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Technology-driven innovation will be key to discovering new business opportunities Businesses will need to turn to technology for business opportunities to thrive in 2020. Technology-driven innovation, which is the ability to deliver new business results through opportunities discovered by continuously experimenting with technology, both emerging and established, will soon be table stakes for leading organizations,” the report states. CIOs will be known for assisting HR departments with changing workforce dynamics Businesses will use their CIOs to assist with changing workforce dynamics in 2020. Smart CIOs will become a trusted advisor and partner to employee experience and HR teams to help with changing workforce dynamics, including working with new emerging technologies or interacting with robots,” the report states.

The total number of phishing sites detected in Q3 2019 was 266,387 — an increase of 46 percent from Q2 2019, according to a new phishing activity trends report published by Anti-Phishing Working Group (APWG), an international coalition dedicated to unifying the global response to cybercrime across various industries. Disconnect your device or PC from the internet pronto Immediately disconnect from the internet to prevent malware from spreading to other devices on your network. Here’s something to remember: Don’t use the same credentials for multiple platforms; you don’t want to make it easier for hackers. The best way to protect your company’s data from any cyberattack is to perform routine backups (which you can set and forget with various types of backup and disaster recovery (BDR) products); however, if you haven’t backed up your data recently, and you’ve just been phished, back up your data  while you’re disconnected from the internet.

The IT professionals within these organizations don’t drive this mindset; it’s pushed down from the top, from the board of directors and senior leadership team members, many of whom lack a clear understanding of what’s necessary to secure networks and systems in an ever-evolving threat landscape, one growing increasingly complex by the day. While 63 percent of IT security leadership members at organizations don’t meet with their boards regularly, 40 percent don’t report to their boards at all, according to the study. Without the proper tools, IT professionals are unable to generate adequate and accurate information on IT security posture, which puts their organizations at risk; instead of closing security gaps, these IT professionals have their hands tied, but more importantly, their organizations’ IT infrastructures are not secure — prone to cyberattacks. Leaders at the top need to play an active role in ensuring their IT professionals have what’s required to ensure the proper cybersecurity strategies in place to protect their organizations from malicious actors looking to infiltrate their networks and systems.

Preparing for Microsoft’s end of support (EOS) deadline in January isn’t how you want to end the year, but it’s something to plan for — even if you’re dreading upgrade costs. Microsoft is ending support to several of its products on January 20, 2020, including Windows Server 2008, Windows Small Business Server 2011, SQL Server 2008, Exchange 2010, and Windows 7. If you still haven’t upgraded products reaching EOS in 2020, there’s still time, but don’t wait too long; many IT professionals have already scheduled EOS client upgrades for the remainder of the year. Most business equipment qualifies for the Section 179 deduction, including ventilation and air-conditioning, property, fire protection and alarm systems, and security systems.