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March/April 2017  
In This Issue

All 2017 eRecycling proceeds are donated to Kate's Club.  Kate's Club empowers children facing life after the death of a parent or sibling. Read more about their mission here!
 
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2017 is going to be a banner year for Malware. Already the number of threats has increased exponentially. Malware kits for as little as $39 and the emergence of Ransomware as a Service (RaaS) has caused an explosion in this illicit industry.

We continue our series on Cyber Safety for Employees with more information on how to recognize scams and stay safe in Cyberspace.

We loved the article "How to Lead a Diverse Team? Systematically. " and reached out to Peter Topping for permission to share with you.

As always, please reach out with questions, suggestions or comments!

Mary
Come celebrate Earth Day 2017!
Green World
Earth Day Celebration
 
Join us on Thursday, April 20th 11-2 for our Annual Green IT Recycling Event and Celebration
 
4711 Peachtree Industrial Blvd
Berkeley Lake, GA 30092
 
We will be grillin' hotdogs and brats. 
Bring your electronics to recycle.  We will have bins and hard drive shredding available at no charge, but TVs have a $10 fee. Bring something to recycle and we'll give you a stylish, insulated, re-usable grocery bag!
How to Lead a Diverse Team? Systematically.
Excerpted with permission from Dr. Peter Topping.  Originally published in the Georgia Center for Nonprofits NOW magazine.

In the blogosphere, they say that employee engagement is at an all-time low. Because we all define engagement differently, I don't know if you can necessarily point to a trend - but would you say that of your staff is 100 percent engaged?

You might say you' re close, but the truth is that all of us are looking for ways to improve employee engagement, no matter the actual percentage .

Employee engagement is a challenge for organizations because people are complicated - and when we put a group of us together, we get more complicated. Because so many organizations don't manage their talent well, those organizations that are at least good at it, if not great, have a heck of an advantage.

A system, not an assembly
I'd encourage you to think about talent from a systems perspective: In a system, the more diverse your pieces are, the harder it makes the system to manage - but the stronger the system can become in its execution.

Hire hard, manage easy
Think about your major talent management activities: recruiting and hiring, job placement, day-to-day performance management, training and development, retaining good talent, promoting people, and, as business guru Ram Charan would say, "deselection" (rather than saying, "firing people"). They're all important, but which one of these is the number one leverage point? It can vary from one organization to another. For me, it's hiring. If you want to improve the health of your talent system, you should start by doing the best hiring you can possibly accomplish.

Teaching by leading, leading by context
How did you learn leadership? Through your experience leading, but also through your experience being led. That means you are teaching leadership every day. But what is it you are trying to teach?

Diverse values, and valuing diversity  
This gets us back to the diversity issue: How do you lead both a 22-year-old and a 60-year-old? If you use the exact same tactics for both, you're unlikely to be successful - but if you try to be something completely different, you will be perceived as inauthentic. You can adjust your leadership approach to the differences in your workforce, but the common factor is values: Making sure I'm understanding your values, while still enacting mine. And when we have a values clash, then we can have a conversation about them.

Systematic superiority
The healthier your system is, the more attractive your workplace will be, and the more people will want to stay. It may require you to think a bit differently, and more carefully, to avoid focusing on a point that triggers problems in our system. This shouldn't stop you from acting: Just think, "What are the ramifications of doing this? If I give this person that kind of option, will it work in my system? Or will it have an upstream or downstream effect that might cause problems?"

There is no one right leadership style. If you think there is, then good luck to you: You'd better hope that the stars are always aligned in the way that makes that style work. The art is knowing how to adapt your leadership practices to the needs of the situation and the people you're leading, while still being yourself. That may be difficult, but it is possible - and it does pay off.

For the full article, click here.

Dr. Peter Topping is an associate professor in the Practice of Organization and Management at Emory University's Goizueta Business School, and a former visiting professor at ITAM, Mexico's leading business school.

