Jackson Thornton Technologies News + Updates

The topic of net neutrality has had a tumultuous past few years, with steps forward canceled out by steps taken back. However, new efforts are being considered to restore the policies that made net neutrality what it was in the first place.

Remote employees are in a conundrum when it comes to data security. While you might be able to protect data stored locally on your company’s in-house network, securing data in use by employees while out of the office is another matter entirely. How can you guarantee that your business is protecting its data and other sensitive resources from prying eyes?

Your typical IT professional might suggest some common methods of network security like implementing better preventative measures, like firewalls and antivirus. However, there is more that goes into network security—far more. If you’re not careful, you could accidentally miss some of these three security solutions and expose your business to potential threats. But we’re not about to let that happen!

Over the past few years, artificial intelligence has become a bona fide buzzword amongst businesses of all sizes, with 97% of respondents to a Forbes survey seeing a potential benefit in some way, shape, or form. However, with it being integrated everywhere in our modern lives, it is important that we remember that AI is still a human invention, as such, it is vulnerable to our own implicit biases.

Any business can benefit from data and use it to improve its operations. This is especially the case where information technology is involved. By collecting the right metrics, you can better evaluate your business IT’s performance and identify areas for improvement.

Let’s review what some of these metrics should be.

The importance of databases in the context of an average business might be understated. They serve as an indispensable tool for ensuring smooth operations. An efficient Database Management System (DBMS) is actually more important than you may realize. This month, we look at the DBMS and its pivotal role in elevating your business operations.

With ransomware becoming one of the single most dangerous threats out there for small businesses, it’s more important than ever to know how to protect your company from its influence. Thankfully, there are measures you can take, including some very powerful ones like zero-trust policies that can thwart attempted ransomware attacks.

Your business’ backup and disaster recovery preparations are a critical part of your continued success as an organization, specifically, how they are measured by two key metrics: your recovery time objective (RTO) and your recovery point objective (RPO).

However, it’s important that you are able to determine what your organization can support in terms of your recovery time and recovery point objectives… but how does one do that?

With data security being a hot commodity with hackers, it’s no surprise that businesses want to do everything they can to protect their assets. One method for doing so is implementing a Virtual Private Network, or VPN, that can effectively obfuscate data while it’s in transit. Let’s go over some of the most valuable reasons why your business should be using a VPN.

Unfortunately for small businesses, cyberthreats aren't limited to large corporations and enterprises. Even small businesses and local shops face the constant risk of cyberattacks. Let's take a look into some concerning statistics regarding one of the fastest-growing cyberthreats.

Over the course of a year, a month, or even a single day, your business accumulates and utilizes a lot of data. You need systems in place to make good use of this data, otherwise your business is leaving efficiency on the table. Today we want to go over some proper uses for your data and how to make the most of this golden opportunity.

These days, data privacy is absolutely critical in both a business and individual context. In some locations, governments have introduced legislation to protect consumers, and in others, there is significant pushback in favor of fewer regulations on business. How does data privacy factor into your business’ operations?

There are a lot of threats to businesses nowadays, but ransomware seems to be the worst… or at least, the most feared. It seems as though we can’t mention cyberthreats anymore without mentioning ransomware. Unfortunately, we’re right to do so, and the reason for this is a simple one.

You might see encryption as a major benefit to your cybersecurity strategy, but it’s often used in a way that might have you guessing whether you really understand it. Let’s take a closer look into what encryption does to your data, as well as why it is essential for any business to ensure maximum privacy and security.

Professional sports has witnessed a significant shift in the way teams and organizations approach their strategies. Gone are the days when gut instinct and intuition were the sole driving forces behind decisions. Nowadays, sports are increasingly relying on analytics to gain a competitive edge. In this week’s blog, we explore the growing influence of analytics in sports and the ways in which data-driven insights have revolutionized the game.

The United States Federal Trade Commission’s mandate is to prevent fraud and promote consumer protection in today's interconnected world, where the digital landscape continues to evolve at a rapid pace. The FTC recognizes the importance of safeguarding consumer information and has implemented their Safeguards Rule as a means to ensure that businesses protect sensitive data from unauthorized access and misuse. Let’s take a look at the Safeguards Rule and what you need to know about it in regard to your business. 

In 2004, a service called VirusTotal was launched and swiftly became a popular antivirus and malware scanner to help detect threats in various files and URLs. It became popular enough that it was officially acquired by Google in 2012 and ultimately assimilated into Chronicle, a cloud-based security operations suite for enterprise businesses. Despite this impressive pedigree, however, we find ourselves able to look to VirusTotal as a sobering reminder of how fickle cybersecurity can be, with the service being the source of some limited data exposure.

Data backup always sounds like a simple process, but if you truly want to rely on your backup, it needs to be absolutely infallible. That is the objective behind an IT appliance known as the BDR, which stands for Backup and Disaster Recovery.

Back in 1995, the Association of Records Managers and Administrators were in the midst of campaigning for the renewal of the Paperwork Reduction Act. As a part of their efforts, they created National Records and Information Management Day. Over the years since, it has expanded into a week, and then into an entire month, for businesses around the world to consider their record-keeping practices.

Did you know that World Backup Day is in just a few short weeks? While it is an important occasion for businesses to recognize, data backup should really be something you think about all the time. This is because your backup is an integral part of the backup and disaster recovery portion of your overall business continuity.