October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month, and it’s not just for large organizations and corporations. We all use the Internet daily: on our phones, on work computers, and even when we pay for coffee at a drive-through. Every time we use the Internet, there is an opportunity for cyber-criminals. Small businesses owe it to their company, which they worked hard to build, to their employees, and to their clients to keep information and systems safe.

These days, having a strong password isn’t enough. It’s still important to come up with a strong, not-easy-to-guess password (please don’t tell us you are still using password123 or your dog’s name!) and to change it regularly. Yes, it’s inconvenient, but passwords can be uncovered by scammers. So what more can be done to protect your online assets? Enter multifactor authentication.

Ransomware allows a cybercriminal to access a network and lock the owner out of the company’s system. It may sound like something out of a sci-fi film, but it is very real and is becoming more common. Businesses owners, regardless of size, should take steps to prevent their data from being compromised.

Phishing occurs when an email is sent from a cybercriminal in an attempt to learn sensitive information about a person or company. Phishing emails may invite the recipient to pay an invoice, confirm personal information, or complete a sign-up or registration.

Email spoofing involves sending messages with a forged email address. When you receive an email that says it is from your friend John Doe, you can avoid opening a dangerous message by looking to see if the sender's email address is not his own. But when the message shows a sender email that matches his, you might feel comfortable opening the message and clicking on a link inside. That’s the danger of spoofing.

As you may know, it was announced earlier this week that the H-2B Cap has been reached for first-half of FY2022 (winter-season). Our first focus of advocacy efforts is to ask Senators Bennet and Hickenlooper to help us get the release of additional discretionary H-2B visas.

While we believe that DHS is prepared to release those visas, we anticipate that DOL will be slow in responding. Therefore, your outreach to your Senators, asking them to help us influence DOL to expedite the release of the visas, is very important.

Last week, ALCC launched a new hands-on training program for landscape industry technicians. The pilot offering was held at Pickens Technical College in Aurora over two days. ALCC hopes to continue to offer the program with the support of member organizations.

Alison Peck, founder of Matrix Gardens in Boulder, passed away unexpectedly on April 15, 2021 after a stroke. She was 63. The Colorado landscape industry will remember her as a champion for landscapes that embraced sustainability, water conservation, wildlife habitat and the use of native plants.

According to a recent marketing report, 2022 looks promising for sales and services related to gardening. Consumers reported that they are spending more money and more time on gardening and on improving their outdoor spaces. The 2022 Garden Trends Report says that spending surged in 2021 over the previous year, and the National Retail Federation expects a 10.5% growth in spending next year.

Lawn & Landscape has published its annual State of the Industry report for the US landscape industry. The findings should come as no surprise to company owners: labor is in short supply, and there is more work available than most companies can take on. But despite the ongoing challenges and a slight decrease in revenue, more than three-quarters of respondents said that their companies saw a profit in 2020.