In the 1930s, France built a trench network called the Maginot Line to rebuff any invasion. The philosophy was simple: if you map out all the places an enemy can attack, and lay down a lot of men and fortifications at those places, you can rebuff any attack. The problem is, you can’t map every possible avenue for attack. What does this have to do with IT security? Today many business owners install an antivirus program as their Maginot [...]
Phishing Scams – A People Problem There are some things that only people can fix. There are many security risks to which your data is susceptible, but there is one method that remains a wonderfully effective hacking tool. That is the phishing scam. This is a legitimate looking email that asks the reader to click on a link. If clicked, the link can infect the user’s computer with malicious software that can steal passwords, logins, and other critical data. [...]
This cyberattack scheme hasn’t garnered nearly as much attention as the usual “break-in-and-steal-data-to-sell-on-the-Internet version,” but it can be even more debilitating. Ransomware attacks have begun appearing in the last few years and its practitioners are so polished that in few cases they even have minicall centers to handle your payments and questions. So what is ransomware? Ransomware stops you from using your PC, files or programs. The business model is as old as the earliest kidnapping. [...]
You hear on the news all of the time about big cyber attacks on large corporations, and even government agencies. The trouble with this news coverage is that is suggests a distorted view of where cyber attacks are taking place. These attacks are not solely hitting large organizations. Small firms represent a significant portion of those who face cyber attacks. Being small by no means keeps you immune. In fact, small firms can be used as [...]
