June 2021

We have some bad news for you. Currently, many businesses fail to realize that network security is more than just protecting the path to valuable data. Business owners don’t realize that an important factor in protecting their network resides with human involvement and how well they are trained. 

Two things aren’t going away in any business: employees and security threats. Make sure that you’ve taken care of everything you can to avoid falling victim to these attacks. 

You can have every piece of security hardware available: firewall, backup disaster recovery device, and even anti-virus. However, your employees will still be the biggest vulnerability in your organization when it comes to phishing attacks. Is it possible to mitigate this risk? 

Ask yourself these questions: Do your employees know how to protect your network and all the data within it? Can they spot a malicious email or link before clicking on it? Do your staff members know how to secure your digital information from social exploits by sophisticated hackers? Are you using an outdated operating system that is no longer supported? 

In this blog we’ll offer you some tips on password creation, training your employees, and how to spot a malicious email. These are key factors to the security of your database. One breach, one crack in your security and you may fall victim to stolen data, ransomware, and the possibility of closing your doors. 

Here is a list of some of the things you can do to protect yourself: 

Create and Strictly Enforce a Password Policy:  

Passwords should be complex, randomly generated, and replaced regularly. To test the strength of your password, go to howsecureismypassword.com. (This is a perfectly safe service provided by a password protection platform. The program tells you how long it would take a hacker to decode your password.) 

When creating your new password policy, bear in mind that the most prevalent attacks are “Dictionary Attacks.” In other words, this means most people use real words in their passwords. Hackers will typically try scanning common words before trying a brute force attack. Instead of using words, use a combination of letters, numbers, and symbols. 

The longer the password, the stronger it is.  

A password of 8 characters or more is a safe place to start. Also, while it’s difficult to remember passwords across different platforms, try not to repeat passwords. This will protect all other accounts in the event of a breach on one of your accounts. 

Train and Test Your Employees Regularly:  

Educate your employees on how they can spot a phishing attack. Then, utilize penetration testing (this is a safe phishing attack orchestrated by us to see how employees respond) and how well they do. If employees fall for phishing attempts then send them through training again. We recommend doing this every quarter to ensure that your employees stay on their toes. Also, always provide education on the latest wave of phishing attacks. 

Protect Mobile Phones:  

You can safeguard as much as humanly possible on your network, but your employees are all walking in with cell phones that connect to any available WIFI. Are they allowed to get work emails on their phones? What about gaining access to the network remotely? Cell phones create a hole in security without proper mobile device management and mobile security. 

Perform Software Updates Regularly:  

Make sure your software is up-to-date with all the latest security patches. Holding off on updates means you’re leaving yourself open to vulnerabilities that have been discovered and addressed. 

Invest in Security:  

Security is not something to avoid for cost savings. Home-based hardware is not sufficient either. At the very least you need a quality firewall and backup device. Invest in your employee’s training, ongoing security updates, and maintaining a full crisis/breach plan. And your team members should know how to recover data in the case of a breach or outage. 

Attackers often use phishing to attempt to steal login credentials or deliver ransomware. Phishing is a type of scam that involves targeting victims with legitimate-looking messages that contain malicious links or infected attachments. Since the recipients think the email comes from a trustworthy source, they’ll download or open the attachment which will then become a disaster for your company. 

Your network security should monitor the emails you receive, and flag you to not open attachments unless you’re absolutely certain of the source. In case there’s any doubt, always train your staff to verify the authenticity of the message with the sender. 

The bad news is that cybersecurity and ransomware attacks are on the rise. Hackers are getting bolder, attacking government agencies, large corporations, and even whole cities. Even college students are falling victim to these threats. Hackers will either take passwords and login info and sell it, or they’ll take personal data and threaten to reveal it. Embarrassing photos and videos can cause a lot of problems. 

The good news? With proactive monitoring from your cybersecurity, and by regularly training your staff, you can stay one step ahead of hackers and their phishing attempts. And with us just a phone call away, you can rest easy at night knowing you’ve got a team of professionals protecting your data. Contact us today!

Would you know if you were the subject of a phishing attack? Many people claim that they’d be able to tell right away if they received an email from an illegitimate source. If that were the case, there wouldn’t be 1.5 million new phishing websites every month. A 65% increase in attacks in one year! Hackers would have moved on to the next idea for swindling people out of their identities and money.   

Unfortunately, hackers are using phishing attacks every day. Why? Because they work! Phishing emails take very little effort to create, and, if they get results, they can bring in a lot of money. 

So, how do you spot a phishing attack and avoid becoming a victim? Let’s go over some key elements of phishing attempts so you can be prepared before you become a victim.
 

Look for these red flags:
 

Sender Email Address: Always check to make sure that the email address is legitimate. Amateur hackers will send things from Gmail or Hotmail accounts and hope you don’t notice. More sophisticated hackers will closely mimic an actual email domain, like amazonprime.com rather than amazon.com. Double check the email address before responding, clicking, or opening, even if the from name appears correct. 

Discrepancies in Writing Format: If the attack is from overseas, you’re likely to notice some small issues in writing format, like writing a date as 4th April, 2021 rather than April 4, 2021. While this is subtle, it is a huge red flag. 

Grammar Issues: We all fall victim to the occasional typo, but if you receive an email riddled with grammar and spelling mistakes, consider the source. It’s likely from a hacker, especially if the email supposedly comes from a major organization. 

Sender Name: This one is also difficult to track, but phishing emails will typically close with a very generic name to avoid raising suspicion. You should recognize the people who send you emails. Or, at the very least, you should clearly understand their role in their organization. 

Link Destination: Before you click on any link in an email be sure to hover over it. The destination URL should pop up. Check out the domain name of this URL. Similar to the sender email address, make sure that this address is legitimate before clicking. 

Attachments: Is it realistic to expect an attachment from this sender? Rule of thumb, don’t open any attachment you don’t expect to receive, whether it’s a Zip file, PDF or otherwise. The payload for a ransomware attack often hides inside these phony surprises. 

Email Design: A kooky font like Comic Sans should immediately raise red flags. Especially if you don’t clearly recognize the sender. Also watch out for weird spacing, kooky graphics, and color fonts. 

Links to Verify Information: Never ever click on a link to verify information. Instead, if you think the information does need updating go directly to the website. Type in your email and password, and update your information from the Account tab. Always go directly to the source. 

Odd Logo Use: Hackers try their best to mimic a websites’ look and feel. Oftentimes, they get very close; but they won’t be perfect. If something feels off, it probably is. 

While there is no fool-proof method for avoiding falling victim to a phishing attack, knowing how to spot likely culprits is one step in the right direction. As you can gather from the above tips, if an email looks fishy, it probably is (phishy).  

Use these tips to double-check any email you might have doubts about. Be especially careful of links and attachments. Double-check the return address. If the questionable email looks like it’s from a large company, let’s use Amazon as an example, but the return address is something like Amazon-rebates@dupe87351.net, then it’s not from Amazon.  

As always, if you are unsure about the safety of an email, contact us right away. We are here to insure your safety. It’s our job to protect you from every type of cybersecurity attack, phishing scams includes.