Technically Easy

Category: Security

Security is an important topic when it comes to technology. There are many different areas of security, so this category is divided into various sub-categories to help navigate through the posts on security.

  • Ways to Execute Effective Cyber Security

    Ways to Execute Effective Cyber Security

    The security leaders in organizations are the ones who deal with cyber attacks. They develop and implement controls, processes, and policies to make sure that hackers won’t access any sensitive information. They also keep cyber security programs effective and consistent all year round.

    Every business should always keep their organization updated in different security trends and the growing number of different security threats, in that way, they can come up with a concrete cyber security program. Security leaders must always seek for new information on how to widen their skills, the greater their knowledge, the greater they can help strengthen the business’ security policies.

    Simply put, security leaders execute cyber security plans while employing the necessary skills, such as strategic and technical skills. These skill sets are important in mitigating risks, and help co-employees be ready for any cyber attacks.

    Businesses not only store data about the whole organization but also their customers’ data. Negligence in securing those data could result to many problems, you could lose your business’ reliability and be accountable to different violations and penalties. Having a cyber security program in every businesses could help prevent those risks.

    Here are some of the most helpful ways to execute maximum cyber protection in your business data:

    • Employ highly competitive candidates. An effective cyber security program not only relies on security leaders, but also on all the individuals working in the organization. Therefore, it only makes sense to hire the best people who can help your business stay safe from hackers and other cyber criminals.
    • Actively take part in cyber security planning. From board of directors to customer representatives, everyone in the company must participate in the implementation of cyber security plans. Higher-ups can externally observe certain risk factors that may affect the security strategy being developed and implemented.
    • Continuously monitor data systems. It’s important to assess cyber security posture on a regular basis while observing the risk that may potentially harm your business. A risk assessment can be safely conducted every month or quarterly. Make sure to gather risk intelligence manually as well as other related research-intensive tasks.
    • Consider risk control. While there’s no perfect cyber security plan, risk can always find a way to become a reality. No matter how much you try to execute the best security measures to protect your business, you’re still vulnerable to cyber risk. This is why it’s important to consider your cyber security leaders to take control of the entire risk programs in the organization.
    • Get cyber insurance. If you want to transfer risk from your IT department, then getting a cyber insurance is the best option. This type of insurance reduces financial consequences which you may encounter once cyberattack hit your company. Also, as a backup plan, cyber insurance can help execute successful cyber security programs.
    • Raise employee security awareness. Your employees are usually the most vulnerable factor in handling your business data, it’s a must to include a security awareness training in your cyber security program to widen your employees’ security knowledge and to strengthen your company’s security measures, it could also help your security leaders to keep their knowledge up to date about cyber security trends.
    • Use two-factor authentication and strong passwords. It’s obviously necessary to create strong passwords to prevent misuse of data and hacking, the lesser the people who could access your business’ sensitive and important data, the lesser the risks from data breach.

    Most importantly, executing a cyber security program is not a one-time work. As a matter of fact, it’s an unending undertaking that you should keep up with and consistently implement.

    There are a lot of resources you can find in the internet to learn more about the daily security news that could help your business come up with new ideas to add in your cyber security program. For as long as there are cyber criminals who pose threat to your business, security policies must be uphold.

  • Five Fast Fixes When Your Computer Slows Down

    Five Fast Fixes When Your Computer Slows Down

    Now that computers have been part of our daily lives for a couple of decades, it’s easy to take for granted that they work just the way we want them to every minute of every day.

    Lightning-fast processors, broadband connections, streaming video, and real-time video capabilities make us want it all, want it fast, and want it now.

    That’s what makes things so exasperating when our computers slow down. They slow down our productivity at work. They limit our entertainment options. They frustrate us when we try to catch up with family and friends.

    Computers can get sluggish for a number of reasons, from the very simple to complicated matters like malware and the presence of viruses.

    Fortunately, there are lots of ways to speed up what has slowed down, most of them easy to implement and coming at little or no charge.

    Don’t use it? Uninstall it?

    Most modern computers are overloaded with programs and apps to make sure you have the opportunity to get every ounce of fun, productivity, and innovation out of your new purchase.

    But unless you’re independently wealthy and a huge computer geek, there’s no way you’re using each and every one of them. Unwanted programs can still take up a ton of memory.

