59% of consumers choose which dealership to do business with based on reputation. Erik Nachbahr, CISSP explains how having strong IT best practices protects your dealership’s reputation.

Timonium, MD—March 3, 2020—Helion Technologies, a leading Information Technology (IT) Managed Services Provider, is expanding its Dallas operations and moving into a newly renovated facility in Garland, TX. The expansion is part of Helion’s long-term, strategic plan to better support its customer base of retail automotive and heavy-duty trucking dealerships nationwide.

“Due to the unprecedented growth we’ve…

Timonium, MD –­ February 25, 2020 –­ Helion Technologies announced today that CRN_®, a brand of The Channel Company has named Helion to its 2020 Managed Service Provider (MSP) 500 list in the Security 100 category. This popular list identifies North American solution providers that deliver operational efficiencies, IT system…

eBook shares specific guidelines on how to comply with new consumer data privacy laws and protect IT systems from cyber attacks

Timonium, MD –­ February 10, 2020 –­ Helion Technologies today released “IT Best Practices for Dealers,” a free eBook that gives specific guidelines for protecting dealerships’ systems and customer data. As…

Timonium, MD –­ January 27, 2020 –­ Helion Technologies today warned auto dealers that the risk for cyber attacks in 2020 is greater than ever before, due to the growing prevalence of cyber attacks in general and also because dealerships make attractive targets for cybercriminals. By 2021, cybercrime will cost the world $6 trillion annually, resulting in the greatest wealth transfer in history, according…

Cyberattacks are on the rise. In the first six months of 2019, the number of data breaches has increased by 54% compared to the same period last year. As of July, more than 4.1 billion customer records have been exposed in approximately 3,800 publicly disclosed data breaches.

If your dealership hasn’t already been targeted, chances are it will…

Is your dealership located in one of these 20 states? If so, pay attention.

The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) may be the first comprehensive data privacy law in the U.S., but it certainly isn’t the last. Since its passage,19 additional states have introduced and/or passed similar laws, or have amended their current breach notification laws to either expand the definitions of personal information, or to include new reporting requirements.

The…

Dealers, do your computers still run the Windows 7, Windows XP, Windows Vista or Windows 2003 operating systems? Do you have a Windows Server 2008? Be aware that your machines are vulnerable to a new type of malware called BlueKeep that’s seeking to infect thousands of computers and could be more destructive than the WannaCry ransomware outbreak of 2017.

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Is your dealership still using the Windows 7 operating system? As of January 2020, Microsoft is discontinuing all support for Windows 7, which means they will no longer be releasing security updates. If you haven't upgraded to Windows 10 by January 14, 2020, your dealership will be highly vulnerable to attacks from cybercriminals.

This event…

Timonium, MD –­ May 21, 2019 –­ Helion Technologies today announced it has become a CIS SecureSuite^® member. Through this membership, Helion is bolstering its auto dealership clients' cybersecurity defenses by leveraging CIS SecureSuite resources. The CIS Benchmarks^™, the consensus-based, internationally recognized security configuration resources, CIS-CAT Pro, and the CIS Controls^™, a set of cyber practices developed by…

Consumer data privacy concerns are constantly in the news. Growing pressure on lawmakers to do something has resulted in a wave of new consumer privacy legislation being passed in many states.

California has passed the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). A similar law is expected to soon pass in Washington state. Alabama, Louisiana, Colorado, Nebraska, Massachusetts and Ohio have recently added new data security standards to their data breach notification laws. You can…

Learn how to protect your customer data, bank accounts & reputation Wednesday, May 15 at 2 pm EST

Timonium, MD –­ May 2, 2019 –­ Helion Technologies is offering a free online webinar titled "Cyber Criminals are Targeting Your Dealership! Are You Prepared?" In this presentation, Helion's President…

Timonium, MD –­ April 30, 2019 –­ Helion Technologies has partnered with the California New Car Dealers Association (CNCDA) to educate dealers on how to comply with the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). The sweeping new privacy law takes effect in January 2020, imposing new data security standards on dealerships located in California, as well as third-party vendors that access and/or store customer data from these dealerships.

In a…

Recently I talked to a dealer whose internal information technology (IT) person had quit suddenly after receiving another job offer. The dealer scrambled to find someone else. He hired a small, local IT firm that soon went out of business. Once again, the dealer scrambled to find a solution.

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Do you believe your dealership is safe from phishing attacks? Here are two actual incidents that occurred at dealerships as a result of successful phishing attacks.

One day a salesperson at a Ford dealership received an email. The subject line read: RE: 2015 Ford Focus. The email appeared to be from a customer who was replying to an email that was originally sent from the dealership.

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The process of purchasing a phone system is not to be taken lightly. Phone calls into dealerships outnumber Internet leads by four to one, and many studies show that dealers are not able to handle both the volume and routing of incoming calls in a way that meets customer expectations.

When you're buying a new phone system your top three goals are:

1) Understand what capabilities your dealership needs

2) Research which phone systems will meet these…

Phishing is the practice of sending targeted emails designed to lure employees into a number of actions, such as entering login credentials, credit card information or downloading documents infected with malware.

Phishing emails appear to come from familiar entities such as a bank, healthcare provider or delivery company. Sometimes they contain…

New Solution builds a "Human Firewall" that Reduces Risk of Phishing Attacks from 27% to 2%

Timonium, MD –­ January 7, 2019 –­ Helion Automotive Technologies is offering a new security awareness training program for auto dealership employees. The solution is designed to build a "human firewall" that reduces the risk of data breaches from…

How confident are you that your dealership can withstand a cyber attack? In my experience, most dealers underestimate the threat of attack and overestimate their ability to withstand an attack.

When looking at your internal information technology (IT) strategy, it's important to understand where cyber attacks originate.

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Microsoft has released Office 2019, the newest version of its desktop suite of applications that most dealership employees use on a daily basis; including Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook for email. Prior versions of Office that your dealership might still be using are Office 2016, Office 2013 and Office 2010. Please don't tell me you're still using Office 2007.

If you're thinking about upgrading to Office 2019, I encourage you to look at another option. If you haven't…