MSPNetworks Blog

It probably isn’t a question you’ve put much thought to, but tell me: who do you think feels the greatest impact from card skimming schemes, where a payment card’s data is captured so a cybercriminal can make use of the card’s associated account? While it isn’t a good situation for anyone, some are impacted more than others.

Unfortunately, card skimming is even worse for those who rely on prepaid cards provided by the state for food assistance. Let’s consider why this is.

Skimming Losses are Worse for Those Receiving Assistance

Authorities across the country have taken note of increased losses associated with those receiving assistance through the Electronic Benefits Transfer (better known as EBT), which permits participants with the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to pay for their food purchases.

When a SNAP card is used, the associated EBT account is debited so the store is reimbursed for the purchase. In this way, the EBT card is effectively a debit card—they even have an associated PIN and can be used to withdraw money from an ATM.

However, EBT cards largely lack the protections that most other payment cards have, like the more secure smart chip technology that makes these cards harder to duplicate, or the fraud protections that other payment cards have. If SNAP funds are fraudulently stolen and spent, the rightful recipient has little recourse to take. They’re effectively out that money…money that they need as a member of the program.

It isn’t exactly news that criminals and scammers have found ways to steal card data, either…and they’re getting better at doing it surreptitiously. The devices used to “skim” data off of payment cards (cleverly referred to as “skimmers”) can now be hidden inside cash machines, or camouflaged to look like just another part of the device. This makes it more challenging to spot these skimmers, putting more people at risk in general of having their data cloned and used to create additional copies of payment cards that the thief can use or sell.

What Can Be Done?

Well, short of more states implementing improved security measures into their EBT cards—eliminating the magnetic strip and replacing it with the modern chips that other card types use—it really falls to the user and the business where an ATM or other card-reading device is located to prevent these issues. Keep an eye out for people trying to tamper with these machines, and discontinue its use if you can until it has been fully checked by a professional for card skimming devices. As a customer, give any card reader a close look before you swipe to see if it looks at all unusual.

MSPNetworks is here to help keep your business more secure and efficient, both for your benefit and that of your clients and customers. Find out how we can help via our managed services by calling (516) 403-9001.

For millions of people, the rubber ducky is a benign reminder of childhood. Depending on when you were a child, the rendition of Sesame Street’s Ernie singing “Rubber Duckie, you’re the one,” is ingrained in your mind every time you hear the term. Unfortunately, the Rubber Ducky we are going to tell you about today has only fond recollection for people who are looking to breach networks they aren’t authorized to access or deliver malware payloads that are designed to cause havoc. 

What is the Rubber Ducky?

The Rubber Ducky is a device that looks like a regular flash drive that you would use to transfer files from one PC to another. We’ve all used them, and with most of us moving to cloud-based platforms, they don’t seem to be as popular as they once were. Well, despite that notion, the USB flash drive industry is growing at a pretty impressive 7% year-over-year, and is currently a $7+ billion industry. That means there are a lot of USB flash drives being created every year and that means that there are millions of them just floating around. 

The Rubber Ducky is more than your average USB flash drive, however. It looks like one, but when it is plugged into a computer, it is read as a simple accessory like a keyboard. This means that any defensive measure that is set up to thwart potentially dangerous data transmission is already worked around when the device gets plugged in, making it much easier for the device to work for the hacker’s end goals, whatever they are. Any keystroke taken while the device is open, is trusted, making the sky the proverbial limit when it comes to device access. 

What Kind of Threat Is the Modern Rubber Ducky?

Any USB dongle needs to be carefully considered before inserting it into your computer, but the Rubber Ducky is designed to overcome the limitations of previous versions of the hardware. The new version makes a major upgrade in that it runs on the “DuckyScript” programming language that the device will use to create demands on any target machine. Other iterations of the Rubber Ducky were limited to writing what are known as “keystroke sequences”, the new DuckyScript is a feature-rich language, which lets users write functions, store variables, and use logic to make it possible to carry out complex computations. 

Now the Rubber Ducky can determine which operating system is running a machine and deploy code that allows for hackers to get into the appropriate software. It can also mask automated executions by adding a delay between keystrokes to make the computing system think that it is human. Most intrusively, it can steal data from any target by encoding it in binary, giving users the ability to extract critical information (such as saved authentication) with ease.

What You Can Do

The best practice here is to not allow strange USB dongles to be placed in your device’s USB drives. Unless you know exactly where the device has come from and what is on it, avoiding interactions with it is the best way to keep away anything unsavory that happens to be on the device to interact with your computer’s OS, and by extension, your network.

