Ready and Waiting to Meet You at IAPD/IPRA Conference
We are all set up at the IAPD/IPRA Conference. Come visit us at booth 805. We can’t wait to meet with you!
Join us at the 2025 IAPD/IPRA Conference
Release Your Zesty Character- Get A Custom Digital Caricature We are delighted to have Ellen Lustig, a digital caricature artist, join us at our booth this year on Friday, Jan. 24th from 9-12pm and then again from 1pm-3pm. Ellen started drawing her caricatures in grade school because she wanted to make her friends laugh. Then at 16 she had her own caricature drawn which sparked a passion for it and other art mediums. She began to advertise her caricature talents and has done it ever since. Ellen attended art school and besides being a digital caricaturist she is also a sculptor, painter and blues keyboard musician. Come and have some fun with L6 and Ellen at booth # 805.
Listen to your IT department, not your users.
Over the last decade technology has changed a lot. Although the internet has provided many positive things, risk has increased tremendously. Keeping the users happy is very important but it is the technology departments responsibility to protect the users from themselves. Over the history of small to medium sized organizations, technology departments have been viewed as a maintenance department. When a computer breaks we call the tech to come fix it. When leadership or users want new technology they buy it and have the technology department make it work. Inherently, users were driving the bus and the tech department saw to their needs with minimal push back. This approach is no longer sustainable. Anyone that does not evolve will eventually wish they had. Protecting your organization from cyber risk can be daunting and expensive. Especially if you are still giving your staff what they are “comfortable with” or “used to”. If you want to reduce the cost and effort to protect your organization, it all starts with a basic methodology. Implementing common sense policies and simple easy to manage technology increases security and reduces cost. Unfortunately, this will impact your users. Nobody likes change but if you do not change with the times it is much more difficult to reduce risk. Things like multi factor authentication, strong passwords, and a more restrictive environment usually does not make everyone happy. Executive leadership needs to listen and support the technology department. At the same time the technology department needs to step up and define the right way to do things. Standardizing on the same software for everyone. Standardizing on a platform and not having Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android. The more platforms the more there is to secure and support. They are all handled differently. Not allowing personal devices to be connected to the organization’s network. When a simplified methodology is implemented properly the users will be safer. If you cater to the wishes of the users and have a cybersecurity breach the first place the finger will get pointed is at the technology department.
You’ve had your financial audit…. Next up is your technology audit!
Given how much businesses now rely on digital infrastructure, a comprehensive, formal technology audit could be argued to be just as essential to an organization’s long-term health and success as a financial audit. Just like businesses conduct financial audits to evaluate the accuracy, compliance and efficiency of their financial state, a technology assessment can be just as critical, if not more so, in today’s tech-driven world. Technology changes rapidly, and with it, new vulnerabilities emerge. A technology assessment evaluates vulnerabilities in your network, data systems, and infrastructure. Given the growing threat of cyberattacks, regular assessments can help identify weaknesses before they’re exploited. Similar to how financial audits examine how well a company can weather a downturn, a technology assessment ensures that a company can recover quickly in the event of a cyber attack, hardware failure, or other tech-related disaster. A key component of a technology assessment is evaluating disaster recovery plans, data backups, and system redundancy. Just as financial audits look for waste or inefficiencies in spending, a technology assessment can uncover redundant tools, processes, or systems that could be streamlined or replaced and can help identify areas where the company is overspending on technology services, licenses, or subscriptions, and suggest more cost-effective solutions. In short, technology isn’t a secondary concern anymore—it’s woven into the very fabric of how modern businesses operate and compete. The risks of failing to regularly assess and improve your technology is just as severe as failing to properly audit your finances.
New Customer Winfield Park District
August 2024 We would like to extend a warm welcome to our newest customer, Winfield Park District. We are grateful for the opportunity to serve you and we value your trust and confidence in us. For decades, Winfield Park District has been delivering year-round quality recreational amenities, services and programs for its residents. Understanding the importance and benefits of having dependable information technology with the goal of enhancing and protecting this vital asset, Winfield’s administrative team and Board of Commissioners selected L6 Technology as its sole IT managed services vendor. L6 Technology is excited to work with Winfield Park District and has already made valuable changes to improve the district’s technology. Collectively a budget and plan has been created and the first stages of that plan are already under development. L6 Technology commends their commitment to technology and anticipates assisting them in achieving their goals.
