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Monday, October 9, 2017

Week 2 of NCSAM – Cybersecurity in the Workplace is Everyone’s Business

This month marks the 14th annual National Cyber Security Awareness Month and the 7th anniversary of the STOP. THINK. CONNECT.™ campaign!

October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month which is an annual campaign to raise awareness about the importance of cybersecurity. The Internet touches almost all aspects of everyone’s daily life, whether we realize it or not. National Cyber Security Awareness Month (NCSAM) is designed to engage and educate public and private sector partners through events and initiatives to raise awareness about the importance of cybersecurity, provide them with tools and resources needed to stay safe online, and increase the resiliency of the Nation in the event of a cyber incident.

Weekly Themes

NCSAM 2017 will focus on a different cybersecurity issue for each week in October.

Week 1: October 2-6 – STOP. THINK. CONNECT. Simple Steps to Online Safety.
Week 2: October 9-13 – Cybersecurity in the Workplace is Everyone’s Business
This week's focus: Whatever your place of business ‒ whether it’s a large or small organization, healthcare provider, academic institution or government agency – creating a culture of cybersecurity from the breakroom to the board room is essential and a shared responsibility among all employees.

(We'll expand on these next few weeks' themes in upcoming blogs.)
Week 3: October 16-20 – Today’s Predictions for Tomorrow’s Internet
Week 4: October 23-27 – The Internet Wants YOU: Consider a Career in Cybersecurity
Week 5: October 30-31 – Protecting Critical Infrastructure from Cyber Threats

REMEMBER: All of us have a role in securing our part of cyberspace, including the devices and networks we use. Use this month's focus on cyber security to jump-start your efforts at keeping our cyberspace safe and secure all year long.

Visit these cyber resources for comprehensive guidance on maintaining your personal and business cyber security:

Image credit: https://staysafeonline.org/ncsam/

Monday, October 2, 2017

October is the 14th National Cyber Security Awareness Month

This month marks the 14th annual National Cyber Security Awareness Month and the 7th anniversary of the STOP. THINK. CONNECT.™ campaign!

Weekly Themes

NCSAM 2017 will focus on a different cybersecurity issue for each week in October.

Week 1: October 2-6 – STOP. THINK. CONNECT. Simple Steps to Online Safety.
This week's focus: All members of the public can take some simple actions to protect themselves online and to recover in the event a cyber incident occurs. Week 1 will address the top consumer cybersecurity concerns, provide simple steps to protect against these concerns, and help the public understand what to do if they fall victim to cybercrime.

(We'll expand on these next few weeks' themes in upcoming blogs.)
Week 2: October 9-13 – Cybersecurity in the Workplace is Everyone’s Business
Week 3: October 16-20 – Today’s Predictions for Tomorrow’s Internet
Week 4: October 23-27 – The Internet Wants YOU: Consider a Career in Cybersecurity
Week 5: October 30-31 – Protecting Critical Infrastructure from Cyber Threats

Visit these cyber resources for comprehensive guidance on maintaining your personal and business cyber security:

Image credit: https://staysafeonline.org/ncsam/

Friday, March 13, 2015

Emergency Tip: March's Do1Thing.com Prep Task - Sheltering

GOAL: Know how to respond safely when instructions are given to evacuate or take shelter.

It's time to think about Shelter

March's Do 1 Thing task is sheltering - how to respond safely when instructions are given to evacuate or take shelter.

Below is a list of things that you can do to achieve your goal this month.
Choose at least one, and complete it.

Visit this month’s Do 1 Thing topic page for fact sheets and additional resources on sheltering.

Background

Do 1 Thing is a web-based, twelve-month preparedness program that focuses on a different area of emergency preparedness each month. Remember: emergency preparedness doesn’t have to be hard or expensive.

It’s as easy as:

Click on this month’s topic
Select one of the easy “Things to do”
Do that one thing!

So visit http://do1thing.com/ today and get started preparing yourself, your family, and your community right now!

