Common opinion more or less states that passwords aren’t so much “necessary,” as they are a “necessary evil.” The best practices that are recommended to maintain the efficacy of passwords today can certainly feel excessive – which tempts many users into ignoring these practices, to the detriment of their security. Fortunately, many large companies – like Google – are trying to make passwords easier to manage.
The modern threat landscape is filled with horror stories of people that have been the victim of software vulnerabilities, hackers, and situations that could have been managed differently. Today, we will go over some of the best ways to keep your business from being a victim of a data breach, data theft, or malware attack.
Ransom: a sum of money is demanded in order for the release of goods.
Software: the programs and other operating information used by a computer.
What do you get when you combine the two? Ransomware.
People’s exposure to cybercrime has been increasing for some time. Today, people with very little coding experience can infiltrate systems and steal data. There is demand for data, and now there is a supply of low-cost–or even free–hacking tools available on the dark web that allows people to get closer to that data. In fact, according to a report by Deloitte entitled Black Market Ecosystem: Estimating the Cost of “Pwnership”, there is a complete economy built around these readily-available hacking tools that are relatively easy to use.
Let’s run through a quick scenario: your company’s computing infrastructure is infected with ransomware. Fortunately, you have an offsite backup, so you are able to restore your systems without too much trouble, other than the time you’ve lost. As you investigate the root cause, you discover that one of your employees allowed the ransomware in by falling for a phishing email. So, do you fire them?
You’d be hard-pressed to find someone nowadays who hasn’t heard of malware, although they may have difficulty identifying different threats as they encounter them. Does this sound like the people that you work with? We’re here with a simple solution to assist you and your team in spotting the different kinds of threats – a malware guide to distribute among your staff so they can better spot the usual suspects.
Imagine a scenario where your password has been stolen by a hacker. Now your accounts are completely at the mercy of them. What do you do? Obviously you want to change the password, but are you going to learn from this mistake or let it happen again in the future? Thankfully, two-factor authentication offers a solution to this dilemma, and it’s one that you might not have considered in the past.
Robocalls plague the world’s smartphone users, but have you ever stopped to ask why you receive them in the first place? Why are robocallers able to hide behind a local number so that you pick up the phone? Scammers are actually using a business tool you may have heard of… Voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP, a modern phone solution that in the hands of anyone else is extremely helpful.
The man in the middle has a lot of power and influence over the end result, and this is true even in the technological world. In fact, there are attacks dedicated to this vector, twisting and turning something that your organization needs into what amounts to a threat. We’ll discuss what a Man-in-the-Middle (MitM) attack is, as well as what you can do to combat these threats.
Social media has overtaken both the professional and personal aspects of online communication and connection, and while it might provide a considerable boon for both, it increases the odds of being contacted by scams and other malicious attempts. The best way to make sure you don’t fall prey to a scam is to remain vigilant. Today we’ll discuss the various scams that are created for use with social media.
