Category Archives: Cyber Security

The US government spends $13 billion per year on cyber-security, but warns that cyber-attacks continue to evolve at a rapid pace. To combat the proliferation of malicious code and aid in early detection, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) recommends continuous, real-time monitoring of all electronic resources.

Cyber Security Planning Guide by FCC and Cyber Defense Partners

Customer and client information, payment information, personal files, bank account details – all of this information is often impossible replace if lost and dangerous in the hands of criminals.
Data lost due to disasters such as a flood or fire is devastating, but losing it to hackers or a malware infection can have far greater consequences.

Remember, criminals can’t steal what you don’t have.

10 practical lessons businesses can learn from the FTC’s 50+ data security settlements.
Data breaches are in the headlines and on your mind. The consequences could be disastrous. Some good news– there are plenty of steps you can take to protect your company’s data.

Cyber Plan Action Items:

1. Conduct an inventory to help you answer the following questions:

Who has access to that data and under what circumstances?

Not every employee needs access to all of your information. Your marketing staff shouldn’t need or be allowed to view employee payroll data and your administrative staff may not need access to all your customer information. When you do an inventory of your data and you know exactly what data you have and where it’s kept, it is important to then assign access rights to that data. Doing so simply means creating a list of the specific employees, partners or contractors who have access to specific data, under what circumstances, and how those access privileges will be managed and tracked.

Your business could have a variety of data, of varying value, including:

Customer sales records
Customer credit card transactions
Customer mailing and email lists
Customer support information
Customer warranty information
Patient health or medical records
Employee payroll records
Employee email lists
Employee health and medical records
Business and personal financial records
Marketing plans
Business leads and enquiries
Product design and development plans
Legal, tax and financial correspondence

How is that data handled and protected?

Security experts are fond of saying that data is most at risk when it’s on the move. If all your business-related data resided on a single computer or server that is not connected to the Internet, and never left that computer, it would probably be very easy to protect. But most businesses need data to be moved and used throughout the company. To be meaningful data must be accessed and used by employees, analyzed and researched for marketing purposes, used to contact customers, and even shared with key partners. Every time data moves, it can be exposed to different dangers. As a small business owner, you should have a straightforward plan and policy – a set of guidelines, if you like – about how each type of data should be handled, validated and protected based on where it is traveling and who will be using it.

Read full Cyber disaster recovery plan from FCC here: https://transition.fcc.gov/cyber/cyberplanner.pdf

Cyber Security Resources

Center for Internet Security (CIS): www.cisecurity.org
Free online security check ups: //www.staysafeonline.org/stay-safe-online/free-security-check-ups

National Cyber Security Alliance for Small Business Home Users: //www.staysafeonline.org

OnGuard Online: www.OnGuardOnline.gov

Cyber Safety Links for High School Students//blackboard.aacps.org/portal/lor/obj/mods/4students/HSCybrSfty/addlinks.pdf

NIH Free Online User Training (non DOD version)://irtsectraining.nih.gov/publicUser.aspx

FCC Cyber Security Encyclopedia Page//www.fcc.gov/cyberforsmallbiz

Federal Trade Commission – Identity Theft Information://www.onguardonline.gov/topics/computer-security.aspx

Federal Trade Commission’s Interactive Tutorial:www.ftc.gov/infosecurity

10 practical lessons businesses can learn from the FTC’s 50+ data security settlements.
https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/business-center/privacy-and-security/data-security

Click to access pdf0205-startwithsecurity.pdf

Learn more about this subject on the FTC’s website: ftc.gov/tips-advice/business-center/guidance/start-security-guide-business

FBI Releases the Internet Crime Complaint Center 2020 Internet Crime Report

The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center has released its annual report. The 2020 Internet Crime Report includes information from 791,790 complaints of suspected internet crime—an increase of more than 300,000 complaints from 2019—and reported losses exceeding $4.2 billion. State-specific statistics have also been released and can be found within the 2020 Internet Crime Report and in the accompanying 2020 State Reports.

FBI wants to remind the public to immediately report suspected criminal internet activity to the IC3 at ic3.gov. By reporting internet crime, victims are not only alerting law enforcement to the activity, but aiding in the overall fight against cybercrime.

In addition to statistics, the IC3’s 2020 Internet Crime Report contains information about the most prevalent internet scams affecting the public and offers guidance for prevention and protection. It also highlights the FBI’s work combating internet crime, including recent case examples. Finally, the 2020 Internet Crime Report explains the IC3, its mission, and functions.