Please see my January 2015 post about the entire Do 1 Thing program for additional information.

Image credit: http://do1thing.com/

Friday, December 5, 2014

Friday's Emergency Tip: Protecting Your Documents

Store your important docs in a waterproof file folder case.
Then they are organized, protected and portable.

When an emergency hits and you have to get out of your house in a hurry, do you have all your important documents ready to go?

I'll have to be honest - we have some of our important documents together in a file folder - but many other important items are scattered in various filing cabinets around our home.

The Emergency Financial First Aid Kit

21 Page PDF with checklists you can fill out
and then save or print.

I recently found this extremely well written and organized document from FEMA: the Emergency Financial First Aid Kit.

Download this file and use its various checklists to build a complete collection of family information and important documents. You can then store the completed PDF digitally in a secure online location or print it out and add it to your document case (see first image at top of this page).

It's also an excellent practice to make copies of your main personal and financial documents. After using the Emergency Financial First Aid Kit to gather all your prime documents together, visit your local library or copy center - just remember to check the backside of your documents for important info that may need to be copied as well. Then seal them in a large document envelope and have either your lawyer or a trusted friend/relative hold onto this package for you.

I hope this info helps you with your document prep efforts. I know I'm going to use this new "First Aid Kit" tool in the upcoming week to really fill up what's in my portable document case.

For additional emergency preparation tips, visit the Federal Emergency Management Agency's site @ www.fema.gov

For my Massachusetts friends, please visit the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency's site for excellent preparation info and updates.

Saturday, November 22, 2014

Friday's Emergency Tip: Winter Car Kits

What I carry in my Jeep during the winter - I need to add

another sleeping bag and more water & food...

All the reports of people stuck in their cars in Upstate New York and the Great Lakes area due to this week's freak snow storms got me thinking:

"Are we ready to be stuck in our car for up to 24 hours?"

Winter Car Kits

You should always carry in your car some basic tools, a first aid kit, a flashlight, and your cell phone charger - but during the winter, it's time to ramp things up.

And I'm not saying you should rush out and go on a shopping spree at your local Army/Navy store. You probably have many of the following items already, just not in your car.

And they don't have to be in a huge duffle bag either - all the items shown above fit easily into my Jeep - by spreading all these things around and utilizing the spaces under seats and the corners of my trunk.

Here's a great list that I borrowed from MEMA that you can use to build your own kit:

Flashlight with extra batteries
Charged cell phone/automobile charger
Basic first-aid kit
Necessary medications
Pocket knife
Blankets or sleeping bags
Extra clothes (include rain gear, boots, mittens, socks)
High-calorie, non-perishable foods (dried fruits, nuts, canned food)
Manual can opener
Container of water
Windshield scraper & brush
Fire extinguisher
Shovel
Sand/road salt/cat litter for generating traction
Tire chains or traction mats
Basic tool kit (pliers, wrench, screwdriver)
Tow rope
Battery jumper cables
Road flares/reflectors
Brightly colored cloth to utilize as a flag
Road maps

If you're missing an item or two, make a gift to yourself this month when you're holiday shopping, either at the mall or online!

For more tips on safe winter driving, visit the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) site.

Photo credit: Patrick W. O'Connor

Friday, November 14, 2014

Friday's Emergency Prep Tip: Automatic Power Failure Lights

One of our Sylvania LED Power Failure Lights.

Today I'm starting a new series of tech tips focused on inexpensive items that really help during an emergency.

We All Need Light

What's your most immediate need at night when the power goes out?
Light of course!

Background: I was sick of having to feel my way in the dark to the one flashlight in the house only to find out the batteries were dead.

A few years ago, I found this light at Lowe's. I was so impressed, I returned the next week and bought 6 more.

Sylvania Power Failure Light with LED Technology

This unit's main feature is that it's a LED nightlight with a rechargeable battery and flashlight built in.

