WIT Cyber Tips: Educating Kids on Cyber Safety

This month’s blog posting is an excerpt from the WIT.Wire on kids and cyber safety.

WIT Cyber Tips: Educating Kids on Cyber Safety  

By: Lauren from WIT's Cyber SIG

"The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything - A. Einstein".

Keeping our children safe in the physical world comes natural for most parents, as we were all raised in that world and are well familiar with good safety practices. Unfortunately, that isn't always the case for the online/cyber world - where many of us have had little or limited exposure. Our children on the other hand, have fully adopted this cyber world as an intricate part of their lives. Unfortunately, so have the bad guys. So time for us to jump in and extend our safety nets!

Here are some simple things that will go a long way in protecting our children.

1.    Lock the doors!  Just as in the real world, it's important to protect our valuables, including our privacy:

• Use good strong passwords on every computer or device, and change them regularly
• Don't give away passwords, even not to good friends, instead find a save way to store them in case they get lost
• Don't give out private information to people you don't know in real life - including names, address, phone, email, date of birth, age

2.    There is no such thing as a free puppy!  Good clicking behavior is critical, so it's important to teach our children good online behavior.

• Explain what pop-ups are, when they can and should not be used.
• Go to your spam box, and show examples of SPAM mail
• Never open attachments or click embedded links in mails of unknown senders and/or mails that look suspicious
• If you do know the sender, but the mail looks suspicious, call the sender and verify if he/she genuinely sent the message

3.    Stranger Danger Similar to real world safety, explain the dangers of strangers with your children:

• Only communicate with people you know in the real world - don't let people trick you in pretending they know you. Friends of friends aren't real until you meet them in the real world
• Coach your child to reach out to you when they encounter anything uncomfortable or creepy on the net, ensure that no matter what we're there to help and protect.
• Online friends stay online - coach them never meet in person with people they met online. If they do intent to, make sure they let you know and take a trusted friend with them
• Leverage real life examples (news, ...) to highlight the dangers

4.    Everything can and will be used against you     Whatever gets on the net, stays on the net and becomes part of one's digital footprint. So proper education is needed. Every post or silly picture might not seem to matter now, but it can matter 10 years from now as most colleges will screen student's digital footprints before admitting them to their program.  

• News headlines are an effective tool to teach the effects of posting of improper content

5.    One app a day keeps the bad guys away     When it comes to cyber safety, there's no better way to help your kids than by being involved.  Ask them what about the latest cool app, or their favorite game, play with them, connect with them. You'll get to know their habits and attitude, and it will be far easier to adjust where needed.

6.    Internet - 911   Mistakes happen, and when they do it's important that kids know where to turn to. Parents and trusted adults should always be their first go-to person. We are there to protect them both offline as online.

• Additional help is available and can easily be found online. Here are just a few to go:

o    Report a cyber crime

http://www.cybertipline.com 

http://www.stopbullying.gov 

http://www.ic3.gov/default.aspx 

o    Additional resources for parents and children:

http://www.americanspcc.org  

http://www.netsmartz.com  

Caps fan appreciates when employees ask “Why?” – An interview with Sonia Kendall

Ms. Sonia Kendall works at United States Coast Guard (USCG) headquarters, Office of Information Assurance and Spectrum Management.  She represents the USCG telecommunications program in the areas of public safety & interagency (DHS/DOD) interoperability coordination and policy.  Ms. Kendall is a retired USCG Lieutenant; her 25 year Navy/USCG career was solely focused on C4IT related work.  Ms. Kendall is actively pursuing her Doctorate in Business Administration through Columbia Southern University.  She holds a Master in Business Administration Degree from Columbia Southern University, a Bachelor of Science Degree in Information Systems Management from the University of Maryland University College, and an General Associate’s Degree from Phoenix University.

So, Ms. Kendall. You win the lottery for $10 million. What do you do?  

