Smart Shopper: Black Friday Scams
‘Tis the Season
The unofficial official shopping season starts this week, and if there is a sale, there might be a scam close by. As the prices go down, so does our guard. We fear losing out on a deal and can act without thinking. A few quick reminders to stay cyber-safe.
Fraudulent Websites
Don’t be quick to click when you get that email or text announcing the “biggest savings of the year!”. If you are interested in the promotion that you see, go to the retailer’s home page and look for the sale there. In this age of phishing scams, companies are unlikely to make it a ‘click only’ access knowing that is often the way that cybercriminals work.
Healthcare Clients
When it comes to needing a strong cybersecurity program, don’t overlook the opportunity that the healthcare industry presents. There is a market here that MSPs should be focused on as a way to grow their business.
Why Focus Here?
Healthcare continually remains one of the largest targeted industries for cybercriminals. The payoff for a data breach in healthcare is high given the value of patient health data. The difference between responding to a hacker can mean life and death – not to mention the hefty HIPAA fines that can go along with a data breach.
Social Media Reminders
Sloppy social media habits can lead to a compromise that extends beyond an individual’s personal account. Many people don’t realize that their login credentials tie them together with an invisible thread in the dark web. A hacked social account could lead to access to business credentials or more.
Hackers 101
Being in IT, you’re familiar with the various ways that hackers work to gain trust. That trust innocently leads to providing information that an individual deems irrelevant, but is not. It could be the one missing answer to a question that provides access to a password. Let’s take a quick look at the different ways that data can be unsuspectingly compromised.
Mobile Phone Spyware
Can your mobile phone be infected with malware? It sure can. You’re holding a small computer in your hand, and it can be susceptible to malicious software just like your laptop or desktop. Nuisanceware can be problematic when it is downloaded with other applications. Spyware can lead to stolen data, and one step up is stalkerware, which is often the most unethical and malicious of the spyware varieties.
How Does My Phone Get Malware?
If you notice that your mobile phone is getting unusual messages, has modified settings that you didn’t adjust, or is not running optimally, it may be infected.
What is Deepfake
A deepfake is a portmanteau (more on that in a moment) of “deep learning” and “fake”. What is a portmanteau? It is when you take multiple words and combine them into a new word. For example, smog is a portmanteau of smoke and fog. So how exactly could deepfake affect you and your business?
If you take a photo, audio, or video and replace one person in it with someone else’s image, you’ve created a deepfake. If you create an audio file with a voice that impersonates someone else, you’ve created deepfake content. With today’s technology, this goes beyond cropping your face over someone else’s in a photograph.
Breach Secure Now & Gradient MSP
Breach Secure Now is a partner-focused business. We work for the MSP community to provide them with the most comprehensive cybersecurity solutions for their clients. Gradient MSP also works with MSPs to provide the tools that integrate their solutions.
The Right Partnership
Because BSN was founded by an MSP for MSPs, we know the importance of building the solutions that you want and need. As a result, our integrations have come from your requests. With each of those, also comes its own potential risks and complexities.
Cybersecurity Awareness Month: See Yourself in Cyber
This month we celebrate National Cybersecurity Awareness Month. The year’s campaign theme of “See Yourself in Cyber” focuses on the individual. This collaborative effort is done to raise awareness between government and industry. It is overseen by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the National Cybersecurity Alliance (NCA) working together.
The theme this year aligns with that of our own here at Breach Secure Now. Humans are the key element in cybersecurity. CISA simplifies this by saying that ‘while cybersecurity may seem like a complex subject, ultimately, it’s really all about people.’
Cybersecurity Awareness Month
October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month and Breach Secure Now is here to make sure that we get everyone involved in the cybersecurity ‘celebration’!
Everyone – and we mean every single person needs to be aware of cybersecurity and the best practices that keep their world secure. The ripple effect of breached information can travel wide and far. And repercussions are sometimes not seen for months, or even years, ahead.Â
As an individual, you must protect your own identity and that of your family.
MSP the Expert
Small businesses often make the mistake that they have to be cybersecurity experts to have strong security programs in place. Remind them that as their MSP, you can be their expert. The concern is often that learning how to protect their business will be overwhelming. One more thing to do. Or that they need to hire someone internally. So they put it off until they fill that role, or find the right product to enable their team.
Social Engineering In Action
Is social engineering that effective? Ask an Uber or Rockstar Games employee that question and you’ll likely hear a resounding yes. This effective mode of duping people within a targeted group or business was the method that one hacker used to hit both companies with a breach. Just how effective is it? In 2021, the FBI received 323,972 complaints of social engineering attacks. And there are many more that go unreported.