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Insider Tips To Make Your Business Run Faster, Easier & More Profitable

September is here!!

And with it, a new chapter. Just like students heading back to class, businesses are stepping into a season of fresh goals and new challenges. Fall is the perfect time to reset, refocus, and get ahead before the year’s final sprint

But with new opportunities come new risks. AI is booming with promise, and pitfalls Phishing scams are getting trickier And digital threats continue to evolve.

In this issue, we’ll dive into the pros and cons of AI, share ways to dodge phishing traps, and give you practical tips to keep your business secure this season.

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This monthly publication is provided courtesy of Josiv Krstinovski President of IT Company

Our Mission:

At the end of the day, it’s simple: every client deserves enterpriselevel security No shortcuts, no compromises I’d rather invest more on our end than to let a client go unprotected That’s the standard I hold myself and our entire team to Anything less isn’t leadership, it’s negligence. Get More

IS YOUR BUSINESS TRAINING AI TO HACK YOU

It’snosurprisethatAIisboomingFrom ChatGPTtoGoogleGeminitoMicrosoft Copilot,thesetoolsarereshapinghow businesseshandlecontent,customer replies,emails,meetings,andevencoding.

AIcanbeahugetime-saverand productivityboosterBut,likeany powerfultool,ifmisused,itcanopenthe doortoseriousproblems–especiallywhen itcomestoyourcompany’sdatasecurity

Evensmallbusinessesareatrisk.

Here’s The Problem:

Theissueisn’tthetechnologyitself.It’s howpeopleareusingitWhenemployees copyandpastesensitivedataintopublicAI tools,thatinformationmaybestored, analyzedorevenusedtotrainfuture modelsThatmeansconfidentialor regulateddatacouldbeexposed,without anyonerealizingit.

In2023,engineersatSamsungaccidentally leakedinternalsourcecodeintoChatGPT.

Itbecamesuchasignificantprivacyissuethat thecompanybannedtheuseofpublicAI toolsaltogether,asreportedby Tom’s Hardware.

Nowpicturethesamethinghappeningin youroffice.Anemployeepastesclient financialsormedicaldataintoChatGPTto “gethelpsummarizing,”notknowingthe risks.Inseconds,privateinformationis exposed.

A New Threat: Prompt Injection

Beyondaccidentalleaks,hackersarenow exploitingamoresophisticatedtechnique calledpromptinjection.Theyhidemalicious instructionsinsidee-mails,transcripts,PDFs orevenYouTubecaptionsWhenanAItool isaskedtoprocessthatcontent,itcanbe trickedintogivingupsensitivedataordoing somethingitshouldn’t

Inshort,theAIhelpstheattacker–without knowingit’sbeingmanipulated

Why Small Businesses Are Vulnerable

continued on page 2...

Mostsmallbusinessesaren’tmonitoringAI useinternally.Employeesadoptnewtools ontheirown,oftenwithgoodintentions butwithoutclearguidanceManyassume AItoolsarejustsmarterversionsof Google.

Theydon’trealizethatwhattheypaste couldbestoredpermanentlyorseenby someoneelse.

Andfewcompanieshavepoliciesinplace tomanageAIusageortotrainemployees onwhat’ssafetoshare

What You Can Do Right Now

Youdon’tneedtobanAIfromyour business,butyoudoneedtotakecontrol.

Here are four steps to get started:

Create an AI usage policy.

Definewhichtoolsareapproved,what typesofdatashouldneverbesharedand whotogotowithquestions

Educate your team.

Helpyourstaffunderstandtherisksof usingpublicAItoolsandhowthreatslike promptinjectionwork

Use secure platforms.

Encourageemployeestostickwith business-gradetoolslikeMicrosoft Copilot,whichoffermorecontrolover dataprivacyandcompliance

Monitor AI use.

Trackwhichtoolsarebeingusedand

Back-to-school isn’t just for the kids!