Considering that I live in Maryland, the take-away from a $10 million lottery win would probably only be $5 million. With that money, I would give part of it to a reputable organization or charity and invest the rest of it.

Describe a decision you made early in your career that has had a big impact for you.

When I first started my career, it was in the military during the early 1980’s. At that time, it was a male dominated world in the military and women were not provided a lot of the opportunities that were available to the men. Women also didn’t have the voice that men had. I made it a point to ensure that no matter where I was, no matter what paygrade I was, and no matter who I worked with, I wouldn’t let gender differences build a wall for when I want to be heard.  The military has gone a long way to bring equality to women these days, which is a welcomed change.

Any tips on staying energized when the going gets tough?

I keep a positive attitude at all times. I know that every day is not going to be a perfect day, but in most cases there are more good days that an average person experiences than bad days. By keeping a smile on my face, it helps me work through any difficult situation.

Which skills or attributes do you value most in coworkers that are just starting their careers?

Willingness to learn and to teach others. A co-worker that is just starting their career has a lot that they can learn from those around them, listening to experiences, watching how people interact and handle themselves, etc. But they also have a lot to offer to others because they come in with a fresh perspective and are open-minded. Sometimes we get stagnant in our ways and it’s nice to have a new perspective on how we’ve done business. I like when a new employee questions “why do we do it this way” and the response is NOT “because that’s the way we always do it”, which is often a standard response. People need to think “why do we do it that way?”….Just because it’s always been done that way doesn’t mean that it is always the right way.

What music are you grooving on recently?

This is an easy one. I am grooving on RA’s “We won’t back down”, which was written specifically for the Washington Capitals. I am a die-hard Capitals fan and with the playoffs starting this week, there is no other song in my mind!

Any words you would like to say about WIT or its programs?

I actually had never heard of WIT until this award submission/selection came up. I am excited to say that I plan to not only join WIT but also to bring awareness of it throughout my organization.

Building a Business Case for Integrated Leadership

This month’s blog posting focuses on integrated leadership and why it makes good business sense. This is an excerpt from Rebecca Shambaugh, President of SHAMBAUGH, which was posted on her blog site on March 4^th.  Please see her bio after the blog post.

Building a Business Case for Integrated Leadership

by Rebecca Shambaugh

In my last post, “Why We Need Integrated Leadership”, I discussed several reasons why companies need to begin moving toward a more balanced, integrated approach to leadership. I explained how in our ever more complex and connected world, organizations no longer have the luxury of failing to tap into the full capacity of their leadership team. We need all voices on deck to create a unified and integrated group of leaders who can leverage each other’s unique strengths, while integrating both the practical and creative insights of different perspectives.

But how can companies turn this vision into reality? A great start is to begin to build a business case for Integrated Leadership. Learning to communicate solid business-related rationale for creating a more diverse and balanced leadership culture can help move companies beyond the “stuck stage” when filling senior leadership positions.

There’s no need to reinvent the wheel when it comes to building a business case for Integrated Leadership. I recommend that companies get the ball rolling by focusing their talking points around the following four messages:

• Women have become an important powerhouse in the business world. I shared a number of statistics in my recent book Make Room For Her about the extent to which women and women-owned firms help to power the economy. For example:
• Women represent 80 percent on consumer decisions
• Women comprise over half of the U.S. workforce
• Women own more than half of the privately held companies in the U.S.
• Women possess important leadership styles and perceptives that are known to enhance organization’s bottom line performance

• Companies with gender-diverse management teams have been proven to consistently perform better and be more profitable than those without them. There is overwhelming evidence to support the value of having more women in senior leadership positions. A growing body of research—including studies by McKinsey & Company—has proven that companies with more women in senior executive and board roles have advantages over those that don’t. These advantages include:
• More profitability
• Better ability to attract and retain top talent
• Better ability to grow and maintain their competitive advantage

• Research shows that women leaders are just as capable as male leaders. In Make Room For Her, I also shared some research from Jack Zenger and Joseph Folkman, authors of The Inspiring Leader: Unlocking the Secrets of How Extraordinary Leaders Motivate, which found that:
• Women are rated higher than men in 12 of the 16 competencies that go into outstanding leadership.
• At every level of leadership, peers, bosses, direct reports, and other associates rated more women than men as “better overall leaders.”
• The higher the level of leadership, the wider this gender gap grows.