    If they are programs that start automatically when the computer boots up, they’ll eat at your RAM usage too. Isolate them in your control panel and uninstall them.

    Delete temporary files

    Regardless of the browser you use, your computer will save temporary files from the sites you visit. This is done so that when the website is visited again, your computer does not have to download every single image again; it can pull some of them from its own files.

    These tiny pictures add up considerably over time, especially if you aren’t in the habit of regularly deleting them. Unchecked, they can take up hundreds of megabytes of data.

    Run a disk defragmentation

    Even when you delete a bunch of files or programs off your computer, there’s still a lot of unused memory. Think of it like a bag of bread. You can take slices out of the bag, but there’s still a lot of empty room in there that only vanishes if you squeeze all the air out.

    Your computer’s hard drive is much the same way; the empty spots where items were stored just sit open unless you run a disk defrag. It will compress open spaces to store the same information in smaller confinements.

    Invest in extra RAM

    You know when your computer just freezes up? It usually comes when you’re checking email, playing Scrabble online, and listening to music. RAM is the physical memory that powers up programs and keeps them running.

    When you start seeing your computer slow up when multitasking, it’s time to make a small investment in more memory. It’s cheap to buy and a snap to install.

    Get a better antivirus software

    Sometimes your computer isn’t slowing down for memory reasons or too much dust clogging the electronics. Sometimes it’s something intentionally dumped onto your machine that’s not only slowing your productivity, but also swiping your information.

    Viruses and malware can sneak onto your computer in a host of different ways, but can be very hard to identify without proper software. Antivirus software can remove corrupted programs and quarantine any item that might be irritating your system purposely.

  • Do Data Breaches Harm Our Youth?

    Do Data Breaches Harm Our Youth?

    It’s easy to assume that adults are the only people affected by data breaches. After all, these breaches typically expose credit card information, social security numbers, and other details used for identity theft. Anyone under 18 does not seem like a valuable target.

    In reality, however, children are specifically targeted by hackers. A report published by Javelin Strategy & Research showed that over a million children had their identity stolen in 2017. That resulted in $2.6 billion in total losses, with families shouldering $540 million of that cost directly.

    So why would hackers go after youths? It’s because their social security is still valuable even if they are underage. Once hackers have the number they can use it to establish lines of credit. And it’s actually easier to use a minor’s social security number since they have little to no established credit history. Essentially, their identity is a blank slate, making it ripe for manipulation and deception.

    Sadly, no kid is too young to be a target. The same study showed that 66 percent of the kids with stolen identities are under 8 years old. Hackers have a complete disregard for a child’s age and no compunction about targeting the youngest kids.

    To a certain extent it’s their age that makes these kids vulnerable. Kids spend as much time online as adults but are less aware about cybersecurity. As a result, they often fall prey to attacks and schemes that adults would avoid. Kid’s data is easier to compromise simply because of their relative inexperience.

    The frequency of cyber security news articles reporting on kids is rising. Parents must take the lead to keep their kids and their kid’s identities safe online. Here are some tips:

    • Scrutinize Privacy Policies. Before allowing kids to install software or download a platform, review the privacy policies. Look specifically at what data is collected and how it’s used.
    • Teach Best Practices. These include using strong passwords, ignoring requests from strangers, and keeping personal information a secret.
    • Create Rules and Boundaries. Limiting how kids use the internet also limits their exposure to online threats. Be willing to dictate or restrict when and how kids engage with the internet.
    • Keep a Close Watch. If possible, monitor how kids use the internet directly. That could mean being in the same room or installing a monitoring program. That way, if kids are using the internet recklessly parents are aware of it.
    • Study the COPPA Rule. The Children’s Online Privacy and Protection Act (COPPA) mandates that sites get parental consent before collecting data on kids. It’s worth it for all parents to reviews the details and guidelines set out in COPPA.
    • Use Security Software. Any computer user can fall victim to an attack. With antivirus software in place there is less chance of a computer infection compromising a kid’s data.

    Parents are responsible for protecting kids in the real world, and the responsibility extends to the online world. There are lots of threats to watch out for, but data thieves should be at the top of the list.

  • OneLogin

    OneLogin

    There’s a serious problem that’s growing with the shifting trends of business today, and it’s an elephant in every room that every bottom-rung entrepreneur and CEO alike wants to ignore.

