The FBI has confirmed that 2020 was a record year for cybercrime in the U.S., with all-time highs in both the number of attacks reported and the resulting financial losses. For the year, the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center received 791,790 cybercrime complaints (up 69 percent from 2019) with reported losses exceeding $4.1 billion.

There is near-unanimous agreement among small to midsized businesses (SMBs) that collaboration tools are now essential to operations. In a recent Techaisle survey, 96 percent of SMBs ranked improved collaboration as their second-most important IT priority, just behind cloud.

With digital extortion on the rise, organizations should develop detailed incident response plans.

In just a few short years, ransomware has progressed from a digital nuisance to a full-blown global crisis. Federal authorities say more than 4,000 ransomware attacks have occurred every day for the past five years, resulting in billions of dollars in damages to the global economy.

Virtual CIO services provide access to executive expertise necessary to drive IT opportunities.

To one degree or another, almost every business today is dependent upon technology. While smaller organizations may not require enterprise-class systems and platforms, they almost certainly are using communication and collaboration tools, networked computers, cloud services and a variety of applications.

Ransomware is a cash cow for cybercriminals, netting more than $350 million in ransom payments last year — although it is likely much more because many victims don’t report attacks in order to preserve their reputation. It’s easy money for the crooks because most companies just pay the ransom so they can regain access to their encrypted data and get back to business as quickly as possible.

During a year of extreme uncertainty for most businesses, one thing became exceptionally certain — advanced wireless technology will be critical to operational agility, resilience and innovation for the foreseeable future.

When the pandemic forced much of the global workforce to become isolated, wireless communications enabled vital connectivity.

The break/fix approach was once the standard model for acquiring IT support. When a company needed computer repairs, network tuning, printer support or any other form of tech-related service, they engaged a solution provider on a straightforward fee-for-service basis and paid the bill once the work was completed.

As organizations continue to shift more and more workloads to the cloud, they may inadvertently create security vulnerabilities. Recent research finds that configuration errors, insecure interfaces, unpatched applications, and poor encryption and authentication practices are opening the door for a variety of exploits.

Cloud-based SASE solutions offer improved security for distributed computing environments.

Cloud services, mobile technologies, edge computing and distributed workforces have effectively erased the traditional network perimeter. While these innovations enable a host of business benefits such as increased agility, flexibility and productivity, they also make a mess of conventional network security practices.

These five contact center trends can help drive improvements in the customer experience.

The world’s oldest known customer service complaint is inscribed on a nearly 4,000-year-old clay tablet now on display in the British Museum. The writer accuses a Mesopotamian merchant of selling an inferior grade of copper and vows to take his future business elsewhere.