Biz Bytes for Oct. 8, 2023

The City of Rock Island has hired Leslie Day as its in-house staff attorney, adjusting from the use of contract attorneys. Day started in her new role Monday, Oct. 2.

The City had previously contracted with Dave Morrison and Hector Lareau of the David Morrison Law Firm in Rock Island since 2017. Morrison retired at the end of August.

“We are pleased to bring Leslie on board as the City transitions to a full-time in-house attorney,” Mayor Mike Thoms said. “With her years of legal experience and background, Leslie will be an asset to the Rock Island community.”

Day grew up in Milan and graduated from Rock Island High School. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree in psychology and philosophy from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign; and her Juris Doctorate degree from George Washington University Law School in Washington, D.C.

Day brings more than 11 years of legal experience to Rock Island. She previously served as interim city attorney for the City of Galesburg and was named Partner for Barash & Everett, LLC in Galesburg. She also has worked at other governmental agencies focusing on ethics and transparency, including the Department of Defense, Office of Inspector General; Department of Commerce, Office of Inspector General; and the Washington, D.C. Office of the Attorney General.

“I’m excited and honored to be back practicing law in the town that raised me,” Day said. “I look forward to serving the community and residents of Rock Island.”

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IMEG acquires Philadelphia-area engineering firm

Rock Island, IL – Giovanetti Shulman Associates Consulting Engineers (GSA) of Broomall, PA, a Philadelphia-area mechanical, electrical, plumbing, fire protection, and low voltage engineering firm, has joined Quad Cities-based IMEG—the fifth largest engineering firm in the U.S. and largest privately-owned firm in the gaming industry. The merger with GSA enhances IMEG’s national, full-service engineering firm’s existing services in the Philadelphia region and national gaming portfolio.

Founded in 1982 by Richard Giovanetti and Mark Shulman, GSA has provided sustainable engineering design services on a wide variety of projects in the entertainment, commercial, cultural, education, and healthcare markets, among others. As the firm grew, the two founders created a highly technical team supported by a great staff including Connie Giovanetti.

“We are excited to add the team from GSA and deepen our bench of expertise, particular in the gaming and entertainment industries,” said IMEG President/CEO Paul VanDuyne. “Their passion for the built environment, along with their creative and technical skills, are vital characteristics that match IMEG’s own priorities.”

GSA President Richard Giovanetti said the firm is looking forward to being part of IMEG and the ability it brings to offer clients a full line of engineering services—all with the same local team. He and Mark Shulman will continue to serve as local team leaders and the firm will continue to operate out of its existing Broomall location, doing business as Giovanetti Shulman Associates, now IMEG, until full integration.

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GreenState Credit Union has again been awarded a Top Workplaces honor by Des Moines Register and The Iowa Top Workplaces. The 2023 award marks the third-consecutive #1 ranking in the Large Employer category and the seventh consecutive Top Workplaces recognition.

“Our greatest asset is our people and the culture they cultivate,” Jim Kelly, Chief Marketing Officer, said. “Receiving this award is validation that our employees feel empowered and supported, which in turn benefits our membership and our communities.”

The list is based solely on employee feedback gathered through a third-party survey administered by employee engagement technology partner Energage, LLC. The confidential survey uniquely measures 15 culture drivers and calculates results by comparing the survey’s research-based statements against industry benchmarks. GreenState was selected alongside 147 other companies throughout the state of Iowa.

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QCR Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: QCRH) announced today that its third quarter ended September 30, 2023, financial results will be released after the market closes on Wednesday, October 25, 2023. The Company will host a conference call and webcast the next day, Thursday, October 26, 2023, at 10:00 a.m. Central Time to discuss the results. Shareholders, analysts, and other interested parties are invited to join.

Dial-in information for the call is 888-346-9286 (international 412-317-5253). Participants should request to join the QCR Holdings, Inc. call. The event will be archived and available for replay through November 2, 2023. The replay access information is 877-344-7529 (international 412-317-0088); access code 7582498.

