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Like technologies, online threats change. Cyber thieves constantly refine their tactics and tools to create new threats. A business network that is safe and secure today might be at risk tomorrow. Businesses have to regularly update their security plans and procedures to keep up.
Hackers zeroing in on data-rich health care industry

I’ve been on heightened awareness for identity theft for the past 18 months. I was among millions of past and present customers of the health insurance giant Anthem Inc. who were notified in the spring of 2015 that cyber attackers had successfully hacked the company’s electronic records.
Passwords: A recipe for security, words to avoid

Simplistic, numerical sequences are commonly used for passwords. Six of the 10 most common passwords in 2015 were nothing but numerical sequences. In addition, the top-row, keyboard sequence “qwerty” came in at No. 4.
SDN’s high-security Data Center impresses local officials

The 25,000-square-foot, bunker-like Data Center just northwest of Sioux Falls provides secure space for servers and other equipment so that SDN and some of its clients can back up their valuable electronic information.
Leadership training grows employees, strengthens businesses

Companies that provide leadership training can benefit from increased employee loyalty and reduced turnover. Providing training can also help companies identify possible problem areas developing within the organization.
Benefits of managed services not limited to IT department

Supplemental benefits, though less obvious, offer a significant amount of value to a company’s managed services. Activity logs and performance reports, for example, can provide useful, in-depth information about network traffic, which can help companies improve their objectives, policies and procedures.
Protect workstations with good policy, tools and common sense

Deploying an effectively layered cyber defense means that every point of access in an organization’s network must be strongly protected. That includes workstations. All of them.
RC Technologies takes pride in its local roots and experience

RC Technologies is a big economic force in small town. The telecommunications cooperative is the largest employer in New Effington, a community of fewer than 250 residents in northeastern South Dakota.
SDN employees consistently come through for the community

Seventy third-graders at Hawthorne Elementary School in Sioux Falls were at risk of missing out on a field trip to the Washington Pavilion last spring. Many couldn’t come up with the $2.50 they each needed for the outing.
Protecting edge of a network from outside world is a big job

Firewalls have big jobs, and their duties are getting bigger all the time because of the rising frequency and sophistication of attacks.
Mentoring program gives new SDN workers an extra resource

Sioux Falls-based SDN’s new mentorship program is designed to connect new staff members with established colleagues outside their department.
Virtual hospital connects rural clinics with medical assistance via fiber

A person seeking medical attention occasionally wanders into the Avera eCARE center in the industrial area of northern Sioux Falls. It’s an understandable mistake. While Avera eCARE professionals provide world-class medical services, they only serve patients remotely.
Attackers have stepped up their game. Businesses must, too.

To adequately protect themselves, businesses and other organizations need to take a layered approach to cybersecurity. They have to have good policies in place, maintain good security equipment at every juncture and take extra precautions with their most vulnerable asset: their employees.
Small, rural Valley co-op offers big range of telecom services

There are no especially large businesses or colleges in the service area. However, Valley Telecommunications Cooperative’s broadband network is now 100 percent fiber, so the cooperative’s customers enjoy access to high-quality services.
Cyber camp empowers young girls to experiment in tech, pursue their passion

I don’t know whether my Emma will grow up to be a Protector of the Internet. It’s too soon to tell, and she has years of career exploration ahead. But I do know the GenCyber experience, offering an empowering environment to learn about coding, hacking, robots, and more, will give her the confidence to pursue a passion.
Expanded internship program helps SDN as well as students

Members of the 2016 class of interns came from several South Dakota colleges. Dakota State University in Madison, which specializes in computer-technology programs, has the most (five). But SDN offers diverse business opportunities for interns and career-seekers.
Board of Managers elected to lead SDN Communications

SDN Communications’ Board of Managers was elected during its recent annual meeting. Board members will serve a one-year term.
56 sculptures on public display in downtown Sioux Falls

The 2016 edition of SculptureWalk in downtown Sioux Falls features attractions ranging from the whimsical (a flying pig, for example) to the serious and inspirational (such as a kneeling woman with her hands on her head).
Bitcoin 101: A peek into the complex world of virtual currency

The secrecy surrounding the creation of bitcoin is fitting, perhaps, because part of the appeal of the virtual currency is that users can acquire and spend it anonymously. It’s like two strangers making a private transaction with cash. Except bitcoins don’t physically exist. They only exist as electronic transactions.
Swiftel telecom services help make Brookings unique

Swiftel is the business branch of Brookings Municipal Utilities that provides telephone, TV and Internet services to homes and businesses in the city. The telecommunications system might be governed in an unusual style, but it’s effective.