Sarah Nicholas

President, Serendipity Communications

United States

I am a dedicated, passionate storyteller and communications professional who thrives on helping organizations flourish by finding and conveying their voice. I have over 20 years of experience managing engagement and communications programs for non-profits and high tech companies, including telecommunications and software providers and information security organizations. I blossom when I collaborate with people who apply their talents, passion, and influence to improve lives.

Portfolio

Articles & Blogs

Amerisbank
Reboot Your Security Sense with QR Codes

As a result of the pandemic, Quick Response codes have made a comeback. If you're not familiar with the term, QR codes are barcode-like symbols that have started appearing on restaurant menus, business cards and marketing materials. Scanning the code using your phone automatically directs you to more content - such as the restaurant's daily specials or a coupon.

Faith Today
Conflict reimagined - Deepen discipleship, not division

Sarah Nicholas of The Colossian Forum introduces resources to help Christian leaders transform cultural conflicts into opportunities for spiritual growth and witness. Polarization has penetrated churches of every denomination across North America. Michael O. Emerson, a sociologist at the University of Illinois at Chicago and author of several books on American religion, recently told Bloomberg, "I've been studying religion and religious congregations for 30 years.

Amerisbank
Strong Authentication: The New Standard in Password Protection

Our time in quarantine has taught us many things, including how much of our lives we live online. Shouldn't we do everything we can to protect ourselves while we're banking, streaming, and Zooming? Strong passwords are a great place to start, but given the systems we have in place now, they're no longer enough to protect us.

Amerisbank
Protecting Yourself Against Wire Fraud

Wire transfer fraud is a growing epidemic of its own. Wire transfers are attractive to criminals because they're almost impossible to recover given their immediate payment and final settlement nature. They're especially common during real estate transactions because they involve large sums of money, whether a new home purchase or a refinance.

Amerisbank
Rebuilding Your Credit after Identity Theft

It only takes one breach to become a victim to identify theft. In fact, according to Lifelock, one in four people has experienced identity theft. The good news? Despite many assumptions to the contrary, according to the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC), 2020 actually saw a 19% decrease in data breaches from 2019, resulting in a 66% decrease in the number of individuals impacted.

Amerisbank
You Can Beat the Latest Security Breaches

It's that time of year-when the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC) releases its half-year data breach analysis report. Given how much of our lives played out online over the last 18 months and how cyber criminals have risen to the occasion, you may not be surprised to know that 2021 is on pace to be a record year for data breaches.

Amerisbank
Is Cleaning Your Computer Necessary?

Absolutely. Between dust and clutter, a dirty computer can really slow you down. But in no more than two hours, you can restore your computer to its brand-new, out-of-the-box glory - both inside and out. Here's what you need to do to clean your computer: Unplug your device.

Amerisbank
Fraud Stops for Nothing - Not Even a Pandemic

It's a shame we have to protect ourselves when we're most vulnerable. But, that's exactly what cyber criminals wait for - a chance to catch us off guard, find loopholes in the system and exploit our vulnerabilities.

Amerisbank
Online Shopping Tips to Keep You and Your Information Safe & Secure

If you're like most Americans, you've shopped online more than usual during quarantine. With many stores still closed and/or with smaller inventories, online shopping has become our go-to option for essential and non-essential purchases. As usual, cybercriminals are keeping stride.

Amerisbank
Back to (Virtual) School - Digital Safety Tips for Parents

School looks unusual this year. Whether students are all-virtual, all in-person, or some combination, kids will spend several hours a day online. This means they're more vulnerable to online threats, such as cyberbullying, unsafe posting and internet predators.

Amerisbank
It's Tax Season: Keep Calm and Carry On

This is no ordinary tax season. Our apprehension is normally high during this time, but with the coronavirus outbreak landscape shifting daily, our collective anxiety is higher than normal - just the kind of environment cybercriminals thrive in.

Amerisbank
Think Like an Athlete: The Tailgater's Guide to Cyber Safety

It's almost here! Football season, complete with cooler temperatures, car flags, painted faces, canopies, coolers and grills in the parking lot and that palatable electricity in the air. Tailgating, in addition to describing the practice of pre-game gatherings, is also a physical security breach - often conducted through social engineering in which an unauthorized person follows an authorized individual to enter a secured premise.

Amerisbank
Own IT. Secure IT. Protect IT.

Every October since 2004, National Cybersecurity Awareness Month has provided Americans the occasion to assess our personal cybersecurity profile. This year's theme is 'Own IT. Secure IT. Protect IT.' Run by the National Cybersecurity Alliance, this year's campaign aims to encourage personal accountability and proactive behavior in digital privacy, security best practices, common cyber threats and cybersecurity careers.

Amerisbank
2020: The Year of Privacy

As we ease into a new decade, it's hard to forget that data is the currency of our digital age. In fact, a recent Pew Research Center poll found that roughly six in ten Americans believe it is not possible to go through daily life without their data being collected.

Amerisbank
Is Cleaning Your Computer Necessary?

Absolutely. Between dust and clutter, a dirty computer can really slow you down. But in no more than two hours, you can restore your computer to its brand-new, out-of-the-box glory - both inside and out. Think of it as a spa treatment for your computer.

Ameris Bank
12/17/2018
Cyber Safety: How to Avoid a Holiday Financial Hangover

Cookies, candies and fudge - oh, my! The holidays bring a host of temptations that can take months of dieting and exercise to undo. With cybercrime rampant and consumers especially vulnerable, the holiday season can also wreak havoc on your wallet well beyond your shopping budget.

Ameris Bank
11/12/2018
Love Online Shopping? So Do Cybercriminals - Ameris Bank

Do you love the hustle and bustle of Black Friday? Or do you prefer to shop from the comfort of your phone, coffee in hand? If you chose the latter, you're not alone. According to market research firm Criteo, last year, 40% of Black Friday online purchases were made on mobile phones, up from 29% in 2016.

