Gotta dumpster out back?  Most businesses do.  A good dumpster dive can net over $1,000.00 (estimated average street value) in personal identity information, not only personal, but business identifiable information such as:  account numbers, tax numbers, addresses, etc.  Make sure your organization is cautioius with the disposal of critical information that identity thieves can use to obtain lines of credit in the names of your customers, employees, and vendor/suppliers. Keep in mind that your trash, in most cases, has become public property and can be accessed by anyone willing to dive in your trash dumpster, this includes the trash you place out at the curb for your ...

We recently talked about Home Record Management, how to manage and protect your private personal information.  We did so because Identity Theft has steadily increased over the past 10 years.  In some cases, victims report that their social security number has been associated with multiple employers, all reporting at the same time; one case, a victim reported 8 different employers reporting to social security during the same quarter!  

Make sure you are protected; take the time to properly destroy any correspondence that may contain personal identifier information such as:  birth date, social security number, e-mail address, telephone number, address, student identification number, etc.  As most victims' ...

Be prepared for any disaster.  The best portable solution:  scan all important documents and save to a password protected thumb drive.  Important documents:  health records, home owner's or renter's insurance policy, life insurance policy, health insurance policy, automobile, marine, motorcycle insurance policies, titles, mortgage closing documents, birth certificates, social security cards, wills, power of attorney agreement, lease agreements, a list of all account number and contact phone numbers for:  credit cards, student records, utility, telecom, mortgage services, automobile, etc.  Keep secured thumb drive in a secured fire rated lock box, preferably in a safe deposit box.  We ...

Let's face it, when it comes time to make budget costs, what are the usual places to cut?  Security, company training, education reimbursement programs, benefits, health care, etc.  You know the drill, so you cut-off the "things" you can live without, but can you really live without internal security measures and employee training?  Business managers will always say, "we have this under control, we're compliant, and we can take care of things."  Well, this very well could be, but what if it's not?  A security assessment will provide your organization with an overview, an audit, to let you know of high risk gaps, and provide you with solutions that will make your statements, true ...

Virtual training provides an innovative method for sharing learning experiences within an organization.  We have developed many course subjects over the past few years; more recent requests have centered around the  "social media" frenzy.   Virtual training provides 24/7 access to a multitude of  "quick tip"  work procedures, best practices, and policies..  Let us know how we can help you develop a strong virtual learning campus. - Mary Schmidt, SPHR USA Training Development

The majority of our Training Development projects for 2011 were focused primarily with social engineering.  What is social engineering?  Social engineering refers to a manipulation technique that is focused on obtaining proprietary information or manipulating individuals into performing actions in an effort to obtain information through confidence trickery or small fraud deception.  This activity can take many forms:  fabricated e-mails requesting information,  phone calls, formal written documents requesting information sent via facsimile, express mail, hand delivery, etc.  The amount information shared with scammers is staggering.  We created over 20 different training programs and internal polices to...

Did you know that the average shelf life of  most electronic products is roughly 15 years?  I am talking about fire alarms, CCTV, burglar alarms, medical alert, and card access.  Most often the only reason for upgrades, is not because of equipment failure, but because, the systems have not been propertly maintained.  Keeping systems in shape, requires maintenance, simple things like keeping components clean, adjusted, and tested.  Always surprises me when I see an expensive CCTV system not tended to since its installation:  dust, loose brackets, cob webs on camera lenses, bird droppings on mounts and lens fronts, etc. - Angie, USA Virtual Sales

Mid-way Q4 2011, a good opportunity to evaluate the need for refresher training opportunities, or plan for 2012 new hire training needs.  Our training facilitation opportunites are now available to purchase on-line:  CPR, HIPAA, Project Management, to name a few of the courses now avvailable, with additional course offerings to be announced next month. - Mary S. USA Security Net HR