If they initially exhaled a sigh of relief, opponents of the Cyber Security Act of 2012 didn't have long to sit back. The administration is already crafting a new cybersecurity executive order. Proponents say the order is designed to help keep the federal government and critical infrastructure protected from electronic disruption and eavesdropping. Opponents of the move fear the executive branch will step too far.
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NetWars CyberCity missions to improve critical infrastructure protection
Whether or not you subscribe to the notion that a potentially cataclysmic cyberwar is just around the corner, the need to train people to defend systems that control our nation's critical infrastructure is inarguable.
GSA Plan May Negatively Impact Small Businesses
The General Services Administration has proposed a restructuring of the Multiple Award Schedule program that could impact certain small businesses competing for government supply contracts.
The GSA announced earlier this year that it would begin using a new Demand Based Model (DBM), phasing out some outdated and obsolete supply schedule contracts for products such as typewriters and non-digital photographic equipment. This reduction is supposed to save about $24 million per year and phase out more than 8,000 supply schedule contracts.
However, Chairman of the House Small Business Committee Sam Graves (R-Mo) is skeptical of this new plan.
In a November 29 letter to Dan Tangherlini (PDF), Acting Administrator of the GSA, he expressed concern that the restructuring may not only fail to accomplish its goals of improving efficiency and reducing expenses, but that it could also result in fewer opportunities for small businesses to compete for government contracts.
Graves said in his letter:
“I do not think that the GSA's proposals will enhance small business viability, improve operational efficiency, or result in cost control. Furthermore, the DBM proposal demonstrates a lack of understanding of how small businesses operate in relation to the federal market.â€
Small businesses in the federal market that could be impacted by such changes include those that provide office supplies and similar products. Graves wrote in an earlier letter to the GSA that nearly 15,700 of the 19,000 schedule contracts are held by small businesses. He also said that there are about 350,000 total small businesses that are registered to do business with the federal government.
Graves is not the first to express concern about the DBM.
At a June 7 hearing before the Subcommittee on Contracting and Workforce, representatives from several small businesses and professional organizations, including the National Office Products Alliance and the American Institute of Architects, expressed concern about the structuring of the Multiple Award Schedule.
He asked that the GSA continues to consult with the Small Business Committee before making a final decision regarding the DBM, and that it be informed once a decision is made.
Warning: Your Visual Message Is Just As Important
It's difficult to figure out the right image for your small business if you don't know what the right message is. Whether it's a blog post in need of a picture, your primary logo, a product design or an infographic to highlight a point or process. Any image you use in association with your company has to say something that matters to your target audience.
In an article for Visual.ly Blog Professor Alberto Cairo, Author of The Functional Art: An Introduction To Information Graphics and Visualization, says,
“Designing an infographic or a data visualization is an act of engineering,â€
Infographics, like other effective visual images, should be more than just pretty pictures or something to take up space on a website. Professor Cairo says he's not:
“. . .indulging in some sort of vague game of metaphors, literally. I believe that an infographic is a tool in a very similar way that hammers and screwdrivers are tools.â€
You can get the nail into the wall without the hammer. But the right tool makes it easier to accomplish your goal. In other words, with the hammer you can do more - faster.
Likewise, you can get your point across with written text alone. But partner your text with a visual tool like a relevant picture, infographic or even video learning and you can accomplish your goal more efficiently.
New Concepts Take A Minute To Digest
If you rely solely on written words, then it may take 20 to 30 casual impressions or a handful of in depth reviews before your audience understands your new idea well enough to act on it. And people buy what they understand. Not that they know exactly how a television works, for example, but the buying audience is clear about how it impacts their life, “more entertainment and information in my living room.â€
Drive Your Point Home, Make It VisualÂ
If you want to honor the idea that “the world is visual,†as David Langton and Small Business Trends Founder, Anita Campbell, state in Visual Marketing: 99 Proven Ways For Small Businesses To Market With Images And Designs, then you're always in the market for ideas to enhance your message.
Here are 3 things to stay on top of your visual message:
Collect Things That You Like
Start with magazine covers and images, color combinations, photo images and videos that grab your attention and put them in a swipe file.