• Women’s natural leadership tendencies are critical in today’s business environment. Research has shown that the “collective intelligence” of an entire group rises if there are more women in its ranks. An article in Harvard Business Review explains that this is partly accounted by the fact that women generally exhibit greater capacity for “social sensitivity” than men, since women tend to possess natural skills for:
• Listening to others
• Sharing constructive criticism
• Keeping an open mind
• Avoiding an autocratic leadership style

Now is the time to foster a culture of Integrated Leadership—one that values, leverages, and blends the differences and attributes of both genders. Building a solid business case to support this initiative can help move organizations away from trying simply to achieve diversity quotas, or “fix” women through leadership development programs. You need not feel limited by the ideas above when you build your case—for example, you might add the point that diversity of thought and perspective is needed in every industry, and gender-balanced teams have been linked with driving greater innovation. The point is that leveraging a strong business case can help break through the status-quo approach to hiring and retention strategies, and can lead companies to a better way of doing business.

Rebecca Shambaugh’s Biography

Rebecca Shambaugh is an internationally recognized leadership expert, author, and keynote speaker.

She speaks before thousands of leaders around the world every year, challenging conventional wisdom and overturning assumptions about how to lead in today’s business environment. Her compelling and new vision for leadership in the 21st Century has electrified and inspired audiences on six continents.

Rebecca is President of SHAMBAUGH, a global leadership development organization and Founder of Women In Leadership and Learning (WILL), one of the first executive leadership development programs in the country, dedicated to the research, advancement, and retention of women leaders and executives. Rebecca has coached and advised over a hundred leaders and executives and has enhanced their overall level of excellence in such areas as communications, strategic thinking, inclusive leadership, employee engagement, executive presence, and culture transformation.

Prior to starting her own company, Rebecca has worked for such premier organizations as General Motors, Fairchild Industries, and Amax Inc. as a senior executive in the leadership and human capital arena.

Rebecca has been showcased on CNBC, TED Talks, Fox News (New York), NPR, Washington Business, ABC, and numerous syndicated radio talk shows. She has been featured in publications such as: Leader to Leader, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Huffington Post, Time Magazine, USA Today, Fortune Magazine, U.S. News & World Report, Pink Magazine, and Entrepreneur Magazine.

Rebecca is a known thought leader in the industry and is the author of two best seller books titled, “It’s Not A Glass Ceiling, It’s A Sticky Floor” and “Leadership Secrets of Hillary Clinton,” and her new book, “Make Room For Her: Why Companies Need an Integrated Leadership Model To Achieve Extraordinary Results,” all published by McGraw-Hill. Her books illustrate her unconventional and results-focused approach to creating great leaders.

Rebecca partners with a cross-section of clients such as: Booz Allen Hamilton, Dow Chemical, Hilton Worldwide, KPMG, Marriott International, IBM, Cisco, National Grid, Humana, HP, Intelsat, MedImmune, Microsoft, and J&J. She is a member of the National Press Club, the Economic Club of Washington, D.C., on the Board of Visitors for Marymount University, on the Board of the Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce, and on the Executive Board for the Virginia Women’s Center. Rebecca is also the Chairman of the Board of Young Women Lead and an Executive Partner for Bentley University’s Center for Women and Business, as well as on the Board of the Red Cross. Other accomplishments include recipient of the Smart CEO Brava! Award, Women Who Mean Business Award, Entrepreneur Organization of the Year Award, and Finalist for the Outstanding Corporate Citizenship Award for Woman-Owned Business of the Year.

