Blue Technologies Blog

There is no denying that the media landscape is changing in response to the current pressures of the looming recession and the continuing impacts of the global pandemic. Market movements and industry changes are forcing creatives to find new and innovative ways to reach their target audiences. For marketing firms, the onus is on merging creativity with data driven knowledge in order to better serve customers.

Owners of towing and roadside assistance businesses are feeling the crunch as the economy continues its downward trajectory. In particular, many towing companies are dealing with the pain of staff shortages as they struggle to find — and retain — good drivers. These shortages mean logistics are even more important than ever, with customers waiting fourteen — or more — hours to get towing assistance. 

As cyberattacks continue to escalate, law firms are increasingly concerned about keeping their data safe and secure. Many cyberattacks have been perpetrated by organized crime syndicates and “gangs” of malicious actors known as ransomware gangs. From 2020 to 2021, one quarter of all data breaches were due to ransomware. And ransomware technology was used in almost three quarters of all malware infections.

A startling new report underscores the vulnerability that manufacturers face when moving data into the cloud. In fact, over half of all manufacturing operations were attacked through their cloud infrastructure in 2022. In general, more manufacturers have moved operations into a cloud-based environment in order to support hybrid work environments and remote workers as industry responded to pressures prompted by the pandemic. 

War in Ukraine is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to burgeoning geopolitical unrest. Malignant actors have taken advantage of widespread global disruption and other crises to increase acts of hacktivism and cyberwarfare. In fact, European officials claim that there are over 10 TB of sensitive information stolen every month, with both ransomware and phishing being tapped as the most common tool used to gain inroads to data.

Widespread coronavirus lockdowns have stirred the wanderlust in the public. For 2021, the RV Industry Association showed that production of RVs was up by nearly 20%, over the previous year’s record production levels. In fact, last year alone saw more than 600,000 new RVs hit the road, bringing people the ability to travel safely while observing COVID protocols.

The healthcare industry is understandably fixated on putting strong cybersecurity policies into place. After all, over 100 data breaches were recorded between January and the end of April this year, putting patient data and patient lives at risk. Most recently, the second largest hospital chain, CommonSpirit Health was recently hit with an unprecedented attack that caused widespread system outages that endangered patient lives.

Like other industries, the practice of engineering has increased in complexity over the years, in part due to wide-ranging compliance issues arising from entanglement among the areas of liability, technology, and regulation. Advances in technology have made it possible for once local engineering firms to broaden their service areas to include surrounding states or even nationwide coverage. Of course, with this expanded reach comes an increase in regulatory requirements, making document retention an essential part of proper compliance — and protection in the event of legal difficulties.

Post-pandemic supply issues continue to plague most car dealers, causing extreme shortages of inventory across the country. In many cases, cars are completed, but sit on manufacturing lots, waiting for microchips, leaving showroom floors and car lots with little inventory to choose from. Of course, customers could try to custom order a new model, but those weight times are extraordinary, with some brands and models taking up to one year to be delivered to dealers. 

While the big corporations tend to make headlines when their data are breached, it’s the small and medium-sized companies that are most frequently chosen as victims by savvy cybercriminals. In fact, today’s small business landscape is plagued by cyberattacks, with 61% of small or medium-sized businesses (SMBs) experiencing an attack last year. Putting that into perspective — a full 43% of data breaches were directed at the SMB community — almost half of all cyberattacks and the primary target for cybercriminals.