BUSINESS solutions J U N E 2 0 2 5 7 Who’s Minding Your Business? Joe McDonnell Central Office Technician After earning a degree from Mitchell Technical Institute, Joe McDonnell was hired by Sully Buttes Telephone Cooperative (now Venture Communications) in 1996. He’s been a valuable member of our team since. Joe said, “I worked as an installer for a year and half before becoming a Central Office Technician. We install and do maintenance and upgrades to the equipment that provides services to homes and businesses, as well as help provision and troubleshoot Venture Communications services.” What impresses Joe most about Venture Communications? He replied, “I’m impressed that a small telephone company based out of Highmore, South Dakota, has not only survived, but thrived. People who live in big cities usually think residents of smaller communities probably don’t even have internet access. Venture Communications and the other rural cooperatives in our state actually provide some of the best internet service you can get.” Joe and his wife Heather have four kids: Dylan, Peyton (now an installer at Venture Communications), Addison, and Tenley. In his spare time, he enjoys golfing, hunting, and watching sports, but his favorite pastime is watching the kids participate in their activities. Every business, regardless of size or type, needs to take precautions against cyberattacks. The U.S. Small Business Administration recommends the following: 1. Train your employees. The leading cause of small business data breaches is work-related communications. Train your employees how to spot phishing emails, use good internet browsing practices, avoid suspicious downloads, and protect sensitive vendor and customer information. 2. Secure your networks. Safeguard your internet connection by encrypting information and using a firewall. Also set up your wireless access point or router so it doesn’t broadcast the network name. If you have remote employees, they should use a Virtual Private Network (VPN). 3. Install antivirus software on all of your computers and keep it updated. It’s best to configure your software to install updates automatically. 4. Enable Multi-Factor Authentication. An important security measure, MultiFactor Authentication (MFA) verifies someone’s identity by requiring more than a username and password alone. This could be something the user knows (password, phrase, PIN), something the user has (physical token, phone), or something that physically identifies the user (fingerprint, facial recognition). Check with your vendors to see if they offer MFA for your accounts. 5. Monitor and manage Cloud Service Provider (CSP) accounts. Using a CSP to host information and collaboration services adds needed security, especially under a hybrid work model. Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) providers for email and workplace productivity can help secure data. 6. Secure, protect, and back up sensitive data. Work with your banks or card processors to ensure you are using the most trusted tools and anti-fraud services for payment processing. Prevent access to business computers from unauthorized individuals, and make sure each employee has a separate user account that requires a strong password. Give administrative privileges only to trusted IT staff and key personnel, and perform access audits within your business on a regular basis. Finally, perform data backups to cloud storage on a weekly basis. Best Practices for Preventing Cyberattacks
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