Every business requires some form of investment and enough customers to whom its output can be sold on a consistent basis in order to make a profit.
In July 2016, the biggest thing in security was ransomware. Several major ransomware attacks had made headlines in the preceding months, with healthcare hit particularly hard. This was in the early days, before ransomware like WannaCry and NotPetya would take down organizations on a global scale, but even so it was taking up a lot of real estate on security blogs and tech websites.
Source: Betting The Company… And Winning
Something strange is going on in the financial system. And according to The Financial Times, it’s about to send a massive flood of cash into the pockets of the most prepared Americans. What exactly is going on and what does it mean for your money? I recently met up with former hedge fund manager, Dr. Steve Sjuggerud — one of the most widely-followed financial analysts in the world. Today, he shuns the spotlight and lives on a remote island off the Florida coast. And he’s built a new life… and a substantial fortune… by sharing a series of eerie predictions. Many of which have proven correct…….
Source: Investing Outlook
China’s services sector growth rose for the second month in a row and hit its highest level since June 2018 , according to the Caixin China General Services Business Activity Index, released on Friday. Caixin said that increased foreign demand for Made in China goods and improving business confidence helped. The Index hit 53.9 in December from 53.8 in November and 50.8 in October. While the number is generally flat from November, it is much higher than the third-quarter average and comes at a time when trade tensions remain high.
A recent WhatsApp forward claimed that a popular e-commerce website is offering 99% discount on popular gadgets. The message included a link to the website that looks similar to the original e-commerce website. It could be an attempt to steal your personal information by tricking you into believing that you are getting a great deal. This type of fraud is called phishing. This can also happen over emails, where you get an email that seems to be from an authentic source, but in reality it is not.
A recent survey by cyber security firm McAfee India has revealed that a majority of consumers are willing to take risk while shopping online. The survey had 72% respondents (including 44% who said, “Yes, I would” and 28% who said “probably”) admitting they would purchase the same item from one online retailer over another if the item’s price was significantly cheaper, even if they weren’t 100% confident the website was genuine or secure. At the same time, 74% of the respondents said they consider clicking on unfamiliar websites or emails as dangerous, but do their research before making a purchase.
The study that was commissioned by McAfee India in October 2018 surveyed 1,017 adults between the ages of 18 and 55, in India.
Online risks
The survey has highlighted that a big percentage of those buying products online, particularly during festive sales, do not mind if their details like mobile number, email, residential address and bank account details fall in the wrong hands.
Cyber criminals can exploit any information, so users should be cautious about what they share on social media platforms, online forums, on websites or via email. Jens Monrad, senior intelligence analyst at FireEye, a cyber security firm, said, “As we rely more on digital communication, our digital footprint has dramatically expanded during the last five years. From a cyber criminal perspective this means that the information can be used in cyber attacks or to appear more trustworthy (by social engineering) or even exploited in extortion attacks.”
A recent example of how this information can be used, Monrad said, is that unsolicited emails are being sent to users, where the sender claims to have explicit content, stolen from the victim’s computer. In order not to submit the “embarrassing material” to co-workers, family and friends, the victims are being told to pay a fee via cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.
The survey also found that many users face financial stress due to the purchases they make during the festive season; 77% of the respondents said they feel some stress about spending during online sales. This could further lead these people towards risky behaviour like using shortcuts to get a good deal. In fact, 55% of the respondents said they check their bank or card statements frequently during the festive sales period.
What you should do
You do not need to be a cyber security expert to protect yourself while being online. A lot can be dealt with by just being alert. “Today, using the Internet, either for shopping, for work or browsing, requires that the user employs a degree of scepticism and tries to judge if the content they are viewing or receiving via email is legitimate, coming from a trusted source and potentially can be verified in other places or sources,” Monrad said.
It also involves updating softwares on your devices. Having a cyber security product on your devices that offers malware scanning and protection also helps, he said.
So do not fall for emails and forwards that promise you steep discounts that sound unbelievable. Also, make it a point to report such messages as spam. This could help prevent the spread of such information and keep you and others safe online.
We know how much of a difference one person can make in another’s life. But what if your goals are loftier than reaching just one person? What if you want to make a difference in the lives of a hundred, a thousand, or more? There are millions of young people across this country that need access to opportunity so that they can have successful futures after high school. What if you could play a pivotal role in providing that access? That’s the challenge NAF is working to solve. With over 100,000 students enrolled in NAF academies in underserved high schools across the country, reaching these students wouldn’t be possible without our business partners…………..
When word leaked out of Seattle that Jeff Bezos had told employees “Amazon will go bankrupt,” the company’s stock took a nose dive. But those comments shouldn’t worry Amazon.com investors; Bezos’ statement should reassure them. Why? Because Bezos was right when he said, “Amazon is not too big to fail.” And while the same can be said of any large corporation, few CEOs are willing to acknowledge that fact. Yet, those few who do like Bezos are the sort of self-aware critical thinkers who will help make sure their companies not only survive, but thrive, in the long run……………
I have written dozens of useful how-to lessons for driving sales, but perhaps none is more important than this one. This is the day that you learn that driving sales has very little to do with what YOU have to say. And, it is everything to do with what YOUR CLIENT has to say. The magic sauce to closing the transaction is knowing how to ask probing questions, sit back and LISTEN. Keeping your mouth shut is typically a really hard concept for a salesperson to grasp. But, if they do, jewels of insights and real pain points of your customers will quickly surface to the top the more THEY talk……..
Many envy a person who takes five holidays a year, but few would put in laborious efforts needed to ensure well-timed and worry-free breaks. Quantitative derivatives trader Subhadip Nandy is one such person to be jealous of. The Kolkata-based options trader quit a comfortable job in Life Insurance Corporation to dabble in the markets in the 90s. At the turn of the century he doesn’t have to look back, for the markets give him relief — mentally and monetarily……
Here’s a question I hear a lot from young women: “How do I leave my job that comes with benefits and direct deposit paychecks and become an entrepreneur?” There’s no one-size-fits-all answer. So I share stories of what I did and what other women are doing to give them perspective, context and color to help them find their answers. A month ago Shinjini Das (24 years old) and I were talking about what she was doing. She was a digital strategist at Iron Horse Interactive in the San Francisco Bay Area………
Navigating new terrain without a road map is hard. The same can be said about your business no matter how long it has been established. A business strategy process is critical to define your company’s mission, create goals and create a plan to achieve them. All too often, businesses skip strategy and just wing it. It’s a decision that comes with repercussions. Statistics show that 95% of employees aren’t aware of or don’t understand their company’s overall strategy…..