Dark Reading
Workplace Data Privacy Vs. Security: The New Balance

Over the last 15 years, security interests have largely silenced the data privacy debate, leaving companies and employees around the world paying a high price. Today, this focus on security has created a backlash, one that I predict foreshadows a new balance in workplace privacy and security that will tilt more toward individual protection.

Dark Reading
What Workplace Privacy Will Look Like In 10 Years

New laws like Europe's "right to be forgotten" in Google search are just the latest examples of how quickly perceptions and practices about personal privacy in the workplace are changing. Ralph's pajamas gently vibrate him awake. While he is still in bed, he gestures into the air, bringing up a computer interface woven into his pajamas.

Dark Reading
Workplace Privacy: Big Brother Is Watching

Companies may have the right to monitor employees who are checking their bank balances or shopping online on corporate networks. The real question is, should they? The technological sophistication of employee monitoring tools available today gives companies the power to scrutinize virtually every move an employee makes using keyboard logging, cellphone tapping, tracking devices attached to office badges -- even chairs that vibrate when an employee gets up from his or her desk.

(ISC)2 Blog
Making Cyber Security Awareness a Year-Round Pursuit

It's hard to believe we're almost through November and that National Cyber Security Awareness Month (NCSAM) (October) has come and gone. As we enter the busiest online shopping season of the year, however, I challenge you to reflect on the message of NCSAM - STOP.THINK.CONNECT.

(ISC)2 Blog
National Cybersecurity Awareness Month: YOU Have the Power to Change Cybersecurity

National Cybersecurity Awareness Month in October is the perfect time to reflect on what you're doing to overcome the cybersecurity skills shortage. That's right - you - personally. According to Dr. Jane LeClair, COO for the National Cybersecurity Institute at Excelsior College, the cybersecurity skills shortage is everyone's problem, and we all have a responsibility to meet this need.

(ISC)2 Blog
70 Years after Bletchley Park, People are Still the Key

Like many fields, the global recession has taken a toll on the information security profession. As I reflect on the challenges many of our members are facing, the contributions of those working at Bletchley Park decades ago puts the events of the last year into perspective and is a good reminder that even in the darkest times, people are at the root of effective security.

(ISC)2 Blog
(ISC)² GAP Instructor's Mantra: "Never Stop Learning"

Meet Donnie Grimes, (ISC)² Global Academic Program (GAP) instructor and vice president of information systems and creator of the master's program in cybersecurity for the University of the Cumberlands. Oh, and budding sound man. When he's not teaching, Donnie works on sound engineering and mixing at live events.

Media Coverage

WSJ
11/12/2021
Churches Changed During the Pandemic and Many Aren't Going Back

Religious leaders are trying to attract members for the long haul, learning from innovative approaches forced by disease and lockdowns such as online services and smaller gatherings. "What we are trying to build is something that is Covid-proof and recession-proof."

Nytimes
11/04/2001
Business; A Phone Upstart, Still Annoying the Giants

Z-Tel Technologies, small, publicly traded residential-phone company based in Tampa, Fla, seeks to win customers away from big regional companies like Ameritech and Verizon Communications by offering discounted plans for local and long-distance service that include features like voice mail and call waiting, along with call-forwarded and unlimited calls to

neafamily.com
01/04/2017
Garfield: A New Partner in Cyber Safety

Children are navigating the internet at increasingly younger ages. For parents, it's difficult to both stay current with the rapidly changing online world, and find a way to interest young children in internet safety.

ComputerWeekly
Employee monitoring under the radar, says security expert

Edward Snowden has stirred debate about US and UK spy agency internet surveillance, but corporate employee monitoring barely gets a mention, says David Melnick chief executive of WebLife Balance. "Everyone is talking about online surveillance at a national level, but no-one is talking about employee monitoring by corporates, which is the great untold story," he told Computer Weekly.

The Wall Street Journal
12/19/2020
Abortion, Guns and Trump: A Church Tries to Navigate America's Divisions

The country is split like rarely before. Disagreements over politics, Covid-19 and social issues are dividing people into irreconcilable camps. The phenomenon is felt acutely in church, a place where worshipers seek an escape from the tensions of everyday life.

OrlandoSentinel.com
09/14/2016
Garfield creator launches cyber safety campaign in Orlando

In her 28 years as an educator, Renee Maples has seen little improvement in systems to protect children when they surf the Internet. That may be changing as of Wednesday, when Garfield comic strip creator Jim Davis helped the Center for Cyber Safety and Education launch a new national campaign that features the well-known orange cat.

Mynews13
03/31/2017
Garfield the cat takes on cybersecurity for kids in new safety course

An online social media post can lead to serious consequences. Now kids as young as seven years old are learning what they should and shouldn't post online. Garfield's Cyber Safety Adventures Teaches kids as young as 7 what they can post online Rachel Pommer is in just the third grade, and she's already come face to face with dangers online.

Dark Reading
Security Industry Takes Steps To Close Gender Gap

A recent surge of programs and initiatives to nurture women and girl's interests and careers in cybersecurity and technology bodes well for an industry that desperately needs to close a persistent gender gap. Finally, some good news for growing gender gap in cybersecurity and technology: several new initiatives recently have launched to bring cybersecurity and IT education and career development to young girls and women.

The Mommy Factor:
03/28/2017
Jim Davis Interview for 'Cyber Safety' Garfield Cartoons

Like many adults my age, I grew up reading the Garfield comics in the newspaper or watching Garfield cartoons on TV. But these days Garfield can also be found online. And he's talking about Cyber Safety! But why?