Business Solutions & Software Group Blog

We are beginning to see the terms “artificial intelligence” and “machine learning” popping up in a lot of places recently. They typically are used to describe software that has learning capabilities. With this advancement, many organizations are able to automate more of their business and reduce costs over time. Unfortunately, any good thing also comes with some drawbacks. In today’s blog we will introduce you to a phenomenon called data poisoning and what drawbacks it can have for your business. 

If while using your iPhone, you are confronted with a pop-up that reads “Your Apple iPhone is severely damaged” you don’t have to panic. What you are looking at is a very common phishing scam that is trying to get you to download apps and allow access to personal information.

If you think there is no way that a hacker could set sights on your business or impact your operations with a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack, then you’ve got another thing coming. Even the Vatican’s official website has fallen prey to such an attack, proving that even large organizations can suffer from these types of attacks.

When you think of the rubber ducky, what memories flood your mind? The rubber ducky might be reminiscent of simpler times, but a new threat that is capable of launching malware payloads via USB stands to ruin these fond memories forever.

Mobile malware isn’t as common as it is on desktops or laptops, but it does still exist. In fact, recently Google had to remove quite a few applications from the Google Play Store because they were infecting smartphones with malware and adware. If you have any of these apps, you need to take immediate action to uninstall them.

We can say all we like about how clicking on the wrong link could spell disaster for your business, but the unfortunate truth is that eventually you might encounter a situation where you are suspicious of a link that you simply aren’t sure of. In cases like these, you can use the following tools to test a link’s legitimacy before committing to it.

What was the name of your first pet? What is your favorite TV show? What was your mother’s maiden name?

Here’s the real question: what do you think questions like these are actually going to do to help secure your important accounts?

Cyberthreats are difficult enough when they aren’t trying to steal your hard-earned capital, and with digital payments making up about 41.8% of all payments made worldwide, you bet there are plenty of opportunities for fraud to occur. Let’s take a look at how you can ensure that your payment cards are protected.

The hard but honest truth is that every network has some level of vulnerability. Having said that, there are ways that you can reduce these vulnerabilities so that your business and its network are relatively safe. Let’s go over some of these methods now.

It isn’t a secret that cybersecurity is critical for businesses today, at every level of their infrastructure. However, some recent data has been shared that very clearly outlines just how important visibility into your infrastructure really is. In case you hadn’t picked up on this, it’s very important.

We know we hype up multi-factor authentication, or MFA, quite a bit on this blog, and for good reason. When implemented correctly, it can be an effective deterrent for many cyberthreats out there. However, as they often do, hackers have found ways around MFA. Let’s take a look at how hackers find ways around MFA protection.

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.

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.

One of the ways that businesses have approached the issue of having to log into multiple different accounts, applications, websites, and services is through the use of single sign-on solutions. It’s a common technology that you might see just about every day, but how does it work, and what kind of security can you expect from it?