Updated on: February 15, 2024
SafetyDetectives spoke with Michael Frese, CTO & Co-Founder of CloudCard, a digital business card company. In addition to telling us about CloudCard, Michael talked about card security and cybersecurity challenges, plus he gave a few tips for securing your data.
Thank you for taking the time to speak with me today. Can you talk about your background and your role at CloudCard?
First off, thank you for affording me the opportunity to be featured on your blog. From a career standpoint, my background relates to Cyber Security. I initially started off on the blue team (Defensive) of cybersecurity where I had the privilege of touching various technologies in the security space.
I initially started off working on Endpoint security, but it wasn’t long before I yearned for more and to progress my career, therefore I eventually went on to work on Network security. This assisted me majorly in progressing to the next level where I became a Penetration tester and started working on the red team (Offensive Cyber Security). Being a penetration tester has always been extremely exciting for me!
There is always something new to learn, and this has also taught me that nothing in our online world today is impenetrable. This is why it made sense for the business that I became the CTO of CloudCard when my partner and I started it. My focus lies on working closely with our dev team to ensure our Web Application has a zero-trust, “security from the ground up” approach and our feature set remains competitive within our market. Like many things in life, this has presented a great challenge.
The aim of our software is to enable people to share details in a simpler & quicker way. However, we need to ensure this is done in a safe and non-invasive way. The challenge is trying to balance security with usability for our users. I believe we have come a long way in doing this and the outcome has been extremely gratifying. That being said, my job is not done here; security is never a once off task.
What is CloudCard’s flagship product?
CloudCard’s Flagship Product is the Digital Business Card. A Digital Business Card, Virtual Business Card, or Electronic Business Card is the new way to share your details with prospective clients. Digital Business cards are easily accessible, shareable, and are a lot more cost-effective than their traditional counterparts, printed business cards. CloudCard’s Digital Business Card is extremely user-friendly, from enterprise deployment to sharing. You are able to share your CloudCard Digital Business Card with anyone, anywhere – no app is required to receive a card, and your Digital Business Card is compatible with all mobile devices as long as there is an internet connection. For more information on this, head over to our site.
What are the benefits of using a digital business card?
A digital business card is a modern, digital version of a traditional business card that can be easily shared and accessed online. In today’s digital age, having a digital business card has become increasingly important for professionals and businesses of all sizes.
Here are just a few reasons why you need a digital business card:
- Simply put, our Digital Business Card is extremely convenient. It can be easily shared via email, text, or even social media platforms.
- CloudCard’s Digital Business Card gives you a professional edge. Our Digital Business Card shows that you are up-to-date with the latest technology and are committed to staying connected with clients and colleagues. This level of professionalism can set you apart from competitors and make a positive impression on potential clients.
- Cost-effective: Printing and distributing physical business cards can be costly, especially if you need to update your information frequently. Digital business cards, on the other hand, are free or low-cost to create and share. This can save you time and money in the long run.
- Environmentally friendly: Digital business cards are also more environmentally friendly than physical business cards. Printing and distributing physical cards consumes resources and generates waste, whereas digital cards have a much smaller environmental impact.
- Digital business cards are a great tool for networking and connecting with other professionals. You can share your digital card with anyone in your network, even if you don’t have a physical card to give them. This makes it easier to build relationships and grow your professional network.
- Most Importantly, CloudCard’s Digital Business Card is completely trackable. This can help you understand how effective they are in connecting you with potential clients. This can be helpful in determining the return on investment for your digital marketing efforts.
This is just a summary of a few benefits when using a Digital Business Card, to learn more about the benefits, check out our article, “Why You Need A Digital Business Card?”.
What kind of information can be shared on a digital business card?
A digital business card is a virtual representation of your professional identity that you can share with others online. It typically includes information such as your name, job title, company, contact details, and social media profiles.
CloudCard generally recommends the following be placed on your digital business card:
- Name and Job Title
- Company Name & Logo
- Website
- Social Media Profiles
- Professional Bio
- Professional Headshot
Remember, when creating your Digital Business Card, the greatest advantage you have is that you are not bound to space constraints. This means you can put as much information as you want. This includes images and videos.
How secure are digital business cards, are there safeguards to protect it from hackers changing the information?
One of our top priorities is protecting personal information. That’s why each user is empowered to control which contact details they share. A digital business card should only contain information that gives a potential client a bit of your professional background and the means to get in touch with you as quickly as possible in their preferred method.
At CloudCard we put certain measures in place to try prevent abuse. We have implemented the following on our Digital Business Card platform to make our app more secure:
- Two Factor Authentication: Every user on our platform has the ability to enable 2fa which adds an additional layer of security. When enabled, a user will require an OTP after entering their password. So even if someone does figure out your password, they still require an OTP to login to your account.
- Role Based Access Control (RBAC): Our app was built with role based access control. We have 2 different user types on our platform:
- Enterprise Admin: This user has access to manage their entire organisation. This means they can manage users within their organisations and control on a granular level what general users are able to edit within their organisation.
- General User: A general user is not able to make any changes to their organisation. They may only edit their own card according to what fields the enterprise admin has given them access to.
- Strong Password Policy: By default, users have to set passwords that abide by our Password Policy. Their password needs to abide by the following rules:
- Minimum length – 8 Characters
- 1 Uppercase Letter
- 1 Lowercase Letter
- 1 Special Character
- 1 Numerical Character.
- Non-Breached Password: We have just implemented a new feature to strengthen security for our users. When a user creates a password, we have an API that will be queried to see if the users requested password has been involved in any known breaches.
- All our data is encrypted, whether it be at rest or in motion. This prevents adversaries from sniffing traffic and performing man-in-the-middle attacks to steal your data.
How can someone share their card, for example, with a client or at a networking event?
CloudCard’s Digital Business Card allows you to easily share your details with prospects. Our easy share buttons allow you to quickly get your digital business card over to someone with no app needed!
There are multiple ways to share your card:
- QR code
- Text
- Social media
- Link sharing
- NFC tags and Cards
- Email signatures
- Microsoft Teams
Do you have any tips or advice for how small businesses can secure their websites and customer data?
Security is always a lot more manageable and easier to implement when it is done from the start. Build your security from the ground up! Here are some tips to help you get started in securing your website:
- Select a Good Hosting Provider
- Disable File Editing on important directories to prevent adversaries from injecting malicious code into your site and plugins.
- Always install a Web application Firewall from the start! When it comes to the WordPress websites, my favorite choice to this day is still “WordFence.”
- Always ensure your site and all plugins on your site are up to date.
- Make sure your data is always encrypted, a good free option is “LetsEncypt.”
- Finally, always test your own security! There are a number of free, open-source vulnerability scanners that you can use to test your site for any vulnerabilities. Here is a pretty cool list of open-source vulnerability scanners that can assist you in this: https://www.esecurityplanet.com/applications/open-source-vulnerability-scanners/
Although there are further tasks that can be completed to strengthen your site’s security even more, completing the above-mentioned tips will assist in building a solid security foundation for your site. These tips do not take long to complete and can save you time and money in the long run.