Whether your team works remotely or in an office, the line between personal and work tasks can become blurred when working on a business computer. If they are in front of a monitor screen for most of the workday, it’s not unusual for them to push boundaries when using the company’s computer. Chances are, most …
Computer Network Security
The security company SonicWall has reported just about 500 million ransomware attacks through September 2021 – a 148% increase compared to the data from the same time period last year. It is very alarming that approximately 714 million attempted ransomware attacks are expected by the end of 2021, a 134% surge overall of 2020. This …
2021 ransomware figures reveal a profound threat for SMBs worldwide
This month, October 2020, is Cybersecurity Awareness month, co-led by the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency (CISA). Its theme, “Do Your Part. #BeCyberSmart.” is designed to empower individuals and organizations to own their role in protecting cyberspace. A key message of this theme is “If You Connect IT, Protect …
10 Tips for National Cybersecurity Awareness Month (October 2020)
COVID-19 pandemic made working remotely the new norm. Because of advances in mobile and networking technologies, employees are increasingly working from various locations, connecting to their offices online. This ability to work from anywhere can be a great benefit for employees who are looking for work-life balance as well as organizations that are committed to …
Every tax professional in the US is a potential target for well-funded and technologically sophisticated cybercriminals who aim to steal your clients’ data. Often their goal is to steal data to steal your EFINs or CAF numbers and impersonate their victims and to file fraudulent tax returns. Cybercriminals use several avenues, including email, fax and …
Did you know? Tax preparers must develop a written Information Security plan
The targeted ransomware event at Hackensack Meridian Health brought the computer network systems down last week, resulting in interruptions across its IT network, including Carrier Clinic in Montgomery and three sub-acute facilities. The Edison-based healthcare company said it had insurance to help cover the costs associated with cyberattacks, including payment, remediation, and recovery efforts. The …
If you want to run commercial transactions, or process your website’s data online securely, you need an SSL certificate for your website. Basically, it gives you the valid encryption for the website – and if you ever wondered what is the difference between domains that have http:// or https:// in the URL, this is it: …
Cyberattack cleanups now come with a sticker shock: increase of 52% now brings the estimated amount to $1.1 million, with potential to increase even further, to a staggering $1.67 million, according to a recent Radware’s 2018-2019 Global Application and Network Security Survey Report, which analyzed vendor-neutral data from 790 IT executives. Cyberattacks not only kill …
Businesses suffer brand damage, loss of productivity, and vicious costs of cyberattacks
Mass hijackings of network traffic and it’s abuse is not new, but with the evolution of technology, so do Man-in-the-Middle type of attacks. A man-in-the-middle attack is an exploit that occurs when an outside attacker intercepts communications between two parties, often a website and an end user. The intruder will usually use the information to …
Beware of Man-in-the-Middle (MitM) Attacks: Network Traffic Hijacking
As a small/medium business owner, patch management may be a somewhat foreign topic reserved for your IT personnel. The following provides a summary-level background of patching, which is relevant to business owners in maintaining appropriate security disciplines in their companies. What is a patch? A patch is a set of changes to a computer program …
What SMB Owners Should Know About Patch Management protocol in IT Security
Communication is one of the most important key aspects of any properly functioning company or organization, and businesses today rely on email as a principal method of communicating with staff members, partners, and clients. While your email infrastructure plays a critical role in the operation of your business, it is also a gateway that can allow …
How Do You Ensure Your Business Email Does Not End Up In The Wrong Hands?
As a small/medium business owner or manager, it is imperative that you have an awareness of cybersecurity related-risks and implement infrastructure and processes to mitigate those risks. According to Verizon’s 2018 Data Breach Investigations Report, 58% of breach victims are categorized as small businesses. Roughly 75% of these breaches are perpetrated by outsiders, while approximately …
Do You Have a Cybersecurity Program for Your Small/Medium Business?