A webcast of the teleconference can be accessed at the Company’s News and Events page at www.qcrh.com. An archived version of the webcast will be available at the same location shortly after the live event has ended.

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The Garrison will host a ribbon cutting at 3:30 p.m., Friday, October 13 at 131 W. 2nd Street in Davenport. 

The Garrison is located on the historic strip of 2nd Street in Downtown Davenport. The Garrison is the QC’s definitive spot for an after-work cocktail, an intimate dinner, or a late night get together with old friends.

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Midland Technologies Leverages New Artificial Intelligence (AI) to Protect Small to Mid-Sized Companies From the Latest AI Phishing Attacks

Leading Managed Technology Services Provider Helps To Secure Organizations

DAVENPORT, IA – September 22, 2023 – Midland Technologies, a leading Managed Technology Services Provider (MTSP), announced today that the company is protecting small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) from the latest style of cyberattack. While phishing has long been a method used by cybercriminals, new developments in AI have made it easier for cybercriminals to disguise their phishing attempts, which is making it much more challenging for businesses to stay protected through conventional means. While most organizations offer cybersecurity training to employees or utilize “post-delivery” email filtration tools, human error is still the leading cause of breach. Midland Technologies is leveraging AI inbox filtration software to help business owners eliminate phishing attacks from ever reaching employee inboxes in the first place, so this risk is completely eliminated.

Cybercriminals are growing more sophisticated in their methods of attack and business owners need to understand which tools are necessary to protect their organizations. While business owners typically engage employees in cybersecurity training modules, unfortunately those trainings have deteriorating benefits over time, where even after only a few months, retention drops off. According to the 2021 Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR), “85% of breaches involve ‘the human element’” and it’s no secret that “Bob from shipping” will never be as capable of detecting phishing attempts when compared to an AI email filtration system. With human error accounting for 85% of phishing attacks, it’s vital that companies learn how to leverage AI for their benefit, in order to compete with the technology of cybercriminals. Jason Smith, Vice President of Midland Technologies, stated, “You don’t bring a knife to a gunfight. Nor should you try to fight AI hackers without AI tools on your side.”

Phishing has been around for decades, however, content generating AI, like ChatGPT, have made it much more difficult for the average user to detect phishing emails in the modern age. In the past, it was relatively easy for an end user/employee to read a fraudulent email and to detect it because there was often awkward, non-native phrasing or slight misspellings in the email which would indicate that it was not credible. However, now that cybercriminals can ask AI to proofread and edit their messages so there are no grammatical errors, misspelled words, and the tone sounds just like a native-speaker, it will become much more challenging for employees to accurately discern fraudulent emails from real emails in the near future.

Midland Technologies is combatting AI-phishing by using AI-based detection methodologies which can automatically detect whether or not an email is coming from a credible source or not. More importantly, it also removes fraudulent emails “pre-delivery” instead of “post-delivery,” as is standard amongst most newer types of commonly used phishing prevention systems. When the IT department can eliminate the human element from making any errors whatsoever, needless to say, this improves the cybersecurity of any organization. This is particularly crucial because if an organization utilizes a “post-delivery” email filtration software, there’s still a small window of opportunity for a fast-responding employee to unknowingly expose the company network to vulnerabilities, before the software can remove the email from their inbox.

Midland Technologies’s software also does double duty, by constantly surveying the company network to track if company data is being improperly secured. For example, “Bob from Shipping” might be storing company files on a personal Dropbox/Google Drive account, which will need to be secured at the same level as other data storage centers Midland Technologies’ software can immediately detect if employees are storing company data on unsecured servers/locations and notify network administrators so they can address the issue before the company is exposed to a completely unnecessary breach.

“AI is both a blessing and curse for business owners,” added Mr. Smith. “Our job is to sift through all of the emerging technologies and to deliver simple IT solutions to businesses that need to scale safely, efficiently and securely.”