Define And Study Your Main Message
Get certain about the point that you want to drive home in your marketing. Once you're clear about this core marketing message, then it's easier to use visuals to enhance it.
Build A TeamÂ
Do what you do best and then get help with the rest of it. As the owner you will need to be hands on in drafting a marketing strategy, but then you may need a graphic designer or photographer to help you implement your plan in a timely manner.
In marketing, every word and image counts. Â Make sure it all says what your audience needs and wants to hear from you.
Visual Photo via Shutterstock
Business Value: Scratching Beneath the Surface of the Cloud
Around a decade ago, a special few of us got invites to be beta users of a new cloud product that offered virtually unlimited storage space for our email.
Even better: it was free.
Years later, most of us take Gmail for granted. Many companies even use Gmail, Google documents and Google spreadsheets to do business. Google set the expectation for unlimited free storage, but a lot has changed since those early days.
When it comes to free storage and unlimited megabytes, everyone signs up â€" private and business users, alike. This has caused some people to question the business model of the cloud â€" is there enough money to be made by cloud storage providers to trust them with my documents?
The answer is undoubtedly yes, but the way to do it isn't by charging for infinitely more storage space, it's by offering users a better storage experience. In particular, small businesses are looking for quality, convenient cloud services that improve their productivity, not just a dumping place for files.
The cloud becomes more valuable for small businesses when offering services beyond the current state of commoditized storage. As we saw with business software years ago, and recently with valuable apps for business, the benefits of paid services often outweigh the benefit of getting them for free.
Businesses understand software as a service, and they will soon expect services on top of cloud storage. There's a lot to learn about service and value from the airline industry. Virgin America threw out the conventional approach for low-cost domestic flights and offered a superior product at competitive prices.
For many smaller carriers, the focus is on the cheapest, most no-frills experience possible in order to compete with the bigger players. But Virgin has proven that customers are looking for more and will pay for added services.
Similarly, it's the cloud service experience that will add true value for consumers and prove to be the winning ingredient.
The unspoken truth in the cloud storage market is that most small businesses don't come close to using all of the data offered, even in limited plans. In reality, a business owner's typical digital data â€" office files, PDFs and other records, maybe a few photos and scans â€" doesn't take up more than 10 GBs.
So, as the cloud service industry matures, it will need to look for a business model beyond the “how many GBs do you get for a buck†approach. In cloud services, small business owners should be looking at what they are actually trying to accomplish and see how these services fit into their workflow.
Spotify is a great example of a good introductory product with the option to pay for an enhanced experience. They have figured out how to create a valuable pay wall that goes beyond online access to a vast selection of music. They also offer paid options for better quality sound, downloadable content and no commercials, along with a potent mobile app experience.
When it comes to cloud storage, just like with Virgin and Spotify, people and businesses are looking for value-added services and an effortless experience. We all want ways to make our lives easier, not more complicated. Users want a solution that is flexible and that easily integrates with the systems and services they are already using. Cloud storage solutions are beginning to realize that features beyond extra GBs are what users will pay for.
Features like cloud search, easing workflow and collaboration options are the services many businesses will latch onto. Some questions to ask yourself are:
- Does your cloud storage provider drastically change your everyday workflow?
- Does this cloud storage provider provide you with collaboration tools for your team?
- Does your cloud storage provider have desktop, mobile and tablet accessibility?
- Is the main draw of a particular cloud storage provider the amount of space it gives you?
- Does your cloud storage provider have a simple explanation for how your files will be secure in the cloud?
When identifying how your business will approach the cloud, take the above into consideration.
Under the Cloud Photo via Shutterstock
NY Event: From Maybe To Yes – 5 Ways To Turn Lukewarm Prospects Into HOT Profits
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When:  Thursday, December 13th, 8am â€" 10:30am Where:  Mercy College Entrepreneurship Institute, 65 West 35th Street (Near Penn Station), 6th Floor, Room 704, New York, NYÂ
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Summary
For many business owners getting prospective customers to say YES is one of the hardest parts of running a business. How do you get a prospective customer who is almost ready to buy, but they have not yet bought, to see VALUE in your product or service and BUY?
