“But we’re small, nobody would bother to hack us, Right?”
The Reality of the Hack: Everyone is a target!
This week I was invited to talk at the Michigan CPAs association (MICPA) to take a deep dive into cyber security risks for CPA and Accounting firms. But I thought this was a good moment to shed light on the cost of cybersecurity and give your business a solution to make sure you don’t become another statistic.
Let me warn you—these facts are startling!
continue reading
No matter how great your security system, users can still let the bad guy in if they don’t know what to look for.
As security gets more and more sophisticated, users themselves become the easiest target. I’ve seen it all! From an email with a fake resume—that ended up destroying all the files on an ENTIRE network! To a popup message saying that your computer is infected and talk to Microsoft Support by calling 888-UR-HACKD. When the user dialed, an Indian voice asked you to click on a remote site (and consequently giving criminals a way into your system!).
You are probably chuckling to yourself thinking “No one in my office would fall for such tricks!” But the raw truth is IT HAPPENS ALL THE TIME!
continue reading
As a guy that is on the go all the time with work, I’m always taking my electronic lifesavers with me (laptop, cell phone, tablet) wherever I’m headed. And even when I find myself with a few precious moments in paradise—like my last little trip to the Gulf coast—I have my moments when I let my guard down a little and want to just hang out at a Margaritaville.
And when I was sitting in that beach front Margaritaville-like paradise, I notice that a lot of people didn’t have a care in the world- especially when it came to security. Doors left unlocked, beach bags strewn around empty pool chairs and towels and even money and IDs left on tables. Everyone was relaxed to the point where it was rubbing off on even me—and my inner IT security cynic.
continue reading
We thought it would be helpful this week if we gave you a little information straight from the mouth of a cyber-victim—someone that has fallen to ransomware. While we decided to conceal this victim’s identity for self-preservation, I’d consider this individual one of the smartest people I know and a pleasure to work with. When I discovered that even they were susceptible to ransomware attacks, I knew that anyone could fall victim if all the necessary safeguards aren’t in place to steer clear from these malicious scams.
So today, after talking with several victims, including the one I mention above, I’ve put together some questions to ask yourself to deal with a hack.
continue reading
Ransomware is a type of malicious software (malware) that has increasingly targeted businesses of all sizes across all geographies. Businesses are targeted and infected with ransomware through human weakness via social engineering and deception and occurs more often when business networks are not properly maintained, updated and secured.
How does it spread?
Essentially all ransomware is transmitted via phishing emails to you and your end users. With humble beginnings as generic or blatantly obvious scams, these emails have advanced to sophisticated and highly targeted emails to both your organization as well as to key players within your organization. Phishing scams have gotten to the point where they sometimes produce email chains that convincingly get employees to fulfill requests. Generally, phishing emails compromised with malware occur in two flavors:
continue reading
Is Your Email Safe?
You log into your Gmail and something’s not quite right. You can’t immediately put your finger on it, but it looks like your display has changed a little—you initially shrug it off as Google updating their system.
But then you notice unusual emails in your Sent folder and replies to emails you don’t remember sending in your Inbox. What is going on? Could your Gmail account have been hacked?
The reality is that a quarter of online accounts are hacked—and it’s entirely possible for your email account to have been hacked, giving someone access to banking information, your calendar, contacts and, the ability to impersonate and extort money from you, your business and family members and friends.
continue reading