    The problem is that businesses are becoming increasingly reliant upon third-party services to carry out their work and secure quality assurance metrics.

    These metrics must be met for a host of revenue- and legal-driven reasons that can lead to insurance cuts, lost business and other serious problems down the road, so of course it’s important for every manufacturer to enlist vendors for every task that the manufacturer itself isn’t equipped to handle on its own.

    This is why people hear about the network of seemingly invisible companies that are woven into a single operation.

    In fact, the increasing complexity and pace of society today has burgeoned to such a degree that nearly half of the manufacturers out there have left their databases severely exposed to the laptops, tablets or smartphones that their third-party representatives are using to capture and report information with.

    The ubiquity of smartphones has made it ever more possible for black-hat code manipulators to shoehorn themselves through the many uneven edges in the out-facing facade of a manufacturer’s metaphorical cyber-garrison.

    Sobering dtatistics

    There are several ways that an unwanted presence can find its way into a manufacturer’s database. Consider the fact that most field vendors create the following environment for the back-end IT managers to contend with:

    • Different operating systems.
    • Different versions of the same operating systems.
    • Different applications installed on each of those operating systems that potentially have their own backdoors, permissions and loopholes.
    • Different browsers to interact with the web.
    • Different connection types, protocols and providers.
    • Different hardware with potentially unique exploits in each combination.

    This conglomeration creates a nearly infinite number of variables that a hacker can leverage to gain entry to personal information; it’s just a matter of finding the most convenient one and kicking down whichever doors aren’t secured properly with multi-factor authentication.

    Some exploits are discovered early by the wrong people and are never revealed until an opportune moment arises. This leads the discussion to some scary numbers:

    1. Ten percent of the manufacturers on the market are exchanging data with 200 or more vendors.
    2. Another 33 percent use between 25 and 200 vendors.
    3. Of all the manufacturers that are impacted by security breaches, 90 percent are left with at least $190,000 in damages.
    4. The other 10 percent of that figure experience losses at a minimum of $750,000 per breach.

    The problem this creates

    No, this isn’t an attempt at calling out how people handle their businesses; in fact, that has very little to do with this.

    The reality is, a new age of computing technology, networking and security concerns means new MFA measures must be adapted to circumvent the ever-growing threat of privacy breaches that could expose not only client data but also result in massive damages to company operations on top.

    Many of these attacks occur from individuals who operate on the dark web to exchange the fruits of identity theft for sums of bitcoin to those who can impersonate clients, and the last charge that any entrepreneur wants to be saddled with in a courtroom is facilitating the ruination of people who trusted their services.

    How to handle it

    Companies are handling this in a number of roundabout ways with, well, more third-party companies: deep web scanners, security checkpoints, misplaced multi-factor authentication protocols, over-tightened restrictions and a number of other underwhelming measures that don’t actually prevent malicious code from making it in the front gate and to the hard drives themselves.

    No, this is where the manufacturer needs to trust in OneLogin, a service that provides a complete barrier to set the business servers apart from the vendors who report their work and log into the system.

    OneLogin works by channeling all incoming connections through their own services before allowing them to pass to the manufacturer’s servers, acting as a mediator.

    This funnels every connection from every app, operating system and hardware configuration into a single connection that’s secured by MFA protects vendors, businesses and clients alike.

    As the world moves forward, services provided by companies like OneLogin are becoming more important, especially for larger businesses.

  • The Must Have Security Features for Any eCommerce Platform

    The Must Have Security Features for Any eCommerce Platform

    The rapid growth in the ecommerce industry, in many ways, is also a result of the level of confidence that people have in the online payment mechanisms. eCommerce websites that are able to showcase their use of the best in class security features, in terms of payment processing, as well as customer data privacy, are on track for success at a scale.

    A bit on ecommerce security

    Regardless of the scale of any ecommerce enterprise, what makes them such an appealing target for cybercriminals are the volume and value of data they host. Hundreds of customers share their personal details, banking information, and other useful data (that is supposed to remain confidential) to register with, use, and get the best of ecommerce services.

    Thousands of ecommerce-related cybercrimes take place on a daily basis, with even giant ventures, like eBay, falling prey to these attacks. Online security is, thus, an aspect where compromises should never be made on. Sufficient resources should go into tightening the security of online business platforms to their utmost.

