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Remember the build-up last year for the death of Windows XP? A similar scenario will play out in 2015, as Microsoft announced in November that it would end support for Windows Server 2003 and Server 2003 R2 on July 14th.

The most immediate impact of this announcement is that any system using Windows Server 2003 will no longer receive updates or patches from Microsoft, which the computing giant said in a white paper “can result in a less stable and less secure infrastructure for your organization.

Data Privacy Day is celebrated each January 28th by the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA), which leads an international effort that focuses on “respecting privacy, safeguarding data, and enabling trust.” Studies of North American consumers show that a large percentage of them are concerned about the privacy of their data; last year, CMIT Solutions cited a Gallup poll that found 37% of the public had lost trust in the companies they regularly do business with, while 30% said they had little to no trust in those companies to keep their information secure.

If 2014 was “The Year of the Breach,” with a whopping 43% of North American firms telling the Ponemon Institute that they experienced a hack in 2014, then what lies ahead in 2015 for technology and security? Tech Crunch described our current state of awareness as “a tipping point for cybersecurity.

The New Year is upon us, which means we all get a fresh opportunity to consider what’s important for the next 12 months. In the small to medium-sized business world, technology routinely tops that list — you can’t work well without technology, and technology that doesn’t work well will only hold you back.

As many news outlets have reported over the last few weeks, the major trend in e-commerce this year has come from mobile device use. Over the three-day period encompassing Thanksgiving Day, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday:

•    33% of Thanksgiving Day sales came from mobile devices, as did 52% of online shopping traffic

•    Mobile drove 50% of all Black Friday shopping traffic, up from 40% from last year

•    Mobile sales accounted for 28% of all Black Friday online sales, up from 22% last year

•    41% of Cyber Monday traffic came from mobile devices, up from 30% in 2013

•    22% of all Cyber Monday sales came from mobile devices

•    46% of emails on Cyber Monday were opened on mobile devices

What do all these numbers mean for the average small to medium-sized business owner? A January 2014 Pew Research Internet Project study found that 90% of North American adults have a cell phone; 58% have a smartphone; 32% have an e-reader; and 42% have a tablet.

A new virus is flexing its corrupting muscle on computers and users worldwide. CryptoWall first appeared in February, but attention surrounding the ransomware spiked this summer, when researches at Dell SecureWorks reported on it. In October, the UK Register revealed that 830,000 victims had been infected — a 25% increase since August.

Lost amidst the recent avalanche of news concerning data breaches, system insecurities, and other external cyberattacks was a joint Department of Homeland Security/FBI alert about insider digital retaliation. Defined as the destruction of data, theft of proprietary software, removal of customer information, restriction of access, and/or extortion by disgruntled current or former employees, federal agents say such instances have spiked lately.

Technology is often heralded as the be-all, end-all of our existence. Upgraded smartphone models come out every few months. Fresh apps pop up every week. New methods of doing business — in the cloud, with Big Data, or on mobile point of sale systems — overtake old ones on a daily basis.

Tuned in to any IT-related news over the last month or so? Then you may have noticed the avalanche of cybersecurity revelations. First, in mid-September, Home Depot admitted that a malware-based data breach had compromised the credit card information of more than 56 million customers — the largest retail data breach ever.

On Thursday, October 16th, more than 20 million people participated in the latest Great ShakeOut Earthquake Drill. Most surprising about this figure, though, is that nearly 10% of the participants exercised disaster preparedness in the Southeast, a region of the country no one ever associates with earthquakes.