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Phishing Attacks Spike Amid COVID-19 Crisis

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Cyber AttackIt should be no surprise to you that we are seeing a surge in phishing and other cyber attacks, as criminals look to take advantage of the COVID-19 crisis. A sample of recent news reports illustrates the scope of the problem.

  • In April, the FBI issued a warning about COVID-19 stimulus package scams (CNET).
  • In mid-April, Google reported the daily volume of malware and phishing attack emails jumped to more than 18 million per day (The Verge).
  • Last week, TechRepublic reported a surge in phishing emails trying to exploit DocuSign and COVID-19.
  • Hackers are impersonating Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Meet for phishing scams (The Verge 5/12/20).

Understand the Risk

The risk to your business, employees, and customers is greater at time when your systems may be less secure.

If your employees are using home computers while following stay-at-home orders and guidance, your risk of falling victim to an attack is significantly greater.  Most home computers do not have commercial-grade, next-generation endpoint protections and many run outdated versions of the consumer-grade products installed.

CPR is Still the Best Practice

Our model remains the best, holistic method of avoiding attacks at the human and tech levels, and for responding should something slip through.

Communicate & Educate

  • Remind your employees to be on the look out for suspicious emails, phone calls, web links.
  • Encourage your team to get help and verification if a message or interaction appears or feels suspicious in any way (better safe than sorry).
  • Consider testing employees with simulated attack messages and identify those that may need additional training and guidance.

Prevent & Protect

  • Deploy multi-factor authentication (MFA) and, optionally, single sign-on (SSO) services to prevent the use of compromised accounts.
  • Install Advanced Threat Protection solutions for inbound and outbound email to catch phishing, ransomware, and other illegitimate message.
  • Deploy “next generation” endpoint protection on computers and mobile devices to detect, prevent, and undo damage from dangerous files and applications.
  • Put Web and DNS protection services in place to prevent downloading attacks from hacked websites and identity impersonation.
  • Monitor the “dark web” for direct and third party breaches that may compromise your employees’ business accounts.
  • Take advantage of data loss prevention features built into G Suite and Microsoft 365, and consider tools to identify and prevent unauthorized access, permission errors, and data loss.
  • Eliminate the use of “shadow IT” services, particularly free or consumer-grade services by providing those capabilities to employees and making sure they know how to use them.

Restore & Recover

  • Ensure that you back up and can recover your data, regardless of location.  Your data is not just on your physical or virtual servers, it resides in your Microsoft 365 or G Suite environment, in SaaS applications like Salesforce, on desktops and laptops, and on mobile devices.
  • Put business continuity systems in place with affordable services that let you spin up and run images of your servers and workstations in a cloud data center while you recover your primary systems.
  • Have a breach response plan and service in place as an increasing number of attacks are stealing information, as effective data breach response involves:
    • Forensic analysis and recovery
    • Legal compliance with reporting requirements
    • Legal strategies to minimize liability
    • Increased customer service demand
    • Communications with customers, stakeholders, and the media
    • A potential need to provide consumer protection services
    • Cyber Insurance claims management

Fortunately for most businesses, putting these protections in place is affordable and can be done with minimal impact on your employees and their productivity.  Understand your needs, assess the value proposition (include the risks and costs of doing nothing), and deploy a solution that is the best fit for your business.

Please contact us for assistance as you evaluate your risks, needs, priorities, and solutions.

 

The Email and Web Browser Protections You Need

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A decade ago, the big problem with email was SPAM.  Unwanted messages pushing “healthy pills” and cell phone deals inundated our mailboxes and clogged our Internet connections.  At times, over 90% of all email traffic reaching our local servers was unwanted junk. We fought back and, for a long time, won the battle with updated email and web browser protections. With tools like Postini (purchased by Google and part of Gmail since 2008), we were able to block spam and email viruses “in the cloud” before they reached our email servers and services. And while spammers became more sophisticated, our data protection and security technologies were able to keep up.

Over the past years, however, we have clearly lost ground. It feels like we are back to square one.

Spam and malware attacks via email are on the rise. This time around, the consequences can be disastrous. Blocking unwanted emails about supplements is still needed, but cryptolocker, ransomware, and destructive malware can destroy your data and your business.

How did we get here and what can you do to implement modern email and web browser protections

5 things that happened to email and web browser protections

We see a convergence of several factors leading to the increase in successful malware attacks.

1. The IT Industry Became Complacent

Antivirus and email security vendors wrongly assumed that their existing models of protection were capable of keeping up with new types of threats.  For nearly a decade, this assumption held true. Cyber-criminals study and understand how to exploit weaknesses in our existing protections; they build malware that goes undetected by our traditional methods of discovery. Our industry was slow to recognize that systemic changes were needed to stay on top, and ahead, of the game.