Hackers are possibly working for an advanced nation have infected more than 500,000 home and small-office routers around the world with malware that can be used to collect communications, launch attacks on others, and permanently destroy the devices with a single command, researchers at Cisco warned Wednesday. The malware named VPNFilter is a modular, multi-stage …
[ALERT] 500,000+ Consumer Routers Infected with VPNFilter Malware
There are 12,000 or so laptops found in US airports each week and 62,000 lost electronic devices recovered from New York’s metropolitan buses, taxis, trains, and stations each year! The bottom line is no matter how careful you are with your laptop, mistakes occur and losing a laptop (or having one stolen) is likely to …
Bad Rabbit, a new ransomware, has been quickly spreading across networks in Europe. If this sounds familiar, you are correct – Bad Rabbit is almost identical to previously infamous malware variants WannaCry and Petya infections that wreaked havoc across networks in Europe earlier this year. If you weren’t affected by those before, you probably know someone who was, or have heard …
It’s easy to overlook printers when planning for cybersecurity for your business. Consider this: In 2016, HP reported that 18% of respondents to their survey reported security issues associated with printing devices, while 91% associated the risk with PC devices, 77% – with Mobile devices, and 77% with server devices. However, in reality 64% printers had …
How printers can be the weak links in security – and how to address it
Cybercriminals are always looking for the weakest link in a network to crack the security of your business, hack your systems, and get confidential information. Some hackers do it because they can – and enjoy – spreading malware and damaging systems and data, while others do it for bragging rights, or to demand ransom. Regardless of …
Ignore these 4 aspects, and your Computer Network is vulnerable to cyber attacks
In May of 2017, a WannaCry Ransomware – a malicious computer virus – affected over 200,000 systems in 150 countries all over the globe. A type of virus such as WannaCry blocks access to files on a computer while cybercriminals demand a monetary ransom to decrypt the files and grant access to user data. On June …
Be on alert: a new Ransomware outbreak quickly spreads throughout the world
On May 11, 2017, President Trump issued an Presidential Executive Order on Strengthening the Cybersecurity of Federal Networks and Critical Infrastructure designed to bolster security associated with the U.S. federal government’s information technology. Abdul Hammad, powersolution.com’s Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) and a member of the U.S. Secret Service New York Electronic Crimes Task Force, …
White House Cybersecurity Executive Order: Risk Mitigation by SMBs
There are a lot of totally different ways in which cyber attackers can get to their victims however Netgear may be making it even simpler for them. For over a year now (from August 2016 and January 2017 and forward) there were some vulnerabilities in some Netgear routers. While routers may not seem to be …
When you hear the word “cybercrime”, what comes to mind? Credit card numbers theft? Hacking into your computer? There are several different types of cybercrime, and they are growing at an alarming rate. Hackers are no longer some anti-social loners who crack the code for bragging rights – hacking came of age and is maturing …
With all the hacking virus threats we see in the news feeds today, internal threats seem to have fallen off the list of priorities for many business owners. If you watch industry development trends and recent studies on insider threats, many companies are unaware of or underestimate corporate data leaks – the most dangerous threat …
Earlier this year, President Obama submitted a proposed budget increase of 35% to $19 billion of Federal resources as part of the Cybersecurity National Action Plan. The administration’s comments included stating that cyberthreats “could lead to widespread vulnerabilities in civilian infrastructures and U.S. government systems.” The Pentagon is looking for $34.7 billion for the period …
U.S. Government Seeks 35% Increase in Fiscal 2017 Cybersecurity Budget
As most of you know, the HIPAA Breach Notification Rule, 45 CFR §§ 164.400-414, requires HIPAA covered entities and their business associates to provide notification following a breach of unsecured protected health information. Similar rules apply to vendors of personal health records and their third party service providers, pursuant to section 13407 of the HITECH …
2015 demonstrated how vulnerable organizations are to hacking – [Charts]
Protect your computers, your data, your identity and your money from online criminals 1. Have computer security programs running and regularly updated to defend from the latest threats. Consider using a firewall to prevent unauthorized access to your computer, and install antivirus software to protect against malware that can take your data hostage (ransomware), or …
Securing small or medium business data has become increasingly challenging as malicious cybercriminals and hackers have become more sophisticated and ubiquitous. Routinely, press articles are releasing stories of data breaches, lost customer records, financial losses due to cyberattacks, and company embarrassment. Additionally, hacking techniques have evolved to multi-stage techniques. This means that an initial system …
How to Secure Your Small or Medium Business Data? Utilize Layered Security Techniques
Just in the recent days, I have received a large number of emails (most are not even addressed to me) that represents a small drop in millions of fraudulent, phishing emails that are circulating the web, hitting unsuspecting users’ email inboxes. I have inquired with few of my friends and colleagues, and searched the interned …
Another wave of fake American Express security emails phishing for your personal information
The Exploit Comcast, a large internet provider for many home and business users, was the target of a sophisticated social engineering / malware attack. The new tech support threat, outlined by MalwareBytes, tricks users into thinking they have an infection on their computer and that they should call a fake Comcast tech support number to …
A new rise of IT risks are on the loose, an email scam requesting a fake wire transfer and a new variant of CryptoWall. It is estimated that the fake wire transfer scam has stolen around $1.2 billion and CrytpoWall 3.0, a CryptoWall variant released in January 2015, has already extorted an estimated $325 million. …
You may have received an innocent-looking email. Something that feels official. Like a bill, or an account update, or your bank’s notice. It looks legit. But once you open it, a ransomware takes control over your computer, demanding a sum of money in exchange for your data. Our IT Support Plan secures your Business Computer …
Got an innocent-looking email? Businesses and even local government are falling prey to this one!
