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Two SRT Employees Graduate from Minot Dale Carnegie Course

Two SRT Employees Graduate from Minot Dale Carnegie Course

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SRT is proud to announce that our Member Service Supervisor, Stephanie R., and Lead Network Assurance Specialist, Connor A., graduated from the Minot Dale Carnegie Course earlier this week.

The Dale Carnegie Course helps people hone leadership, problem solving, and communication skills within a business environment. While they were enrolled in this course, Stephanie received the Outstanding Performance Award and Connor received the Crashing Through Award. Congratulations on your achievements, Stephanie and Connor!

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Connor and Stephanie's supervisors, Kari Kremer and Teal Myre, were able to attend the award ceremony and show their support. SRT CEO and General Manager, Cassidy Hjelmstad, was also in attendance.

CUSTOMER ALERT

CUSTOMER ALERT

Customer Alert – Is It A Long Lost Friend Or A Scammer?

long lost friend or scam The FTC recently issued a consumer alert about one of the latest ways scammers are trying to get your attention — by texting to ask when you’re free to catch up over a cup of coffee. Scammers are hoping you’ll think the text is from a long lost friend and reply with questions, or tell the sender they have the wrong number.

Either way, your response lets the scammer know your phone number works, which could lead to more calls and texts. They might apologize for the wrong number, then pitch you a scam — maybe by asking if you’re interested in learning about a secret way to make big money using cryptocurrency.

According to the FTC, here’s how to handle these situations:
  • Don’t respond to unexpected text messages like this from unknown phone numbers. Some messages from unknown numbers might be legit, but this isn’t your doctor’s office confirming an upcoming appointment. Copy the message and forward it to 7726 (SPAM). This helps your wireless provider spot and block similar messages in the future.
  • Don’t click on links in unexpected text messages. They might steal your information or install malware on your device. Scammers want you to react quickly to unexpected text messages, but it’s best to stop and check it out. Or just delete it.
If you spot a scam, you can report it to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

TUTORIAL/FAQ

TUTORIAL/FAQ

Short Tutorial/FAQ – What Are Tips for Searching on Google?

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Question: I want to step up my game with online searches. How can I search on Google more efficiently?

Answer: We went straight to the source, Google, for tips and tricks to more easily find information on Google.

Tip 1: Start with the basics.
No matter what you’re looking for, start with a simple search like where’s the closest airport. You can always add a few descriptive words if necessary. If you’re looking for a place or product in a specific location, add the location. For example, bakery seattle.

Tip 2: Search using your voice.
Tired of typing? To search with your voice, tap the Microphone icon. Learn how to search with your voice.

Tip 3: Choose words carefully.
When you decide what words to put in the search box, try words that are likely to appear on the site you’re looking for. For example, instead of saying my head hurts, say headache, because that’s the word a medical site uses.

Tip 4: Don’t worry about the little things.
  • Spelling: Google’s spell checker automatically uses the most common spelling of a given word, whether or not you spell it correctly.
  • Capitalization: A search for New York Times is the same as a search for new york times.
Tip 5: Find quick answers.
For many searches, Google will do the work for you and show an answer to your question in the search results. Some features, like information about sports teams, aren’t available in all regions.
  • Weather: Search weather to see the weather in your location or add a city name, like weather seattle, to find weather for a certain place.
  • Dictionary: Put define in front of any word to see its definition.
  • Unit conversions: Enter any conversion, like 3 dollars in euros.
  • Sports: Search for the name of your team to see a schedule, game scores, and more.
  • Quick facts: Search for the name of a celebrity, location, movie, or song to find related information.
Visit the Google Help Center for more advanced search instructions including how to do a reverse image search or filter your search results.

Two SRT Employees Earn 2024 NISC Member Spotlight Awards

Two SRT Employees Earn 2024 NISC Member Spotlight Awards

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SRT is twice as proud that not one, but two of our talented colleagues have earned NISC Member Spotlight Awards: Cindy Obenchain, SRT System Analyst Coordinator, and Kari Kremer, SRT Network Assurance Supervisor.

In fact, SRT was the only organization with multiple winners this year!

The Member Spotlight Awards recognize National Information Solutions Cooperative (NISC) members who take a creative, resourceful approach to solving business needs using NISC software. SRT is a member of NISC, a leading provider of enterprise software and solutions to utility and broadband companies.

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Winners were selected from Utility and Broadband industries for each of the following categories: Financials, Service, Operations, Marketing, and Security/Infrastructure. Cindy won the Financials award for Broadband; Kari won the Operations award for Broadband.

For her award, Cindy was recognized as a prominent presence in the Broadband industry with impressive knowledge in all platforms of the NISC software. Nominators noted that she continuously looks for ways to improve efficiency, from submitting a software enhancement to implementing a new feature in the software. They also said Cindy “contributes to almost all projects at her organization. She is extremely thorough, and you know the project will be successful when she is involved.”

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Kari was nominated as a champion for learning and using NISC software to its fullest. Her nominators stated, “She is constantly testing new features and finding new ways of accomplishing tasks to increase productivity. She mentors and guides others in their adoption of NISC tools and is not afraid to try new ideas and get out of her comfort zone.”

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Cindy’s and Kari’s involvement and expertise with NISC ensures that SRT is making the most of the technology available to us. With employees like Cindy and Kari working every day behind the scenes, SRT members can feel confident we are committed to delivering them a superior service and experience – every day.

Congratulations, Cindy and Kari, on your well deserved Member Spotlight Awards!

The Importance of Cybersecurity

The Importance of Cybersecurity

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Online threats can come from all sources. That was the theme of the fourth annual NODAKON at Minot State University: cybersafety. The two-day event taught students and the public about online predators, financial threats, and risk management.

The first day of NODAKON kicked off with SRT Tech Day, where students from 15 area high schools took part in business- and technology-related competitions. SRT is a proud long-time sponsor.

Day two hosted a cybersecurity summit, where industry experts taught attendees about real-life examples of when cybersecurity tactics failed or succeeded. Jersey Kelly, Network Operations Engineer at SRT, spoke on a panel that discussed asset protection.

He and others on the panel (Jennifer Sackett, Connexus Energy; Jesse Clark, Tech Entrepreneur; Chris Geren, NDIT; Jacob Rued, First Western Bank & Trust) talked about the importance of identifying the full scope of each unique cybersecurity incident, the impact of technology changes, and continuous training for everyone within an institution. Insider threats don’t always come from bad actors. An employee could unknowingly open a link that would make a company susceptible to a phishing attack, which is just one example of an unintentional, insider threat.

A common theme among the panel was establishing a cybersafe culture, in which employees know it’s okay to question emails or links sent from coworkers or even the CEO, and understand a “think before you click” mindset. A cybersafe culture also includes physical security. “It plays a big role,” Jersey said. “We [SRT] have a lot of equipment that could be bad for any bad actor to get access to.”

Cybersecurity is something every Internet user should keep top of mind. SRT holds monthly training for all employees and encourages continuous education like the opportunities provided by NODAKON at Minot State.