Have you taken on any new staff recently?
If not it should, because both new hires and seasoned are at risk from something called social engineering.
Social Engineering is a clever way that criminals trick people into making a bank payment, clicking an unsafe link, or downloading a file containing malware.
For example, they might hack into someone’s account and send an email that seems to be from a real supplier, changing the bank details for invoice payments.
With so many people working from home, these socially engineered attacks have risen, possibly because we’re less alert to the dangers as we feel safe at home.
All it takes is a momentary lapse in judgement by anyone for your organization to suffer a loss.
Fortunately, there is a tool available to help keep your organization stay safe against the dangers of social engineering: Cybersecurity training.
If you are interested in learning more about Cybersecurity Training and how my team can help you, give us a call at 716-373-4467 x 15, email [email protected], or fill out the form below!
Read More
Are you afraid of ransomware? You have a good reason to be.
Ransomware occurs when a criminal gets access to your data, and then encrypts it. The data is still there, but you cannot read it or use it.
You then must pay a large ransom fee, most commonly in Bitcoin, to get your data back. It can devastate and even bankrupt a business all thanks to one click on one bad link.
Here are three scary stats that can show how bad ransomware has become:
- Scary Stat #1: About 1 in 3,000 emails that get through filters contain malware. Think about how many emails you receive in a day; how long will it take for a dangerous email to reach your inbox?
- Scary Stat #2: This year, a ransomware attack on a business can be carried out every 11 seconds. Of the businesses hit, many pay the ransom. However, many of them still may not get their data back.
- Scary Stat #3: If your organization is hit with ransomware, it can lead to a long downtime period, as well as a high cost of cleaning your network and retrieving data.
It’s vital that you take this threat to your business seriously. Thanks to the pandemic, ransomware is on the rise, and if your business is unprepared, sooner or later you will lose data to an attack.
Always make sure:
- You have the latest versions of security software and all updates installed
- Your backup is working every day
- Your people have been trained about the risks
Our team can help to keep your organization protected and help prevent ransomware from occurring. These are conversations that we will be having with our managed services clients. If you would like to start the conversation on how to prevent ransomware, give us a call at 716-373-4467 x 15, email [email protected] or fill out the form below!
Read More
With all the changes the pandemic has brought on, have your business costs increased?
Do you have a new IT plan and budget for the rest of this year, and into 2022?
Some businesses are planning long term changes to their IT, thanks to COVID 19 and making flexible working permanent.
Other businesses will be using their IT budget on training to support their remote workers and others plan to improve their security, risk and governance.
What will your organization focus on for 2022?
Will you need to improve your own cyber security measures to include a permanent work from home policy?
Will you require better ways for your teams to communicate, share files and work on projects?
Perhaps you’ll need to invest in more cloud services?
These are all conversations we will be having with our Managed Services Clients. To have our team help you and your organization put a plan together, give us a call at 716-373-3367 x 15, email [email protected] or fill out the form below!
Read More
There has been a lot in the news over the last few weeks about ransomware attacks and we want to help clarify some things.
First, what is a ransomware attack? During a ransomware attack, a criminal gains access to your data and then encrypts it. The data is still there, but you can no longer read it or use it.
If you don’t have secured, unaffected backups in place, the most common way to get your data back is to pay a large ransom fee, typically in Bitcoin. (Do you know how much downtime costs your business? Check out our calculator to help determine what your potential recovery costs could be!)
Second, what effect can ransomware have on your business? It can be devastating. It can cost your business thousands of dollars to reinstate your data and secure your network even without paying the ransom. It can also cause days of downtime.
Third, how do criminals get in? There are typically three ransomware attack methods:
- Exploit kits: These are used to compromise a website with hidden code in advertisements (known as malvertizing). They secretly redirect you to an unsecure page and download a malicious payload which infects your system.
- Malicious attachments in email: Often, malicious emails look genuine and appear to be sent by someone you know and trust within your business, a supplier, or even your bank. When you open the attachment, the ransomware is triggered and infects your device.
- Malicious links in email: You receive a link via email, which infects your device when you click it. These emails also seem to be from a believable source which is why so many people are tricked into clicking them.
The more prepared and protected you are, the better off you will be. Give us a call at 716-373-4467 x 15 or email [email protected] to learn more about how our team can help prevent malicious attacks and keep your organization safe!
Read More
The dark side of the web that is.
The dark web is a hidden section of the internet that you need a special browser to access. Its pages aren’t indexed by search engines and it hosts a lot of illicit dealings.
It isn’t all bad, though. Sometimes the dark web can be used for above board purposes. For example, journalists may use it to interview sources who wish to remain anonymous.
Regardless, the criminal activity there is huge, with a multitude of illegal items being sold. One of the other high demand products for sale is data.
Unfortunately, this could also mean your data.
If you’ve ever had a company inform you that it’s had a data breech, it’s likely your details could be floating around the dark web. If that’s the case, it’s only a matter of time until you’re targeted by cyber criminals.
While you can’t do much about your data being breached, you can stay a step ahead, and stop cyber criminals from accessing your accounts by:
- Using a password manager to create unique passwords for all your accounts and apps.
- Implementing multi-factor authentication where possible to add an additional layer of protection (usually by generating a login code on another device).
It can be difficult to navigate data security, so if you’d like some help, we’re here for you. You learn more, give us a call at 716-373-4467 x 15, email [email protected], or fill out the form below!
Read More
