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Posts Tagged ‘Lisa Martin’

Joint Ventures in Federal Government Contracting 5/18

Recent changes to the small business contracting rules have made joint ventures even more palatable for government contractors. Join GTSC to discuss joint ventures with a number of leaders engaged in successful joint ventures, the professionals who create them, and practical do’s and don’ts for a successful partnership.  Big Thanks to Protorae Law for hosting!  REGISTER

Speakers:

Lisa Martin

CEO, Leap Frog Solutions, Inc.

Brian Nault

President, Blue Water Federal Solutions, Inc.

Devon Hewitt

CEO, Protorae Law PPLC

GTSC Awarded “Excellence in Partnership” by U.S. Department of Treasury

The U.S. Department of Treasury, Office of Small Disadvantaged Business Utilization, presented the Government Technology & Services Coalition (GTSC) with the Excellence in Partnership award for “Moving Treasury’s Small Business Program Forward” through its work to develop a robust program for small businesses interested in working with the Department.
treasury award photo

“GTSC leadership worked with us to develop and execute an extensive program to help small companies understand the Department of the Treasury, our needs, and where small businesses could help our mission in both every day execution and in how they invest in their business. Their leadership and members participated with us in a number of projects to educate our contracting workforce and to improve the market research around how Treasury finds new vendors. We are extremely pleased to present GTSC with this award.”

Treasury assists, counsels, and advises small businesses of all types (small businesses, small disadvantaged business, women-owned small businesses, economically disadvantaged women-owned small businesses, veteran owned small businesses, service disabled veteran owned small businesses, and small businesses located in historically underutilized business zones) on procedures for contracting with Treasury.

In 2015, the Department greatly expanded its small business program hosting its first Small Business Roundtable with leadership from Treasury and small business organizations, hosted its first Small Business Industry Day, and worked with the U.S. General Services Administration to develop a video-training tool for Contracting Officers (COs) used government-wide.

“A debriefing is one of the most impactful communications that takes place during the acquisition process, because of the of the various implications it has to both parties. Delivering a debriefing is a skill, and like most things worth doing, it is best executed with practice. My colleagues from GTSC and I were honored to be a part of the Department of Treasury’s mock debriefing training. Knowing our efforts will be used to train hundreds of procurement professionals is very rewarding,” said Carolyn Muir, Executive Vice President of SE Solutions and GTSC’s Chair of Acquisition & Procurement Initiatives. Companies that participated included SE Solutions, Keep It Simple Technology Solutions, McMenamin (MCG) Consulting, LeapFrog Solutions, and Rigil.

“We are extremely grateful and honored by this award,” said Kristina Tanasichuk, Founder & CEO of the Coalition. “In response to Treasury’s commitment to small business, GTSC added the Department as one of our partner agencies this year. They recognized the value of small business and have made a tremendous contribution to the small business community by engaging deeply, understanding the strengths of what these innovators have to offer, and educating their workforce on the benefits of this community. We are proud to work with them to find the innovation, creativity, and professionalism needed to execute their mission while supporting the small business community.”

See the release here.

Spear Phishing: Getting Caught is a Drag

LeapFrog Phishing

I’m a Spear Phisherman. I want to catch the big one and reel it in! But I’m not talking about tuna; I’m talking about landing your personal information. Here’s my secret: I impersonate your friends, your bank and the people you trust to gain access to your computer and your network.

PDN_MalWareI’m pretty good. I know that you can’t always tell the difference from the real messages and the fake ones that I dangle in front of you. It doesn’t take long for me to gather lots of personal information about you — what you like, who you follow, what you purchase online and which websites you visit.

I use the information I find through open sources and develop personalized messages designed to trick you into believing they are from trusted entities. Spear phishermen like me can design emails, tweets, phone texts and even Facebook updates that access your private information after just one click.

Once you open the message, I trick you into giving me your user names, passwords or other office information, which allow me to access your network undetected. Little did you know that you just gave me the ability to take all the company information I would like.

It’s easy to avoid my targeted attacks and protect yourself against “Spear Phishing:”

  • Be stingy with your user name and password. Don’t share personal information with anyone. At all!
  • Don’t surf the Web chasing popular stories, blog posts, videos, etc. I love to hide in these sites, learn about your likes and dislikes and then target you.
  • Think before you click links from social media sites, emails or text messages. That’s the easiest way for me to catch your information.
  • Verify any caller before providing names and email addresses of your coworkers. Be the first line of defense.
  • Delete suspicious emails without opening them or responding to them. If it looks suspicious and you don’t know the sender, it could just be bait. Use caution!

It’s easy to protect your information against my traps and keep your personal and company information safe.