Rebecca holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Industrial Relations from Purdue University and a Master of Arts Degree in Organizational Development from Marymount University.

Don’t Let the Cybersecurity Blues Get You Down …Some Practical Tips That Can Really Add Up

This month’s blog post is an excerpt from our WIT Cyber & Tech SIG friend Beth Musumeci, Vice President of Cybersecurity at ICF International.

“Don’t Let the Cybersecurity Blues Get You Down …Some Practical Tips That Can Really Add Up”

By Beth Musumeci

Day by day, and almost seemingly hour by hour, cybersecurity breaches are surfacing in the news, in the papers, in notices from our banks, retailers, manufacturers, and our government; no industry and no enterprise is being spared.

The fact is, the cybersecurity challenge is not insurmountable.  Yes, there exists highly sophisticated malware and threats that are difficult to detect, and cause undesirable outcomes.  However, in most cases, the breaches about which we are hearing weren’t caused by those types of sophisticated attacks.  More times than not, basic network defense methods could have prevented these breaches, or at least could have greatly minimized their impact.

Here are a few tips to help you defend your organization against some of the most common threats:

First, be sure you understand that just being compliant with regulation isn’t enough.  You must know what vulnerabilities exist in your environment and manage those vulnerabilities, regularly and diligently.  Perform vulnerability assessments continuously, or have a provider perform them for you. Check and correct for default passwords in your network and hardware configurations. Ensure you are correcting vulnerabilities timely, and don’t just assume the corrections were completed, verify they were. (It’s the device that you thought was off the network, but was never decommissioned; or the server that was patched, but never recycled so the patch could become effective; that make common threat-vectors, and sometimes the news).

Next, understand that cybercriminals will take the trouble to know your network as well as they can. So, you must know your network, and that includes to whom you allow it to connect. A common oversight, is actually a short-sighted definition of ‘your network’.  Expand your definition beyond your enterprise and employees; include third parties too. If you have suppliers, vendors, accountants, ‘you name it,’ connecting to your environment, make sure they are following your security policy and that should include ‘their’ suppliers, too.  Don’t just assume they are, assess and verify they are.  Ensure your agreements with third parties require proof, as well as your right to verify.

Make cybersecurity a company topic, not just the Chief Information Security Officer’s campaign.  Educate staff through awareness training, and even testing. Ensure your most senior leaders take part in creating the necessary awareness, as well as in supporting the solutions to minimize the risk.  Be the catalyst to kick the blues.  The more security aware your business, the more empowering technology will be to your business.

All these measures lead us to the need to, embrace new technologies, because saying “no” will not stop them from being introduced into your environment, it just means you will be ill-prepared for the threats introduced when they find their way in – because they will.  That doesn’t mean adopt new technologies immediately, perform an assessment, and then develop a plan and policy to minimize the risks to your enterprise.  Keep your security strategy current and make sure it includes practical defense mechanisms for the technologies of today, as well as those of tomorrow.

Most important, don’t give up. The problem isn’t as overwhelming as it may seem.  Make sure you have a basic defense program in place, as well as an incident response plan should the unfortunate occur.  Use experts when needed to augment or test your program; it doesn’t have to be elaborate or expensive to prevent most problems.  Remember – cybercriminals aren't “super-human.”  They reuse old malware because they know many enterprises don't take the trouble to put in place basic cybersecurity programs.  Implementing those programs isn't always hard.  Identifying a trusted cybersecurity partner to help you put in place a basic program – and doing so pro-actively, can save valuable time when you might need it the most, because the best defense is prevention, preparedness and effective response.

Beth Musumeci is Senior Vice President, Cybersecurity at ICF International

www.icfi.com/services/cybersecurity

This month’s blog post is an excerpt from our WIT friend Jane Maliszewski from Vault Associates and focuses on emotional intelligence. This is a nice lead to our event coming up on January 21^st - Getting What You Want: Negotiation Skills for Women. Please see Jane’s bio after the blog post.

 

Want to be a better Negotiator? Improve your EQ!

