For the past two years, instead of the usual corporate holiday gift-giving, Hostway has chosen to give back to the communities that support us. Last year, in the wake of Superstorm Sandy, our course was clear – our many customers, partners, and friends needed us.
For 2013, we decided to ask our employees for ideas of nonprofit partners – some local to our offices, some national or international – where we could make a difference. Eventually, we had a list of five organizations. Through social networks, chatting with our customers and employee engagement, we asked the Hostway family to decide on a winner.
That winner, as it turned out, was one of our oldest customers – Junior Achievement of Chicago.
This week, we had the opportunity to ask Margie Cahow, Senior Manager of Development and Marketing at Junior Achievement of Chicago, a few questions about the important work they do.
Q: Tell us more about the work that you do in Chicago and how the Hostway donation will help you do that work.
A: We give young people the knowledge and skills they need to own their economic success, plan for their future, and make smart academic and economic choices. Our corporate and community volunteers deliver relevant, hands-on experiences that give students from kindergarten through high school knowledge and skills in financial literacy, work readiness and entrepreneurship.
Junior Achievement programs empower students to make a connection between what they learn in school and how it can be applied in the real world – enhancing the relevance of their classroom learning and increasing their understanding of the value of staying in school. In particular, JA programs meet the needs of a diverse group of students by providing engaging and experiential learning sessions in work-readiness education. We provide course materials, which are given at no cost to thousands of Chicago area classrooms for teachers, volunteers, and students to use. JA of Chicago is the largest JA office of more than 120 area offices in the United States and reached an all-time high of 445,460 students during the 2012-2013 school year.
Funding from Hostway means that more students will receive economic education programs to help them understand how they can reach their dreams. With $10,000 funding from Hostway, Junior Achievement will implement 20 classes (at $500 per class) to reach approximately 440 students of all races, ethnic backgrounds and physical capabilities.
Q: How does financial literacy and entrepreneurship help children succeed?
A: With high youth unemployment and a troubled economy, the need for JA programs delivering important lessons about entrepreneurship, financial literacy, and work readiness has never been greater.
The need for young people to be financially literate and understand the possible return they will see by a chosen career path and educational attainment has never been more important. The U.S. is facing historically high unemployment of more than 16 percent for adults between the ages of 16 and 24, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Student loan payments are continuing to climb, while the workforce is becoming more competitive and demanding. Funding and support from Hostway will help ensure that the future workforce is adequately prepared with the knowledge and skills needed to meet the demands of employers and their future. JA students gain the personal financial knowledge necessary to meet personal fiscal challenges and obligations, take advantage of economic opportunities, and plan courses of action to achieve goals.
Q: If our partners, customers, or employees would like to learn more about JA-Chicago or JA national, what should they do?
A: To get involved with Junior Achievement of Chicago or to learn more visit our website at: www.jachicago.org/ Whether you are an individual that works for a large organization, a community organization, a university, or a local school, we have levels of involvement to suit the interests of people in our community. JA offers flexible levels of involvement and commitment. With the help of thousands of people from a diverse range of backgrounds and fields, Junior Achievement of Chicago continues to grow year after year.
Small companies are increasingly seeing the competitive advantages that come with blogging. According to aggregated data from a ContentPlus infographic, blogs on company websites result in 55 percent more visitors, companies with blogs receive 97 percent more inbound links than others, and blogs are 63 percent more likely to influence purchase decisions than magazines.
Because of this, WordPress – a personal publishing platform – has experienced an astronomical influx in adoption rates. According to WordPress co-founder Matt Mullenweg’s annual “State of the Word” presentation, the platform received 46 million downloads over the last 12 months – an incredible 126,000 downloads per day. WordPress enables small businesses to easily create and share content that is Google-, mobile- and media-friendly, a significant help for those who need to blog to stay competitive.
As small businesses sharpen their WordPress strategy, though, they should evaluate their WordPress hosting environment. As WordPress explains on its website, there are currently hundreds of thousands of web hosts out there. For the small business, the perfect hosting option will be hassle-free, hacker-proof and offer exemplary customer support.
Is it Time to Move from WordPress.com to WordPress.org?
WordPress.com is the publically hosted version of WordPress’ blogging platform, which is hosted by WordPress itself. Meanwhile, WordPress.org requires users to register their own domain name and to find their own web hosting firm, who will install the program. As small businesses begin to use WordPress more and more, they must assess if it’s time to move from a shared hosting option to a dedicated server or cloud for their WordPress site.