As you may know from the news broadcasts, last week 36 million names, addresses and phone numbers of registered users at the Ashley Madison site (which makes it easy to cheat on your spouse) were posted on the Internet. All these records are now out in the open, exposing highly sensitive personal information. Internet criminals …
Virus and scam alert: beware the “Your spouse was found in the Ashley Madison list” subject line
In 2014, CryptoWall, a new and improved copycat version of CryptoLocker has exceeded in infection rates, and now in 2015 they are making new waves around the globe, infecting more computers. Crypto virus family is a malicious program known as ransomware, making rounds typically hitting computers via email attachments or via botnets, demanding money from …
Are you ready to pay the Ransom for your private or business data?
A new line of bogus emails are being sent out with a malicious cause. Similarly to recent attack methods to deliver the CryptoLocker virus, which was covered in a previous blog post, Beware of CryptoLocker Trojan Ransomware, an email is sent claiming that you have received an incoming e-fax and to get the fax you …
Dawn of the USB Drive Flash drives are ubiquitous in today’s digital society. It is an easy, cost-effective way to transfer large amounts of data from computer to computer. With devices reaching 256GB of storage, users are storing more and more data on these small handy plastic devices. But what happens when that device is …
As you may have heard, a major security vulnerability dubbed “Heartbleed,” was discovered some time ago in OpenSSL. Here is what you need to know right away: 1. The Heartbleed Bug is a serious vulnerability in the popular OpenSSL cryptographic software library. The Heartbleed bug allows anyone on the Internet to read the memory of …
This threat is not quite new – CryptorBit ransomware virus was first introduced in late 2013 on the tail of the CryptoLocker we reported on several times last year; but CryptoBit has a new spin, and has been increasingly active in the recent days. 6 Quick facts about CryptorBit CryptorBit, or as it is also …
CryptorBit Alert – and 6 Quick facts about this harmful virus
I am typically busy during my day, sending and receiving tons of email and browsing multiple resources on the web during my research hours. I feel my computer is safe while I am at it – I have a killer anti-virus protection on my computer network (Thanks to our partner ESET for keeping it safe, …
7 reasons to worry about Trojan viruses, and 1 more reason to worry right now
An interesting article was posted today at Computer Weekly, titled “Upfront security better and cheaper, says expert“. The main takeaway for the business owners can be summed up in this quote from the founder of application security firm DigitalBodyGuard: A secure infrastructure can be developed for the same cost in the same time as an …
Some of today’s BYOD – “bring your own” mobile devices are not always company-owned. You may think it saves you money by not buying devices for your employees – but it also means that your IT department can’t always control what takes place when your employees use the devices – at work or at home. …
How to Minimize Risk with your Employees BYOD – laptops, phones and tablets
Every now and then we all have to run through the system update – some of us are aware of it (those who run it themselves), and others (typically those who have their IT department do it for them) are not. Have you seen this dialog window before? Do you actually know what is happening …
A team of hackers has managed to crack more than 14,800 supposedly random hashed (encrypted) passwords -90% from a list of 16,449. This act was part of a hacking experiment for a technology website Ars Technica. So, you think you have a strong password? The success rate for each hacker ranged from 62% to 90%, …
Hackers crack 16-character passwords in less than 60 minutes
Here is a perfect illustration to Mistake #5 from our previously published Are You Too Trusting? 5 Common Computer Security Mistakes every SMB owner makes blog article. For those of us who think that small business owners should not worry about becoming cyber-crime victims, a news comes from Marysville, Ohio: a report from a private …
Small Business Falls Prey to Cyber Crime – Pizza shop hacked in Ohio
Privacy day is here! Here is you homework for today: When signing up or using any sites that store any of your data – READ the privacy policy. Most places share your data with their “affiliates” and if you did not read fine print, it can have some undesirable consequence. Check privacy and location data …
Ransomware (also known as cryptoviruses, cryptotrojans or cryptoworms) comprises a class of malware, or a virus which restricts access to the computer system that it infects. In addition it demands a payment, which is basically a ransom in order for the restriction to be resolved. Complexity of ransomware varies: from basic HTML pages acting as …