“From Maybe To Yes†will give you the practical insight and strategy to move your prospects to customers and your customers to lifelong relationships
While many business owners spend hours struggling to attract new customers and pray that their current customers will buy from them, they don't know what to do with those prospective customers in sales purgatory (or so it seems) who have not bought yet, but also have not yet said “no†â€" they're in limbo.
“From Maybe To Yes†will give you the best practices you need to boost sales in 2013 and just maybe for the last few weeks of 2012.
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Your Hosts
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Ramon is a technology evangelist, author (3 books), event producer, national speaker, journalist and freelance writer with over 8,000 articles to his name. As a former technology consultant Ramon has hands on knowledge of technology and as a business owner, knows the challenges and joys of growing a business. Read more about Ramon at www.RamonRay.com.
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Event sponsors
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Mercy College Entrepreneurship Institute
NY Event: From Maybe To Yes – 5 Ways To Turn Lukewarm Prospects Into HOT Profits
Â
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When:  Thursday, December 13th, 8am â€" 10:30am Where:  Mercy College Entrepreneurship Institute, 65 West 35th Street (Near Penn Station), 6th Floor, Room 704, New York, NYÂ
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Â
Summary
For many business owners getting prospective customers to say YES is one of the hardest parts of running a business. How do you get a prospective customer who is almost ready to buy, but they have not yet bought, to see VALUE in your product or service and BUY?
“From Maybe To Yes†will give you the practical insight and strategy to move your prospects to customers and your customers to lifelong relationships
While many business owners spend hours struggling to attract new customers and pray that their current customers will buy from them, they don't know what to do with those prospective customers in sales purgatory (or so it seems) who have not bought yet, but also have not yet said “no†â€" they're in limbo.
“From Maybe To Yes†will give you the best practices you need to boost sales in 2013 and just maybe for the last few weeks of 2012.
Â
Â
Your Hosts
Â
Ramon is a technology evangelist, author (3 books), event producer, national speaker, journalist and freelance writer with over 8,000 articles to his name. As a former technology consultant Ramon has hands on knowledge of technology and as a business owner, knows the challenges and joys of growing a business. Read more about Ramon at www.RamonRay.com.
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Event sponsors
Let's Order No
Mercy College Entrepreneurship Institute
UK criticised for failing and fragmented response to a cyber incident
The UK's response to a cyber incident has been described as ‘fragmented and failing' and having a ‘lack of cohesion' between various organisations.
According to former GCHQ and CESG head Nick Hopkinson in an interview with Computing the UK has a ‘lack of cohesion' between the various organisations set up to work towards the strategy. This week, Bob Ayers, former US cyber intelligence officer for the US Army and the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA), also told Computing that he felt that Britain's cyber security program was "a collective of independent entities" rather than a streamlined unit.
He said: “The most fundamental problem is that there is no one either accountable or responsible for the implementation of the programme. In many ways, the UK cyber programme is like the EU, a collective of independent entities more concerned with their individual departmental interests rather than those of the nation as a whole.â€
Ayers also suggested that Britain is decades behind the US and lacks the ability to produce ‘professionalised' cyber security personnel.
“In many ways, the UK is at a point where the US was in 1995 with regard to cyber programmes. Many elements of a strategy are still absent in the UK including ‘professionalisation' of cyber security personnel, revised legislative and regulatory controls that are applicable to cyber space and links into the academic world to increase the output of personnel suitable for working in a national cyber programme," he said.
David Harley, senior research fellow at Eset, who told SC Magazine that he had been involved with Computer Emergency Response Teams (Certs) in the past, said he felt that fragmentation is inevitable in state-centric, politically driven security scenarios.
“Actually, in relatively democratic Western states it's naive to think that national security is purely a matter of governmental strategy. There is, of course, very relevant expertise in government departments and law enforcement, but those agencies have to cooperate (sometimes reluctantly) and co-exist with private enterprise, and are to a considerable extent reliant on their links with the security industry,†he said.
“The point, I guess, is that measuring a nation's security by its political strategy (or as much of its strategy as is made public) is a little naive, especially when politicians and commentators insist on treating cyber espionage and sabotage and all sorts of cyber crime as one single problem that a government is going to solve by telling specialist agencies, industry, the national infrastructure (whatever you understand by that) and the security industry how to operate.
