CoreTech Blog

It’s undeniable that artificial intelligence is a big part of doing business in 2026. Given this, it is not surprising that many products are being developed to push the technology into areas of business it hasn’t touched. Today, we are going to tell you about the difference between AI models and why one man’s great idea could be the thing that set AI back.

If you still view your IT department as a mere secondary expense, you are likely overlooking the most significant threat to your company's profitability. In today’s landscape, digital infrastructure isn't just a static utility; it is the very plumbing of your revenue. It functions as either a reinforced vault protecting your hard-earned gains or a porous sieve where your margins quietly drain away. To truly safeguard your legacy, you must look past the technical jargon and recognize a fundamental truth: cybersecurity isn't a tech problem relegated to a basement office—it is a direct and measurable pillar of your financial stability.

Does the idea of cybersecurity strike fear into your heart? We know it’s not every business’ specialty, but that doesn’t make it any less important for companies like yours to consider. Today, we want to make it as easy as possible for your employees to practice appropriate cybersecurity measures, and that starts with a simple one-page cybersecurity cheat sheet.

We will be the first to admit it: we are obsessed with security.

In an era where cybercriminals are more sophisticated and persistent than ever, that obsession is a necessity. Modern security requires a fundamental shift in mindset: you cannot implicitly trust anyone. Not outside hackers, and—uncomfortable as it may be—not even the people inside your organization.

This trust-no-one approach is the foundation of Zero-Trust Security.

It isn’t rare for business owners to seek out opportunities to trim expenses and cut costs wherever possible. Your security should never be someplace you look… particularly if you hope to ever secure the increasingly crucial business insurance you need.

Now you may be saying, “But my IT is surely good enough.” Unfortunately, that standard isn’t sufficient in the eyes of insurance providers, and as a result, it actually becomes more expensive than having the right technology protections in the first place.

As an IT service provider, our techs spend their days at the intersection of cutting-edge and business-critical. In 2026, the conversation about each has shifted. It is no longer about whether you should use AI, because everyone is, but about the risks of trusting it blindly.

We have seen it firsthand: companies that treat AI like a set-it-and-forget-it solution often end up calling us for emergency damage control. Here are the major pitfalls of over-trusting AI and how to keep your business from becoming a cautionary tale.

Working in IT, we see the behind-the-scenes of dozens of businesses. To many, a Point of Sale (POS) system is often viewed as just a digital cash register. It’s actually the central nervous system of a modern business. When it works, it is invisible; when it fails, the entire operation grinds to a halt. As we move through 2026, the complexity of these systems has reached an all-time high. Here are five of the biggest challenges we see businesses facing today from an IT perspective.

You’ve likely looked at your business’ technology bills and seen nothing but dollar signs leaving your bank account. For many, IT feels like a necessary evil or a cost center that only gets attention when something breaks. The hard truth is that many businesses fail to scale because their technology wasn't built for the growth they planned.

The greatest vulnerability in your business’ network security actually has nothing to do at all with the systems in place. It’s actually your employees who will ultimately put your company at risk. Hackers rely on the fact that your team is busy, stressed, and trying to be helpful, and this helps hackers engineer moments where employees will click first and ask questions later, much to your business’ detriment.

With AI now being used by adversaries to reverse-engineer patches and generate exploits in hours rather than weeks, our old Patch Tuesday rhythm is essentially an open invitation to hackers. The truth is, the patching gap is a competitive weakness.

If we want to protect our organizations without drowning our teams in manual toil, we have to stop treating patching as a checklist and start treating it as a dynamic, intelligent discipline. Here is how we’re rethinking the vulnerability situation.

If you put yourself in the shoes of an insurance company, you might find yourself thinking twice about protecting someone who actively partakes in risky behavior. The same can be said for a business insurance provider, particularly when the behavior can easily be prevented through proactive and preventative measures. This is why many insurance providers are establishing minimum safeguards and compliance requirements, if only to protect their own skins.

As we stand on the threshold of a new year, it’s worth noting that the term "cybersecurity" didn't even enter the common lexicon until the late 1980s. Before that, we just called it "computer security"—mostly involving locking the server room door and hoping nobody guessed the password was "admin."

Fast forward to today, and the game has changed entirely. "Hoping for the best" is no longer a viable business plan. As you prep your resolutions, it’s time to hit the ground running with a cybersecurity posture that is as modern as the threats we face—a goal that will require training for your entire team.

Have you ever stopped to ask yourself if the person you’re talking to on the phone is an AI system or an actual, honest-to-goodness human? It’s expected that in 2026, you’ll be asking this question a lot more often—especially with the rise of agentic AI. This development takes the vulnerability that already exists in your human infrastructure and attempts to make it impossible to stop. Today, we’ll explore agentic AI, what it looks like, and what you can do to put a stop to it in the years to come.

Passwords are effectively the cornerstone of your business’ data security. If they aren’t up to muster, your protections could crumble. Unfortunately, many users shortchange their passwords to try to make them more convenient, also making them more convenient for cybercriminals. Let’s see how we could (and should) make passwords as effective as possible.

Cyberthreats are no longer rare occurrences; they are constant, evolving, and frequently highly sophisticated. This reality makes a proactive approach to cybersecurity absolutely essential. Organizations that only react to attacks find themselves perpetually engaged in damage control.

Failing to establish a deliberate, comprehensive cybersecurity strategy exposes any organization to repeated breaches, critical data loss, and ultimately, a loss of customer trust that can lead to financial collapse. This overview details why addressing these persistent risks is critical for the success of any contemporary business.

The scariest online threats are the ones you don't even see coming. Picture this: a hacker tricks one of your employees with a sneaky phishing email, steals their username and password, and just walks right into your network. No alarms, no warning. 

The really good news is there's a simple fix that can make a huge difference: Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA). Just setting this up is one of the biggest steps you can take to make your business much safer and a lot less likely to suffer a nasty cybersecurity breach.

I know the headache well: that one critical, but crusty, legacy application that the business relies on, but the vendor has long since abandoned. It's a non-negotiable part of operations, but it sits on an outdated OS or platform, a massive, blinking security vulnerability in the middle of our network. We can't patch it, and we can't immediately rip and replace it.

So, how do we sleep at night? The answer, increasingly, is through the strategic application of cloud computing. The cloud isn't just about cost savings or scalability; it's a fundamental change in how we manage risk, especially the risk posed by unpatchable, end-of-life (EOL) software.

We’re sure at some point you’ve used the idiom, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” particularly in regards to your IT. While it might feel responsible and safe to stick to this motto as much as possible, there will come a time when it becomes dangerous to hold fast to it. In fact, business technology professionals might even call this motto irresponsible. Here’s why.

How many employees do you have who keep your company’s passwords on sticky notes stuck to their monitors? This simple, seemingly benign trick could be putting your business at risk. After all, if you can see the password on a sticky note, so too can others who happen to be wandering around the office—including potential threat actors.

Adopting smart office technology—from connected lighting and thermostats to sophisticated monitoring sensors—can transform your workspace, offering efficiency and a modern aesthetic. Yet, as IT experts, we must guide you past the shiny facade to confront a critical reality: every new smart device is a potential gateway for cyber threats.

You should not have to sacrifice security for the sake of being "high-tech." However, implementing these solutions without a robust security strategy is a risky gamble.