    The following is an elaborate list of some of the most quintessential security features that every ecommerce platform should possess:

    Go for layered security

    According to cyber-security experts, the best method to ensure that an ecommerce platform is safe from cybercrimes is by going for a multi factor authentication mechanism. Adding layers to the security protocol makes the security tougher to breach, and the violation endeavor more time-consuming.

    This, in turn, discourages hackers from targeting your ecommerce website.

    For instance, a firewall for the website’s server is common and necessary. However, it is wise to enhance its utility by preparing a detailed contact form and necessitating strong passwords from registered users that contain combinations of uppercase and lowercase letters and numbers.

    SSL certificates: a must have

    When sensitive information is being exchanged, the exchange taking place between the internet browser of the end-user and the website needs to be secured. SSL or Secure Sockets Layer encrypt these communications so as to secure them from unauthorized access.

    Installation of SSL certificates, along with other protocols mentioned in the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard, have been made compulsory for ecommerce entrepreneurs, who are lawfully held responsible for securing the information provided by customers.

    These certificates can either be availed for free or via paid subscriptions, depending on the agency in charge of installing these certificates.

    Adopting VPNs

    Public networks are accessed by large numbers of people, and hence, always on the hit list of cyber criminals. These networks might not be the safest option for operating an ecommerce platform.

    Adopting a Virtual Private Network that is equipped with offsite servers and secures communications via encryptions is a much smarter decision when it comes to safeguarding online transactions.

    Encryptions are of paramount importance because they do not allow external online parties from actively or passively involving itself in communications between websites and end-user servers.

    The cost of availing VPN services depends on the mode of services that you have opted for. Open-VPN and SSL-VPN are two cost-effective security options.

    Security auditing

    Frequent security checkups and audits are recommended for sustaining and bolstering your ecommerce website’s safety-net. Audits help weed out potential threats that may have found their way onto these portals.

    It is, thus, a good idea to eliminate records of past transactions, just like it’s done by new online casinos and apps. Since these portals deal with round-the-clock cash flow, they take security concerns rather seriously to ensure that their clients’ information is safeguarded properly.

    Their tech teams are always on guard regarding malicious attempts made on their servers.

    Protection against DDoS targets

    DDoS stands for Distributed Denial of Service, a form of cybercrime that has kept website security teams awake at night many times. Moreover, they keep adapting to more complex versions so as to dodge measures that are generally employed against these attacks.

    Cloud-based DNS facilities that come equipped with transaction provisions help guard websites against DDoS attacks by removing suspicious or unnecessary traffic.

    Investing in an efficient service that fights DDoS attacks is a much more pocket-friendly move than trying to tackle them on your own. Not only do DNS services safeguard ecommerce websites, but they also provide 100% DNS guarantees that enable more reliable communications between the website and servers.

    Concluding remarks

    In order to ensure long-term success for an ecommerce platform, its website security must be the first base covered during development. It is one of the most important pillars that hold these platforms up and should, thus, be updated, maintained and checked religiously.

    Whether it’s a multi-brand online retail store, an online service provider, or a thriving online casino, you need to ensure the best of information security, always.

  • When Bad Gets Worse: DDoS Attacks on the Rise in Numbers and Complexity

    When Bad Gets Worse: DDoS Attacks on the Rise in Numbers and Complexity

    There may come a time when, without tether to logic or reason, you may begin to think that the number of DDoS attacks can no longer rise because there is no more room on the internet.

    That the DDoS attacks that have already occurred have taken up all the space that could possibly be allotted to such damaging cyber assaults and any new attempts will simply have to be turned away.

    However, websites and businesses across the internet should probably be aware that if it didn’t happen in Q3 2017, it probably isn’t going to. DDoS attacks have hit a major uptick, and even worse? They’re getting more sophisticated.

    By the numbers

    The good news is that from the second quarter of 2017 to the third quarter of 2017, monthly distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks only rose 35%.

    If you’re thinking that doesn’t sound like good news, well, it will after this next stat: from the first quarter of 2017 to the third quarter of 2017, monthly DDoS attacks rose 91%. Ninety-one percent. Just 9% less than a full 100%. In less than a year.