“It's not wrong to try to introduce some degree of regularisation of relationships between those groups in accordance with social policy and political strategy. The fact is, though, that most nations stay on top of national security - insofar as they control it at all - through all kinds of relationships between disparate groups (some more public than others).â€
Brian Honan, founder and chair of the Irish Cert, said that looking from the outside in, he did feel that the UK is behind certain countries in term of cyber security, with the US, Israel, Russia, China and Iran developing their capabilities three to five years ahead of the UK.
He said: “The majority of the above countries have had computer offensive techniques integrated into their military for quite a while, especially Russia, China and Israel. However, from a European point of view I would see the UK as being one of the top countries. It has a number of Certs to look after different areas but the main Cert, the Centre for Protection of the National Infrastructure (CPNI), has its concentration at the critical network infrastructure level. The UK also has the skills and knowledge within GCHQ. Let's also not forget that the UK has been fighting terrorism for a number of decades now and as a result has developed a lot of skills.
“[One of the biggest] challenges though that the UK face, and it is not unique, is the ability to recruit those with the appropriate skills to support the strategy. It is important that the UK invests the time and money necessary to properly develop its capabilities in this area to not only defend against attacks from hostile nation states and terrorists organisations, but to also ensure UK businesses and citizens can operate safely in the online world.â€
Last week marked a year since the UK government launched its cyber security strategy, which proposed, among other things, a new national cyber security ‘hub' that will allow the government and businesses to exchange information on threats and responses, a cyber crime unit within the National Crime Agency, the strengthening of the role of the CPNI to increase its reach to organisations that have not previously been considered part of the critical infrastructure and a single reporting system to report financially motivated cyber crime.
Also last week, Enisa called for better cooperation and coordination between Certs and Law Enforcement Authorities, claiming that collaboration between the two is hindered by their inherent cultural differences.
Ransomware infections expected to massively improve and infect in 2013
Ransomware infections will increase in 2013, as techniques and technologies increase in sophistication.
James Lyne, director of technology strategy at Sophos, said that instances of ransomware, where a victim receives an email or message informing them that their data has been encrypted and they must pay to get it 'unlocked', have 'exploded'.
Lyne said that while this is not a new concept, the quality of implementation has massively increased, with attackers encrypting files with public key cryptography.
“Before they encrypted with a key but we were able to figure the key out and unlock it by reverse engineering the encryption key, but now they use public key cryptography and post the results to a remote server,†he said.
Once a person is infected, the victim has two options: to pay the criminal money or to not respond, as there is a chance that the attacker has moved and have taken down the domain already. said: “We are usually seeing thousands of pieces of ransomware when there were three or four pieces a few years ago, so it is a pretty big growth and we will see more in 2013.â€
Lyne said that the average amount of a typical ransom is $300 to $400 but the worst Sophos had seen was where the victim was accused of doing something wrong and if they did not respond and pay they would send a password to the police with information of a file on the victim's computer that apparently contained child pornography and spam software. In instances such as this, Lyne said the ransom amount could be $3,000.
Recent statistics released by the Irish reporting and information security service (Iriss) and computer emergency readiness team (Cert) said that there had been an issue of ransomware, with six separate incidents targeting Irish businesses reported.
Irisscert chair and founder Brian Honan said: “We are aware of a number of victims here. We are working with other Certs in other countries to try and deal with this.â€
Lyne said: “Now that cryptography is being used, it could be game over. We are used to cleaning up malware and getting your money back from the bank, but this doesn't work this way.â€
NY Event: Holiday Newtorking Reception – December 11th
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Are you looking for a wonderful way to connect with other business professionals  this holiday season?  If so, you'll definitely want to check out the Holiday Networking Reception being held by Adrian's Network and Infusionsoft.  This event will allow you to network, connect, refresh and find new inspriations this holiday season.
Join Adrian Miller (Adrian's Network) and Ramon Ray (Infusionsoft and Smallbiztechnology.com) as they host the HOTTEST and most exciting networking event of 2012!  Here are the details:
Date: Â Tuesday, December 11, 201
Time: Â 6pm -9p
Place: Prohibition, 503 Columbus Ave, New York, NY 10024
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Why attend this Holiday Reception?
