Don’t doubt The Donald: Top investor George Soros loses $1BILLION trading AGAINST Trump

GEORGE Soros lost £788.2million last year betting AGAINST Donald Trump on the stock market.

Brexit boost: Aussie retailer Bunnings opens first UK shop as part of £500m investment

AUSTRALIAN retailer Bunnings has opened its first UK store in Hertfordshire as part of a £500 million investment plan by its owners.

SAVINGS CRISIS: Third of people have no ’rainy day’ fund, says charity

NEARLY a third of Britons have had no spare cash to put into “rainy day” savings in the past 12 months, according to a charity.

400M people use Facebook Messenger audio and video calling each month

 Facebook’s push for video goes well beyond the News Feed. On today’s earnings call, Mark Zuckerberg said 400 million people are making audio and video calls each month, up swiftly from 300 million in just September. That’s partly thanks to the December launch of multi-screen group video chat that looks similar to fast-rising startup Houseparty. Messenger is starting to become… Read More

Facebook plans to be more like YouTube than Netflix as it pays for video

 “We’re focusing more on shorter form content to start” Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said on today’s Q4 earnings call where he was repeatedly questioned about Facebook’s video strategy. One thing’s clear, Facebook will invest heavily. “I see video as a mega trend” said Zuckerberg. Facebook will both pay video makers up front and through ad… Read More

City news: UK GDP, Openreach, WIZZ AIR, and AG Barr

FACTORY output grew at the fastest pace since May 2014 last month as booming domestic demand offset slower growth in export orders.

PENSIONS CRISIS: Older workers fearing POVERTY-stricken retirement because lack of savings

MORE than three quarters of older workers fear a poverty-stricken retirement because they have not saved enough money for their old age.

Instagram testing multi-photo album posts

 Sometimes when you’re looking at your Instagram selects and you can’t quite decide between a few options, or when you want to post something from your trip but also don’t want to overwhelm your followers with a bunch of different pictures in a row, you feel keenly the absence of the ability to post a gallery as a single update. Especially if you’ve seen ads that feature… Read More

Master of Project Academy Seeks To Help Businesses Become Hack Proof

Is your business vulnerable to cyber threats?

If you’re not investing in cyber security, chances are, the answer is “yes.” Cyber security is important for both small and large businesses. Every week there seems to be a story about a high-profile data breach. Large companies may be able to weather the fallout. Smaller businesses may not.

It’s a common belief that hackers are only interested in larger corporations. But that’s not true. Hackers are just as likely to go after small businesses. Should you be the unfortunate target of a cyber attack, the risk includes loss of customers, loss of revenue and potential lawsuits.

It’s important for your team to know how to protect your business from cyber security risks. But learning how can be time-consuming and costly. This is where Master of Project Academy comes in. It’s a company that makes it easier for your IT team to learn what they need to know to protect your business. Getting certified is one of the best ways to demonstrate your commitment to cyber security. But the time and effort to get certifications can be substantial.

5 Risks of Failing to Learn Cyber Security

Cyber security is incredibly important for small business owners. But many entrepreneurs don’t invest the time or energy necessary to keep their business safe.

This is a huge mistake. If you’re not taking the right steps to make sure your business is safe, you could be opening yourself up to costly mistakes.

The Threat Of Malware

One of the biggest threats to a small business is malware. This has always been a huge potential problem. But now, it’s an even bigger threat.

Why?

Because now, mobile devices have become an integral part of doing business. Mobile devices are vulnerable to hacking. Malware can wreck your entire system if you’re not careful. If you want to protect your business, you need to make sure you’re keeping your mobile devices safe.

Yet even the most cautious businesses cannot stop all malware. That’s where CEH (Certified Ethical Hacker) Certification Training comes in play. With 17 hours and 80 lectures featuring real life scenarios and penetration testing, this can help train your IT resources to identify and patch the most likely security gaps.

Loss Of Trade Secrets and Intellectual Property

This is something many small business owners don’t think about. But they should. Trade secrets and intellectual property are an important element of your branding efforts.

