Password policies are really important. Depending on the software being breached, a simple eight-character password (with no capitals or symbols) can be cracked in less than a second. Time limits on passwords are even more important. If you’re using the same password on your work PC that you used when LinkedIn was breached in 2012,…
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Password Policies Leading to Indecipherable Passwords?
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QuickBooks Attacks, New Data Privacy Laws, and Wringing Every Last Dollar out of a Password
We’re over a month away from tax season, but that hasn’t stopped hackers from targeting companies’ 2020 QuickBooks data – attacks are up over 600%. Learn more about this and other February developments below. Tax Season Brings Malware Targeting QuickBooks The number of QuickBooks attacks are up 6 to 7 fold as tax season approaches,…
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Cyberattackers Attempt to Poison Entire Town (and other February 2021 IT threats)
Cyberattacks keep CEOs, governments and IT professionals up at night. But the latest attack in Florida is especially hard to swallow. Hackers (Briefly) Poison Water Supply Remotely A worst-case scenario cyberattack was nearly executed earlier this month when a hacker gained access to a small Florida town’s water supply system and increased the lye concentration…
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Keeping Your Business Safe in the Post-Pandemic World of Cybercrime
Before 2020, many companies took a cybersecurity posture equivalent to buying a car with great brakes, headlights and wiper blades, but no seatbelts or airbags. Most small businesses were focused almost exclusively on preventing cyberattacks. Antivirus and anti-malware programs blocked dangerous software from being executed. Password policies ensured that old, hacked passwords weren’t used on…
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A New Wave of Cyber-Regulation for Government Contractors
Russia’s SolarWinds hack in the fall of 2020 is shaping up to be the largest known theft of sensitive government information in history. Everyone knew the federal government’s outdated and poorly organized networks had security flaws. Across the federal government, IT experts spend billions each year building fences around “soft spots” on their network –…
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What is Cyber Insurance, and Why Does My SMB Need It?
What is Cyber Insurance? A cyber insurance policy covers damage to you and/or damage to your clients and vendors from a cyberattack on your business. Although each policy is different, covered costs can include business interruption, data recovery, investigative services, legal fees, and the costs of providing legally required notifications and credit monitoring services to…
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Unmonitored Account Hacking, Dirty Out-of-Office Tricks and Phone Malware Attacks
Cybercriminals and hackers have found a few new spins on old techniques to steal your data and your money. Here are some of the newest techniques, which are just surfacing in the past couple of weeks. Deceased Employee’s Account Hacked, More Than 100 Systems Compromised. Hackers recently used an unpatched software flaw to gain access…
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Have (or Want) Federal Contracts? What You Need to Know About DFARS 252.204-7012/NIST 800-171
You’ve probably heard about the recent SolarWinds hack, which exposed a tremendous amount of government and corporate data to Russian hackers. While the scale was shocking, the hack itself was not. Foreign countries are constantly looking for sensitive US government information, especially defense-related information – and private contractors are a major source of that information….
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Bypassing Authentication, New Extortion Techniques, and the Perils of Default Passwords
So far, 2021 is starting much like 2020 ended in the world of cybersecurity – new techniques are constantly being devised by cybercriminals to earn higher payouts than ever. Here are two new techniques – and one very old one – to ring in the new year. Hackers Bypassing Multi-Factor Authentication It turns out…
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Web Browser Extensions, WordPress Exploit, and The Unceremonious End of Adobe Flash
We hope you and your employees have a happy and safe Christmas holiday this year! With your help, your network can stay safe too – take care to avoid these malware schemes, which are circulating during the last two weeks of 2020. Web Browser Add-ons Are a Growing Source of Malware While most people…