Because a shared hosting environment does not afford full access to the full landscape of WordPress features, a dedicated, cloud-based server boasts an extra incentive. Dedicated server options are flexibly priced and can help lift your small business’ WordPress initiative to previously unattainable heights.
But how do you know if your business should move its WordPress hosting to a dedicated server? Here are a few tell-tale signs:
Frequent Outages or Performance Glitches: An outage usually occurs when a company’s shared server, virtual private server (VPS) or database gets overloaded. Performance glitches can also be a result of this, causing one’s website to nearly stop to a crawl. Research shows that American consumers don’t have time to wait for companies’ slow servers. In fact, one in four people abandon a webpage that takes more than four seconds to load, according to data from a recent infographic. Keep this in mind when measuring the performance of your existing server.
Influx in Traffic: A shared hosting platform can only handle so much traffic. Once your blog starts experiencing traffic spikes, you’ll need to support that growth with a server dedicated specifically to your company. WordPress acknowledges this on its own website, explaining that such things as processor and network limitations can prevent sites from functioning under a high volume of traffic. Click here to check out some of the company’s default requirements as well as network transfer speed examples. Individual sites may require additional resources.
Need for Customization: A common reason companies move to a dedicated server is for customization purposes. There are plenty of perks to going dedicated for meeting unique WordPress needs. For example, shared web hosting plans do boast a defined list of software; however, users need to wait for the web host to add an updated version as the change impacts every website on the server – not just yours. This can cause downtime and latency which customers don’t have time for. A dedicated server enables users to customize their sites on their own time to meet their specific needs.
Company blogs secure customer loyalty, boost brand awareness and—seeing how the average person digests at least 10 pieces of online information before making a purchasing decision—can make a lasting impact on revenue. It’s time you support your blog with the right hosting platform.
We live in an increasingly Internet-savvy world, one in which consumers want answers and expect to find the information they’re looking for the moment a question pops into their head. In addition to those who access the Internet from desktops and laptops, more and more people are doing so from mobile devices as well. Recent research indicates more than half of American adults now own smartphones, and more than one-third own tablets. These people carry their devices around with them wherever they go, and many of them surf the web throughout the day. Shrewd business owners are wise to capitalize on the fact that accessing the Internet is easier than ever, and with that in mind, ensure they establish and maintain a strong web presence.
And according to recent research, 52 percent of small business owners don’t have a website. If you find yourself in that majority, consider the following:
Establishing a searchable online presence is no longer a difficult task thanks to web hosting providers. By acquiring such services, business owners are able to have their hand held through the process of setting up a strong web presence. To read about even more great reasons to have a website, check out our infographic that shows the value of establishing and maintaining a strong online presence.
For many of us, it’s automatic to keep our doors and windows locked while running an errand or at work in order to prevent burglars from gaining easy access to our homes. These locks serve as safeguards that protect our assets.
When it comes to your network, it’s important to use similar care to keep unauthorized people from accessing your critical business information. Just like a door has its locks, a network can be protected by firewalls and intrusion detection and prevention systems (IDPS).
Typically, networks have hardware- or software-based firewalls that serve as gatekeepers for traffic. This technology analyzes information to determine whether it is allowed to enter or exit a secure network. A network lacking a firewall could easily become infected with malware, viruses or other damaging programs that serve to steal information and slow down networks compromising their integrity.
Firewalls, however, are not the end-all be-all when it comes to network security. They allow traffic into your network based on some basic principles; port, protocol, IP address. They also eliminate the ‘noise’ of the internet, but do very little actual protection because they do not ‘inspect’ traffic. This is why it’s important to take your security a step further and integrate an IDPS into your network. Such systems act as a further layer of prevention against unwarranted access and attacks. With a capable IDPS engine, monitored 24/7/365 by trained security engineers, you have full visibility in to the traffic allowed in by your firewall.
A network is only as secure as its most vulnerable point. With that in mind, a strong IDPS will detect threats and determine their intention, analyzing information in order to strengthen the network and prevent similar subsequent attacks. Generally, IDPS detects attacks, records them and analyzes them in a historical perspective to determine persistent offenders. IDPS can play offense, squashing attacks before they breach your network.
In today’s fast-paced business world, you simply cannot afford to have your data compromised. With so much on your plate, you don’t have the time to worry about intruders in your network and the damage that can be done to your business information and your company’s reputation. Arm yourself with an IDPS behind a strong firewall – give your network the weapons it needs to fight off attacks and function as intended.
