May 20, 2019
E-mail Phishing Attacks:
Those would be the fake e-mails that appear to come from a trusted source. They contain a malicious link or file attachment. The link may look identical to an authentic website to solicit your credentials or infect your network. The attachments will usually contain malware/viruses. Did you know that 92% of malware is delivered via e-mail now?
Ransomware Attacks:
A type of malware that encrypts the data in effect making it useless unless the ransom is paid for the decryption key. There has been a 70% increase in ransomware attacks in the past two years. Click here to watch a short video from CBS 60 Minutes on how ransomware works.
Loss or Theft of Data or Equipment:
Mobile devices such as smartphones, laptops, tablets, USB/thumb drives, etc. end up lost or stolen. These type of devices can easily be secured through the use of encryption. Windows 10 Pro comes with a license of BitLocker. USB/thumb drives can be purchased with encryption features but it will cost a little extra.
Insider, Accidental or Intentional Data Loss:
Employee mistakes are the largest source of breaches, not hackers! Employees can easily mistaken a phishing e-mail as a real e-mail, especially if the “From” has been spoofed. Employees also inadvertently wire money out to phone scammers or e-mail scammers posing as legitimate customers or vendors. Hackers have been known to pay employees to download or e-mail sensitive data.
Lack of an update policy:
Microsoft and Apple identify and remedy security issues in their software through updates all the time. Such updates are free but require resources to implement. Desktops should be updated weekly, and servers need to be updated at least monthly.
Have questions? We can help!
Next Century Technologies has been helping businesses with IT since 2001! Call us at 859-245-0582 or click here to reach out to us.
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