On November 11th of every year, we pause to remember something special, something that others describe with words like valor, service, honor, courage, or sacrifice. For veterans everywhere though, today is more than just a list of beautiful words like these. Today the birthday of our fallen comrades; it is the Welcome Home of the soldiers who came back; and it is the wish for the safe return of those deployed and actively serving.

You’re walking through the parking lot to work, and you find a USB on the ground. You think, “How lucky! I was just about to run out of space on mine, and now I won’t have to go to Staples!” Well, let’s think a little more about this USB lying in the parking lot, and you’ll probably realize why this shouldn’t be your first thought.

Ok, so you may have read that title and said, “What on earth could they be talking about now?!"

Maybe you’ve heard this saying before, but think for a moment about how true it is because unfortunately, companies learn it the hard way far too often. IT is an extremely complex field that is changing every day, so it’s definitely a full time job to keep up with everything. This is why it’s so important for companies to have someone who is skilled and knowledgeable assisting them with their IT needs. But, be cautious of who you are hiring!

I was recently performing a security audit. This was a pretty typical assignment and I expected to find a system that was running smoothly according to established (and regulated!) security standards. While conducting the audit, however, I did find something pretty unexpected, and I knew it would be my favorite flub for September!

I cannot tell you how many times we have fielded this question here at Cybrix. At least 90% of the time the solution is a simple one with no need to buy expensive equipment, software or move your office to an open field away from civilization so you can get good wireless reception.

Before we go into the "how to fix it" let's first understand exactly "what" you are fixing.

How important is it for physician practices to secure their data? Should this be a top-of-mind issue? Yes, YES: If you are a physician or clinician, data security should be at the very top of your list. When we get calls by physician practices that have been breached, we go to work immediately.

Over the next decade, healthcare providers will have to concentrate on all aspects of care delivery to stay competitive—improving quality and performance, reducing waste, and optimizing internal processes. Many of the initiatives that physician practices will take will be internal facing—What can we do better, more efficiently, etc.? Practices have to also think about external opportunities—What new ways of providing care will benefit patients and the bottom line?

“OMG! Did the battery burst?!?” This isn’t the best thought to have when you’re on a tech support call. One of our customers had just called me to alert me that there was fluid leaking out of the side of the computer. My mind was going a mile a minute. How can this be??, I thought. Laptop batteries are enclosed in a hardened case to prevent the acid from leaking out and harming the computer. I’d never heard of a batter actually leaking. All I could think was, This is incredible!

In our line of business, we literally deal with all levels of technical skill and experience—from multi-level PhDs who create the technology standards the rest of the world uses to individuals who have never been exposed to technology at all and are being brought into it for the first time in an office environment.

The other day, I got a tech support call that reminded me that it takes all kinds. The call went something like this:

The healthcare industry’s evolution over the next decade will be nothing short of extreme. There are so many factors at work—increasing competition in highly saturated markets, the likely recentralization of smaller independent hospitals into larger systems, and declining reimbursements for care as payers and the government move to new models of care.

Hurricane season is well underway and the storms are rapidly marching through the alphabet. Do you have a Hurricane Plan? As these storms are demonstrating, even the unlikeliest areas can be severely impacted. All companies should have a hurricane preparedness plan in place PRIOR to a hurricane. An emergency is never the best time to come up with a preparedness plan!

Here are some suggestions for protecting your IT equipment as you draft your Hurricane Preparedness Plan:

According to a recent report issued by HIMSS, 33% of physician practices do not conduct risk assessments to properly understand their level of data security or understand their risk of breach. This level is far higher than other industries, yet healthcare is one of America’s most regulated industries. Protected health information is a precious commodity, so why do healthcare providers lag so far behind other industries in securing their data?

My neighbor has a new car with Wi-Fi and a cellular connection that lets him unlock the doors and start the car from his smart phone. Handy, right? Yeah, he’s all proud of it. So I asked him about the security of the system. I said,

If so, you may think twice before the next time you log onto your bank account while sipping on your latte!

There’s this thing called “Man in the Middle Hack” that I want to tell you about because you may have no idea how insecure your browsing might be. Sure, you’ve got an anti-virus program and a firewall but what happens when you’re checking your account balance or shopping online over coffee at your local coffee shop?