1. Â Meet new customers for 2013.
2. Â Engage with current customers to reconnect for 2013.
3. Be inspired by those you meet and information they share from their successes.
4. Get face to face with leaders in the NY / NJ business community.
5. Bring clients as a ‘Thank You' for their business in 2012.
Not enough reasons to attend?  You've worked hard in 2012 and this is a great opportunity for  you to spend and evening celebrating your accomplishments with other successful business  owners.
We hope to see you there!
Big Data analyst shortage is a challenge for the UK
More than three-quarters of Europe's largest Big Data community believe that the UK has a shortage of specialists in the area.
According to a survey of 131 members of the ‘Big Data London' group, who are primarily people working on Big Data projects, 77.9 per cent of respondents believe there is a shortage, while 70 per cent think that there is a knowledge gap between the skilled Big Data workers and those commissioning projects.
The survey also found that more than three-quarters of respondents say learning ‘on the job' (80 per cent) and ‘self-teaching' (72 per cent) are the best ways of keeping up to date with the latest Big Data skills.
Manu Marchal, director of Acunu, who conducted the survey and is Big Data London organiser, said that there is the potential for problems in the UK if companies don't respond to the skill shortage.
“It's easy to look at a skills shortage and blame a lack of training on traditional educational routes, but when you're on the cutting edge of technology, you have to be teaching yourself most of the time,†Marchal said.
Talking to SC Magazine earlier this year, Splunk claimed that there is a shortage of skilled data analysts. Its director of technical services in the EMEA region, DJ Skillman, said: “This is a challenge people will run into, managing more data. A lot of developers know how to develop, but people are coming up with an algorithm and asking the questions correctly, but the process is wrong. One of the challenges we come up against with Big Data is knowing how to process.â€
Terry Neal, CEO of InfoSec Skills, said: “We need a new breed of security analyst - a data scientist, who can integrate emerging frameworks to data mining and predictive analytics disciplines to maintain the battle front against cyber crime. The problem is that organisations may not have the internal analytics skills and the cost of hiring experienced analytics professionals is high.â€
When asked about the two main problems of understanding Big Data, the most popular answers were ‘under utilisation of Big Data' (66 per cent) and ‘having unrealistic expectations for Big Data' (66 per cent).
Marchal said: “Both answers are reactions to incomplete knowledge. Big Data has been talked about for what feels like a long time, but the reality is that this technology is constantly evolving so management, like practitioners, are often not aware what can be achieved with these technologies.â€
The Lost Decade of Income
The terrible recovery continues. Slow economic growth and high unemployment have kept household income on a downward trajectory.
A recently released Census Bureau report (PDF) reveals that real household money income fell again in 2011, marking the fourth straight annual decline. Median household real money income is now 9 percent off its 2000 peak.
Moreover, the typical American household now has 11 percent less money income than if the trend in income growth present from 1967 to 2000 had persisted through 2011.
Real Household Income Over Time
Source: Created from U.S. Census data
In the figure above, I have plotted household money income measured in inflation-adjusted terms. As you can see, from 1967 to 2000, American households experienced a positive linear trend in real income.
Over the period, American households' real money incomes increased by nearly one third, rising by an average of 0.9 percent per year.
From 1993 to 2000, the real rate of household income growth was particularly high â€" 1.9 percent per year on average â€" as the growth moved from below the historical trend line to above it. But in the early 2000s, real household income dropped, falling back to the long term trend by 2003.
From 2003 to 2007 real household money income growth moved almost perfectly along the long term trend line. However, after the Financial Crisis and Great Recession hit, household income began to drop, with income falling 4 percent in real terms between 2007 and 2009.
The end of the economic downturn in 2009 did little to change this decline, with income dropping an additional 4 percent in inflation-adjusted terms between 2009 and 2011. The end result is the current low level, well below the long term trend.
If household income had kept to 1967-to-2000 trend through 2011, household money income would have been nearly $58,000 in inflation-adjusted terms, rather than slightly over $52,000. That's nearly $5,700 less than what it would have been had the long term trend continued.
To me the $5,700 in missing income at the typical household exemplifies America's lost decade.
