodic cleaning. This includes any computer you use. We have put together three actions you can take to ensure that your machines aren’t going to break down from a lack of physical maintenance. 

Unfortunately, some businesses have had to learn the hard way in order to pay attention to their business’ cybersecurity efforts. These cautionary tales aren’t lost on many business owners, but in some cases, they are still ignored. That’s where we come in. Today, we thought we would go through some basic things that any organization needs to know to keep their business safe. 

Google Chrome consumes your battery a lot faster than you might think, but Google has started to take steps toward implementing a feature that could potentially help users get more battery life while using their web browser. This new feature, an experimental one implemented with Chrome version 108, could potentially be a game-changer for both personal and professional Chrome use.

So, you’ve spent a ton of time and energy transcribing data into Microsoft Excel, only to find out that you need this same data elsewhere in your spreadsheets, too. Bit of a bummer, unless you know how to accurately and easily copy all of this data. Let’s go over how you can do so.

Do you remember the “Hello, I’m a Mac, and I’m a PC” commercials that aired from 2006 to 2009? These ads, which featured actors Justin Long and John Hodgeman as Mac and PC, respectively, were put out by Apple to promote their line of computers, highlighting the advantages that Macs had over the PC. One advantage the ads referenced repeatedly was the idea that Macs “don’t get viruses,” something that research conducted by Elastic Security Labs has disproved beyond any doubt.

Google Chrome can really eat away at your battery if you let it, and with Chrome being such a high-use application, Google has a feature (albeit a hidden one) that can help users consume less battery life with Google Chrome active. This new feature, available in Chrome version 108, is called Energy Saver. What do you need to know about it before implementing it?

Without sufficient communications within your business, you won’t be able to accomplish nearly as much as you potentially could with the proper systems in place. Let’s review a few tips that will help you to stretch your business’ collaboration that much farther.

Technology is a major player in today’s business environment, and in most cases, companies have someone in their executive suite whose sole purpose is overseeing their technology systems. This individual—the Chief Information Officer, or CIO—is incredibly important to the everyday operations of businesses.