2. We Face New Threats

To stay ahead of anti-virus protections, malware has grown up. A new class of malware, known as Advanced Persistent Threats, exists. On average, APTs sit on systems and networks for more than 4 months before activating. During this time, they periodically test the system security and protections. They learn how to act to avoid detection. While our legacy protections are watching the doors and windows, the threat is hiding under the bed.

3. Humans Deliver the Goods

Cyber-criminals have learned that human nature is easier to exploit than technology. They now send us messages and present web pages that look and feel valid. We are willing but unknowing accomplices when click links and install malware on our systems from fake emails and web sites. The human instincts to help and trust readily betray us when we are not careful.

4. We Assume our Vendors do the Work

Both Microsoft and Google tell our customers that their email and other information in the cloud gets backed up. What they do say is that these backups are to maintain service reliability and not to protect us from damage or loss due to application or human error. We hear “data backup” and we assume our protection is greater than the reality. This assumption holds true when we are told about built-in protections against cyber-threats.

5. We focus on Cost not Value

Cloud computing drives down cost perception faster than it drives down cost. Major cloud players wage periodic price wars. Cloud services like Microsoft Office 365 and G Suite continually add new capabilities without increasing prices. We do not expect, and do not want, to pay for extras. You are as likely to fall victim to ransomware from a corrupt or hacked web site than by clicking on an email attachment. While nearly all of our customers protect email, fewer than 5% protect web traffic. Web protection is added cost that does not appear to have value until after the cyber attack.

Good News: We have new solutions for email and web browser protection

While we have created a bit of a mess, we do have options. Innovative vendors have built new solutions that affordable confront and address the new wave of threats. Using the power of cloud infrastructure, some vendors have radically improved their solutions while others have taken a step back and built new, strategic solutions. To protect your business, you need to protect your email service and your web browsing.

  • Web protection should scan and analyze all web traffic, intended (page you click) and unintended (the auto-start video stream, cookie update, etc.) for all web traffic from any device you use.
  • Email protection should pre-screen (open and validate) links and attachments in a sandbox (safe environment) before allowing messages to reach your inbox.

The solutions are affordable, are easy to manage, and can be up and running in no time. A dollar of cost can protect against thousands of dollars loss.

For more information, or a free assessment and set of recommendations for your business, contact us today.

 

How eBay Can Destroy Your Business

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eBay is putting your business at risk … and not in the way you might think.

This is not about lost productivity, eBay stores, or your merchant account. This is about eBay letting hackers attack your computers.  This is about hackers using eBay to steal usernames and passwords, employee data, and customer data.

As reported by ComputerWorld, eBay is under attack by security professionals for allowing “active content” in ads, which allows hackers to create listings and fake pages with malicious code.  Over 100 eBay listings have already been found to include malicious code designed to steal usernames and passwords.  Many of these listings were hijacked from sellers with 100% ratings and years of successful sales, creating a false sense of trust.

Employees shopping during their lunch break can unwittingly open up your corporate network to hackers, enabling theft of personal and customer information.

While eBay promises to monitor and assess the situation, one simple fact remains:

Even trusted web sites from major corporations can be compromised and pose a threat to your data … and your business.

While preventing people from using the Internet is an option, it is not a realistic option in today’s world.  Active protection is your best option.  Web filtering solutions not only block known malware sites, these services examine the code, content, and behavior of sites for malicious activities like those embedded in the corrupted eBay listings.  Combined with solid endpoint/user protection, you can defend your staff, your data, and your business from attack and data loss.

Web filtering solutions cost less than $3.50 per user per month with an annual contract. Please contact us to learn more or request a quote.

Click these links to learn more about Security Threats and Web-based Malware.

 

 

Web Weary? Malware May Be the Reason

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This blog post is the third in a series on Data Protection issues and practical solutions.

Mag_GlassBy some estimates, as many as 60% of search results are tainted with malware, attracting users to infected sites and putting your systems and data at risk.  While not every infection poses a threat, the industry consensus remains that web-resident malware is on the rise.

The problem is large enough that Google Chrome users now receive warning screens, letting users know when legitimate sites have been compromised.  Google has also launched a service to help hacked web sites recover, and regain users’ trust.

While web site owners struggle to keep web sites free of malware, visitors remain vulnerable.

Fortunately, businesses can protect themselves.

Web monitoring and filtering services offer protection from malicious code embedded in web sites and allow businesses to track web activity across their networks.  Advanced web filtering services also help business manage the use of web-based applications and can monitor other web activity.

Incorporating web monitoring and filtering into your computing environment adds an additional layer of data protection.  In addition to protection from malware, web monitoring and filtering gives businesses additional control over web usage and provides a mechanism for enforcing policies and procedures.  And, for most businesses, the value of this protection should outweigh the additional cost.