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QB Brady Williams fuels Misericordia to victory over Wilkes

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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; Following the recent announcement that hackers had gained access to consumer data from Equifax, one of the three major credit-reporting agencies, Secretary of Banking and Securities Robin L. Wiessmann this week advised Pennsylvania businesses to take additional measures to protect their customers&#8217; personal and financial data.</p><p>The department regularly shares cyber-security information and resources with businesses it supervises, including banks and credit unions, investment advisers, and consumer lenders. Wiessmann encourages all businesses to review their cyber-security measures in light of the Equifax breach.</p><p>&#8220;While our financial services community has long recognized the importance of cyber-security, it is incumbent on all businesses to stay current with and follow cyber-security best practices,&#8221; Wiessmann said in a news release. &#8220;The Department of Banking and Securities Cyber-security Task Force provides cyber-security resources for the business community because we recognize the existential threat that hackers and other online criminals present to businesses.&#8221;</p><p>Wiessmann advises that businesses can take several steps to protect themselves and Pennsylvania consumers, including performing due diligence on contracts they may have with Equifax and other companies that handle confidential customer information.</p><p>Additionally, Wiessmann advises businesses to ask themselves these basic questions:</p><p>&#8226; Should our business update our password requirements and expiration procedures? How often do we require our clients to change/update their passwords?</p><p>&#8226; Does our business require the use of multi-factor authentication for accessing sensitive data?</p><p>&#8226; How does our business verify the identity of clients? Do we have procedures in place to catch obvious warning signs, such as mismatched dates, address discrepancies, and multiple incorrect log-in attempts?</p><p>&#8226; Does our business manually verify information, rather than relying solely on electronic documents, which are easier to manipulate?</p><p>&#8226; How are our employees trained in handling stressful &#8220;emergency&#8221; calls, so they can expedite assistance without falling into a criminal&#8217;s trap?</p><p>&#8220;Even if your business does not conduct financial transactions online, stolen information can be used to impersonate, deceive, and steal, potentially devastating both businesses and individuals&#8221; said Wiessmann. &#8220;All business leaders must recognize that it is not a question of &#8216;if&#8217; their organization will be hacked, but &#8216;when&#8217; &#8211; if they have not already been targeted.&#8221;</p><p><strong>Amnesty period nearly over</strong></p><p><strong>for Unemployment Compensation</strong></p><p>Department of Labor &amp; Industry Acting Secretary Jerry Oleksiak this week reminded claimants and businesses that the opportunity to take advantage of Pennsylvania&#8217;s Unemployment Compensation (UC) Amnesty program, which ends Sept. 30, is dwindling fast.</p><p>&#8220;Your opportunity to take advantage of the UC Amnesty program is almost over,&#8221; Oleksiak said in a news release. &#8220;Not making good on your financial obligation can have negative impacts, including being unable to obtain UC benefits in the future or ending up with a damaged credit rating. If you owe money to the UC Trust Fund, pay what you owe at a discount today and &#8216;Make It Right&#8217; before the program ends Sept. 30.&#8221;</p><p>The purpose of the amnesty program is to recoup monies owed to the commonwealth&#8217;s UC Trust Fund. The total amount owed by both claimants and employers who are eligible for the amnesty program is $651 million.</p><p>More than 139,231 claimants and nearly 39,000 employers have received letters advising them of the amnesty program, reminding them how much they owe, and instructing them how to pay it back.</p><p>This is Pennsylvania&#8217;s second UC Amnesty program. The first program launched in 2013 was the first of its kind in the nation. It netted more than $15 million in outstanding UC over-payments and tax liabilities.</p><p><strong>PDE receives $7.2M grant for</strong></p><p><strong>students with behavioral needs</strong></p><p>Gov. Tom Wolf this week announced the Pennsylvania Department of Education will receive $7.2 million for school districts to help with student behavioral health under the &#8220;Middle School Success: The Path to Graduation (P2G)&#8221; grant program.</p><p>&#8220;Pennsylvania must do everything we can to ensure every student is able to succeed, no matter the circumstance,&#8221; Wolf said. &#8220;This grant is critical to helping teachers, administrators and faculty to provide the critical services and resources to schools and students.&#8221;</p><p>More than 24,000 Pennsylvania students are currently identified as having behavioral needs, which could lead to chronic absenteeism and inhibit post-graduate or career success. To better help students, districts across the state will receive funds to aid in ongoing professional development to ensure that every student can succeed.</p><p>This will result in:</p><p>&#8226; School personnel will be better equipped to implement intervention methods and support at-risk students.</p><p>&#8226; Resources will be developed to provide parents and guardians with educational materials.</p><p>&#8226; Middle school building teams will utilize an early warning system to implement action plans for at-risk students.</p><p>The P2G grant will begin in October and extend over the next five years.</p><p><strong>Veterans&#8217; Trust Fund recipients</strong></p><p><strong>acknowledged for outreach work</strong></p><p>Maj. Gen. Tony Carrelli, Pennsylvania&#8217;s adjutant general for the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, personally thanked Veterans&#8217; Trust Fund grant recipients this week for their work in support of the commonwealth&#8217;s nearly 900,000 veterans.</p><p>&#8220;We are proud to distribute these precious resources to organizations that do so much to serve our veterans,&#8221; Carrelli said. &#8220;We want to personally acknowledge the organizations, their staff and volunteers who work tirelessly every day to provide assistance to Pennsylvania&#8217;s veterans and their families. We want them all to know their efforts do not go unnoticed and that they are improving the lives of those who have selflessly served our country.&#8221;</p><p>A total of 14 Pennsylvania counties&#8217; Veterans Affairs Offices received $150,000 in grants, and 16 charitable or veteran service organizations received $500,000 in grants from the Pennsylvania Veterans&#8217; Trust Fund. The grants are funded by generous Pennsylvanians who made a $3 donation when applying for or renewing their driver&#8217;s license or photo ID and renewing a motor vehicle registration; proceeds from the sale of &#8220;Honoring Our Veterans&#8221; license plates; and private donations.</p><p>The DMVA is authorized to solicit and accept donations to the VTF on behalf of the commonwealth. Tax-deductible donations can be made online at www.donate.dmva.pa.gov or mailed to: PA Veterans&#8217; Trust Fund, Bldg. 0-47 Fort Indiantown Gap, Annville, PA 17003.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Wiessmann </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/web1_Robin-Wiessmann.jpg</photo1><caption1>Wiessmann </caption1><photoCredit1></photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Bill O&#8217;Boyle</p><p>boboyle@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Bill O&#8217;Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

State banking secretary advises businesses to take steps against hackers