Cyber Safety for Employees - Persuasion
Technology may be the first line of defense . . . but technology alone cannot keep us safe.
Technology solutions like anti-spam, anti-virus and malware protection catch the majority of threats, but when there are millions of threats every minute some are going to make it to your inbox. That's why you and your skepticism are absolutely vital in the ongoing battle against cybercrime.
When our defenses are up, we are good at spotting a scam, but when we get fooled it usually falls into one of seven principles. Although these hustle principles are rooted in the real world, they work in cyber-space as well.
  

The principles*

  • Distraction principle. While you are distracted by what retains your interest, hustlers can do anything to you and you won't notice.
  • Social Compliance principle. Society trains people not to question authority. Hustlers exploit this "suspension of suspiciousness" to make you do what they want.
  • Herd principle. Even suspicious marks will let their guard down when everyone next to them appears to share the same risks. Safety in numbers? Not if they're all conspiring against you.
  • Dishonesty principle. Your larceny is what hooks you initially. Thereafter, anything illegal you do will be used against you by the fraudster.
  • Deception principle. Things and people are not what they seem. Hustlers know how to manipulate you to make you believe that they are.
  • Need and Greed principle. Your needs and desires make you vulnerable. Once hustlers know what you really want, they can easily manipulate you.
  • Time principle. When you are under time pressure to make an important choice, you use a different decision strategy. Hustlers steer you towards one involving less reasoning.
  • Let's add one more, Guilt principle. The hustler guilts you into doing something. This is often seen in requests for money for a seemingly worthy cause that if you refuse you would be considered stingy or unsympathetic.
*Excerpted from Understanding scam victims: seven principles for systems security: Frank Stajano and Paul Wilson: University of Cambridge Computer Laboratory www.cl.cam.ac.uk/users/fms27 The Real Hustle www.bbc.co.uk/realhustle/meetthehustlers/paulwilson.shtml

The scams

  • Distraction principle. Any number of phishing attempts that provide details that distract you. These scams also use another principle like Deception or Need and Greed. Be wary of any email that you receive asking for information or action. Words like urgent, suspension, compromised, refused, unable, immediate should be a red flag and prompt you to research the authenticity of the message. If you have any doubts, call the provider. Any reputable firm will encourage and support your inquiry.
  • Social Compliance principle. "CEO fraud," e-mail scams in which the attacker spoofs a message from the boss and tricks someone at the organization into wiring funds to the fraudsters. The FBI estimates these scams have cost organizations more than $2.3 billion in losses over the past three years.
  • Herd principle. Seen on auction and social media sites like eBay and FaceBook, where someone's identity is stolen and the hacker counts on the user and community credibility to evade detection. Hacked FaceBook and other social profiles are used to send phishing emails and links. Stolen eBay accounts are used to fraudulently buy or sell items.
  • Dishonesty principle. Prescription drugs with no prescription sites or sex sites can lure people with promises of obtaining the illegal or illicit. Often people who have been scammed in this manner will not report it for fear that their involvement was illegal.
  • Deception principle. The impostors are masters of looking like your bank, credit card company or another financial institution. In email, they will embed links for accessing your account and forward you to a fake site. Online, their fake site will look just like the real one and the only way to tell is by carefully inspecting the domain name after the http://.
  • Need and Greed principle. If it is too good to be true, it's a scam. Often these types will entice you with something for nothing. Scams like the Nigerian fraud or free pornography have hijacked many computers and brought financial loss and embarrassment to many.
  • Time principle. Many scams use a time is of the essence approach to force the victim into a reaction. Your account has been suspended, immediate attention needed or need funds immediately messages should always be a red flag.
  • Let's add one more, Guilt principle. Unfortunately, there are many copycat organizations seeking money for children with cancer, hunger, homelessness or other worthy causes. If you want to check the legitimacy and efficiency of a nonprofit, go to guidestar.org or charitynavigator.org.
 
If we can help in your fight against cyber threats, report it by calling us at our HelpDesk 770 662-0312 or email HelpDesk@lansystems.com.
Remember if you see something suspicious, tell someone that can help.