The IC3 gives the public a reliable and convenient mechanism to report suspected internet crime to the FBI. The FBI analyzes and shares information from submitted complaints for investigative and intelligence purposes, for law enforcement, and for public awareness.

State-specific statistics have also been released and can be found within the 2020 Internet Crime Report and in the accompanying 2020 State Reports.

Useful Cyber Crime Resources (reports and cyber crime statistics)

Internet Crime Complaint Center – Annual Internet Crime Reports

What is Your Unique Selling Proposition?

A unique selling proposition, more commonly referred to as a USP, is the one thing that makes your business better than the competition. … Your USP plays to your strengths and should be based on what makes your brand or product uniquely valuable to your customers. Being “unique” is rarely a strong USP in itself.

Have you ever been in a competitive selling situation? Well, the reality is as a real estate agent you are always in a competitive situation. Everyone you talk to knows a real estate agent, whether it’s a family member, a friend, or a co-worker’s spouse. So, the question I have for you is … what are you doing to become THE go-to agent in your marketplace?

In marketing, the unique selling proposition (USP), also called the unique selling point, or the unique value proposition (UVP) in the business model canvas, is the marketing strategy of informing customers about how one’s own brand or product is superior to its competitors (in addition to its other values).
It was used in successful advertising campaigns of the early 1940s. The term was coined by television advertising pioneer Rosser Reeves of Ted Bates & Company. Theodore Levitt, a professor at Harvard Business School, suggested that, “Differentiation is one of the most important strategic and tactical activities in which companies must constantly engage.” The term has been extended to cover one’s “personal brand”. (Wikipedia)

The first step to staying top-of-mind and winning more listings is to formulate your USP (Unique Selling Proposition). Your USP is what makes you stand apart from the crowd, what’s memorable about you, and why the client should select you over the competition.

Unless you’re fortunate enough to be the only player in your industry (say, the only dedicated supplier of lion-taming equipment in North America), you’ll need to differentiate yourself from your competition through your unique selling proposition, or USP

If you want to beat out the competition, you have to give customers a reason TO CHOOSE YOU. Otherwise, you’re just another commodity out on the market.

In this video, Robin digs into 4 “musts” for creating a strong USP (unique selling proposition) plus shares examples of before/after so you can see how to move from a “so-so” message to one that packs a punch.

“you have to give customers a reason TO CHOOSE YOU. Otherwise, you’re just another commodity out on the market”

A unique selling proposition (USP) refers to the unique benefit exhibited by a company, service, product or brand that enables it to stand out from competitors. The unique selling proposition must be a feature that highlights product benefits that are meaningful to consumers. USP focuses on explicit claims of uniqueness involving an objectively verifiable product attribute or benefit-in-use.

Each advertisement must make a proposition to the consumer—not just words, product puffery, or show-window advertising. Each advertisement must say to each reader: “Buy this product, for this specific benefit.”
The proposition must be one the competition cannot or does not offer. It must be unique—either in the brand or a claim the rest of that particular advertising area does not make.
The proposition must be strong enough to move the masses, i.e., attract new customers as well as potential customers.

Interesting Reads
wordstream.com/blog/ws/2014/04/07/unique-selling-proposition

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unique_selling_proposition

youtube.com/results?search_query=how+to+write+Unique+selling+proposition

google.com/search?q=how+to+write+Unique+selling+proposition

now you know it, the rest of the story is up to you and your team’s creativity.

If you need help contact us at 911Advertising.com

Global Cyber Economy Video News and Interviews

Cybersecurity videos from world’s leading cyber security companies, researchers and and experts. Cybersecurity video news, facts, predictions, and statistics.

Cyber economic market data, insights and ground breaking predictions to a global audience of CIOs and IT executives, CSOs and CISOs, information security practitioners, cybersecurity company founders and CEOs, venture capitalists, corporate investors, business and finance executives, HR professionals, and government cyber defense leaders.

Special Guests Interviews from CybersecurityVentures.com YouTube channel:

Cybernews.com is a research-based online publication that helps people navigate a safe path through their increasingly complex digital lives.
Our CyberNews Investigation team uses white-hat hacking techniques to find and safely disclose cybersecurity threats and vulnerabilities across the online world.