Tuesday, January 5, 2017
 

Does the word “Negotiation” put a knot in your stomach? 
 

Turns out 39% of professionals in the U.S. feel uncomfortable with negotiations, according to a 2012 LinkedInSurvey of global professionals. 
 

Are you one of those who would consider a visit to the dentist more enjoyable than negotiating for something you really want?  [No offense to the valuable work of dentists, but a recent DeltaDental survey indicated 48% of parents express anxiety about going to the dentist.]
 

The definition of Negotiation is tame: a “mutual discussion and arrangement of the terms of a transaction or agreement” Sounds easy and unthreatening, right? 
 

Negotiation is something we engage in every day. From convincing your mountain-loving spouse to buy-in to your beach villa dream for this year’s vacation… to buying a new car… to adding someone with special skills to your project team… to convincing a new employer of the value of your expertise… to brokering a multi-million dollar merger with a rival company.  
 

Your negotiation savvy can be enhanced with good Emotional Intelligence. Here are 5 EQ competencies to polish up that will improve your negotiation presence: 

1. Empathy, the ability to deeply listen and understand where another is coming from, whether you agree with them or not. Knowing the other’s perspective can help you determine what looks like a win-win from their side. 
2. Emotional Self-Awareness/Expression, the ability to be acutely aware of your feelings about the issue at hand, the parties involved, and the outcome, and how displays of emotion can be perceived in a positive or negative light. Displays of anxiety, for example, can weaken your bargaining position or tempt you to close the conversation too early. Just as important, the presence of mind to identify the emotional triggers around the issue that may arise for you and being prepared to recognize and deal with them.
3. Assertiveness, the ability to effectively express feelings & beliefs, and stand up for your personal rights even when faced with opposition. Believing that your side/point of view/needs matters and effectively presenting your case. This is not aggression or bullying which only serves to alienate the other party and stir up a defensive reaction, making it harder to develop a solution all will agree to. 
4. Flexibility, the ability to be agile, tolerant, and react to change. Negotiation by its nature, is meant to be a give and take. Those with flexibility and adept at assessing and responding to the shifting feedback they get from their environment. If you approach negotiation with no wiggle room it is likely you will not get an outcome you can live with. 
5. Reality Testing, the ability to see things objectively, rather than how we fear or wish them to be.Those with a high reality testing competence are skilled at assessing the environment with an objective lens, keeping their focus on the main issue, and recognizing that all parties view a situation with their own perspective, colored by their experiences and prejudices. Reality testing in negotiation helps balance the ‘head swirl’ of negative emotions which seed doubt and anxiety against the ‘rose-colored glasses’ naiveté that everyone sees things our way.

Harvard Business Review devoted the “spotlight” in the December 2015 issue to the ‘softer side of negotiation,’ including this article on Emotion and theArt of Negotiation. Well worth a read!

Finally, if you are in the DC Metro area, join us on Jan 21st, 2016 when Leslie Mulligan, negotiation consultant at WatershedAssociates, presents a special workshop on Getting What You Want: Negotiation Skills for Women for the Women in Technology  professional organization of the DC Metro area. For more info and to register: http://bit.ly/1mvWYn2
 

- See more at: http://www.vaultassociates.com/better-negotiator/#sthash.0jHL3BRY.dpuf

Jane Maliszewski is an Executive Coach and founder of VAULT Associates, a consulting business providing leader development and organization effectiveness services to technology companies. She often works with leaders who want to develop Emotional and Social Intelligence competency to create positive changes in their professional and personal lives. Jane served 27 years as an officer in the US Army. She has Masters degrees in Business Administration and National Strategy, and advanced professional certification in Leadership Coaching, Organization Development, and Knowledge Management. Jane is a WIT Board member and Chair of the WIT Programs Committee. Favorite things -- besides helping people achieve their potential! -- are cooking and adventure travel.