Being wary of hardware is just one part of keeping your business and personal information secure. MSPNetworks can help build a cybersecurity strategy that takes into account all types of malware deployment methodology, keeping you from any problematic experiences with your IT. Give us a call today at (516) 403-9001 to learn more. 

How often do you get emails from individuals claiming to be working with a business who wants to do business with yours or sell you a product, completely unsolicited and even perhaps a bit suspicious? These types of messages can often land small businesses in hot water, as it only takes one phishing email landing in the wrong inbox at the wrong time to put your business in jeopardy.

The biggest problem with phishing emails is one that you might not expect. It’s certainly problematic enough that phishing scams are increasingly more common, and it’s definitely a challenge to ensure that your infrastructure stays secure under such circumstances. However, you’ll find that the major challenge that cybersecurity professionals face in regard to phishing scams is that hackers are just too crafty with how they continuously adjust their tactics.

Phishing attacks can come in several different manners and tactics, each of them focusing on the fact that the weakest points of your security infrastructure have to do with the human elements of your cybersecurity strategy. They might come in the form of an unsolicited email, or they could come from a phone call asking for sensitive information. No matter what, though, they are going to find ways to circumvent your security protections somehow simply because hackers realize that their best chance of getting through to your organization is through your employees.

And this is not even taking into account the scam emails that are so convincing that even the spam filters cannot capture these potentially dangerous messages. If a hacker takes the time to research your organization and make their message seem like an authentic message, there is a chance that it can bypass your spam filters entirely and become a very real threat to your business. These types of messages can be difficult to identify, especially if your users have not had any formal training about phishing messages.

Simply put, you absolutely cannot rely on your spam filter to keep you safe from the countless threats out there. Messages that don’t automatically get caught by the software’s filters could very well still be phishing emails that have been tailor-made to strike your organization with a social engineering attack.

We always recommend that businesses implement not only enterprise-grade spam filtering to keep the majority of threats out of your employees’ inboxes, but also to train your employees to identify potential threats. This is a type of preventative approach that all businesses should implement, and it’s one that is often overlooked. It’s easy to think that technology can solve all of your problems, and while it’s pretty likely to make improvements to your security infrastructure, it’s only as effective as the people who work for you.

It might be impossible to guarantee that your employees never see a phishing message, but you can optimize the chances that they will act appropriately if you provide them with the correct training and IT resources. MSPNetworks can help fulfill both for your business. We can equip your business with enterprise-grade solutions to keep threats off your network while also providing the training needed to inform your team’s security practices.

To learn more, reach out to us at (516) 403-9001.

Anyone who has a mailbox or an email knows all about junk mail. We all receive Publisher’s Clearing House entries, calls about your car’s extended warranty, promotions for items and events that you swore that you discontinued by typing “STOP”, and just needless spam that you waste your time going through and deleting. We receive unsolicited messages every single day.

It’s actually more routine now than annoying. 

Today, there are more scams directed at the average individual than ever; and, as a result, it can have negative effects on every organization if someone mistakenly interacts with the wrong one. If you think it isn’t a big deal consider that these scams cost individuals, businesses, and governments over a trillion dollars every year. That’s >$1,000,000,000,000. These scams affect more people from all different types of age groups more than any other crime. Today, we’ll go through why so many people fall for scams and what you can do to protect yourself against being part of this staggering statistic. 

More Scams, More Exposure

The first reason that there are more people falling for scams is because there are just so many scams sent out. For years, there were lottery scams that cost people in the neighborhood of $200 million dollars, but today that cost has doubled; presumably because there are just more scams of that type sent every day. Before everyone depended so highly on the Internet, scams would happen, but they would be more intimate. Individual people stealing money by getting people to invest in real estate scams. Even the Bernie Madoff scam, that defrauded investors of over $64 billion dollars, was the work of a lone firm where many of the people working there thought the company was legitimate. 

 Today, there are teams (companies, in fact) that are in business to defraud people. Since the cost of perpetuating this type of crime has dropped substantially, businesses with the model of fraud have grown and are responsible for the major increase in stolen money.

 What’s worse, it is more difficult than ever to catch and prosecute these criminal organizations. They often operate out of nations that don’t have the type of law enforcement infrastructure needed to combat them. Think about this: Have you recently got a phone call from your area code only to answer it and it be a scam caller? This isn’t somebody in the next town trying to sell you on an extended warranty for your car, it is someone a world away using a routing program to spoof the number that will work to engage the call’s recipient. 

