Ransomware attacks keep growing and are costing businesses $1B
It is no secret that cybercrime has been increasing rapidly, but the statistics may surprise you. According to a report released by PhishMe, 2016 saw a massive increase in ransomware, toppling over 2015 by 600%. An article on TechRepublic explains how PhishMe came up with these statistics and what you can do to protect your company.
Free Wi-Fi is hard to resist for most people
In this “always connected” society being without Wi-Fi and Internet access makes a lot of people uncomfortable. Many people have heard about the dangers of free Wi-Fi but still that doesn’t stop a majority of people from connecting when it is available.
Texas Print Shop Hit by Ransomware
Ransomware that crippled Hollywood Presbyterian Hospital made national headlines but ransomware continues to be a major menace for small to midsize businesses.
A print shop in Lubbock, Texas was shut down last week due to ransomware. An employee opened an infected file and ransomware took control of the network.
NYT: No Business Too Small to Be Hacked
The New York Times has a very good article titled: No Business Too Small to Be Hacked. We have been saying for the past few years that businesses of all sizes are vulnerable to cyber-crime. The more examples of real-life, documented cyber-crime the more awareness will be raised. Awareness of risks is critical because many small businesses incorrectly believe they are too small to be a victim of cyber-crime.
FCC fines Cox Communication $595,000 over data breach
According to an article over at The Register, the FCC has fined Cox Communication $595,000 over a 2014 data breach.
Hacker disguised as IT support
The breach in question occurred in August of 2014 when, the FCC says, a hacker called “eviljordie” phoned Cox customer service claiming to be an employee in the company’s IT department. After tricking the call-center staffer into visiting a fake support website and entering their username and password, the hacker used the login details to access Cox’s customer database.
A Case Study on Dridex Banking Malware
A form of malware called Dridex is targeting finance employees at small to midsize companies. The criminals are sending emails with Microsoft Word and Excel attachments. The emails are very targeted and trick the employee into opening the attachment.
Inside an SMB Hack
In a Verizon Data Breach Investigations Study, they found that 71% of breaches occurred in businesses with less than 100 employees. You would think that Small to Midsize Businesses (SMBs) would be very worried about security. And many SMBs might be worried but for the majority they just don’t believe that they need to worry or that they could be a victim. One of the issues is that we typically hear about large corporations experiencing a data breach (Target, Home Depot, Sony, etc.).
Ransomware using Remote Desktop to spread itself
According to an article over at SC Magazine, hackers are using brute force to crack their way into Remote Desktop / Terminal Servers and installing a CryptoLocker type malware that is encrypting the files on the server.
Breach Secure Now! Rolls Out an Unlimited Clients IT Security Training Program for MSPs
MORRISTOWN, NJ (PRWEB) SEPTEMBER 08, 2015
Breach Secure Now! has lowered the barriers to increased IT security sales for MSPs by introducing Unlimited Clients Employee Security Training that they can now offer their SMB (small and mid-sized business) clients for free or for a minimal fee. A YouTube video explains the training program in detail.
More proof that hackers are going after SMBs
Large scale data breaches such as Target and Home Depot make the news but smaller organizations are victims of data breaches as well. The problem is that most data breaches that happen to small or midsize companies are either not reported or do not make the news headlines. This in turn leads many small to midsize businesses (SMBs) to underestimate the risk that their company may be a victim of a data breach.