The North Korean Edition of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

Security is at the forefront of everyone's mind these days and for an excellent reason. Attacks are genuinely coming from every angle. In fact, the FBI has just released a warning about an infamous operation in which the US government has given the code name, Hidden Cobra. These North Korean government-linked hackers have been using two strains of malware to remotely penetrate global systems with the intent to steal passwords and other sensitive data. The tools they are using to gain access are, the remote access tool (RAT) Joanap RAT and the Server Message Block (SMB) worm Brambul and have potentially been using these tools with the same intent since 2009. Remember the 2014 attack on Sony Pictures Entertainment and the WannaCry malware attack….this was the same group.

What is "Phishing" and how do you stay safe?

Phishing isn't one of these new words the "kids" are changing like changing "Fat" into "Phat" for a whole new meaning! Instead, it is referencing a type of cybercrime. Most all of us have received a "phishing" attempt but you may have not even known what it was! Knowledge is the biggest defense when it comes to phishing. If you know what to watch out for, you'll know what not to click on or respond to and hopefully, you can avoid the misfortune of falling victim to these criminals.

An in-depth look inside the Pen...

Many of you may wonder, as you call into the Pendello Solutions with a problem, who are these happy, helpful beings answering the phones and fixing my servers? Are they magical? Are they sent from the heavens? As far as I know, they are not magical or of divine descent, but they are really smart and the epitome of helpful! What makes them extraordinary is who they are and what brought them to the path of a business technology associate at Pendello Solutions. We have taken an in-depth look at a few of the amazing members of the technology team at Pendello Solutions and last week I had the opportunity to sit down with Jon. I quickly realized he is an incredibly interesting and creative guy who calls himself a nerd but I believe he is the definition of "cool." Though you shouldn't just take my word for that; keep reading and find out what drives Jon inside and outside of the office.

Where is it and How can it help?

There is an abundance of differing opinions of when technology should be introduced to children. No one has a truly definitive answer but there is no denying our children need to learn the ins and out of technology. The technology market is expected to reach $3-trillion this year and our educators along with the help of parents, have a duty to prepare today's youth for the ever-changing future of the workplace. Graduation rates are at an all-time high of 83% but, only 38% of students are college-ready! How can technology assist with today's learning and not distract the students from the necessities of the classroom? With the help of three outstanding foundations: The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, The Michael and Susan Dell Foundation and EDUCAUSE , the educational authorities now have a set of pillars to help design "personalized learning" for every student to help prepare them for the future and technology is a vital component of helping make this happen.

HIPPA, which stands for, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act was put in to place in 1996 and was originated then to increase the portability of health insurance. Today, we live in a much different world and these guidelines and regulations have morphed the purpose to reduce fraud and simplify administration. Not only do health care professionals and their entities have to comply with these regulations but, business associates of health care professions must also be compliant. The penalties for these individuals are not just a slap on the wrist in fact, it can be up to $50,000/per regulation and up to $1.5million per year. So as you can see, the regulations should not be taken lightly.