April has been busy and full. This month Indian River Networks sponsored two special events that I was able to attend: the Space Coast Tech Council’s Quarterly Dinner and the Florida Today Corporate 5K.
I am always thrilled when given the opportunity to represent our company at local activities and events. Whether it be walking for a good cause or attending a panel discussion on a current-day topic, I enjoy time outside of the office with my co-workers and meeting new people in our community.
Space Coast Tech Council’s Quarterly Dinner
On Thursday, April 12th, I had the privilege to attend the Space Coast Tech Council Quarterly Dinner with my teammates Eric Smith, Amy Sullivan, Amanda Havlovick, Meghan Thompson, and Richard Broderick. The topic discussed was “Women in Technology: The Keys to Success”. We heard from two very successful women: Tauhida Parveen, Ph.D., Lead Instructor, Thinkful and Susie Glasgow, President, Space Coast Women in Defense, President & CEO, Kegman, Inc. Each woman shared her life story from family, childhood, education to her journey as a woman in technology-related and traditionally male-dominated fields. Each woman wrapped up with her view of keys to success. This was a thought provoking and enlightening panel discussion. I enjoyed each speaker and their views. I also enjoyed the questions from the crowd. This was an event I will not soon forget.
For more information on the SCTC go to http://melbourneregionalchamber.org/techxpo/space-coast-tech-council/
Florida Today Corporate 5K, “Brevard’s Largest Outdoor Office Party”
On Thursday, April 19th , I was part of the IRN Team that participated in the Florida Today Corporate 5K. Along with Tonya Arthur, Brent Mattingly, Daisha Washington, and Daisha’s 8-month old son, Drayden, we “Ran the Runway” at the Melbourne 
International Airport. Well, let me be honest, there was NO running on my part. I went from couch to 5K and by the last mile my feet were on fire, my back was sore, and my hands had lost blood circulation. But I crossed the finished line! Yeah Me! And I have got to get in shape.
This is my second year WALKING the Florida Today Corporate 5K. This event is appropriately and perfectly described as “Brevard’s Largest Outdoor Office Party”. If you have not taken a Team and participated, I would encourage you to sign up next year. This is a blast! And to top it off, the beneficiary of this event is the United Way of Brevard.
For more information go to http://brevardcorporate5k.com/
For more information go to https://online.uwbrevard.org/servlet/eAndar.article/226/United-Way-of-Brevard
Lenovo Virtual Launch Event & Security Roundtable
On a more personal note, on Tuesday, April 24th, I had the opportunity to virtually attend a Lenovo Web seminar: Lenovo Launch Event & Security Roundtable. I will not go into much detail on this event, however, the Security Roundtable portion was incredibly informative. We heard from an Information Security Expert who is a Certified Ethical Hacker. He showed us step by step on the screen how a hacker adds a command to a Word document, emails that Word document to your inbox, and then we watched as the attached Word document was opened by the unsuspecting end user, and at that point he had complete control of the end users computer. This was scary to watch.
He also discussed the ongoing issues with passwords and password protection. He had excellent tips for us as end users to protect ourselves and I wanted to quickly pass some of those on to you:
- Use complex passwords; longer is better.
- Change your passwords periodically.
- Stop reusing the same passwords across websites and other services.
- When able, choose two-factor authentication.
Are you familiar with two-factor authentication? It provides an extra layer of security known as “multi factor authentication”. This means that more than just a password is required for access. There would be a second level of security required such as a fingerprint, facial recognition or Google Authenticator, to name a few.
After attending this Web seminar, I was reminded that I need to apply better password management in my personal life.