Protect — don’t neglect — your information against Spear Phishermen like Mal Ware. For more information, check out www.us-cert.gov.

Lisa Martin CEO LeapFrog Solutions, Inc.

Lisa Martin
CEO
LeapFrog Solutions, Inc.

LeapFrog Solutions (LFS) is a certified woman owned small business based in Fairfax, Virginia. Founded in 1996, we are a trusted source for commercial businesses and federal agencies seeking full spectrum creative solutions and exceptional program management. This blogpost is brought to you by GTSC in partnership with LeapFrog Solutions. For more information on cyber awareness campaigns contact Anjali Dighe at 703.539.6127 or [email protected].

 

Removable Media: Do You Know Where That’s Been?

LeapFrog Tip #2 Removable MediaSteer clear of portable malware by using only secure removable media

Admit it. You can’t resist plugging those cute little USB thumb drives, miniature CD ROMS and other removable media devices into your computer. They’re easy to use, portable, convenient and they hold lots of data.

PDN_MalWareBut my hacker friends and I discovered that those nifty memory devices are a great way to get into your computer and your network — especially if you don’t know where they came from. We hand them out everywhere we go. Everybody wants one. We pre-infect them with malware or spyware. The second you plug them into your USB port, presto! I’m running around your computer, free and easy.

Sure, it’s handy to download files onto a thumb drive and take them home with you instead of lugging your laptop around. But humans have a propensity to lose things. People misplace their thumb drives or CD ROMS all the time. Because they are so small, it’s pretty easy to steal them, too.

But you can protect yourself, your computer and your network. Just follow these easy tips:

  • If you don’t know where it came from, don’t put it in your computer.
  • Safeguard your memory sticks. Keep them in a safe place.
  • Use encryption. Protect sensitive data on your thumb drives.
  • Print hard copies of documents and back up data on removable media.

Remember, losing a memory stick that contains important data could have severe consequences. Protect, don’t neglect! For more information, check out www.us-cert.gov.

Lisa Martin CEO LeapFrog Solutions, Inc.

Lisa Martin
CEO
LeapFrog Solutions, Inc.

LeapFrog Solutions (LFS) is a certified woman owned small business based in Fairfax, Virginia. Founded in 1996, we are a trusted source for commercial businesses and federal agencies seeking full spectrum creative solutions and exceptional program management. This blogpost is brought to you by GTSC in partnership with LeapFrog Solutions. For more information on cyber awareness campaigns contact Anjali Dighe at 703.539.6127 or [email protected].

Get Smart About Your Password

LeapFrog Banner #1You shared your password … now I know all your secrets. Don’t get exposed — be smart about your password!

PDN_MalWareThe attacker who writes my code is on the hunt for your password. Once he gets it, he inserts me, Mal Ware, into your network so he can see all the information that your employees need to keep private. I love taking secrets that aren’t mine and using them to do bad things. So don’t make it easy for me or your attacker.

Here are ways you can protect your information from my malicious intentions:

  • Keep your password to yourself. It’s supposed to be secret — so don’t share it!
  • Don’t be fooled by what others may say:
    • IT support does not need your password.
    • Your coworkers do not need your password to read your email. Share your inbox with another user or use a team email account.
    • Your assistant doesn’t need your password to do his/her job. You can give others access to your Outlook calendar and email.
    • Share file folder access with specific coworkers to avoid password sharing.
    • You don’t need to share your password with others to access the same sites or content management systems. Everyone with duties assigned on a system should have his/her own login and password.
    • Be creative to make your password uniquely yours:
      • Use a variety of symbols, letters, capital letters and numbers.
      • Avoid using words related to your company.
      • Avoid sequences or repetition of letters or numbers, words spelled backward, common misspellings or abbreviations.
      • Encourage others to be smart about their passwords. Make them aware of the threats that are out there if they share them, because once I have access to the network, I have access to everyone and everything.
      • A data breach could embarrass you and/or your company … or much worse.

It’s not difficult to avoid my threats. Just don’t share your password with anyone, and be smart when creating it. Protect, don’t neglect, your password! For more information, check out www.us-cert.gov.

Lisa Martin CEO LeapFrog Solutions, Inc.

Lisa Martin
CEO
LeapFrog Solutions, Inc.

LeapFrog Solutions (LFS) is a certified woman owned small business based in Fairfax, Virginia. Founded in 1996, we are a trusted source for commercial businesses and federal agencies seeking full spectrum creative solutions and exceptional program management. This blogpost is brought to you by GTSC in partnership with LeapFrog Solutions. For more information on cyber awareness campaigns contact Anjali Dighe at 703.539.6127 or [email protected].