We Are The Outsiders…

With a Fresh Perspective

If COVID-19 has taught us anything, it’s that we need each other.          

This year has been challenging for everyone and every industry, but we are getting through it because of the support of others. As businesses continue to look for ways to strengthen and maintain their online presence, those of us who have long understood the importance of digital platforms and technologies are ready to pitch in and provide expertise and support. In this issue, Ian Chisholm talks about how, after resisting digital for so long in order to focus on in-person experiences, his team was able to make a successful transition to online offerings. Tamar Huggins, who has been an advocate for tech education for more than ten years, talks about the importance of educating youth—the innovators and workforce of tomorrow—about technology. She also explains why she believes so strongly in data ownership, and why users of her app own and control their data—the importance of which becomes increasingly clear when you read our story on TikTok and its alleged questionable data security.

On another note, I was devasted to read the news in mid-September that the College of Nurses in Ontario was hit by a ransomware cyberattack that threatened to compromise personal data and sensitive information from patients and employees alike. An even more significant attack on UHS hospitals across the United States happened days later and hospitals were without access to phones, computer systems, the internet, or data centres, leaving them vulnerable and unable to function in the midst of a global health crises.

With everything we are going through as businesses today, one of things I am adamant about is partnering with someone who can give you support in the realms of cybersecurity. I am saddened to see business after business be hit by cybercrime. I challenge all business leaders to ask yourself, honestly: is protecting your business a priority? Are you doing everything you can, within a proper and reasonable budget, to protect your organization from being hacked? Are you training your employees and creating awareness to the threat that the internet poses to your staff? Do you know how hackers can break in and steal or ransom your company data? Do you know the cost to your organization if you were breached today? Be honest, as we all know it’s a question of when, not if, a cyberattack will happen.

Now is a time of extreme vulnerability. There is a lot going on, we all have countless priorities, and new challenges are popping up all the time. Ensuring that cybercrime is not yet another challenge you will need to face in 2020 is a conversation that should be held in every boardroom throughout Canada right now, because your business and people are important.

If the pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that we need each other.  

Take care of yourselves.

Ryan Vestby, CEO, CompuVision

Audio Version 

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