NY Event: Holiday Newtorking Reception – December 11th
Â
Are you looking for a wonderful way to connect with other business professionals  this holiday season?  If so, you'll definitely want to check out the Holiday Networking Reception being held by Adrian's Network and Infusionsoft.  This event will allow you to network, connect, refresh and find new inspriations this holiday season.
Join Adrian Miller (Adrian's Network) and Ramon Ray (Infusionsoft and Smallbiztechnology.com) as they host the HOTTEST and most exciting networking event of 2012!  Here are the details:
Date: Â Tuesday, December 11, 201
Time: Â 6pm -9p
Place: Prohibition, 503 Columbus Ave, New York, NY 10024
Â
Â
Â
Why attend this Holiday Reception?
1. Â Meet new customers for 2013.
2. Â Engage with current customers to reconnect for 2013.
3. Be inspired by those you meet and information they share from their successes.
4. Get face to face with leaders in the NY / NJ business community.
5. Bring clients as a ‘Thank You' for their business in 2012.
Not enough reasons to attend?  You've worked hard in 2012 and this is a great opportunity for  you to spend and evening celebrating your accomplishments with other successful business  owners.
We hope to see you there!
Groupon and Daily Deal Sites Faltering
In the beginning, Groupon and other daily deal sites were seen as a way to bring in more business. But more importantly, they were seen as a kind of marketing. You know, give customers a deal to encourage them to try out your product or service and they'll be back for more. Even if they don't use the savings, the offer builds visibility and brand recognition for your local business in the community. The trouble, some critics say, is that Groupon and sites of its ilk end up costing you in ways you might not expect, and that ultimately there are better ways to promote what you do.
Bargain Basement
A strained relationship. Business owners and customers alike complain the problem with Groupon is that the site ends up souring the relationship between users and the companies that offer the deals. Some business owners feel most Groupon users are simply bargain hunters who are only there for the deals and won't come back at regular price. Customers say this attitude tends to cause business owners to treat Groupon users poorly, creating a bad impression and discouraging them from returning. Yahoo! Finance
Pros and cons. The downside of Groupon offers is no secret to small business owners, of course. For months, small business bloggers like Martina Iring have been looking at some of the negatives including potential impact on your bottom line and what she calls the “mentality†of some Groupon users. Yet, there's no denying the power of these offers to bring in a large number of customers, something to which small business owners would ordinarily never object. Here Iring lays out the pros and cons for you to decide. Small Business Bliss
On dangerous ground. In the end, whether Groupon offers are a blessing or a curse for your business is for you to decide, says Will Scott, CEO of Search Influence, an online marketing firm serving small and medium sized businesses. Properly used, Groupon offers can bring in new customers, helping you market your business. But to do this effectively, you must skirt some serious pitfalls to avoid a bad experience that could cost your business big time. Here are five mistakes you can't afford to make. Search Engine Journal
A Better Approach
Special delivery. In the end, no matter how many customers darken your door for free offers or any other services you plan to promote, the key to ultimate business success is to be able to serve those customers with integrity. Small business consultant Isabelle Mercier Turcotte explains the importance of creating a business that delivers on promises. She also explains how being true to yourself while looking out for your customers' interests is the best kind of marketing. The Leaper's Blog
Get attention. There are other ways to get attention and increase your customer base organically besides the use of Groupon and other daily deal sites. If you have an online presence, this begins with an optimization strategy. When that strategy is less than successful, you may have made some simple mistakes. Anna Mackey, Director of Client Services at a California-based search engine marketing firm, gives us a look at six errors that could be hurting your online marketing efforts right now. McKremie
Act locally. Though the Internet is global, there are times when local optimization is also important to your business. As an alternative to Groupon-type special offers, for example, local SEO can be one of the best options to bring customers to your door. The trick, says SEO expert Stuart McHenry, is to focus on ranking your Website for local search terms, not just for search terms related to your product or service. Consider these tips. Nikki Pilkington
Welcome home. Whether your primary business is online or in a brick and mortar location, the quality of your Website and particularly your call to action pages is critical. Web designer Larry James shares a great guest post about the mistakes made after a visitor arrives on your site. These mistakes can cost your business if your site fails to convert visitors into the paying customers you need. Durham Web Designer
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