    That Q3 rate basically translates to eight attack attempts per day per organization for a total of about 237 attempts per month. Yes, that number is still per organization.

    Two-hundred and thirty-seven attempts to make an organization’s website inaccessible to its users and customers, leading to frustration and a long-term loss of loyalty from which it can be impossible to fully recover.

    Placing the blame

    The biggest cause of this increase is easy to point to, literally. Look around the room you’re in and point at the DVR, webcam, router, or any number of Internet of Things (IoT) devices.

    These so-called smart devices aren’t terribly brilliant when it comes to security as they’re generally designed with more of an emphasis on innovation than safeguarding against malware.

    Compounding those issues is the fact that users don’t often think to change the default admin names and passwords, and if they do think to, it often isn’t easy to accomplish.

    These factors combine to great billions of bullseye devices in the IoT for hackers creating DDoS botnets by infecting devices with malware that allows them to be controlled remotely.

    It’s now easier than ever to assemble botnets of a significant size, and since a DDoS attack is a distributed form of a DoS attack, the more infected devices at an attacker’s disposal, the more damage he or she can easily do.

    For many enterprising cybercriminals, that damage is done thanks to DDoS for hire services, another major factor in the increase of incidents.

    Anyone with an internet connection, a bit of money to spare and the willingness to commit a cybercrime can pay as little as a few dollars to rent the use of a botnet and launch a DDoS attack at any website they’d like.

    Whether users are signing on to settle grudges, cause random chaos, enjoy the fallout on social media, or even send a DDoS ransom note demanding payment in exchange for no further attacks, this is a business that’s booming.

    Yet another issue

    While on the one hand, the ease of building a botnet and getting to use one has certainly hugely contributed to the current distributed denial of service epidemic, on the other hand there is an increase in complexity that’s also causing problems.

    Typically, the attacks that come from DDoS for hire services are short-burst and relatively low-volume. The for-hire attacks that aren’t, are massive volumetric bruisers coming from IoT botnets, the ones that grab headlines for their firepower.

    Generally speaking, the more a user is willing to pay, the bigger and longer the attack. These attacks don’t account for the entire increase in monthly assaults, though: in the second quarter a full 20% of attacks were multi-vector, which are sophisticated attacks that use at least two different methods to try and beat site security and get attack traffic to the victim server.

    Worse yet, these sophisticated attacks – undertaken by skilled attackers as opposed to the average spiteful internet user – are often accompanied by malware or used as a distraction for another data extraction attempt, making the potential consequences of a successful DDoS attack even more dire than they already are.

    Piling on

    DDoS is not a new threat. Security experts and even many non-experts have been harping on the risks of failing to adequately protect against these attacks for years.

    It’s at the point now where, for reasons that vary widely, nearly every website is at risk of a serious attack and in need of professional DDoS mitigation services.

    The odds that DDoS attack numbers will go from a 91% increase over the course of three quarters in 2017 to falling in 2018 are not good, to put it mildly.

    Nor are the odds that attackers will cease assembling those easy IoT botnets and making bank on for-hire services, or launching sophisticated attacks that can worm their way through security defenses and possibly even result in data breaches.

    Further, the odds are truly terrible that the internet will reach a DDoS attack limit, no matter how sharply numbers keep increasing.

  • How Accountants Can Take a Bite Out of Cybercrime

    How Accountants Can Take a Bite Out of Cybercrime

    Accounting firms and CPA’s sit at a valuable intersection between defending against cyberattacks and maintaining the type of client information that places them at greater risk of exposure to ruinous cyberattacks.

    This intersection gives accountants a prime opportunity to take both offensive and defensive postures against cybercrime.

    On the defensive side, accounting firms need to remain aware of the most common modalities of cyberattacks in their industry. Although some hackers might try sophisticated attacks, a majority of hackers continue to use old-school email phishing and malware attacks.

    They will send an email to an accounting firm employee that appears to be from a legitimate source, directing the employee to click on a link for more information.

    That link then inserts malware into the accounting firm’s systems. The malware can then record keystrokes to give hackers even deeper access into a system, or launch a ransomware attack that freezes the systems until the firm pays a ransom to an anonymous payee.

    Accounting firms can protect themselves from these types of attacks with the same strategies that are used by companies in other industries.

