BUSINESS solutions D E C M E B E R 2 0 2 5 7 Who’s Minding Your Business? Nikki Baloun Customer Advocate Nikki Baloun joined Venture Communications in 2008. She’s a 2000 graduate of Lake Area Technical College in Watertown, SD, and previously spent eight years working for Michael Newton & Associates Insurance Agency. She described her role at Venture Communications this way: “As a customer advocate, we are the front line to our customers when they call in. We assist with billing questions, concerns, and payments; get customers signed up for new services; and respond to any questions or service issues they may have. We also dispatch our installer/repairman to troubles and installs.” What does Nikki like most about her job? She replied, ”I enjoy my coworkers and helping others. Our industry is constantly changing, and there’s always something new for us to learn as employees and for our customers to get used to. I find it rewarding to help others navigate those changes and make the transition easier for them.” Nikki is married and has three daughters —a freshman in college, a sophomore in high school, and a 5th grader. When not working, she enjoys hunting, fishing, gardening, spending time with family, and attending her daughters’ events. Hackers use a variety of techniques to try and steal and exploit sensitive data—such as credit card information and passwords—and these techniques continue to evolve. As a business owner or manager, you need to be aware of the most frequently used types of cyberattacks. APT: Advanced persistent threats, or APTs, are long-term targeted attacks that break into a network in multiple phases to avoid detection. DDoS: An acronym for distributed denial of service, DDoS attacks occur when a server is intentionally overloaded with requests to attempt to shut down the target business’s website or network system. Inside attack: This refers to a situation where a person with administrative privileges, usually from within the business, purposely misuses his or her credentials to gain access to confidential company information. Former employees, in particular, present a threat if they left on bad terms. Malware: This term is short for malicious software and covers a range of programs introduced into a computer with the goal of causing damage or gaining unauthorized access. Password attacks: There are three main types of password attacks: a brute-force attack, which involves guessing at passwords until the hacker gets in; a dictionary attack, which uses a program to try different combinations of dictionary words; and keylogging, which tracks all of a user’s keystrokes, including login IDs and passwords. Phishing: Perhaps the most commonly deployed form of cybertheft, phishing involves sending emails that include a link to a legitimate-looking (but fraudulent) website. The goal is to collect sensitive information like login credentials and credit card information. Ransomware: This type of malware will either lock you out of your computer and demand money in return for access or threaten to publish private information if you don’t pay a specified amount in ransom. Ransomware is one of today’s fastest growing types of cyberattacks. Common Types of Cyberattacks
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