Processed Meat and Cybersecurity
Meat lovers around the world mourned yesterday when the World Health Organization released a report* that bacon, processed meats, and red meat are likely to increase the chances of certain types of cancer. While not quite as dangerous as cigarettes and other known carcinogenic products, red and processed meats (including hot dogs, sausages, bacon, and cold cuts) have now been branded with a higher degree of consumption risk. *NY Times, Anahad O’Connor
Even though bacon is serious business, the WHO report is still not the biggest news this week. Today the Senate is voting on a controversial new cybersecurity bill* intended to protect corporations from hackers and prevent leaks and breaches. Not everyone’s for it though – some of the biggest internet business players (think Apple, Amazon, and Dropbox) are concerned that the bill’s proposed security measures don’t do enough to protect the privacy of consumers. *CNET Magazine, Laura Hautala
Food For Thought
You may be wondering where we’re going with this, and we’ll try to avoid the meaty metaphors. Both of these reports are bad for businesses – the news that processed meat is detrimental to personal health may certainly impact sales not only in the meat industry, but at sporting arenas, grocery stores, deli chains, and anywhere else processed meat products are sold.
If the CISA (Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act) is passed as-is, large internet companies may be ordered to participate in more widespread sharing of consumer information, compromising the privacy and whittling away the trust of millions of customers. Sure, everyone wants to step up their defense against being hacked. Nobody wants to see another United Airlines, Target, Anthem, or Ashley Madison incident. But cybersecurity is a double-edged sword: another thing that nobody wants is for their information to get into the wrong hands and to be misused as government intelligence (ahem, Edward Snowden).
Protect Your Business From the Headlines
Whether it’s public health or privacy concerns, sometimes protective information and measures can bring as much harm as they’re meant to prevent. Any news, laws, regulations, or government actions that affect the interests of millions – we’re talking both businesses and consumers – could have a ripple effect and wreak havoc on your business.
You can choose to stay on the offensive, on the defensive, or toe the line by simply staying prepared. Think about the nature of your business, and how your company could be impacted by various types of news and federal action. What becomes jeopardized? Security, privacy and information? Sales and profitability? Stock prices? Your reputation? And how would you respond appropriately to ensure that your damage control efforts salvage as much of your business as possible, putting you back in a stable position?
Top 10 Mistakes to Avoid When Deploying a Document Scanning Solution
Taking stock of your key initiatives and re-evaluating your decision making process is always a good way to reflect on the state of your business affairs and ensure that you’re not getting too complacent. Many companies who make large technology decisions run into at least a couple of these mistakes. Skim through this list by ibml and see if you can check off any areas your company may need to reconsider.
Going Paperless Doesn’t Necessarily Mean Your Business is Compliant
Another common mistake made by technology-adopting businesses is the assumption that getting rid of paper alone makes them compliant and prevents the need for additional safeguards and security protocol. Depending which industry you’re in, sometimes nothing could be farther from the truth. Check out our blog post on a few of the industry-specific sets of regulations meant to protect even digital organizations from messing up big-time.
The Real Cost of Using Your Own Resources to Attack Your Information Back-File
You’re not playing catch-up, you’re paying for it. Time, money, resources, personnel. Many companies attempt to cut corners by taking the DIY approach to digitizing and converting large quantities of business information. It’s not unusual to see organizations pay their staff overtime wages to work nights and weekends “taking one for the team” to scan and index stacks of documents.
Paying to play is a lot like gambling and, in the game of catch-up, it might look something like this: some businesses hire interns, sub-contractors, purchase equipment they don’t know much about, and implement time-consuming workflows into the daily schedules of people who don’t really have the time to be bogged down by paper-based tasks. Making the assumption that outsourcing is too expensive is a dangerous risk. When you factor in the huge margin for error, all the inefficiency, and time and money wasted by trying to cut costs, it doesn’t usually end up being worth it to do it yourself. Take a peek at our blog to see one of the types of solutions available and how calling a trusted partner with skills and experience can save you a ton.
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