SEPTEMBER 2025 7 SOLUTIONS Congratulations to IT Technician Zach Davis Zach Davis, IT Technician at Panora Fiber since 2016, recently earned the certification of Practical Junior Penetration Tester (PJPT). This certification focuses on giving beginners the skills and mindset to run a penetration test against a Windows Active Directory environment. Since many of you may not be familiar with these IT terms, let’s start with some definitions: • A penetration test is where professionals are hired to ethically hack into a company’s network. The goal is to find weaknesses before real attackers do. Once they’re in, they document how they got there and give a detailed report to the IT team so they can fix the problems and strengthen their defenses. • Active Directory is Microsoft’s proprietary directory service that enables network administrators to manage users, permissions, and their access to networking resources. If you’ve ever worked in a medium or large company, chances are Active Directory was running behind the scenes. You can think of it like a giant phone book and security system combined, which are designed to help the IT team keep users, computers, and resources organized and secure. Zach said, “The PJPT exam gave me 48 hours to break into and compromise a simulated network, and then another 48 hours to write a professional report on my findings. To pass, you have to succeed at both. I failed my first attempt at the report, and that stung. But I regrouped, doubled the length of my second report with more screenshots and details, and went back in on July 4–6. This time, I passed! It was a challenging but awesome experience, and I can’t wait to keep building on this knowledge.” All of us at Panora Fiber congratulate Zach on this achievement and recognize the hard work and persistence it took to get there. Thanks for all you bring to the table, Zach! Why Hackers Target Small Businesses Small businesses are increasingly becoming targets for cybercriminals. While large corporations often have robust cybersecurity measures in place, small businesses tend to have weaker defenses, making themmore vulnerable to cyberattacks. Hackers recognize this gap and exploit it for reasons including financial gain and data theft. Many small businesses store sensitive customer data, such as payment information and personal details, making them an attractive target for hackers. These businesses may lack the resources to implement advanced security protocols, leaving their networks and systems exposed. Moreover, small businesses are often used as stepping stones to infiltrate larger organizations. A hacker may compromise a smaller business with ties to a larger company, leveraging this access for more significant attacks. The rise of ransomware and phishing attacks further compounds the risk for small businesses. Cybercriminals know that small companies are more likely to pay a ransom to recover their data, as the financial loss from a data breach could be devastating.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTMzNDE=