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n e w h a v e n b i z . c o m | O c t o b e r 2 0 2 2 | n e w h a v e n B I Z 23 NOMINATE TODAY DEADLINE 10/21 CALLING ALL 2023 NOMINATIONS! DO YOU CONSIDER YOUR ORGANIZATION AS A BEST PLACE TO WORK? GO TO >> WWW.BESTPLACESTOWORKCONNECTICUT.COM Event Partner: bedroom of a student before he took a remote test. "[e student's] privacy interest in his home outweighs Cleveland State's interests in scanning his room," Judge J. Philip Calabrese said in his ruling. "Accordingly, the court determines that Cleveland State's practice of conducting room scans is unreasonable under the Fourth Amendment." Blurred boundaries e tight labor market is also pressuring some employers to ease off on electronic monitoring in general. Amazon recently revamped monitoring soware in its warehouses that recorded every pause in workflow and could get a worker fired for a single bad day. Union drives at several Amazon sites and new state rules helped prompt the change, according to the New York Times. "Employers usually just want to avoid that risk," Pedevillano said of the issues around the use of cameras and microphones to monitor workers at home. "I'm not saying the employee will be able to prove their case – that's a different issue. But even having to defend that case, that can be a challenge for employers." Giving notice to employees about remote monitoring is a must, Pedevillano said. "I would also advise employers to look to balance the type of remote monitoring they're using with their actual goals," she added. "Do you really need to be taking a picture of someone sitting at their computer screen? All you're proving with that is that they're in front of the computer, you may not be proving that they're actually doing the work that they need to be doing to perform their job." Remote workers should also be aware that their home offices may not be as private as they assume. "Employees should be very cognizant of where in the home they're working and if there are other people at home with them. If a microphone is being used for monitoring, other conversations in the house could be picked up," Pedevillano said. "So, I think there should be full disclosure by the employer and I think the employee should be cognizant of where they're working, who's around and to try to perform their remote work in as private of a location in their home as possible." It's all part of a paradigm shi that started in the mid-1990s with the rise of computing technology, said Bulger of Quinnipiac: Work and home are no longer discrete spaces. "More of us felt like the boundary between work and home was not as clear as it used to be," Bulger said of the use of smartphones and other devices as part of their job. "With more people working remotely and the rise in electronic monitoring, boundaries are definitely becoming more blurred – or obliterated, if you prefer." n Carrie Bulger Continued on page 24 Milford's Vancord evolves with cybersecurity threats and opportunities By Liese Klein T aking a photo of Vancord's data "nerve center" at its Milford headquarters can be tricky: Any numbered labels must be kept out of the frame. A sharp-eyed crook could spot a label and use it to launch a cyberat- tack, one of the thousands of cyberse- curity challenges the company faces every single day. Cybersecurity is a prime focus of Vancord's services these days as busi- nesses of all sizes face data breaches, phishing attempts and frightening inci- dents of ransomware attacks, in which vital data is held hostage for money. "Everything's happening every day. It's still out there. It's still proliferating — there's still more of it than there was before," said Michael Grande, presi- dent and CEO of Vancord, speaking of threats to cybersecurity. Summing up his company's approach to this world of online danger, he added, "We are global defenders in a world where good wins." Small consultancy growth Founded as e Business Network Group Consulting in 2005, Vancord was the brainchild of Jeff Grande, Michael Grande's brother, and their cousin Michael Paone — West Haven natives with deep backgrounds in tech- nology. Grande had worked in network technology at companies like Nortel, while Paone was a data systems expert and database administrator. "Combining their skills back then, it was perfect," Michael Grande said. "ey were able to really grow the busi- ness very quickly as a small consultan- cy, mostly focused on small business." Clients at the time included accoun- tants, doctor offices, school systems and small manufacturers, all looking to outsource some of their technology needs. Many of Vancord's initial clients are still clients today, he added. "It's a testament to both the orga- nization and quality of the work, but also the relationships that we've built through years," Grande said. As it expanded and added clients, the company developed an expertise in handling the IT and networking needs of school systems, police departments, and cities and governments. Much of the work at the time was helping with unfamiliar technology and dealing with issues like spam. Michael Grande joined the company in 2009 on the business side, aer a career in banking, and the company soon grew to more than 20 employees. "I had the business, administrative and finance background. Combining those skills was exactly what we need- ed at that time, and really launched us A t A G l a n c e Company: Vancord Industry: IT Top Executive: Michael Grande, President & CEO HQ: 500 Boston Post Road, Milford Website: https://www. vancord.com/ Contact: 855-512-4817 The management team at Vancord earlier this year, when the company announced it had merged its IT consulting and cybersecurity divisions. Top row (l-r): Dan Kaupp, Robert Baird, Michael Paone, Jeffrey Grande, Louis Ardolino. Seated: Jason Pufahl, Michael Grande. PHOTO | CONTRIBUTED

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