The PCI Security Standards Council released a new set of requirements in November 2013. According to the Council, the changes were designed to “help organizations make payment security part of their business-as-usual activities by introducing more flexibility, and an increased focus on education, awareness and security as a shared responsibility.” We at Hostway and SilverSky thought it would be helpful to deep-dive into specifics of the new requirements and discuss what they mean to our customers in the retail industry. Here are the new PCI 3.0 requirements – along with guidance about what each requirement means to you:
New PCI Requirement
5.1.2 – Evaluate evolving malware threats for any systems not considered to be commonly affected
SilverSky Guidance
Certain systems (mainframes, mid-range computers, etc.) were not traditionally affected by malware. However, these systems could potentially be at risk due to evolving malware threats, and you need to perform periodic evaluations in case these systems require protection in the future.
This is unlikely to apply to the average small to mid-size retailer. However, when discussing PCI solutions with Hostway and SilverSky, our experts can help you determine if you have any systems that may be at risk and provide guidance on how to address these risks.
New PCI Requirement
8.2.3 – Combined minimum password complexity and strength requirements into one, and increased flexibility for alternatives
SilverSky Guidance
For this requirement, the customer bears the responsibility for setting and enforcing sufficient password policies for their employees. Make sure to require a minimum length of seven characters and include both numeric and alphabetic characters in order to meet minimum requirements.
SilverSky’s E-Security Training course helps promote employee security awareness, including the importance of sufficient passwords. Our web-based course can help you reduce security risk and meet compliance requirements at a much lower price than alternative options.
New PCI Requirement
8.5.1 – For service providers with remote access to customer premises, use unique authentication credentials for each customer
SilverSky Guidance
This requirement was added to the PCI code in response to a data breach incident in which a vendor used one password for all customers. With just this one password, a hacker was able to compromise multiple accounts.
This requirement applies to any service provider with remote access to your on-premise systems (for example, POS companies that have access for support purposes). These third-party service providers are responsible for meeting this requirement, but you should make sure that they are complying with the rule – after all, it’s still your data and reputation at risk.
New PCI Requirement
8.6 – Where other authentication mechanisms are used (for example, physical or logical security tokens, smart cards, certificates, etc.), these must be linked to an individual account and ensure only the intended user can gain access
SilverSky Guidance
Linking authentication mechanisms to individual accounts prevents them from being used by multiple people. This reduces the risk that an unauthorized individual can gain access to critical data via the authentication mechanisms.
Hostway’s partner, SilverSky, provides authentication mechanisms to our PCI Complete customers via Managed VPN and multi-factor authentication. However, it is up to you to ensure that these are assigned to one person only and not shared.
New PCI Requirement
9.3 – Control physical access to sensitive areas for onsite personnel, including a process to authorize access, and revoke access immediately upon termination
SilverSky Guidance
Restrictions on physical access to data are required to limit the chances of unauthorized personnel obtaining sensitive data. This includes monitoring the access levels of authorized personnel as well.
All Hostway’s data centers have physical security safeguards, including controls on facility entry, login access restrictions, CCTV monitoring capabilities, and limits on who can access internal systems and administrative functions.
New PCI Requirement
9.9 – Protect devices that capture payment card data via direct physical interaction with the card from tampering and substitution
SilverSky Guidance
Criminals often attempt to steal cardholder data by stealing or manipulating card-reading devices and terminals (aka “skimming”). Because these are physical devices on customer premises, it is the customer’s responsibility to secure them. In order to prevent skimming and ensure compliance, customers should consult this document on skimming prevention provided by the PCI Council.
New PCI Requirement
11.3 and 11.3.4 – Implement a methodology for penetration testing; if segmentation is used to isolate the cardholder data environment from other networks, perform penetration tests to verify that the segmentation methods are operational and effective
SilverSky Guidance
According to the PCI Council, these rules were implemented in response to “requests for more details for penetration tests, and for more stringent scoping verification.”
SilverSky provides internal and external vulnerability scans and file integrity monitoring as part of our PCI Complete solution to cover requirement 11.3. In addition, we can provide penetration testing through our Professional Services team to verify that your segmentation methods are operational and effective.
New PCI Requirement
11.5.1 – Implement a process to respond to any alerts generated by the change-detection mechanism
SilverSky Guidance
File Integrity Monitoring (FIM) solution (included with PCI Complete) detects unauthorized changes to your critical resources and immediately notifies you of suspicious activity. You are responsible for implementing a process to respond to our alerts, but we will prove guidance on how to remedy any security issues that we detect.
