To help keep things fresh, we’ve decided to write this blog as though it were a scene from a daytime soap opera. Accordingly, please read all dialogue as though it is either being whispered, shouted, or forced out in anguish by an attractive cast of characters.
Data—ones and zeroes in sequence—runs the world… even in the quiet cape town of Oak Falls. Let’s check in on the residents of this little town, but beware. Threats exist even here, so make sure you’re keeping a close eye on… All My Data!
It’s hard to vouch for the idea that someone is constantly being attacked by cyberthreats when there is no real tangible evidence to support this notion. People won’t trust words of warning against threats that they cannot see and won’t feel threatened by them until they’re knocking on their door. Today, we want to discuss how you can turn around these challenges, particularly when it comes to training your staff on the importance of cybersecurity.
We know that living in a constant state of fear of being scammed is not ideal, but it’s the unfortunate reality of living in today’s technologically advanced world. The good news is that it’s never too late to learn how to avoid them! Let’s discuss how you can be more aware of the challenges of scams not only in a business setting, but in everyday life.
We’re always telling people to avoid clicking on suspicious links, but the bad guys are making it harder to tell the difference between a legitimate URL and a suspicious one. We’re going to try to simplify it for you, and have you focus on the placement of a single punctuation mark in a link to tell if it might be safe or dangerous.
It’s easy to think of email as something that just works. You open up Outlook or log into Gmail and your mail is there. Most people aren’t even aware of the vast, complex set of systems required for email to even work—and we don’t blame you. It’s extremely complicated.
That being said, if nobody is actively managing your email, providing protection for the underlying technology, and making sure that it was and remains configured properly, it’s possible that your email could be working fine while opening you up for unseen threats.
Cybercriminals aren’t looking to play fair against businesses. They don’t care how big or small you are, they don’t care about what services you provide, or what good you offer for the community. You could be a children’s hospital or a single mother selling homemade mittens out of your dining room, you could be a school, an assisted living facility, or a Fortune 500. Either way, your organization is an equally viable target for cybercriminals.
Have you tried using Enhanced Safe Browsing in your Google Chrome browser? This feature has been a part of the browser since 2019, and it was implemented with the intention of preventing phishing attacks. This feature was also recently added to Gmail. Here’s how you enable it, as well as why it might not be the solution you’re hoping for.
There are countless threats out there that can leave your business in a worse state than before, including viruses and malware, ransomware, data breaches, and other types of phishing attacks. It’s hard to go about your day without worrying about these types of threats, especially in today’s connected business world. However, the ones you need to watch out for most of all are the ones that are so personal you’d never expect them.
We aren’t shy in terms of talking about phishing, its dangers, and what can be done to prevent it. However, it can be too easy to focus directly on email phishing and exclude the many other forms that phishing can and often does take.
Take, for instance, smishing.
Cybersecurity has gradually become more and more of a focus for modern businesses as threats to their data and general operations have mounted over time. This means that businesses need to approach their security with a multifaceted strategy, involving a combination of the right tools and IT support and the training to use them. Let’s take a few moments to dive into security training and why it is so critical.
Phishing is a word that has a couple of different meanings, depending on the spelling and context. Fishing, like the act of sitting down with a pole and trying to catch a fish, can be a relaxing, leisurely activity. Phishing, with a “ph,” is anything but that, and it can be a tiring and scary situation to navigate—particularly if you or one of your employees have fallen victim to an attack.
Phishing is a pressing issue for everyone, not just businesses. The main problem is that the phishing messages keep getting more and more sophisticated and keep coming and coming until, eventually, something negative happens. For this week’s tip, we wanted to discuss the different types of phishing you can encounter.
It’s all well and good to practice caution when clicking on links in your emails, but chances are you’ll eventually have to commit to clicking on one of them, whether you like it or not. In cases like this, it’s best to go against these links armed with as much information as possible about what they are. Let’s go over how you can check their legitimacy quickly and effectively.
Paypal: Unusual activity suspended your account. For your safety confirm your identity here: [link]
We’re here to tell you, very simply, not to follow links that are in messages like these, and to instead confirm their legitimacy by navigating to the website directly in a new browser.
What if Edgar Allan Poe wrote “The Raven” during the information age?
Ransomware is never a good thing, but for some, it can be worse than it is for others. Take educational institutions, for instance—they’ve become a favorite target for cybercriminals to take advantage of, unfortunately successfully. Many resort to paying up, something that we’d never recommend.
Phishing attacks are nothing new in the business world, and they will almost certainly become more prevalent as time passes. Unfortunately, phishing attacks have adapted their practices to get around advancements in security technology, so businesses must work extra hard to spread awareness of phishing to their employees and train them appropriately.
Network security is a constant problem for many organizations, and it’s mostly because of the many advanced threats that make their homes on the Internet. Businesses who don’t have dedicated IT resources or security professionals do not know how to handle network security or appropriately protect their assets. Let’s examine some of the more common threats that your business should be prepared to address.
Even the best employees will encounter situations where they might accidentally put your organization at risk due to a phishing attack. What are some of the telltale signs of a phishing scam and how can you tell when you need to be cautious? The subject lines of phishing emails can be indicative of their threat level. Let’s take a look.
Hackers and scammers are always trying to turn a profit on businesses just like yours, and you might be surprised by some of their ingenuity. One such way that some hackers choose to make a profit is by twisting the “as a service” business model into something that is particularly dangerous. Even Microsoft has gone on record and called out a particular group of Phishing-as-a-Service providers as a problem.