It's nightlight has an automatic on/off sensor and is cool to the touch.
It has built-in rechargeable batteries and the flashlight turns on automatically if the power goes out.
The flashlight, once charged, will last up to 7 hours unplugged. (And you can turn the flashlight off when not in use to save the batteries.)

Now, whenever we lose power, every nightlight in the house turns into a downward-facing power failure light. Since they are in all our hallways, moving around the house is much easier and safer, plus we can pull any one of these units out of the socket and use as a LED flashlight to deal with our power issues.

I highly recommend this light. Yes, I have other flashlights in my home, but it's very comforting to know these lights are always charged and ready.

You can find the Sylvania Power Failure Light with LED Technology at most home improvement stores and online at Amazon. (Note: several other companies make similar lights, shop around for the best price.)

For more information on how to prepare in advance for a power outage, visit the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency's site.

Friday, October 31, 2014

Is Your Data Ready for Winter?

My backyard after Massachusetts' 2008 Ice Storm!

With today being Halloween, many of us think of scary things such as goblins, ghosts and witches.

Not me: what truly scares me is losing my data!

October is the anniversary of two major weather events in the Northeast: The October nor'easter of 2011 and Hurricane Sandy in 2012. Additionally, October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month.

How does this tie into my fear of losing my data?

While most of us generally plan for what we will do in the event of a storm or natural disaster - buy extra food, buy a generator, keep the car's gas task full, etc. - most people don't think about their computers and all the important information and memories that are in these pieces of technology.

With winter approaching and power loss / power surges almost guaranteed, is your data properly protected? And this is important for everyone: home owners, small businesses and even large organizations.

I can't count the number of times either a hard drive crash, a power surge, or even a fire has destroyed valuable data. Sometimes you can get it back, but the cost may be in the thousands of dollars.

You Need a Data Emergency Plan

Think about the information that is on your computers and other devices in your home or office. What would you do if all those family pictures or business records & projects were gone?

Step 1: Backup and then Backup Again

Local backup: We use Western Digital "My Passport" 1TB external USB drives to backup our home office laptops, but any external HD will do if it has these features:

Automatic backup - don't rely on you remembering to back things up - schedule a backup nightly - better yet, buy a HD that automatically mirrors your data immediately after every save.
Encryption - make sure your data is safe from theft. Very important for businesses, but also vital for home owners who store bank or tax info on their systems.
Enough capacity - buy a backup HD with 50% to 100% more space than your current system's HD.
Portability - get a portable HD that's easy to carry and simple to set up.

Important: Local backup is great until you lose that portable HD or it's damaged in an accident. Then Cloud Storage looks much more attractive...

Cloud backup: As a backup to the backup, you should also consider cloud backup services, not just for business data, but your home files as well.

Cloud backup plans start at around $50 / year and go up as you add storage space and features. The #1 benefit of Cloud backup is your data is protected from theft, fire, etc. If there's a natural disaster, there's nothing to carry out the door because your data is safely stored in a data center offsite.

A Google search for "cloud backup" yields a host of companies that can keep your data safe.

The way I personally use these 2 technologies:

I backup all my data locally using external USB drives.
I backup my "greatest hits" - favorite family pictures/videos plus important financial files to the Cloud. (I may start relying less on my external USB drives as the cost of Cloud storage continues to decrease. Right now it doesn't make sense to back up 3 TBs of data from multiple computers to the Cloud.)

Step 2: Work in the Cloud

Another way to keep all your important files safe is to make the Cloud the place where you work.

You can use Google Drive or Dropbox to automatically store and share your important data across multiple platforms.
If you have Microsoft Office, use the free online document storage for your most important work.
You can also store and share important pictures and videos on image storage sites like Flickr, Photobucket, Snapfish, Shutterfly, or Picasa Web Albums.
And of course if your company hosts it's own wiki or IBM Connections site, posting your work and files there will protect them from data loss as well.

Step 3: Plan on what you will do with your computer assets in an emergency

When a winter storm hits, don't forget your computers and other electronics.

