Category Archives: Office/ Technology/ E-Commerce

To mark National Cybersecurity Awareness Month this October, NBT Bank has published a series of cybersecurity webinars addressing the trends and concerns businesses should be aware of.

These on-demand webinars were exclusive to NBT Bank partners and customers until now.

“With the dramatic shift to more people working remotely, this year’s Cybersecurity Awareness Month is more important to consumers and businesses than ever before,” said Terra Carnrike-Granata, senior vice president, director of information security at NBT Bank.

“While we provide our individual and business customers with robust fraud prevention tools and information, we felt there was an urgent need to get this information out to all members of our community to help them understand how to better protect themselves from cybercrime.”

Higher education institutions are increasingly adopting artificial intelligence as a helping hand in major decisions like admissions and counseling, but AI is still serving as an assistant, not a full-time employee.

The promise of AI in higher education is that it can help administrators make smarter decisions through its ability to quickly scan large amounts of data for relevant markers. While seeking to retain more students in light of the coronavirus pandemic and to find new students in a diminishing pool of prospects, higher education institutions are using AI to save time, freeing humans up to do work that requires critical thinking or face-to-face interaction.

SUNY Empire State College, which was founded on an online, distance-learning model, historically received more than 110,000 calls a year from students seeking answers on topics like financial aid or admissions. The university, where the majority of learners are between 25 and 49, first adopted an online chat feature in 2019.

That online chat system was updated to an AI-powered chatbot this year, named “Blue” after the college’s bird mascot. Since last year, officials said call center volume is down about 30 percent, said Mary Austin, director of the university’s student information center, while the number of inquires through online chat has skyrocketed.

Since students seem to be engaging more with the updated chatbot, that frees up staff to make big-picture decisions about what information the university is offering on other platforms. If there are multiple questions about an aspect of financial aid recorded through the chatbot, for example, that can be addressed through updating the website with some more information or a video, Austin said.

New York and New Jersey launched COVID-19 exposure notification mobile apps in their respective states that officials claim will serve as crucial tools to supplement the effort to trace and contact individuals subject to a COVID exposure.
The apps, COVID Alert NY and COVID Alert NJ, notify users of potential COVID-19 exposure while maintaining user privacy and security.
The states join Pennsylvania and Delaware in creating a regional COVID Alert app network that operates across state lines to stop the spread of COVID-19. Connecticut has also will launch the Exposure Notification System in the coming weeks.
The free mobile apps-available to anyone 18 or older who lives, works, or attends college in New York or New Jersey-are available for download from the Google Play Store or Apple App Store.
“We have a very exciting announcement that has taken a lot of work and it’s really creative and smart and I think it can make a big difference. This is a technology-based contact tracing app. Testing is only as good as your contact tracing,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo said. “Testing is to identify a person, so you can isolate and quarantine that person and then find the connections from that person, and that’s contact tracing. We have about 15,000 people statewide who do contact tracing, they call them disease detectives. But we’ve been looking for a technology-based solution. And today, we are announcing an app that you can download for free from the app store called COVID Alert NY.

by Andrea Palmer
Technological progress continues to enhance business operations. With advances come new pitfalls and opportunities for growth, particularly for the small business owner.
“With the popularity of ‘the cloud’ over the past five years, it’s been an unprecedented time for cloud- or web-based software solutions designed specifically for small businesses to function and remain competitive,” said Carl LeGere, owner of EmpireTech in Queensbury. The company serves many small businesses, with some emphasis on construction and medical areas.
Security is another large issue. LeGere said damage related to cybercrime is projected to hit $6 trillion annually by the year 2021.
“With this trend, it is critical to have a layered approach to cybersecurity,” said LeGere. “This should include training employees in security principles and phishing prevention, using multiple layers to protect your network and cloud data from attack, having a handle on what private or critical information is on mobile devices, and having a way to wipe those devices if they’re lost or compromised.”