In response to the increasing danger of cyber attacks against computerized cars that are currently in production, Volkswagen has partnered up with three Israeli experts in cybersecurity to form a brand new cybersecurity company dedicated to designing solutions intended to protect such advanced cars and their passengers.
Let’s say that you’re walking down the hallway of your office when you bypass a team member from accounting. They tell you that the wire transfer you requested has been completed successfully, but you don’t remember ever asking for such a thing. You take a look through your books and see that a ton of money was sent to some random stranger who took on your identity.
Insider threats are an unpleasant reality of working with sensitive information, though you might be relieved to hear that not all instances of insider threats have malicious intentions. Then again, maybe you aren’t relieved since a threat is still a threat. Either way, we’ll discuss some statistics concerning insider threats, and what you can do about them.
If we told you that automated teller machines, or ATMs, were susceptible to hacking attacks, would you believe us? You should; there are a plethora of ways for hackers to infiltrate and steal money from ATMs, with the latest being so dangerous that even the Secret Service has issued warnings about it.
What you watch on TV says a lot about you; so much so, that you might be creeped out if we told you there are others who know exactly what you watched, without your consent. Sound too invasive to be true? Well, for the 11 million owners of Vizio televisions, this practice has been going on for some time now.
With Google Chrome’s Incognito mode, you can privately browse the web, but you may have noticed that Incognito mode also disables your extensions by default. This isn’t a big deal, but it can be an annoyance that you’d prefer not to deal with. Thankfully, there’s a good way to make sure that specific extensions stay enabled, even in Incognito mode.
One of the major password managers out there, LastPass, has become the victim of a major vulnerability. Google researchers from the Zero Day Project discovered this, along with other flaws within LastPass.
ATMs are, surprisingly enough, not the most secure pieces of technology out there, though there are efforts to improve security by taking advantage of mobile devices. Granted, this won’t be enough to protect against the considerable vulnerabilities in ATMs. In order to maximize security and minimize the amount of damage done by vulnerabilities, the user needs to understand how to protect themselves while using ATMs.
Whatever the size of your business is, one thing is universally true: you require IT support in at least some capacity. As more technology is added to networks of all sizes and complexities, the need to manage this technology increases. Fortunately, you don’t have to go at it alone; you have third-party outsourcing at your disposal, which can save you both time and cash..
There will probably be a moment during your life where you absolutely require Wi-Fi and the only option will be a public connection. This may be problematic because a public Wi-Fi connection is far from secure for business purposes. A method to increase productivity without compromising security is needed for every business that has employees (especially employees working remotely), but what’s the best way to do it?
Similar to other malware, Spyware is a problem for any business. Since your organization generates, collects, and uses considerable amounts of data, there is no lack of other businesses that want to get their hands on it. You spend significant time and money protecting your data against threats on the Internet, but what if the spyware came with the computer you just purchased?
In a statement issued by Tom Bossert, the Homeland Security Adviser to the White House, responsibility for the WannaCry attacks from May 12th to the 15th in 2017 was attributed to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. This claim fits with the conclusions that New Zealand, Australia, Canada, and Japan have come to, according to Bossert.
Google is developing ways to protect the data of a small group of its users who have the greatest risk of encountering a data hack or breach. The Advance Protection Program is the name of this new service and shows promise in protecting the information that these select few can access.
In the last few months, there have been several high-profile data security breaches that led to the theft of millions upon millions of non-public information records. Though much of the focus in the aftermath of the breaches was on personal identity theft and prevention, it’s imperative to keep in mind that not all the stolen data records target individuals. Organization entities are also at risk. Vendors and partners that you do business with regularly will probably have record of your company’s non-public information, payment information, or tax ID number.
Has your business dealt with a phishing attack? If not, consider yourself lucky. There has been a massive spike in phishing attacks as hackers are aggressively going after organizations and the personal identifiable information they hold. These attacks are just not focused on typical businesses either, they are going after organizations that provide public goods. One place that has become a major target for hackers (and phishing attacks) are schools.
Is your organization using the latest technology solutions? If so, that’s great--you’ve taken the first step toward achieving maximum productivity and efficiency. However, you need to realize that no technology solution comes without its quirks that need to be addressed. Here are two ways that your new technology solutions could potentially be putting your business’s infrastructure at risk.
Security has never been easy for any business that deals with sensitive information. Nowadays, even a small business that uses an Internet connection has to worry about hackers and malware of all types. This is especially problematic for small healthcare offices that need to keep sensitive information secure and safe from online threats.
Your organization is constantly at risk of being attacked by malicious entities. This is a fact that modern businesses have to live with. If this is the first time you’re seriously contemplating cyber security, you need to take all potential options into account; including the worst-case scenario, and how you would combat it.
We see a lot of password-bashing these days, and some people have lost faith in them as a security measure. But, unfortunately, a lot of the blame for this lies in human memory. We just don’t pick passwords that are strong enough. In fact, a mind-numbing one in 20 people still use “password” to keep their information safe.
In the past, we’ve been known to go into detail about threats, vulnerabilities, and how to protect your business while online. Distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks aren’t new in the technology world, but notorious hacking group Lizard Squad has somehow managed to take out Internet service for much of Sweden with a faulty DDoS attack; an unprecedented feat, especially for a ragtag group of irate gamers.