If someone is able to gain access to your trade secrets, it could literally ruin your brand. This is especially true if you have a highly innovative product or service. Much of this information is stored in your computers. Fortune 500 companies such as Boeing regularly lose IP to theft. How much easier would it be to access your systems?

Hackers are looking for businesses that have something that would be valuable to other companies. You need to keep your secrets safe. Consider CISSP (Certified Information Systems Security Professional) Certification Training to shore up your defenses.

Ransomware

Have you ever heard of ransomware? If you’re a regular business owner, chances are you haven’t. Ransomware occurs when a hacker steals information or trade secrets, and then threatens you with their release. The only way you can keep your secrets safe is to pay them an exorbitant sum of money. Hospitals have been reported to pay huge sums to access patient data stolen from them.

It’s like the movie “Taken.” Unless you have a “particular set of skills,” or the cyber version of Liam Neeson on your side, you will end up paying tons of money to avoid a disaster. Don’t allow these people to get into your system! Both CISSP and Ethical Hacking training can help minimize your risks.

Having Your Information Sold

Sometimes, hackers will steal information from your business that they can sell to the highest bidder. Trade secrets, customer information, and intellectual property are attractive targets for hackers.

This could cause a huge headache. If a malicious party is able to access your customer or employee information, then sell it to someone else, you could be held responsible. The last thing you need is a lawsuit, right?

Danger to Sensitive Customer Information

This is probably the most dangerous risk. I’m sure you have heard of the many large companies who have been hacked. In many of those cases, hackers were able to steal sensitive customer information.

This information is used to steal the identities of your customers. Again, you don’t want to be responsible for allowing an identity thief to access your customers’ information. Making this mistake could cost your business everything.

Learn How To Protect Your Business

There are countless issues that could arise if you’re not being diligent about your cyber security. But, many small businesses can’t afford the time or money to get their IT resources properly certified. That’s why Master Project Academy exists.

Master Project Academy provides an easy and flexible way for your employees to learn how to keep your business safe through online courses taught by expert instructors. Best of all, with prices starting from only $15 per month, companies of any size can afford to make sure their data is as secure as can be.

Their students are able to learn remotely. That means business owners don’t have to pay for travelling expenses. Some of the cyber security courses that Master of Project Academy offers includes the Certified Ethical Hacker Training and Certified Information Systems Security (CISSP) training. Getting certified will help you prevent hackers from harming your company.

Conclusion

Protecting your business means having the knowledge necessary to eliminate as many threats as possible. It’s the reason Master of Project Academy exists. Taking cyber security seriously will help you avoid many of the pitfalls that other businesses fall into.

Hacker Photo via Shutterstock

This article, "Master of Project Academy Seeks To Help Businesses Become Hack Proof" was first published on Small Business Trends

How Facebook plans to evaluate its quest for generalized artificial intelligence

 One of the biggest misconceptions about artificial intelligence is the belief that today’s AIs possess generalized intelligence. We are really good at leveraging large datasets to accomplish specific tasks, but fall flat at replicating the breath of human intelligence. If we’re going to move towards generalized intelligence, Facebook wants to make sure we know how to… Read More

Time to Go Back To Basics with Online Marketing

Online marketing doesn't have to be overly complicated to benefit from it. Learn and use these basic rules to kick start your online marketing in high gear.

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Facebook beats on Q4 earnings with $8.81B revenue, slower growth to 1.86B users

 Facebook had another strong quarter in Q4 2016, earning $8.81 billion in revenue and $1.41 EPS. It pulled that from 1.86 billion monthly users, up 3.91% this quarter, or 70 million users, from 1.79 billion, but at a slower pace than its 4.67% growth last quarter. Mobile now makes up 84% of its ad revenue, the same as last quarter, accounting for $7.248 billion. Facebook blew past analyst… Read More

Why This Inspirational Ad Is Being Banned From the Super Bowl (Watch)

If your company spends a huge sum of money and resources creating an ad campaign, seeing it get rejected could represent a huge setback.

