Synagex Celebrates Cybersecurity Awareness Month!

Happy Monday, and welcome to Cybersecurity Awareness Month!

As if October wasn't the coolest month already—with fall things, pumpkins and spooky stuff—we're proud to be Cybersecurity Awareness Month Champions and celebrate our favorite topic, cybersecurity, alongside the National Cybersecurity Alliance and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency (CISA).

This Year's Theme is "See Yourself in Cyber", and we LOVE IT.

Here's Why:

Synagex has long been strong advocates of the PEOPLE part of cybersecurity, and this theme is all about educating everyone, about the little—and EASY—steps that us people can all do to stay more cyber secure, which includes:

📱 Using Multi-factor Authentication.

🔒 Using Strong Passwords & Password Managers.

🔄 Keeping Your Software Up-to-Date.

🎣 Identifying & Reporting Phishing Attempts.

Us People Can Be the Strongest Line of Defense (...or the Weakest)

At the end of the day, it's us humans that actually aren't that great at cybersecurity. 85% of security breaches involve a human element, error or oversight. So what can we do when we're apt to click on the things we shouldn't? STAY AWARE. Awareness is key to combating cyber risk. Taking the 4 simple steps outlined above will have you well on your way to better cyber hygiene, and, as we like to say, becoming a cybersecurity ninja.

Check out more tips and advice for Cybersecurity Awareness Month 2022 from the National Cybersecurity Alliance here: https://staysafeonline.org/programs/cybersecurity-awareness-month/

Synagex Holds "Dink for Dave" Charity Event for Longstanding Employee, Dave Lamon

With the help of Bousquet Sport, the Synagex team put together “Dink for Dave”—A Charity Pickleball Round Robin to raise funds for longtime Synagex employee, Dave Lamon and his family, as he continues to battle stage 4 colon cancer.

The event took place on Sunday, June 5th, and was complete with a grand spread of raffle prizes as players participated in pickleball games, organized by and hosted at Bousquet Sport on Dan Fox Drive in Pittsfield.

Dave has been with Synagex from the beginning, and the team at Synagex is so grateful for the success of this event. We would like to thank our friends at Bousquet Sport—Eric, Leia, Pat, Keith and JP—who we could not have done this without!

We would also like to thank our generous raffle prize donors: Tuan Gurney, Leia Miller, Jae’s, Mazzeo’s, Graceful You Aesthetics, Bella Soul Salon, Bousquet Mountain,Lift Bistro Pub, Mill Town Capital, Mission Gastropub, Leanna Pegorari Organizing, Berkshire Museum, and Nejaime’s Fine Wine and Spirits.

A a big THANK YOU, AGAIN, to all those who participated and supported this event. It was a huge success, with fun and smiles all around—and for a great cause!

Synagex CISO Presents at MassMEP's Manufacturing Your Future i4.0 Event

Pete Morin, CISO at Synagex, helps Massachusetts manufacturers understand the role of IT in manufacturing at MassMEP's networking event.

Friday May 20th was a busy day at Polar Park in Worcester, MA, as area manufacturers gathered for a special event organized by Massachusetts Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MassMEP). MassMEP invited Synagex CISO, Pete Morin, to be part of their panel of speakers for the event, meant to give Massachusetts manufacturers in attendance new insight, knowledge and networking opportunities.

Check out the official website for the event HERE.

“Cybersecurity awareness right now is very key.” - Pete, CISO

Pete presented on his area of expertise—cybersecurity, and the role of IT in manufacturing. He joined other expert panelists presenting on topics from automation to additive and industry growth strategies.

A team from Synagex was also in attendance at the event, including CEO John Sinopoli, providing cybersecurity and CMMC resources. At Synagex, we like to keep things fun, "Keeping IT Cool", so the team made sure to stock the booth with plenty of fun giveaways and swag.

Representing Cybersecurity

Synagex has become a go-to cybersecurity resource for MassMEP, participating in podcasts, webinars and special events like "Manufacturing Your Future i4.0" in order to help small manufacturing organizations in Massachusetts understand the importance of IT and cybersecurity. The team has even been dubbed "cybersecurity whisperers" for their ability to explain seemingly complex problems with ease and relatability.

Synagex is also a CMMC RPO—a registered provider organization—providing consulting services for cybersecurity maturity model certification (or CMMC), a requirement amongst many DoD contracts that manufacturing organizations are currently facing. We proudly partner with MassMEP, who can help manufacturers provide the funding for these services and processes, and our goal is to make the process as simple as possible.

Learn more about MassMEP HERE.