Protect: Make sure you have all your sensitive electronics connected to high-quality power strips with surge protection.
Unplug: If you lose power, remember to unplug all your sensitive electronics - TVs, DVRs, stereos, and computers - so when the power does return, your equipment isn't damaged by a possible power surge. (I unplug my power strips - even the ones with surge protection - I don't want to take any chances.)
Remove: If you have to evacuate due to a winter emergency, plan on which electronics you will take.
- If we can drive away from the emergency - I plan to take all my phones, tablets, laptops, and backup HDs plus all needed cables. I also plan to take my desktop computers - only the cases, leaving behind monitors, keyboards, etc.
- If we can't drive away due to the roads being blocked, then we'll take all the portable electronics and place the desktops in the attic to protect them from flooding, etc.

I know this is a long list of items to digest - just make sure you add "protecting your data" to your family's emergency action plan today!

Happy Halloween!

For more information on how to prepare in advance for a power outage, visit the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency's site.

Tuesday, September 30, 2014

America's PrepareAthon is Today! Get Involved! Become Prepared!

It's the last day of September's National Preparedness Month. Are you better prepared? It's not too late - join in today's National PrepareAthon! Day!

View the "It Started Like Any Other Day" video on YouTube.

America's PrepareAthon! is an opportunity for individuals, organizations, and communities to prepare for specific hazards through drills, group discussions, and exercises.

National PrepareAthon! Day focuses on taking the time to prepare for these six specific events:

Campaign Goals

The goal of this campaign is to increase the number of individuals who:

Understand which natural disasters could happen in their community
Know what to do to be safe and minimize damage
Take action to increase their awareness and preparedness
Participate in community resilience planning and training

What can you do?

Register to participate in America’s PrepareAthon! and provide details about the activities you’re planning.
Plan your own local community or organizational preparedness event
Participate in discussion forums online with like-minded community members
Learn the actions to take for disaster preparedness and practice them regularly

Where can you find more information?

There are many great resources on the FEMA site:

America's PrepareAthon! Fact Sheet and Frequently Asked Questions
America's PrepareAthon! Webinar

Stay connected

Email: prepareathon@fema.gov

Twitter:

@PrepareAthon follow #PrepareAthon
@Readygov
@FEMA

Communicate with Peers:

On the web:

So don't wait too long to visit these resources and start your planning activities - for us in the Northeast U.S., winter storms are right around the corner!

Thursday, September 11, 2014

It's 9/11 - Do You Have a Family Communications Plan?

Can't believe it's been 13 years.

I can remember that morning like it was yesterday and the main thing that sticks in my mind was the amount of confusion and worry that day.

We all didn't know what was happening in New York, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania. We all wanted to know our family and friends in those areas were safe. But many phone systems in those areas were either down or jammed with call traffic.

The good news is that today there are many more options to keep in touch and stay informed.

Communication Plan - make one today.

With the advent of smart devices and social media, getting the word out that you are OK or contacting loved ones to check on their status is much easier, but it still requires some thought and planning.

1) Determine the best ways to let your family and friends know you're OK in an emergency. Here's my ranked list:

Social media: Facebook, Twitter, Google+
Text messages
Voice: cell or landline

I chose social media as my first method due to it's redundancy and one-to-many communication method. Any one of these channels can let your family know you're OK and can also be used to query loved ones on their status. You can also access these channels from multiple devices - if WiFi is down, but cell service is still working, you can still communicate through your smart phone.
Text messaging is a good back up to social media, especially if you need to communicate with family and friends who may not be tied into social media or unable to access it from work, etc. You can use group texts to contact multiple people more efficiently.
The phone call or message is my last resort, mostly aimed at my older relatives and friends who don't have smart phones and don't live on social media like I do.
- I'm assuming that my status is "OK". If I'm in trouble, a phone call to my local police or fire department would be my first choice.
- Also, have important phone numbers written down - when your cell phone dies or is lost, that speed-dial function is going to be useless.