Scams Have Targets

Another reason people are falling for scams is that they are becoming more and more sophisticated by the day. Scams today use the names of popular brands or even people’s own companies to get them to engage with the ruse. Most businesses move fast, especially on the Internet and if a subordinate gets an email from their direct supervisor to send money, login credentials, or other sensitive information, many workers will ignore the warning signs and complete the task. Only after the fact will they understand that they’ve been had by an organization that’s whole mission is to steal data and defraud individuals. 

 The more familiar the tone of the correspondence and the more familiar the whole thing is presented as, the more apt that people are going to let their guard down and interact with these scams. Somewhat surprisingly, younger people are more likely to ignore warning signs and move forward. There are more millennials in the current workforce than any other generation and their lack of awareness, or even their desire to do their job well, can lead to major issues. Since older employees tend to have experience dealing directly with the people they need to deal with, they aren’t as targeted as younger employees. That said, there were over 1.2 trillion phishing emails sent in 2020, and that number continues to rise every year, so everyone remains a target. 

What You Can Do

Well as a business owner or manager, you need to do everything in your power to keep your people educated about how to interact with scam emails, phone calls, and instant messages. Let’s look at some good tips to follow when educating your staff and building your cybersecurity strategy. 

• Be alert - In order to catch a phishing scam before it creates a headache for you, you have to interact with every message you get with a degree of skepticism.
• Verify - The best way to avoid troubles from email and messages sent to you that demand action is to verify with the sender. It doesn’t take that long and any grief you may get from it is far less than the grief you would get if you sent money or information to an unauthorized person outside the organization.
• Look for telltale phishing signs - Does the message you received demand things of you that aren’t normal? Does it have links, phone numbers, or attachments that the email directs you to interact with? Are there spelling and grammar errors? If the message you’ve received doesn’t seem legitimate, it likely isn’t.
• Use security software - One of the best ways to fish out phishing emails is to use a spam protection program. Most enterprise emails have one built in, but they don’t always catch all of them. If you find that you are getting spam emails in your inbox, you can direct them to your spam folder. 
• Keep a backup (or several) - One of the best ways to protect your business in lieu of all the scams and hacks going on is to ensure that your applications and data are backed up. At MSPNetworks, we utilize a backup and disaster recovery service that keeps your files backed up onsite and in an offsite data center to ensure that when you need to get to your backups, you can. 

 If you would like to know more about how to avoid online scams and keep your business more secure, give us a call today at (516) 403-9001 and return to our blog regularly.

Phishing attacks can be scary to deal with, especially since it is not unheard of for staff members to not even know they are looking at one. To make sure your staff can identify and respond to phishing attacks in an appropriate way, we’ve put together this short guide to help you along the way.

First, let’s go over what makes a phishing attack.

What is Phishing?

Phishing is one of the most common forms of cyberattacks used by criminals with goals ranging from stealing data to gaining access to an infrastructure. Essentially, a phishing attack is an attempt by a cybercriminal to communicate with your team members in hopes that they will give away important information or allow access to critical systems. Phishing attacks are a natural evolution of cyberattacks that rose in popularity due to the advancement of security standards; while solutions have grown stronger and more difficult to crack, the human mind remains ever-vulnerable.

Phishing emails are the most well-known type of phishing attack, but they also come in other forms, like online forms designed to harvest credentials, SMS messages with infected links, phone calls, and other means of communication. Since phishing attacks can take so many different forms, it’s important that your team knows what to look for in these attempts, as well as how to report them to your trusted IT administrator. 

Let’s go over some of the ways your team members can identify a potential phishing attack.

Signs That a Phishing Attack is Targeting You

There are plenty of warning signs you can use to identify a phishing attack. Here is a short list to consider, but if you have any concerns at all, we hope you will reach out to us at (516) 403-9001 to learn more about them:

• A tone that doesn’t match the supposed sender
• Misspellings and other discrepancies in key details, like email addresses, domain names, and links
• Out-of-the-blue messages
• Egregious spelling and grammar errors
• Unexpected or out-of-context attachments
• Excessive urgency behind, or open threats as a consequence of, not complying with the message
• Ambiguous messages that motivate the recipient to investigate
• Unusual requests, or requests for explicitly sensitive information

It’s incredibly important to know what these warning signs are so you can actively keep a lookout for them. If you don’t, who knows what could happen?

