UnHacked - Cybersecurity Made Simple for Small Businesses

88. Garbage In, Business Gone: Using AI Productively Without Handing Hackers the Keys

Hosts: Justin Shelley — https://www.phoenixitadvisors.com/ [https://www.phoenixitadvisors.com/] Mario Zaki — https://www.mazteck.com/ [https://www.mazteck.com/] Bryan Lachapelle — https://www.b4networks.ca/ [https://www.b4networks.ca/] Joshua Holloway — https://7thdi.com/ [https://7thdi.com/] AI is the most powerful tool your business has ever had access to — and one of the most dangerous if you don't know what you're doing. In Episode 88 of UnHacked, Justin, Mario, Bryan, and Josh pull back the curtain on what AI really is (hint: it's math, not magic), how to use it to multiply your productivity by 10–50x, and the critical security mistakes businesses are making right now. In this episode: Why AI "hallucinates," leads you down rabbit holes, and how to stop it * Custom GPTs: Real-world examples from the hosts — legal document review, construction reports, quarterly planning, and podcast production * The terminated employee who used AI-generated scripts to keep re-enabling their own access — while being escorted out * Why "vibe coding" already deleted one company's entire database (and how to make sure it doesn't happen to you) * Prompting tips that will immediately make your AI smarter and more useful * How to build your own custom AI assistant — even if you've never written a line of code This is Week 2 of a 12-week AI series designed to take business owners from "I use it like Google" to running a secure, productive AI-powered operation. Subscribe, share, and visit unhackmybusiness.com for resources, tools, and a free security assessment.

87. The AI Starter Kit Every Business Owner Needs — Before Your Competitors Beat You to It

Hosts & Guests: Justin Shelley — Phoenix IT Advisors | https://www.phoenixitadvisors.com/ [https://www.phoenixitadvisors.com/] Mario Zaki — Mazteck IT | https://www.mazteck.com/ [https://www.mazteck.com/] Bryan Lachapelle — B4 Networks | https://www.b4networks.ca/ [https://www.b4networks.ca/] Joshua Holloway — 70i Technologies |https://7thdi.com/ [https://7thdi.com/] What if you could get 10x, 20x — even 50x — more done in your business without hiring a single new employee? In Episode 87 of UnHacked, the hosts kick off an all-new 12-episode series dedicated to helping business owners harness the power of AI — safely, practically, and profitably. Joining the crew for the first time is Joshua Holloway, CEO of 70i Technologies, the man credited as the quiet inspiration behind the hosts' own AI journeys. Josh brings a compliance-focused perspective on AI adoption that every regulated business needs to hear. This episode covers: * Why "free" AI tools are a security risk — and the one checkbox you must find (and keep checking) to protect your business data * The paid vs. free platform debate — ChatGPT and Claude go head-to-head, and a third secure option is introduced: Hatz AI (hatz.ai) * Real-world productivity wins — from a salesperson who cut proposal time from 3 hours to 5 minutes (that's a 36x improvement) to a marketing team producing 5-industry-specific blog posts in 1 hour instead of 8–10 * Why non-coders are now building full apps — Mario had zero coding experience before AI. That story will change how you think about what's possible * How to use AI as an email filter, a meeting analyst, a sales coach, and even a therapist — practical use cases you can start today * Your homework assignment — one simple task every listener should complete before next week's episode Whether you're completely new to AI or you've been dabbling and feel stuck, this episode is your on-ramp. The hosts promise: if you follow this 12-week series, your business will be unrecognizable by the end. Crawl. Walk. Run. It starts here. 🔒 UnHacked is produced by Phoenix IT Advisors — helping businesses use technology to make money, and protecting that money from hackers, fines, and lawsuits. Subscribe, leave a review, and visit unhackmybusiness.com for show notes, assignments, and resource links.