    The first strategy is employee education that includes strict instructions not to click on email attachments, particularly if the email is from an unknown source. Because client documents often include confidential financial information, firms and their clients should exchange those documents only through encrypted portals that are specific to that purpose.

    Email encryption and strong passwords that are changed frequently will also improve the security of an accounting firm’s networks.

    Accounting firms are in a better position than companies in many other industries to implement offensive strategies against cyberattackers, not just for themselves, but also for their clients.

    In their roles as auditors, CPA’s have an objective perspective on how their clients use information technology and how that technology affects the client’s financial reporting.

    Accounting and cybercrime.

    The Association for Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) is actively encouraging its members to expand their auditing role with cybersecurity services.

    Accountants also understand the risks of making material misstatements on their publicly-traded clients’ financial reports. The close scrutiny that accountants place on clients during an audit can reveal hidden discrepancies that might be evidence of a previously-undetected cyberattack.

    Many accounting firms have used their auditing experience to expand their own service offerings with dedicated cybersecurity consulting teams.

    Those consulting services go beyond advising on how to prevent cyberattacks. When a client has experienced a cyberattack, for example, accountants can quickly help the victim assess the extent of the damage and to determine whether and to what extent a response is needed.

    A cyberattack may or may not expose the personal or financial information of a company’s clients. Accountants can assess the risks of that exposure and advice their clients on how to notify affected parties in order to reduce regulatory oversight and fines that may be levied on account of the client’s loss of third-party data.

    No accounting firm will have the credibility to provide cybersecurity services unless it has first improved the defenses around its own internal systems and networks and adopted a strategy to respond to a cyberattack if and when it happens.

    Cybersecurity insurance from a CPA insurance company is a critical element in that strategy. Clients of accounting firms that carry this insurance will have greater assurances that their financial information is protected.

    If a cyberattacker does breach the accounting firm’s cyber defenses, the firm’s clients will have a source of insurance compensation for any financial losses they might experience if their financial information is used for improper purposes.

    With the growth in cybercrime and cyberattacks on businesses, accounting firm cybersecurity insurance will be as important as errors and omissions and general liability coverage for every accounting firm.

  • How Companies Secure Their Networks in 2017

    How Companies Secure Their Networks in 2017

    Those who work in industries — whether it’s in retail advertising, corporate communications, the financial sector, or a healthcare setting such as a hospital — know how critically important it is to ensure that sensitive information remains secure.

    Whether you are going to be dealing with your company’s confidential client information, or you have been trusted with access to an individual’s banking or healthcare records, it is vital that the network your workplace relies on is effective and secure at all times — your organization’s reputation and customers’ trust in you ultimately depends on it.

    A business’ success can entirely depend on a trusted network as well. For instance, in order to remain one step ahead of competitors in a crowded marketplace, it is essential for retail companies to constantly remain vigilant: they must work to safeguard their information and ensure that sales figures and prices remain secure.

    In a retail context, it is particularly important for companies to keep a tight grip on what their prices will be on big shopping days, so competitors don’t price their goods or services similarly and effectively take away customers.

    So in today’s digital world, what can companies do to ensure their network will remain secure? Retail companies are just one example of the type of organization that would benefit from a securely managed network.

    Prominent, large companies that have more than one office will need to make their data available to all employees in as efficient a manner as possible. You might assume that such a problem would fall into the hands of a large company’s pre-existing IT department.

    However, IT departments at large organizations frequently face competing priorities that make it difficult to find the time to regularly manage IT infrastructure. As a result, many companies choose to seek out a third-party organization to securely manage their network, so that their IT department has time to focus on company growth, and can remain available to handle other challenges at hand.

    Today, more and more companies are turning to secure cloud solutions to enhance the way they do business. Modern businesses rely on virtual data centres to ensure that important private information — which their employees will need to be able to access in whichever location they are working — is stored as efficiently as possible.

    This is becoming particularly important in an age of globalization and digitization, when more and more employees are required to travel for business, and continue to work remotely. Of course, depending on what your business does, you will have different needs than others in respects to what and how much information needs to be stored.

    A virtual data centre offers resources such as memory, storage and bandwidth that are able to accommodate what it is you are specifically looking for.

    If you work in a large company, your IT department will have a better understanding about what those specific needs may be — a virtual data centre solution is often designed with the idea that it will be managed by an IT department.