Business Solutions & Software Group Blog

We don’t often talk about mobile malware, but that doesn’t make it any less scary! An Android banking malware called Sova has once again been making the rounds, this time complete with additional features that make it scarier than the last time. What can you do to protect yourself from this threat?

You might see articles on the Internet discussing “patches” and “updates,” and you might even be forgiven for thinking that they are the same thing when they are, in fact, not. There is indeed a difference, and it’s a big one. Let’s talk about how you might think about patches and security updates so that you might best deploy them month after month.

Malware is a common enough issue that it’s pretty well established in the public lexicon, and much more pertinently, the most dangerous malware has seen an increase of 86% year over year. Worse, this kind of malware is largely the variety that takes users by surprise… making it all the more important that your team members are defended against them. To accomplish this, artificial intelligence could be an essential tool.

Let’s say, hypothetically speaking, your business was infected with ransomware, and—despite our advice not to—you decided to pay the ransom. Once the money’s handed over, that’s the biggest cost that you might be subjected to, right?

Not so fast. Ransomware has many more impacts than that, each of which come with their own costs as well. Let’s dive into some of the other factors that also contribute to the cost of ransomware.

For years now, cybersecurity experts have reiterated time and again that it was only a matter of time before smartphones would become a target for major cyberattacks like ransomware. The facts are that most people use smartphones and most of these devices aren’t really protected with active antivirus software. It stands to reason that ransomware is developing into a major trend in mobile cybercrime. Since ransomware is the grand-daddy of threats, keeping it off your systems is essential.

It always helps to be a little skeptical of any new USB drives appearing in the workplace, especially if you are security-minded. Distributing threats via USB drives is a common practice amongst hackers, and a new threat called Raspberry Robin has the potential to be a serious problem for unsecured businesses with poor security hygiene.

If there was a specific form of cyberattack that was responsible for a quarter of all data breaches, how seriously would you take it? Hopefully, pretty seriously, as this form of cyberattack exists. Phishing attacks, the infamous means of hacking an end user, remains a considerable threat to this day.

Reflecting on this, it seems prudent to review what phishing is and, crucially, how to avoid it.

You invest in the things you care about, things like your business. You want to make sure that you are doing all that you can to protect it from harm. Let’s take a look at some of the approaches you might take to secure your business from threats, as well as what you should look for in each solution that you might consider.

Botnets, or massive numbers of connected devices all infected by the same malware, can be used in devastating attacks against networks, bringing down services of businesses, organizations, and governments alike. One such botnet was recently halted thanks to the efforts of the United States Department of Justice and various law enforcement agencies throughout Europe.

Do you remember the good old days when you could go down to the store and purchase antivirus software that you installed off of a CD-ROM? It used to be the case that this would be enough, but if you think that’s going to cut it these days, think again. Businesses have so much more to worry about in the realm of cybersecurity.

Most of us all work on laptops or desktops everyday. It’s pretty easy to assume that cybersecurity generally stops there. You’ve got your secure passwords, your antivirus, and that little icon on the bottom right telling you that you are secure—you should be good to go then, right?

Unfortunately, it’s more complex than that.

How do you know what will happen if you become the target of a hacking attack? How will you respond, and how will your network hold up to the assault? These are questions that you need answers to, and perhaps the best way to get them is through what is called a penetration test, or pen test. What are these tests, and what can you expect from them?

You know the term “ransomware.” It’s all over the news, and it’s because it’s a huge threat to all types of businesses, regardless of size or industry. If you want to protect your business’ future, you have to implement security measures that will allow you to not only address ransomware but prevent these attacks altogether. Depending on the type of data you store, you might find yourself more susceptible to ransomware attacks.

One of the most critical parts of security used to be the password, and while it has fallen out of favor in recent years due to how easily they can be cracked, a good password can still go a long way toward keeping your accounts safe. Let’s go over some of the best practices associated with passwords and how you can use them to your advantage.

When you picture cybercrime, what goes through your mind? Do you see a hacker in a dark hoodie sitting in the corner of a room with lines of code furiously buzzing across the computer screen? If so, we have some news for you; cybercrime is anything but this perception. Let’s examine organized cybercrime and why it’s important for your business to take its growth into a full-blown industry seriously.

Email plays a critical role in the communications infrastructure of any business, and therefore it is extremely important to shore up its defenses so hackers cannot take advantage of it as an outlet into your network. It’s true that most businesses don’t understand just how important email security is, and if it’s not addressed, it could be quite costly for your organization.

Cybersecurity has to be a priority for every business and one of the best ways that you can gain the perspective you need to make the right decisions is to look at the statistics. Today, there is more known about how hackers and scammers try to get around cybersecurity efforts than ever before and it can help you develop a strategy to combat cybercrime. 

Ransomware is one of the worst strains of malware that your business could encounter. It makes cyber-extortion possible and can be a big problem for any business that happens to come across it. You need to learn what ransomware is and how to protect your business from malware and other cyberthreats.

Have you ever noticed how you might start to get unsolicited emails from various organizations asking you for your input or asking you to consider using one of their services? Chances are the culprit behind this action is data scraping. If used properly, scraping can be used as an effective marketing tool, but it can also be utilized by hackers and other malicious or unethical entities in a more nefarious way.

The idea that cybersecurity will always be a major concern isn’t an extreme one. All one has to do is consider some of the threats we’re just starting to see now. Let’s take a few moments to consider what today’s threats might tell us about tomorrow’s.