That’s what just happened to health and nutrition retailer GNC (NYSE:GNC). The company created what it considered to be an inspirational ad to air during the Super Bowl. But with the big game just days away, the company was notified that the ad they already paid for would not be aired.

Why?

Well, it wasn’t because the ad was inappropriate or controversial in any way. But about three percent of the products that GNC sells include substances that are banned by the NFL. So the league is worried about a commercial for the company appearing during its most watched game.

It might seem like a thin excuse. But obstacles like this can pop up for businesses any time and for any reason. Aside from getting a refund for the air time, there’s not much that GNC can do to recover the losses from this setback. But the company could potentially get its ad in front of viewers and still get some return on the investment it put into building the campaign.

The Importance of Business Flexibility

For businesses of any size, it’s important to be able to adapt to different situations so that you can overcome obscure and last-minute obstacles. The situation might not always be ideal, but if you can make the most of it then you’re probably in good shape to keep your business as successful as possible.

Football Fans Photo via Shutterstock

This article, "Why This Inspirational Ad Is Being Banned From the Super Bowl (Watch)" was first published on Small Business Trends

The enterprise is next logical step for Slack

 Slack took a big step in its evolution as a startup yesterday when it launched Slack Enterprise Grid, the enterprise version of its popular messaging platform. For Slack to continue its growth trajectory, it had to move on from being a tool for discrete teams to one that could deal with substantially more users, and provide some security and governance as it connected to other departments… Read More

The top unicorns are overvalued

 The hot air around young and savvy tech startups is not going anywhere, despite dark prophecies that saw 2016 as the “winter is coming” year. Snapchat and Airbnb are warming up on the sidelines of an IPO, BuzzFeed, Palantir and Uber are snatching hundreds of millions of dollars every couple of months and young startups with no revenues and almost no users raise tens of millions… Read More

Yomoni raises $5.4 million for its automated portfolio management service

 French startup Yomoni is a promising fintech startup operating robo-advisors. It means that you can give the company some of your savings, and the startup automatically manages a portfolio for you, buying and selling stocks, bonds and more. Yomoni just raised $5.4 million from existing investors Crédit Mutuel Arkéa and Iéna Venture (€5 million). The management team is also buying back some… Read More

TalkTalk founder Dunstone to take back company after Harding steps down

TALKTALK founder Sir Charles Dunstone is set to take back control of the broadband operator after chief executive Dido Harding said she would step down as chief executive after seven years.

Meet the finalists vying for the Social Impact Award at the 10th Annual Crunchies

 In tech, we often think a few steps further down the road. But sometimes, the present needs some serious addressing. This is one of those times. As we draw closer to the 10th Annual Crunchies Awards Show, we figured now was a great time to highlight the nominees for the Social Impact Award, which goes to the person or organization that uses technology to create social change. Here are the… Read More

Hutch wants to virtually redesign your living space — then sell you the furniture

 Everyone can recognize great interior design. But it’s much harder to actually design a space and pick out all the items you need to make it look great. Hutch, a Los Angeles-based startup, is aiming to fix this. Read More

Meet the finalists vying for the Social Impact Award at the 10th Annual Crunchies

 In tech, we often think a few steps further down the road. But sometimes, the present needs some serious addressing. This is one of those times. As we draw closer to the 10th Annual Crunchies Awards Show, we figured now was a great time to highlight the nominees for the Social Impact Award, which goes to the person or organization that uses technology to create social change. Here are the… Read More

CapGenius’ caption keyboard for iPhone ups your social media game

 Trying and failing to be clever on social media? Want your friends to think you’re naturally funny? A new app called CapGenius aims to help. This fun little addition to your iPhone keyboard offers a search engine for quips, puns, quotes, lyrics and other phrases that you can quickly pop into your Instagram posts, status updates, snaps, tweets, texts, and more. The app was created by… Read More