We’re Here to Help Keep Your Team Safe!

If you feel you could use some help keeping your business safe from phishing attacks, we are happy to help. To learn more, reach out to us at (516) 403-9001.

If you are a frequent reader of our blog, you know all about phishing scams. They are emails and messages sent that are designed to extort money and gain access to computers and networks for nefarious purposes. The popular IT support company Geek Squad, a subsidiary of Best Buy, is the latest company caught up in such a scam. Let’s take a look at how the scam works and how you can avoid becoming its next victim.

The Scam Overview

The scam starts benign enough: users will get an email that tells the user that their Geek Squad membership has been renewed. Typically the people that receive this email aren’t members of any recurring Geek Squad service, so they call the toll-free number listed in the email to find out what the deal is. The operator on the other end of the line then agrees to refund the money, but demands access to your online banking account to quickly refund the money. They ask for remote access to your computer to show you how to securely do this. 

Then things go completely sideways.

The technician then tells the user that something has gone wrong and tells the user that they mistakenly sent a large amount of money to their bank. Using intimidation and accusations, they get the user to then withdraw money from their bank account and send it to an address to settle up. These fake technicians (fraudsters) will then try to extort more money out of users by saying that the parcel containing the money was never received. It has cost hundreds of people hundreds of thousands of dollars over the first half of 2022 alone.

So, you don’t think you could fall for such a thing? That’s what every victim thinks until they are thousands of dollars lighter in their bank account. Last year, it was Norton Antivirus and during the height of the pandemic it was the IRS and Amazon. These scams never stop, so you should know how they operate so that you can do your best to stay secure. These scams:

• Use the name of a popular and well-established organization
• Send emails with attachments or links that, if you look past the frenetic content of the message, seem completely suspect. 
• Use urgency to stress the user out and make mistakes they normally wouldn’t.

Questions About Phishing You Need to Consider

If you think a message you’ve received could be a potential phishing attack, you should ask yourself these three questions: 

• Who Sent It? – Are there irregularities in the address it came from, are names or suffixes misspelled, or does it come from someone who has never corresponded with you before?
• What Does the Message Contain? - Are there any links shared in it, does a strange URL appear when you hover your cursor over them, are there any attachments?
• What Does the Message Actually Say? – Are there spelling and grammar issues in a professional email, is there an excessive sense of urgency or time sensitivity communicated, or is there a request to do something like share data or forward access credentials?

Phishing scams aren’t ever going to stop, so knowing how to identify and thwart attacks before you are out money or your organization deals with a data breach is extremely important. Check back soon for more great cybersecurity content.

The world is full of people who would try to take advantage of your organization and its employees—or, in less gratifying words, scammers. They will do everything they can to try to fool your company and make a quick buck doing so. How can you make sure that the countless messages and phone calls you receive on a daily basis aren’t crooks trying to scam you out of house and home? It all starts with a little awareness.

If you are reading this blog, it’s because you want to know how you can avoid being scammed while going about your day-to-day business. Here are three tips we can offer to help you identify scammers and handle them accordingly.

Trust No One

Scammers will often try to pose as someone you know, be it a business you recognize or one that you associate with on a daily basis. There have been reports of some scammers even impersonating people within your own organization; sometimes scammers might take on the persona of someone on the executive level to convince others to wire transfer funds or to convince them to do something shady. Avoiding these scammers starts with taking a critical look at who is sending the message, and from where. If something seems a little suspicious, cross-reference the contact with what you have on file or have a conversation with the person who supposedly sent the message face-to-face.

It’s Too Good (or Bad) to Be True

Scammers often use prizes or problems to lure unsuspecting victims into giving up sensitive information. These are pretty easy to identify, as they might claim you have entered a contest that you have no recollection of entering, or they might suggest issues with an order you don’t recall placing.

You Must Act Immediately

Scammers often urge you to take immediate action, whether it’s something that is good or bad that must be addressed. There might even be an unreasonable amount of rush to perform a certain action, like resetting a password, paying a bill, or otherwise, sometimes with the threat of law enforcement or government agencies getting involved. Regardless, something of this magnitude should always be approached with a grain of salt.

If any of the above conditions are met, then you might be looking at a scammer. We urge you to use caution when dealing with any of the above situations, and when all else fails, rely on the word of professionals like MSPNetworks. We can tell you if the emails you receive are authentic or if there is a severe security flaw on your network. To learn more about how we can help your business, reach out to us at (516) 403-9001 and let our expertise speak for itself.

