Washington Works Blog

Ransomware is devastating as a cyberthreat, but some industries are hurt by it more than others. One such industry is education, and universities and schools are struggling to keep up with these cyberthreats. Most even do the unthinkable in response to attacks: they pay the ransom.

Running a business is stressful, but so is thinking about a future where that business (and its data) no longer exists. If you’re not careful with your preparedness, you could stare down a disaster with no hopes of recovery. This is why we urge you to take proactive action now—so you can prevent these kinds of scenarios from taking your business off the market for good.

I feel like we’ve been talking a lot about the horrifying cybersecurity threats that loom over our heads, and thought it might be nice to really appreciate just how gosh-darn cool some of these devices we all have can be instead. 

Chances are pretty good that, by this point, you’ve heard of burnout—maybe you’ve even suffered from it before yourself—but, just in case you’re a remarkably lucky human being, it’s the phenomenon where your employees become disengaged to the point where their performance suffers. While this isn’t good in any facet of your business, it can be especially damaging in terms of your security.

Passwords are just one part of a comprehensive security strategy, but they are a crucial one. You must make sure that you are investing adequate time and effort into making sure your passwords are secure. This is easier said than done, but by the end of today’s short blog article, you’ll have all the information you need to craft excellent passwords for your accounts.

What does your IT budget look like for the remainder of this year? According to Gartner, your IT costs might be increasing. So, we ask you this: are you being intentional with your IT spending, and are you spending your business’ hard-earned revenue on technology which advances your organization’s ability to succeed? Let’s take a look at Gartner’s study to see what we can learn from patterns in IT expenses.

Insurance is a great asset, should you ever need it… including where your business technology is concerned. If you weren’t aware, there is a form of insurance—cyber insurance—that you can purchase in case your business suffers from a data breach.

Is this additional form of insurance worth the investment? Absolutely.

With Amazon’s annual Prime Day having come and gone, we can’t help but wonder how many of you bought consumer electronics while they were on sale through the web retailer. If you did, that’s amazing, and we’re glad you got what you’re looking for. However, we do want to strongly urge you to consider disposing of your old electronics in an environmentally conscious way.

When we think about cybersecurity, we usually think about protecting our computers from viruses, right?

I’d imagine a few of our older readers remember a time when you would go to the store and buy antivirus software that came in a big brightly-colored box with a CD in it each year.

As you probably already know, things aren’t as simple anymore.

Everyone has a smartphone, but only a fraction of people use it productively. Instead of using your smartphone for wasting time, you could be using it to stay productive and get more done, reducing your stress levels and creating a better work life. Today, we’ll give you three useful tips  on how to change the way you use your smartphone.