2) Make sure your family & friends know how you're going to let everyone know you're OK.

If you're going to use social media, let everyone know that's your plan. Worst case, a friend or relative outside of the emergency area that saw your update on social media or spoke to you on the phone can let others know what's going on through various methods.

3) Have backups in your plan. For example:

What will you do if your cell phone dies, is broken, or lost? (Borrow a neighbor's phone?)
What if the cell service is down or locked up due to excessive traffic? (Can you still get on the Internet? Use social media?)
What if the land lines are down? (Use Cell or Internet?)

I realize that having a communication plan is not a silver bullet to solving an emergency crisis, but being able to easily communicate your status or check up on a loved one's condition will give you a greater peace of mind, enabling you to focus on more important tasks during an emergency.

Get started now with this great planning resource from the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA).

September is National Preparedness Month, visit FEMA's site for more info and excellent resources.
For my readers in Massachusetts, visit MEMA's site for additional local preparedness info.

(Image courtesy of http://www.freeallimages.com/)

Wednesday, July 2, 2014

Are you ready for Arthur? How about the next storm?

OK, it's time to put my National Guard, Emergency Management hat on.

June 1st was the official start of the Hurricane Season for the Atlantic Ocean. While many forecasters predict a below-average 2014 Atlantic hurricane season, all you need is just one hurricane to ruin your day (or ruin your life).

Image courtesy of CNN

For us in the Boston area, it appears that the Northeast will be spared most of Arthur's effects. See http://www.weather.gov/ for the latest, official forecast.

So what can the average citizen do to prepare for this storm or the next one?

Be alert
In today's social media, TV-everywhere society, it still shocks me to see people surprised by weather, especially tropical storms and hurricanes.

Weather apps: If you have a smartphone or tablet, download a weather app - I use WeatherBug & AccuWeather - but they are all good. Then check the app daily.
Weather sites: If you don't have a smartphone or tablet, bookmark a good weather site such as http://www.weather.com/ or a local news website (here's Boston's list) and check the site at least daily.
Social media: Many states' emergency management agencies have Facebook and Twitter accounts plus official social alert systems. Below are Massachusetts' channels:
- http://www.facebook.com/MassachusettsEMA
- http://twitter.com/MassEMA|
- http://www.youtube.com/MassachusettsEMA
- Get Emergency Information on Your Cellphone via Ping4alerts! & WEAs

Additionally, many towns also have fire and police social channels. Either search your favorite social media app for your town's account or check your town's website for its channels.

This all may sound like overkill, but being informed and alert is your first line of defense in these types of events.

Be prepared

Now I'm not saying we should all go out and become Doomsday Preppers, but all families should have a plan, loose or written down, for weather emergencies. Having a plan will give you a much greater sense of confidence going into a weather event and greatly improve the outcome should you experience an actual weather emergency.

For my friends in Massachusetts, visit MEMA's "Ready Massachusetts" site - an excellent source of information and plan outlines. For other states, entering "<your state here> emergency management" in any search engine will get you to the correct local resources.
FEMA also has an excellent Family Emergency Plan that can be downloaded and filled out.

And being prepared doesn't mean going into overkill mode, it just means carefully thinking about what you should do before, during and after an event.

Act early

Being informed and prepared will then allow you to respond to a weather event in a timely manner.

Some tasks you should do earlier rather than later:

Secure outdoor furniture and loose items to prevent additional wind damage.
Fill your car's gas tank.
Shop for food and essentials. (In a perfect world, we'd all have enough canned food and water on hand to not have to do last minute shopping...)
Determine if you are going to "shelter in place" or leave the area.

Once again, your actions should be part of your family's overall plan.

Well, I have to go and start securing my yard in advance of Arthur. For those on the east coast, I hope this storm doesn't ruin your holiday week and more importantly, I hope and pray for a very uneventful 2014 hurricane season.