It’s a fresh start for businesses too! Know a company stuck with tech headaches? Send them our way for a free, no-pressure consult (extra credit for being nice ��).

Meanwhile, you can

�� Aweekendgetawaytorechargebeforefallkicksintohigh gear

�� A$1,500PelotonBike-because“newseason,newroutine” sounds betterwithcardio

�� AnAppleiPadtokeepyouconnectedinstyle

�� Orjustgrabthecash:

•$300whenyourreferraltakesaconsult

•$1,000iftheybecomeaclient

considerblockingpublicAIplatformson companydevicesifneeded

The Bottom Line AI is here to stay.

Businessesthatlearnhowtouseitsafely willbenefit,butthosethatignoretherisks areaskingfortrouble

Afewcareless keystrokescanexpose yourbusinesstohackers, complianceviolations, orworse.

BILLY BEANE

SHARES HIS WINNING DATA-DRIVEN STRATEGY FOR BUSINESS

Afailed2001draftledformerOaklandA’s GeneralManagerBillyBeanetooverhaulhow hemanagedtalent—sparkingatransformation thatrevolutionizedbaseballandinspired industriesworldwide.

Usingadata-drivenstrategy,Beaneturnedthe low-budgetOaklandA’sintoconsistentplayoff contenders.TheteamwonsevenAmerican LeagueWesternDivisiontitlesandmade10 postseasonappearances,allwhileoperating withoneofthelowestpayrollsinMajor LeagueBaseball.

Beane’sapproach,knownasthe“Moneyball” philosophy,emphasizedobjectiveanalysisover traditionandintuition.Itgainedwidespread recognitionthroughabest-sellingbookand Oscar-nominatedfilmchroniclinghis unconventionalpathtosuccess.

Atarecentleadershipevent,Beaneoutlined howbusinessescanadoptsimilarprinciples tobuildhigh-performingteamsdespite resourcelimitations.

Make Data-Backed Decisions

“Baseballhadbeentrackingstatssincethe 1800s,butnoneofitinfluenceddecisionmaking,”Beanesaid.“Iturnedrunningateam intoamathequation.”Hereplacedgutinstinct andsubjectivescoutingwithanalytics, reshapinghowtalentwasevaluated.

Identify Undervalued Assets

“There’sachampionshipteamyoucanafford— youjustneedtofindwhatothersundervalue,” Beaneexplained.Hefocusedonon-base percentage,ametricmorepredictiveof winningthantraditionalstats,uncovering overlookedplayerswhodeliveredstrongresults.

Be Relentless With Execution

“Youcan’tgobackandforth,”Beanesaid.“If youcommittodata,youhavetouseitevery time.”Histeamstayeddisciplinedthroughout eachseason,trustingthemathtoguide decisionsratherthanreactingemotionallyto short-termoutcomes.

Maximize The Middle

Ratherthanspendingbigonstars,Beane focusedonbuildingdepth.“Wecouldn’tafford topplayers,sowemadesurewedidn’thavebad ones,”hesaid.“Astrongmiddleroster outperformsonewithgaps.”

Hire Differently

Beanerecruitedtalentfromoutsidetraditional pipelines.OneexamplewashiringaHarvard economicsmajorasassistantGM—unusualina roletypicallyfilledbyformerplayers.Thisfresh thinkinghelpedtheA’sstayahead.

Redefine Culture With Data

“Ifwedidwhateveryoneelsewasdoing,our resultswouldmatchourbudget,”Beanesaid. “Wechallengedthenorm,useddatatovalue skillsdifferentlyandchangedouroutcomes.”

Lead With Transparency

“Dataexplainsdecisions,”henoted.“Even whenyou’renotalwaysright,claritybuilds trust.”

Level The Playing Field

Beane’sphilosophyprovesthatsuccessisn’t solelydictatedbybudget.Withinnovation, disciplineandadata-firstapproach,even smallerorganizationscancompetewithgiants.

Asheputit:“Dataisn’tanopinion.It’safact.”

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Time's Running Out

completely in October!