5 Money Hacks for the New Year

As we kick off a new year, this month’s blog posting is an excerpt from the December 20, 2015 Working Mother by Teri Cettina, Working Mother contributing writer. You can find her bio at the end of the posting.

5 Money Hacks for the New Year

These are uncomplicated and essential for keeping an eye on your finances.

Want to get smarter about managing your money this coming year? It doesn’t have to be an overwhelming project, says financial coach and mom-to-be Kelsa Dickey, owner of Arizona-based Fiscal Fitness Phoenix. In fact, these are super-simple strategies for getting into better financial shape in 2016.

1. Review those January paychecks. If your salary is automatically deposited into your bank account, it’s easy to forget that this month’s checks could be slightly different amounts. Did you opt for different health insurance coverage? Change your 401k deductions? Who remembers? Those were way back during your open enrollment period. “Particularly if you’ve made any big changes, review your new deposit amounts and update your monthly budget if necessary,” advises Dickey. It’s a simple thing—but not doing it could mess with your bank balance and cause you to overdraft.

2. Let your calendar save you cash. How can something as basic as your schedule help improve your finances? Easy, says Dickey: “My clients who are disorganized spend a lot more money. They pay for missed doctor appointments and late childcare pickup, they eat out a lot because they forgot to pick up groceries, and more.” Whether you use a paper or digital calendar, commit to using it regularly starting January 1. Coordinate schedules with your partner too (Google Calendar makes it easy). Review your kids’ school/daycare calendar along with your and your partner’s work and personal calendars, and enter important 2016 events into your schedule ASAP.
If you use your calendar on your phone, make sure key reminders and appointments are set as pop-up alerts with sound or text. If you constantly run late, set reminders further ahead (30 minutes instead of 10) to give yourself time to disengage from whatever you’re working on and get out the door in time.

3. Use your FSA money now. Got a stack of healthcare and childcare receipts you haven’t yet submitted to your Flexible Spending Account (FSA) provider? Bite the bullet and round them up and submit in January. You probably have a few more months (your employer sets the date) to submit 2015 receipts, but the longer you wait, the more likely you are to forget an expense. If you have a chunk of money left, think: eyeglasses—and go today or tomorrow. Use it or lose it!

4. Embrace library e-book downloads. If you’re a big reader—as many professional women are—you probably drop a good amount of cash on books (both paper and digital). An easy way to save money in 2016: Commit to downloading digital books from the library instead of always buying them. “You can easily go back and buy the book if it’s really great—but often you’re only going to read it once,” says Dickey. Also, if you tend to rack up library fines for late returns, library e-books should be your new best friend. When your borrowing time is up—poof!—the book automatically removes itself from your digital device, so you never pay a late fee. Pretty slick.

5. C’mon, get app-y. “I’m still amazed at how many professional moms haven’t embraced money-saving apps they can use on their smartphone,” says Dickey. Some of her favorites:

• GasBuddy Compare the price of gas at multiple nearby stations—including warehouse clubs like Costco—so you know whether to fill up near home or somewhere closer to work.
• Key Ring Add everything from store loyalty cards to your barcode-scannable library card or gym ID card access to this app. You’ll never be without your important cards, and you’ll instantly slim down your wallet. If you have an Apple device, also consider the built-in Wallet app.
• Mint.com If you don’t use a full-blown budget program, Mint does a great job of tracking and categorizing your expenses, notes Dickey. You can also use its bill-alert system so you don’t overlook a bill and end up paying late fees and extra interest.
• Your Bank/Credit Union App Mobile deposit is Dickey’s favorite banking feature. Snap a photo of the front and back of your check and submit it electronically. No need to drive to the bank! 

Teri Cettina is a Working Mother contributing writer who specializes in parenting/family, money and business. She also writes for Real Simple, Reader’s Digest, Parents, Women’s Day and more. Teri lives in Portland, OR, with her husband and two daughters. Follow her at @TeriCettina or on LinkedIn, or visit her website Cettinaworks.com.