The holiday season is a time for merriment and good cheer, but hackers have historically used it to take advantage of peoples’ online shopping tendencies. Phishing scams are always on the rise during the holiday season, so you need to take steps now to ensure that you don’t accidentally put yourself at risk—especially with voice spoofing emerging as a threat for Amazon orders.

This particular threat involves an email scam in which users are encouraged to call a number listed to confirm an order, usually one with a large price tag associated with it. This tactic is used to harvest phone numbers and credit card credentials that can be used in later attacks. Security researchers at Avanan have found that the contact number listed on the email is not Amazon’s; instead, it’s a scammer who records the phone number with Caller ID. The user is then contacted by the scammer who requests further financial information, claiming that they are to cancel the order.

Anyone familiar with Amazon and how it works will immediately be suspicious of these practices. First, most people who use the service will know how to cancel an Amazon order. All they need to do is log into their account and do it from there. Second, if you ordered something, Amazon should technically have your financial information already on record, so why would it need to be confirmed once again? It just sounds fishy. All one needs to do to avoid these threats is slow down, take a step back, and don’t go looking for problems that may not even exist.

These scams revolving around online retailers are not a new concept, but this one is notable because the emails are able to get past spam blockers and content filters. It manages this by using legitimate links within the body of the email, so your email solution might not flag it as spam or a threat.

We offer the following advice to you:

• Don’t call numbers you don’t recognize.
• Don’t click on suspicious links in your email inbox.
• Don’t give out your personal information or credit card information just because someone on the phone told you to.
• Check the sender for any message you feel is suspicious to ensure it is legitimate.
• Check your account before responding to any correspondence from the sender.
• Set up multi-factor authentication, just in case.

MSPNetworks can help your business stay safe this holiday season with advanced security solutions. To learn more, reach out to us at (516) 403-9001.

There are countless cybersecurity threats out there, many of which wait until very unfortunate times to strike. One such time is over extended weekends or holiday breaks, when many companies shut down operations longer than the usual two-day weekend. In fact, this is such an issue that the Federal Bureau of Investigation and CISA have issued warnings in response to them.

The FBI and CISA issued an advisory in September warning companies to take preemptive actions to ferret out threats on their networks ahead of the Labor Day weekend. This is presumably because threat actors are aware that IT staff will have limited availability when offices are closed for long weekends, but the issue extends not just three-day weekends but also into holiday weekends in general. 

The advisory specifically cited ransomware attacks as potential problems, and looking at the trends from this year, it’s no wonder. A quick look at some of the high-profile hacking attacks over the past year shows a clear trend in these attacks being instigated against companies over holiday weekends. For example, the Colonial Pipeline attack occurred over Mother’s Day weekend, and the attack on JBS took place over Memorial Day weekend. The massive ransomware attack against Kaseya took place over the July 4th weekend.

If you think about it, escalated numbers of cyberattacks over holidays or long weekends make a lot of sense. Many organizations and businesses close their doors and shut down operations for the weekend, meaning that there are fewer people on staff to keep an eye on things. When there are fewer people working, there are more opportunities to sneak in and do some damage. It’s safe to say that while the rest of us are on break or holiday, a hacker’s job is never done, and they do not care for festivities as much as they care about ruining your business.

Therefore, we recommend that you consider the following: remote monitoring services, enhanced security protections, and regular audits of security logs so that you are never caught unawares, even over holiday breaks or long weekends. Through a combination of proactive measures and continuous review of your systems, you should be able to not only identify the potential for threats on your network, but prevent them entirely.

So, how does a business with limited resources still give their employees the time off they deserve while also protecting their network from the myriad of threats found in today’s connected world? We have a solution for you; MSPNetworks wants to help your business successfully navigate the dangerous world of cybersecurity without compromising on quality of protection. If your company struggles with technology management and there is a significant knowledge gap within your organization regarding cybersecurity, we would be happy to help fill that void.

Our systems can automatically monitor your network for suspicious activity and detect problems before they occur. This proactive monitoring can keep your organization from becoming a victim of cybersecurity threats like ransomware and other dangerous types of malware. Trust us when we say that the most effective way to protect your business is to take a hard stance on it before you get infected with some type of threat.

Don’t wait until something horrific happens to your business to take action against the ever-increasing number of cybersecurity threats. Contact us today at (516) 403-9001 and start your journey toward securing your company.

