Dangerous and historic low temperatures are forecasted for mid-week. The safety of our clients and staff is our first priority.  Titan is making efforts to ensure service is not interrupted due to these conditions.  If you have any questions/concerns regarding your service, please reach out to your Titan representative.

Winter Weather Advisory

The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Weather Advisory remaining in effect until 6:00 pm this evening.

• What to expect:
  • Snow changing to freezing drizzle, light blowing snow, additional accumulations of up to 1 inch, winds gusting as high as 35 mph
• Precautions to take:
  • Expect slippery roads and limited visibility, use caution while driving
  • Travel will be potentially dangerous and unreliable, stay off of the roads if possible
  • The latest road conditions can be obtained by going to www.GettingAroundIllinois.com

Wind Chill Watch

The National Weather Service has issued a Wind Chill Watch beginning at 6:00 pm on Tuesday, January 29, 2019, remaining in effect through 12:00 am on Thursday, January 31, 2019.

• What to expect:
  • The dangerously cold wind chills could cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 5 minutes
  • Travel will be potentially dangerous and unreliable; the temperature will even affect the best maintained vehicles
• Precautions to take:
  • Stay inside if possible, if you must go outside plan your route in advance and be aware of public buildings you can warm up in every 10 minutes
  • Wear loose layers, make sure to wear a hat, gloves and a scarf
  • Check on co-workers, family, friends and neighbors

Winter Weather Safety Tips

Please stay inside when possible, if you have to go outside please follow the below safety precautions:

• Listen to emergency broadcasts for the most updated information
• Make sure your gas tank is topped off and keep extra blankets in your vehicle
• Have extra blankets, sleeping bags, and warm winter coats ready in case of a power outage
• Make sure your cell phone is charged, have an external battery charged as well
• If using an electric space heater, use one with automatic shut-off switches and keep at least 3 feet away from furniture and drapes
• Use battery-powered flashlights or lanterns if there is a power outage
• Have a week’s worth of food and safety supplies on hand such as drinking water, canned/no-cook food, first-aid kit, etc.
• Leave all water taps slightly open so they drip continuously
• Keep the indoor temperature warm even if you are not home
• Open kitchen cabinet doors under the kitchen sink to help prevent pipes from freezing
• Be aware of signs of hypothermia; cold feet and hands, puffy or swollen face, pale skin, slower than normal speech, acting sleepy and being angry or confused. Call 911 immediately if you think someone has the warning signs of hypothermia

• Winds will increase markedly by late morning, then will remain very strong and gusty through late this afternoon
• West to northwest winds will increase to 25 to 30 mph, with gusts around 40 mph at times
• Travel may become difficult, particularly on north south oriented roadways such as I-57
• Unsecured objects will be blown about
• Minor damage to tree limbs is likely

Titan would like to pass along the following information from the FBI Cyber Division, measures to deter unauthorized access to computer networks:

• Educate personnel on appropriate preventative and reactive actions
• Scrutinize links contained in e-mails and do not open attachments included in unsolicited e-mails
• Disable macros; be careful with pop-ups from attachments which require users to enable them
• Only download software, especially free software, from known and trusted sites
• Create a centralized email account for employees to report suspicious emails
• Change network default passwords, configurations and encryption keys
• Recommend you organization’s IT professionals review, test and certify the need/compatibility of a patch or update prior to installing in onto the operating system or software
• Monitor employee logins which occur outside normal business hours
• Restrict access to the Internet or systems handling sensitive information
• Install and regularly update anti-malware solutions, software, operating systems, remote management applications and hardware
• Do not use the same login and password for multiple platforms, servers or networks
• Monitor unusual traffic, especially over non standard business hours
• Monitor outgoing data, and be willing to block unknown IP addresses
• Isolate sensitive information within the network
• Only allow required processes to run on systems handling sensitive information
• Implement two factor authentication for access to sensitive systems
• Ensure proper firewall rules are in place
• Be aware of the organization’s footprint and persona facing the Internet
  • Conduct searches using multiple search engines on multiple Internet domains of the organization’s names, web addresses, key personnel and projects to determine if there is an accidental weak point in the network security
  • Conduct infrastructure look ups in the public domains to ensure additional information is not inadvertently advertised
• Implement a data back up and recovery plan to maintain copies of sensitive or proprietary data in a separate and secure location
  • Backup copies of sensitive data should not be readily accessible from local networks
• Regularly mirror and maintain an image of critical system files
• Use strong passwords, implement a schedule for changing passwords frequently and avoid reusing passwords for multiple accounts
• Enable network monitoring and logging where feasible
• Be aware of social engineering tactics aimed at obtaining sensitive information
• Securely eliminate sensitive files and data from hard drives when no longer needed or required
• Establish a relationship with local law enforcement and participate in IT security information sharing groups for early warning of threats

To read the full FBI notification, click here.