Office Document Strategies Blog

Lee Kirkby

Recent Posts

Chip Vulnerability Affects Almost Every Computing Device

Posted by Lee Kirkby on Fri, Jan 5, 2018 @ 07:01 AM

"Pretty much every PC, laptop, tablet, and smartphone is affected by the security flaw, regardless of which company made the device or what operating system it runs."  

Read More

Topics: Computer, malware, it security

Cyber Security Headlines 2017 Activity

Posted by Lee Kirkby on Wed, Dec 20, 2017 @ 07:12 AM

All of the controversy around the issues of the Russian intervention in the US and other country's elections sometimes covers how important cyber security and the ability of IT networks to be secure is to everyday activity.  If the general media was only focused on the political consequences of hacking of IT systems we would not hear about how some of the daily things we do are affected. 

Some headlines which show Canada is not immune to the issues:

Canadian SMBs hit by ransomware paid out $5.7 million over 12 months: Survey

Interac outlines how it plans to secure Canada's digital identity service

Cyber security a focus of UN Internet governance conference

Canadian firm pays $425,000 to recover from ransomware attack

The costs associated with building systems, acquiring protection software and spending time to keep on top of current threats are all things which we as consumers end up paying for as they get incorporated into the costs of the goods and services which we use.

A recent CNN summary itemizes some of the biggest stories which have occurred including the 145 million accounts from the Equifax hack, the announcement the total of 3 billion Yahoo accounts were hacked in 2013 and closer to home the fact an Ancaster hacker connected to Russians has now pleaded guilty to hacking up to 500 million Yahoo accounts from 2014.

These kinds of events kind of make use glaze over as we figure there is nothing we can do to protect ourselves but we do know that Canadian organizations are forced to spend large amounts to attempt to build protections for us.

We end up having to deal with less convenient systems as things like double authentication security start being applied to our online accounts.  Cumbersome conventions which force us to not be able to directly connect to some financial activity without using fairly difficult security procedures frustrate people and lead them to avoid using electronic systems.

Of course the convenience provided by electronic communications including credit and debit transactions hook most of us into continuing to stay connected and to hope that our information will be held secure by the organizations we buy from.  Every effort which can be made to help secure online transactions (which include most cash register systems) will pay dividends in consumer confidence hopefully.

Looking ahead to 2018 we can only hope that cyber security will remain a high priority for the legitimate IT industry and that break throughs can occur which will frustrate those who seek to illegitimately use electronic data.

Lee K

Small Business Data Protection Backup Criteria

Subscribe For Notice Of Each Article

Photo credit: By ITSveronica (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

 

Read More

Topics: data security, Canadian IT, cyber security

$10,000 Bitcoin Price Means Challenges For IT Security

Posted by Lee Kirkby on Wed, Dec 6, 2017 @ 07:12 AM

Since its creation in 2009/10 bitcoin crypto currency has always had a kind of unreal story.  The concept of a globally exchanged currency without a nation as a sponsor or guarantor which is traded by person to person or company to company transactions without a banking system regulator was unreal until it happened.

Read More

Topics: Canadian IT, malware, it security

Connectivity Means Competitive Advantage

Posted by Lee Kirkby on Wed, Nov 15, 2017 @ 07:11 AM

Virtually every business today has some sort of need for connectivity for its computer and IT needs.  Whether it is using cloud based applications to process data and transactions or using a cloud based data backup strategy the ability to get on line safely and quickly is almost a given.  

Unfortunately not all locations are equal in providing competitive options for businesses to get this needed connectivity.  The greater the need and the more intensive the connected traffic then the more the locational decision for a business can be impacted.

In a couple of articles over the past month ITbusiness.ca has shown how cities and their partners are starting to look at these issues.  The focus of these articles are on Toronto and the announcement about the Google neighbourhood announced for the water front and also on a plan to rate buildings in Toronto on their connectivity capability as a means to build competitive advantage.  

Read More

Topics: IT network, Canadian Pricing, Canadian IT

WPA2 WIFI Security Is Hacked

Posted by Lee Kirkby on Wed, Nov 1, 2017 @ 07:11 AM

Since it became the defacto norm for WIFI network security the WPA2 security setting has been the standard for almost every WIFI network setup. 

Read More

Topics: network security, WiFi, WIFI Security

Time To End Your Fax Machine

Posted by Lee Kirkby on Wed, Sep 6, 2017 @ 07:09 AM

When first invented and popularized fax machines were seen as a wondrous invention.  After all being able to send a piece of paper or even a whole document to someone in another office or even across the world over a phone line was pretty different than the norm at the time.

Read More

Topics: mailing machines, MFP, Fax

Shred My Documents And My Shredder Too

Posted by Lee Kirkby on Wed, Jul 19, 2017 @ 08:07 AM

The title of this blog is actually a quote from a client who brought his shredding and his old shredder into the Leppert office one day for shredding. His point was that his shredder was getting pretty long in the tooth and it didn't warrant repair so he thought he would just get it recycled along with his current need for shredding.  While this is kind of funny as shown in the attached picture it actually reflects a significant trend in office operations that has been underway for many years.

Read More

Topics: cloud computing, Hosted document management, Paper shredding, shredders

Petya | A Malware Attack Combined With Ransomware

Posted by Lee Kirkby on Wed, Jul 5, 2017 @ 07:07 AM

Again the world has had to deal with a range of attacks which involved ransomware but this time with a new twist.  

According to an article published by CNET this latest attack included some action which was very poor as ransomware but which really held some serious threat as it ended in an attack which encrypted specific target computers.  

Read More

Topics: data security, ransomware

When To Implement Business Process Changes

Posted by Lee Kirkby on Wed, Jun 21, 2017 @ 17:06 PM

One of the big struggles that most businesses face is when a need for business process change is recognized the timing of implementation quickly becomes a problem and often either the change gets substantially delayed or no change is ever made.

Read More

Topics: business processes, AP Automation

Fast Mobile Speeds Canada's New National Railway

Posted by Lee Kirkby on Wed, Jun 7, 2017 @ 07:06 AM

Internet access speeds are always an issue unless you are connected in a corporate environment which offers super fast fiber or other connection.  For mobile users it never seems that connection speeds are quick enough. 

Of course if you are depending upon a WiFi connection for your mobile device the issue becomes even more hit and miss.  

Read More

Topics: Canadian Pricing, Canadian IT