Industry Roundup: June 17, 2021

​The Rise of C​​​yber C​artelsGangs of cyber criminals are organizing themselves along the lines of drug cartels and changing their strategy of attack in order to keep ahead of authorities' efforts to stamp them out. These cartels are formed to execute ransomware campaigns collaboratively, expanding hackers' playbooks to include so-called “double extortion," data exfiltration and data modification.​Lawmakers Criticize Colonial ​​Pipeline for Cyber WeaknessUS lawmakers criticized Colonial Pipeline Co.'s cybersecurity practices as the company's chief executive officer faced his second day of questioning on Capitol Hill. “If your pipeline provides fuel to 45% of the East Coast, why are you only hardening systems after an attack?…

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Marijuana Legalization and Its Impact on the Workplace

​By Paige McAllister, SPHR, SHRM-SCP, Vice President for Compliance – Affinity HR Group, Inc.Marijuana is now legal in some form in 35 states and Washington, D.C. with 7 additional states having decriminalized marijuana possession and 2 states legalizing CBD oil use. (You can find the current status of marijuana legality in your state here.)     Many experts expect the continued expansion of legalization of various forms.  Much like alcohol, no law requires employers to allow employees to use or be under the influence of marijuana at work. However, unlike alcohol, testing for the presence of marijuana presents a problem because it can be detected for much…

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3, 2, 1 with Sue Keegan: Leadership Academy, Form Letters, & Alien Invasion

By Sue Keegan, AIC, MBA, Learning & Development Manager​3 ThingsComing September, 2021:  our new Big I NY Leadership Academy.  Sign up now to participate in an intense six days focused on developing our industry's new class of leaders.   Professional coaches will teach qualified candidates about goal setting, budgeting, communications, presentations, leading vs. managing, team building and so much more. Would you like to learn more? Contact Jim Lombardo at 315-432-4226 or 1-800-962-7950, ext. 226 or via email at jlombardo@biginy.org.  2 IdeasCelebrate Nature Photography Day on June 15, 2021.  Get out of the office for a bit and bask in the beauty that’s all around us. I took this one…

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