New PCI Requirement
12.8.5 – Maintain information about which PCI DSS requirements are managed by each service provider, and which are managed by the entity
SilverSky Guidance
To meet this requirement, you will need to create documentation to show which PCI requirements are covered by your company, which are covered by SilverSky, and which are covered by other service providers. SilverSky provides you with documentation detailing which PCI requirements we cover to make this process easier.
New PCI Requirement
12.9 – Service providers that store, process, or transmit sensitive data on behalf of the customer must acknowledge their accountability for securing the data in writing to the customer
SilverSky Guidance
SilverSky provides written acknowledgment of our responsibilities to all of our customers. Customers will also need to make sure that they receive similar written acknowledgement from all service providers that handle sensitive data on your behalf.
Did you know:
To learn more about how Hostway and SilverSky can help your organization improve IT security, reduce costs and complexity, and meet PCI compliance, please visit https://www.hostway.com/managed-security/compliance/pci-dss-compliance.html.
It’s been a few months since the release of iOS7, and most Apple customers have upgraded their mobile devices. Whether you love or hate it – or simply just grin and bear the new interface – it’s worth looking back at the rationale for the radically new design and its impact on user experience.
Apple’s redesign goes deeper than aesthetics. The interface itself shifted from static to dynamic – the parallax platform is not controlled by pre-programmed animation and graphics, but by physical behavior controlled by the user. The result is a visual bouncing between screens as they shift, slide and zoom. For some Apple users, the effect induces a bit of motion sickness.
The reason for Apple’s shift in iOS7 is a sound one – parallax not only opens the door for better compatibility across mobile platforms, but also dramatically improves user experience. Rather than leveraging technologies such as Flash – which Apple does not use – parallax deploys true animation. This translates into apps that are more dynamic, more flexible, and controlled more thoroughly by user interaction.
Ideally, we’ll soon see iOS and its associated apps begin exploring these new capabilities. Whether you’re planning version 2.0 or 10.0, you should always remember:
Beta Testing. Test, test, and test some more. The closer you are to a project, the larger your blinders are. Solid feedback from a variety of customers can be the difference between a solid launch and a major flop.
Don’t Fall in Love. It’s easy to get caught up on one specific feature. Sometimes that feature is the death of the project. If it’s not working, let it go. You may be surprised at the result – you may even like the product better without it. If that feature is still vital to retain competitiveness or customer loyalty, it can be worked into subsequent releases.
Remember the 80/20 Rule. You’re better off launching a product with 80% of the features functioning in precision than not launching at all. That extra 20% can cause unnecessary delays or scope creep. In some instances, that extra effort can delay a release indefinitely. There’s always going to be room for development, and you have to be wise enough to know when to proceed. Baby steps forward are better than no steps at all.
Development is a marathon that often takes unexpected turns. Prioritizing features is a delicate process that requires compromises. A balance between requirements of the competitive landscape and customer loyalty must always be taken into consideration, but so should realistic expectations. Apple’s iOS7 release may not have been perfect, but it laid a very solid foundation for the next phase of development.
Another year is winding down, allowing us all to sit back and reflect on the last year’s trends in various sectors of technology. As more and more businesses flock to the cloud, they have increasingly turned to web hosting providers to maintain and operate their websites.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at some of 2013’s strongest trends in the web hosting market that carry momentum into 2014:
Providers should keep these trends in mind when mapping out the future of their businesses. It remains to be seen what 2014 will bring, but the traction of the cloud-based web hosting market seems certain to surge, causing the market to expand at an even faster rate.
Sources:
If a data breach can happen at an enterprise as large as Target, it’s safe to say it can happen anywhere.
The recent news that the credit and debit card information of some 40 million Target customers was compromised stresses the importance of decision-makers ensuring that sensitive data is thoroughly protected. Hackers reportedly gained access to the personal information of all Target customers who used their cards to shop at the retailer between Nov. 27 and Dec. 15, 2013.
How’d that happen? The retailer has yet to divulge the hackers’ methods, but some industry experts suspect that Target’s point-of-sale terminals were infected with malware that copied and transmitted the credit card information stored on a credit card’s magnetic strip. Other analysts suspect it was an inside job.
The holiday-season breach couldn't have come at a worse time. Because of the consumer protections in place, however, the data-theft victims are unlikely to suffer long-term financial losses. But those customers did have their credit and withdrawal limits lowered in the wake of the attack, timing which likely didn't sit too well for many of them ahead of the holidays.