Few days ago, a court in the United States has announced a judgment of more than $163 million against defendants in the FTC case agains “scareware” operation. This case had started on December 2, 2008, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed a Complaint in federal court against Innovative Marketing, Inc., ByteHosting Internet Services, LLC, …
2 years ago, in 2010 Imperva report identified the most commonly used passwords; here are top 5 that discovered by analyzing 32 million passwords exposed in the Rockyou.com breach. 123456 12345 123456789 Password iloveyou Now, in 2012, Eset released a new report based on the 6 million, and top 5 include: password 123456 12345678 1234 …
As you may have heard/read by now, Chrome fixed 20 security vulnerabilities for it’s 20.0 version. 20/20, if you will. But wait! Aren’t you amazed (I know I am) that one-digit decimal is no longer heard of when it comes to new releases of software. As consumers, we are used to things that can be …
Fixes recently implemented for some of Chrome’s security vulnerabilities
A new trend is starting to emerge across all corporate networks, employees bringing their own, consumer based devices into work and requesting that they be attached to the corporate network. This new trend is known as Bring Your Own Device (BYOD). Users are shifting away from corporate issued smart phones, which have typically been Blackberry devices, to devices they …
Security firm Intego is warning about new variants of an “insidious” Trojan that aims to steal information that can exploit user identity details from Mac users. How Flashback Mac Trojan infects Macs Methods of infections depend on the version of the Flashback. The previous version of malware has several methods of infection, and aims at …
We provide computer network security assessment for businesses in our service area, including New Jersey, New York metro region. The goal of this assessment, (also known as a security audit or security review), is to ensure that necessary controls are integrated into the design and integration of a network. A properly completed security assessment should …
What does year 2012 hold for us in terms of improving IT security? Here are just a few topics: Log Management & Analysis As we begin to understand how such information can be used to benefit security, log analysis is being included in security products by many vendors, for example, LogLogic, Logrhythm, and Tripwire. Both …
Small Businesses Vulnerability Most hackers are looking for the easiest way to break in – and majority of small businesses storing valuable data are an easy target. Some of the vulnerabilities are granted by lack of security budgets or by pure ignorance to the issues of computer network security. Small businesses are more likely to …
Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) is here. 60% of companies are enabling BYOD, according to a July 2011 Forrester Research survey. There is an explosion of mobile devices in the enterprise – devices both corporate- and personally-owned. Mobility boosts employee productivity, but it also opens the doors for security, legal and privacy concerns. Devices security, …
Learn how you may be putting your office and your business at risk every day OK, I admit it: the computer cannot do the damage all by itself. You, as a computer user, are responsible for what you do with it. Companies big and small are getting compromised every day; some by a random virus, …
10 Sure Ways to Compromise Your Business While Using a Computer
Cybersecurity experts have long warned that computer hackers could potentially target electric power sources, such as power plants and electrical grids, and that these attacks could affect vital infrastructures, including hospitals and water treatment plants. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said at the cybersecurity event sponsored by the Washington Post, that a major …
As reported today by various sources, on June 23, 2011 in Newark, Daniel Spitler, 26, of San Francisco, California, pleaded guilty in federal court to hacking into AT&T’s computer servers last year and stealing the e-mail addresses and personal data of about 114,000-120,000 Apple iPad users, out of which 16,000 belong to New Jersey users. …
Spitler Pleads Guilty – 16,000 New Jerseyans Affected by Hacker
Creating a strong password may seem like a pretty simple concept. In fact, many websites even tell you when your password is “good” or “strong”. Unfortunately, many people still overlook the vital rules to creating a strong password. Always make your passwords longer than six characters Include a blend of uppercase, lowercase, numbers and special …
