Blue Technologies Blog

As more companies move toward a digital environment, wily hackers are increasingly focused on industrial targets and businesses that use programs such as AutoCAD, making cybersecurity for engineering a critical — and essential — element to deterring industrial espionage.

As though companies didn’t have enough to deal with during the chaos of the COVID-19 pandemic, hackers are now using the global confusion as a cover for their schemes. With the increases in information appetites, hackers (both political and criminal) quickly pounced on the trend and created exploits perfectly suited to defraud individuals and organizations.

While printers remain the backbone of every business, keeping them secure has never been more important. The capabilities that come with modern multifunction devices can help organizations increase efficiencies and reduce operational bottlenecks, but also make them prime targets for cybercriminals.

Companies need to understand that today’s multifunction devices are more sophisticated than older generation printers are. In many ways, new multifunction printers are just like computers. Since the use of company networks became widespread in the 1990s, connecting and sharing a printer became easier than ever before. These devices now help companies to streamline their print workflows and maintain a productive office environment, but it could also pose a risk to operations.

It may not seem self-evident, but museums also need cybersecurity just like any other public or private entity. Depending on the types of relics, treasures, and art displayed at the facility, it may require more protection than regular businesses. As these institutions usually rely on grants, donations, and other contributions, they also face budgetary pressures while needing to improve their information security on their networks and devices.

While the insides of museums may seem like ancient, dusty halls filled with knowledge, plenty is going on in the background. Museums collect information just like any other business. They sell tickets to the public, host events, manage member’s information, and keep financial records regarding donations and contributions. All of this information can be valuable in a bad actor or hacker’s hands. Therefore, taking a proactive approach to information security will be vital to running a sustainable (and socially essential) operation.

Just like other industries, nursing homes and elderly care facilities rely on daily printing operations to remain productive. As these facilities also regularly face budget constraints and financial pressure, it’s common for the print fleet to become outdated. While this wasn’t a major concern in the past, the increased threats from cyberattacks and malware infections pose a significant risk to healthcare institutions.

State and local governments don’t have the same deep pockets as the federal government, yet they still need to have adequate cybersecurity protection against ransomware attacks. The struggle to maintain the appropriate defenses is something that can be made much easier for both state and local governments by using a managed IT service.