What happens after the deadline?

�� Zero security patches

⚠ No vulnerability fixes

�� Your business becomes a target

Warning: Most systems can't meet Windows 11 hardware requirements.

�� Schedule a Tech Business Review to:

Audit device compatibility

Plan upgrade timeline

Secure your transition

Don't wait! Unprepared systems become targets for cybercriminals

�� KRS IT helps you transition to Windows 11 safely and on schedule

��Need a TBR or upgrade help? Contact us immediately!

Most businesses aren't prepared when Microsoft cuts security support

WHY PHISHING ATTACKS SPIKE IN THE SUMMER

Youandyouremployeesmaybegetting backfromvacation,butcybercriminals nevertakeadayoff.Infact,datashown instudiesfromvendorsProofPointand CheckPointindicatethatphishing attemptsactuallyspikeinthesummer monthsHere’showtostayawareand stayprotected

the Increased Risk?

Attackersuseyoursummertravelbugto theiradvantagebyimpersonatinghotel andAirbnbwebsites,saysCheckPoint Research.They’veuncoveredasharp increaseincyberthreatsrelatedtothe travelindustry–specifically,a55% increaseinthecreationofnewwebsite domainsrelatedtovacationsinMay2025, comparedtothesameperiodlastyear.Of over39,000domainsregistered,onein every21wasflaggedaseithermalicious orsuspicious

August/Septemberisalsoback-to-school time,whichmeansanuptickinphishing attemptsimitatinglegitimateuniversity e-mails,targetingbothstudentsandstaff.

Whilethesethreatsmightnotaffectyour industrydirectly,there’salwaysachance thatemployeespursuingtheirmaster’s degreeorplanningavacationwillcheck theirpersonale-mailontheirwork computerandittakesonlyonewrong clickforcyberattackerstohaveaccessto allofyourbusiness’sdata

To Do About It

WhileAIismakingcybersecurity strongerandworkflowssmoother,it’s alsomakingphishingattacksmore convincingThat’swhyit’simportant totrainyourselfandyourteamonwhat tolookfor,toavoidclickingona maliciouslink.

Safety tips to prevent attacks:

Keep an eye out for shady e-mails. Don’tonlycheckformisspellingsand poorlyformattedsentencesinthe bodyofe-mails;AIcanwritee-mails forattackersjustlikeitcanforyou Alsoexaminethee-mailaddressof thesenderandthetextofthelink itself,ifvisible,tomakesure everythinglookslegitimate.

Double-check URLs. Misspellings inthelinktextorunusualdomain endings,like.todayor.info,canbe anindicatorofanattack.Domain endingsliketheseareoftenusedin scamsites

Visit websites directly. It’salways bettertosearchforthewebsite yourself,ratherthanclickingonlinks inanymessagesore-mails

Enable Multifactor Authentication (MFA). SettingupMFAensuresthat

evenifabreachdoesoccurwithinyour company,yourlogincredentialswill remainprotected–andsowillanydata securedbehindthem.

Be careful with public WiFi. Ifyou needtousepublicWiFi,useaVPN foradditionalprotectionwhen accessingsecureinformation,like bookingportalsorbankaccounts

Don’t access personal e-mail on company devices. Accessing personale-mail,messagingorsocial mediaaccountsonbusinessdevices increasesyourrisk.Keeppersonal accountsonyourpersonaldevices, andwork-relatedaccountsonthe workdevices

Ask your MSP about endpoint security. Endpointdetectionand response(EDR)softwarecanmonitor yourdesktopsandmobiledevices, detect/blockphishingattempts, maliciousdownloadsandalertyour MSPimmediatelyintheeventofa breach,limitingyourdata’sexposure.

Phishingattemptsbecomemore sophisticatedeveryday,andAIisonly speedingthatprocessalong.Becauseof this,it’sessentialtokeepyourteamwellinformedoftherisks;knowledgeisthe bestdefenseagainstphishingattacksStay informedandstaysafe!