To try to make amends, Target offered customers a 10 percent discount on recent purchases, free credit reporting, and promised the consumers wouldn't be held accountable for fraudulent charges. The discount retailer also warned its customers about possible scams resulting from the breach. It remains to be seen if these moves will restore customer confidence; in any case, the bad press generated is likely to somewhat impede sales, at least in the near future.
Target’s data breach comes in the wake of similar data breaches that occurred at Best Buy in 2011 and at TJX, the parent company of T.J. Maxx, in 2007. At Best Buy, customers’ email addresses were stolen through third-party vendors – twice in two months – then sent malware and viruses. In the case of TJX, more than 45 million customers’ credit card information was stolen. TJX was forced to pay a fine up to $40.9 million for that breach.
Though these breaches are difficult to entirely eradicate as criminals continue to find new methods, forward-thinking companies can take strong steps to safeguard themselves from such attacks, preventing negative publicity and hefty fines. One such step is to team with a managed security provider that will take proactive steps protecting sensitive data.
Managed security providers offer firewall protection, intrusion prevention, antivirus and anti-spyware services, PCI compliance and much more. By employing their services, business-owners are able to focus on other mission-critical aspects of their organizations while leaving a team of professionals in charge of ensuring the safety of the sensitive data in their systems.
Just because major corporations like Target, Best Buy and TJX had to suffer data breaches and the resulting fallout before learning the consequences of failing to commit to security doesn't mean your business has to suffer the same fate. Click here to learn about Hostway's managed security offerings, guaranteed to strengthen the protection of your most sensitive data.
SOURCES:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/12/25/us-target-databreach-idUSBRE9BN0L220131225
http://www.informationweek.com/security/attacks-and-breaches/target-breach-10-facts/d/d-id/1113228
A few years ago, CIOs might have dismissed the notion of a “bring your own device” (BYOD) policy. Imagine their cries about security and privacy – how can data possibly be protected beyond company firewalls? This year would have stunned them with the growing popularity of just that – employees accessing company intranets on their personal devices.
A recent Gartner survey of CIOs outlines the momentum expected in the BYOD trend within the next few years. By 2016, 38% of the surveyed companies plan to stop providing employees with devices. Taken a step further, Gartner predicts that by 2017 nearly 50% of employers will have a BYOD policy in place.
Is this new movement really any surprise, though, with the growing number of startups, flexibility in employee schedules, and expansion in the global workforce? Traditional work hours are long gone, with the aforementioned factors contributing to why the BYOD trend is accelerating.
Personal devices offer flexibility for employees and decreased expenses for employers. It goes beyond that, though – the assorted pros and cons of the BYOD policy have been widely noted across numerous technology outlets, including PC World. With these in mind, there are a variety of actions CIOs should consider to ensure data privacy is intact.
Increased Password Protection. Any device configured with company emails should have enhanced security measures in place. Reexamining your password requirements and password revision frequency could uncover security vulnerabilities. Requiring a password in order to access any individual device is an absolute must.
Secure File Sharing. Our world demands instant access on the go. Putting a damper on access is a quick way to decrease employee engagement. Fortunately, secure file-sharing services like Box and Cloud Drive offer security in our cloudy world. A central approved SaaS application should be standardized company-wide to assist with storing and sharing documents while still maintaining security.
File Classification System. What can be shared externally and what cannot? Sometimes the lines are a bit unclear. A formal, standard classification and labeling system can quickly help employees with efficiently sharing information with colleagues and customers without inadvertently leaking something confidential.
Data Recovery Process. BYOD brings an interesting challenge to recovering data when employees leave a company. A formal process for accessing and acquiring materials will be necessary, and all employees must agree to these steps.
Device Stipends. One of the BYOD employee drawbacks is a financial gain for employers – no cost associated with device hardware. Stipends based on merit might be a valuable way to maintain employee engagement, while showing good faith in their autonomy. Software discounts from partners are also a rewarding and encouraging way to lessen the financial burden your employees experience due to BYOD.
BYOD doesn’t have to create a security nightmare. Creative solutions that continue to empower employees can sustain the flexibility generated by BYOD while adding a layer of security. Without such processes, BYOD can quickly become the Wild West.
We'd like to wish all of our readers a safe, festive holiday season. We hope your year is wrapping up happily.
We'll be back after the new year!