86. Your Business Has No Plan for When It Gets Hacked — Here's How to Fix That

Hosts: Justin Shelley — Phoenix IT Advisors | https://www.phoenixitadvisors.com/ [https://www.phoenixitadvisors.com/] Mario Zaki — Mazteck IT | https://www.mazteck.com/ [https://www.mazteck.com/] Bryan Lachapelle — B4 Networks | https://www.b4networks.ca/ [https://www.b4networks.ca/] Most businesses don't have a plan for when they get hacked. Not if — when. In Episode 86 of UnHacked, Justin, Mario, and Bryan dig into one of the least glamorous — but most critically important — topics in cybersecurity: policies, procedures, and incident response planning. Here's the hard truth they unpack: your firewall won't save you if your people don't know what to do. The gap between a breach and a catastrophe is almost always human behavior — and that's exactly what policies and incident response plans are designed to address. In this episode, you'll learn: The top 3 policies every business needs right now (including one you've almost certainly overlooked) * Why most policies fail — and the three elements every good policy must have * How to build a genuine security culture, not just a signed employee handbook nobody reads * What an incident response plan actually covers (hint: it's not just an IT problem) * The single most important document a business owner can create to protect themselves legally and operationally PLUS — a major announcement: the UnHacked team is launching a free portal to help business owners score their cybersecurity posture, build an action plan, and hold their IT providers accountable. Want to know how secure your business really is? Get a free cybersecurity risk assessment at phoenixitadvisors.com — mention UnHacked.

85. They're Already Inside: How Hackers Live in Your Business Undetected for Months

Hosts: Justin Shelley — Phoenix IT Advisors | https://www.phoenixitadvisors.com/ [https://www.phoenixitadvisors.com/] Bryan Lachapelle — B4 Networks | https://www.b4networks.ca/ [https://www.b4networks.ca/] Mario Zaki — Mazteck IT | https://www.mazteck.com/ [https://www.mazteck.com/] What if someone was already living in your business — watching everything, stealing data, using your resources — and you had absolutely no idea? In Episode 85 of UnHacked, Justin, Bryan, and Mario tackle one of the most overlooked gaps in cybersecurity: logging, monitoring, and detection. Most businesses (and even most IT providers) invest heavily in preventing attacks — but almost no one has a plan for detecting them once they're already in. And they will get in. The hosts share real-world stories of attackers living undetected inside business networks for months — creating hidden admin accounts, mining cryptocurrency, exfiltrating data, and worse — all while the business owner had no idea. They break down what a Security Operations Center (SOC) actually does, why "mean time to detection" could be the most important metric you've never heard of, and why this is one cybersecurity layer you absolutely cannot DIY. Key takeaways: * Ask your IT provider: "What are we doing for detection and response?" — and be prepared for the answer. * Once you know you're unprotected, you're legally and ethically obligated to act. * Monitoring without expert review is just noise — you need the right people watching. 🔒 Think your business is protected? Find out for free at unhackmybusiness.com

84. The Vendor You Trust Most Could Be Your Biggest Security Risk

Hosts: Justin Shelley — Phoenix IT Advisors: https://www.phoenixitadvisors.com/ [https://www.phoenixitadvisors.com/] Mario Zaki — Mazteck IT: https://www.mazteck.com/ [https://www.mazteck.com/] Do you know exactly which vendors have access to your business systems, your data, or your network? If the honest answer is "not really" — this episode is for you. In Episode 84 of UnHacked, Justin Shelley and Mario Zaki tackle one of the most overlooked threats in cybersecurity: vendor risk and third-party access. This is the 10th installment in their deep-dive mini-series on cybersecurity fundamentals, and it may be the most eye-opening yet. The guys share a real-world story of an MSP who was breached through his own remote management software — encrypting not just his systems, but every single one of his clients' systems — and what his one-word lesson was when it was all over. You'll learn: * Why your least secure vendor is your biggest security liability * How to find remote access software lurking on your network (and what to do with it) * The simple first step every business owner can take today — no IT degree required * What questions to ask your MSP to make sure they aren't your weakest link * How AI can help you sort through thousands of installed applications in minutes Whether you're in construction, healthcare, finance, or any industry where you rely on vendors and subcontractors, this episode will change how you think about who you're letting in the door. 📌 Resources and episode links: unhackmybusiness.com 🔒 Get your free cybersecurity risk assessment: phoenixitadvisors.com