Are you truly prepared for a Cyberattack?
Taxpayers expect fortified cyber security from their governmental agencies and count on processes and controls being in place that will protect any networks used. Moreover, they presume that a plan is in place, should any cyberattack occur. They believe that their governmental leaders are prepared to handle and overcome any cyberattack or threat launched. Cybersecurity threats are by far the number one risk in today’s technology landscape. Having a comprehensive strategy to reduce these risks must be a top priority. To effectively reduce the risk of cybersecurity, every area of technology must be evaluated. L6 Technology identifies cybersecurity across six areas; perimeter, datacenter, endpoints, policies, physical, and the network. For example, when securing your home you need to check and lock the front door, back door, windows and any other means of access. If you leave the backdoor or windows unlocked, having the front door locked is not sufficient security to fortify the home from an attack. Having a good firewall is similar to having only the front door locked. A majority of all cybersecurity attacks do not come through the front door. Users clicking on things or opening something suspicious can trigger an attack, and it is the most common way that a breach starts. To reduce the chance of this happening, multiple areas of your agency’s technology will need to be examined and secured. This all starts by having an assessment of your information technology systems performed. Including examining your internet, wi-fi, network, firewalls, servers, and your configurations related to every aspect of your information technology. Once the risks are identified, then a strategy for reducing them can and should be created. Any practical strategy will take into account the level of risk, the resources available to the agency and the capabilities of the team members needed to deploy the solutions recommended. L6 Technology can help governmental leaders examine their risks and in formulating a plan to mitigate those risks. Don’t rely solely on your firewalls and make the assumption that your organization is adequately protected. Contact L6 Technology today and let us help you determine if all of your doors are properly locked.
Sophos 2024 Gartner award
Sophos does it again! For the third consecutive year, customers have named Sophos a Gartner® Peer Insights™ Customers’ Choice for both Endpoint Protection Platforms and Network Firewalls reports. L6 Technology leverages Sophos products at many of our customers. Sophos is a comprehensive cybersecurity solution managed from a single dashboard. The integration between the different areas of cyber protection is a cost effective proven option.
New Customer Arlington Heights Park District
July 2024 We would like to extend a warm welcome to our newest customer, Arlington Heights Park District. We are grateful for the opportunity to serve you and we value your trust and confidence in us. The Park is a special governmental agency established in 1925 to provide recreational facilities for all age groups. The district serves an estimated population of 74,409 with approximately 715 acres of park land. This vast park system includes community parks, playgrounds, pools, fitness center, tennis centers and golf courses. We look forward to building a strong and lasting relationship with Arlington Heights Park District which will allow them to reach new heights.
Free Internet for Park Districts?
Illinois General Assembly Bill SB2631 could make that happen. The following is what the bill states. Synopsis As Introduced Amends the Illinois Century Network Act. Provides that, on or before June 30, 2028, the Department of Innovation and Technology must offer free internet access through the Illinois Century Network to park districts, forest preserve districts, conservation districts, and soil and water conservation districts. The full bill information can be found here SB2631 Senate Sponsors Julie A Morrison Illinois has a state and federally subsidized internet network that was put in place to help schools and libraries. It is called Illinois Century Network (ICN) and if you click on the logo below you can get to their page. Illinois General assembly bill SB2631, if approved, would allow park districts to take advantage of this network. If that happens, park districts will be able to get high quality fiber internet access at a much lower cost and even free. It will be faster, more reliable, have better support, and many more features. Illinois Century Network (ICN) also has a shared hosting datacenter in the basement of the Schaumburg Police Station. They provide this service at a dramatically reduced cost compared to standard vendors that provide these services. For our customers that use VSI products, this is a great cost effective value.
You have been fired!
E-Mail from HR tricking users. A phishing email pretending to terminate a staff member’s employment has been very effective at getting people to click the attachments.
