News

Tech Giants Pledge Billions to Strengthen National Cybersecurity

September 17, 2021
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Between the steady rise of harmful cyber-attacks and the evident labor shortage in the field of cybersecurity, challenges facing the nation in the area of cybersecurity are well-documented. To address these issues the Biden Administration recently hosted a cybersecurity summit where shortly thereafter tech giants such as Google and Microsoft pledged billions of dollars in strategic cybersecurity investments. These investments seek to strengthen cybersecurity programming, technology, and workforce education. Brief details of the pledges made are listed below, while the…

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Artificial Intelligence Imperfections: Why Human Touch Matters in Recruiting

August 20, 2021
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Like many other industries, Recruiting has adopted a number of automated processes over the last few of years to ensure the hiring process is efficient as possible for candidates, hiring organizations, and staffing agencies alike. Particularly with the utilization of Applicant Tracking Systems (“ATS”) some automation, through the use of tools, has become standard for use throughout the entirety of the recruiting process. Some in the industry take this a step further, using Artificial Intelligence-based systems to ‘fully automate’ the…

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Crain’s Honors Colleen Molter as Notable Woman Business Owner

August 10, 2021
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  President and Founder of QED National Colleen Molter was recently recognized by Crain’s New York on their Notable Women Business Owners 2021 list for her outstanding achievements as a business and community leader. Throughout her extensive career, Colleen has proven her proficiency in and dedication to providing information technology expertise, as well as her passion for advancing Minority and Women-owned Business Enterprise (“MWBE”) opportunities. This dedication has led to notable accomplishments such as the expansion of QED National’s business…

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Kaseya Ransomware Attack Impacts Thousands of Companies

July 13, 2021
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  Recently, a large-scale ransomware supply chain attack affected leading software firm Kaseya and interrupted the services of thousands of companies globally, according to Kaseya CEO Fred Voccola. These systems were essentially held hostage by cyber criminals through encryption. Kaseya customers needed to shutdown servers to prevent the further spread of ransomware. Throughout the pandemic, ransomware cyber-attacks have increased operational disruptions of private businesses and government agencies alike. Ransomware has given cybercriminals access to privileged information and leverage for multimillion…

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MGC GovTek Event: Mayoral Candidates Vow Support for NYC M/WBEs

May 28, 2021
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Elections for the next Mayor of the City of New York are quickly approaching, with the primaries set for June 22. Recently, at an event jointly organized by MGC GovTek and City & State, several Mayoral candidates expressed their strong support for the City of New York’s M/WBE program and diversity initiatives in the field of information technology. President of QED National Colleen Molter assisted in interviewing candidates along with the President of UAO Consulting Uche Ojeh, and City &…

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IT Jobs: Preparing for a Virtual Interview

April 9, 2021
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  Over the last year, organizations have become more reliant than ever on teleconferencing as their primary way to conduct job interviews. According to Gartner, 86 percent of entities used video interviews, many of whom no longer rely on phone interviews whatsoever. If you’re an information technology professional searching for new employment opportunities, it’s undeniably in your best interest to become comfortable using video conferencing software. Becoming fluent in the use of today’s most used video conferencing tools is a…

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Recognizing and Celebrating Women’s History Month

March 12, 2021
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Women’s History Month is personal to QED National. President and Founder of QED National Colleen Molter has led the firm as a certified Women-owned Business Enterprise (“WBE”) for nearly 28 years. Colleen’s career as an information technology leader has led the firm to earning significant contracts with Fortune 500 companies and State and Local Government agencies. Colleen’s passion for advocacy work positions her on a number of respected boards and councils. Most recently Colleen has focused her efforts on the…

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QED National President Earns NYC DOE Award for IT Commission

March 1, 2021
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QED National is proud to announce that its President and Founder Colleen Molter was presented the “NYC CTE Champion of the Year” award by the New York City Department of Education CTE Program and the United Federation of Teachers for her trailblazing work as the chair of NYC Career and Technology Education’s (“NYC CTE”) IT Commission. “This makes me smile,” Molter said, “I’m proud to be a part of the work that we’re doing in the program and believe we’re…

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Basic Computer Cyber Security Helps Against Cyber Criminals

February 19, 2021
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    Knowing the basics goes a long way, especially when protecting your home network. Basic computer cyber security is a practice of good cyber hygiene that addresses vulnerabilities where experienced cybercriminals continuously prey. Cybercriminals are relentless in their pursuit of accessing networks, systems and personal credentials. It’s been widely reported that the number of cyber-attacks in the public and private sectors have been on the rise for some time, reaching newer heights in 2021. The Federal Trade Commission and…

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CISA Cyber Security News – Threat Activity in Microsoft Cloud

January 14, 2021
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  CISA has reported seeing post-compromise threat activity in Microsoft Cloud/Azure environments, identifying three key components of this advanced persistent threat: Compromise / bypassing of federated identity solutions Use of forged authentication tokens to move laterally to Microsoft cloud environments Use of privileged access to a victim’s cloud environment to establish difficult-to-detect persistence mechanisms for Application Programming Interface (API)-based access. In response, CISA is providing cyber security guidance on use of open-source tools, including a tool developed by CISA named…

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Cyber Security News: CISA Updates SolarWinds Orion Incident

January 8, 2021
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  Over the last month, a largescale cyber incident affected over 18,000 federal government and private industry information technology systems reliant on SolarWinds Orion technology. It has been confirmed that this Advanced Persistent Threat is primarily used for information-gathering activity. The Cybersecurity Infrastructure Security Administration (“CISA”) recently issued an update on their remediation progress, which includes a joint task force Cyber Unified Coordination Group (“UCG”) between CISA, ODNI and the FBI. The FBI operates as the investigation lead for the…

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Remote Networking Essential for Businesses and Individuals

November 20, 2020
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    For professionals, businesses, and job seekers alike, learning how to network remotely can be a major asset, especially during a time when in-person interactions are less feasible. There are a variety of reasons for, and avenues to, connecting virtually with fellow professionals or interacting with chosen organizations, without the need for a face-to-face interaction. Some may argue that nothing compares to face-to-face interactions when meeting someone or building a relationship, while others do not necessarily see the need…

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Cyber Security Awareness Month: Guarding Against Cybercrime

October 27, 2020
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This month marks the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s (“CISA”) 17th annual Cyber Security Awareness month, with each year proving more and more necessary to properly protect yourself and your organization from cyber threats. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigations, cybercrime totaled more than $3.5 billion in losses in 2019. Alarming statistics like this might leave you thinking, how did we get here? With the rapid expansion of technology has come increased opportunity for cybercriminals to target and access…

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SBS Mentor Colleen Molter Details Doing Business with NYC

October 9, 2020
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Whether you’ve recently started your small business or have an established practice, learning to do business with the City of New York is crucial. Despite the challenges presented to all by the pandemic, the City has pushed forward, continuing to offer government jobs, beneficial resources and mentorship to these firms through the New York City’s Department of Small Business Services (“SBS”). QED National’s President and Founder Colleen Molter has collaborated with NYC SBS on many occasions, and most recently participated…

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MTA Commits to MWBE Community with Discretionary Spending

September 4, 2020
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The MTA recently announced its continued commitment to the Minority and Women Owned Business Enterprise (“M/WBE”) community, citing its $736 Million spend with M/WBE businesses during the 2018-2019 fiscal year. The MTA surpassed Governor Cuomo’s 30% discretionary spend goal for State contracts during this period, with a significant amount being in support of their information technology initiatives. As a longstanding vendor of the MTA, the MTA’s press release cites QED National’s 64 assignments and $12.4 Million in awards since the…

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