What happens when your company configures something on its infrastructure incorrectly? It turns out, according to a recent data leak, that a lot can go wrong, especially in regards to cybersecurity and the privacy of sensitive records. The affected software was not an unknown third-party application, but was actually Microsoft! How did one of the world’s largest software developers put out software that potentially exposed millions of records? Let’s dig into the details.

The data leak in question affected users of Microsoft’s Power Apps, a software that is widely used by many companies and organizations to share data, including such big-name organizations and agencies such as American Airlines, Maryland’s health department, and New York’s Metropolitan Transport Authority. This data leak was discovered by cybersecurity researchers at UpGuard, who promptly notified Microsoft after determining that the data leak was a potential security issue.

The issue has since been resolved, but throughout the duration in which the data leak was still active, information such as names, Social Security numbers, phone numbers, dates of birth, vaccination records, demographic information, and other sensitive information was unsecured and, therefore, could have been stolen or compromised by hackers. While this information was unsecured and could have been accessed at any point during this time, there is no indication that it was accessed in any improper way.

The crazy thing about this whole fiasco is that Microsoft claims that the application was working as intended and that the root of the issue was the way that the software itself defaulted to a setting that allowed for this type of data leak. Microsoft has yet to comment on why the default setting led to such a lack of security, but they have since adjusted the default settings to allow for greater privacy. Still, this does not necessarily excuse the lax privacy settings that the program defaulted to.

It all goes to show that you can never be too sure that your business’ sensitive information is properly secured, as the consequences of having said data leak can be quite devastating. Under ordinary circumstances, a security audit could have been used to identify this risk, but the fact that nobody knew that this was a concern meant that nobody was actively looking for it and, therefore, the security issue flew under the radar for far too long. It’s just one reason why you need to be extraordinarily careful with any sort of configurations your company makes to any tools that are used to store, share, or disseminate information like any records listed above.

MSPNetworks can help your business ensure that all of its system settings are properly configured, as well as work toward properly securing sensitive information of all types. With us on your side, you’ll never need to worry about whether or not you are unknowingly putting information at risk. We can monitor your network, perform security audits, and fulfill just about any other tasks that need to occur to keep your business as secure as possible.

To learn more, contact the cybersecurity experts of MSPNetworks at (516) 403-9001.

Have you ever wondered how hackers manage to pull off incredible feats like bombarding networks and servers with so much traffic that they simply cannot function? None of this would be possible if not for botnets. But what is a botnet, and why is it important for your organization to understand? Let’s dive into the details.

A botnet is essentially a network of connected devices that have been infected and taken over by a host. Each device on this botnet can be called a “bot.” The host can then direct these bots to perform various tasks. It should be noted here that the bots on these networks do not have to be computers, like desktops or laptops. They can be smartphones or just about any other connected device. And what is another network that includes all of the above, plus all of those odd devices that don’t normally connect to the Internet? That's right--the Internet of Things--and it’s a network of devices that is increasing in size every day. In essence, the Internet of Things represents endless possibilities for hackers who want to leverage botnets to their advantage.

Botnets are frequently used by hackers to perform Denial-of-Service attacks in which the host directs all devices on the botnet to repeatedly launch attacks at the victim’s network in an attempt to make the service or resources on said network unavailable. Botnets can also be used to perform other attacks, though, and they are incredibly dangerous. Some of the other uses of botnets include stealing data, sending spam, and even allowing for remote access to devices. Like many other types of cybercriminal activity, botnets can even be rented out or purchased in much the same way that other high-profile threats, like ransomware, can.

Navigating network security can be confusing due to the many complexities involved, but don’t worry—you’re not expected to know how to protect your company from every single type of threat out there. All you need to do is know when it’s time to admit that you don’t have to go at it alone anymore. There are so many valuable resources out there that you can leverage to take the fight back to hackers, or at the very least prevent yourself from becoming another statistic in the headlines of news articles following the latest security breaches or data privacy violations.

In times like these, relying on cybersecurity professionals to shore up weaknesses in your network’s defenses can be an incredibly valuable resource. Unfortunately, some organizations see the price tag associated with cybersecurity professionals’ salaries and see them as inaccessible or downright expensive. While it’s true that you do not want to skimp on security, small businesses can outsource this responsibility to a managed service provider like MSPNetworks. You might be surprised by how affordable it truly can be with a managed services approach!

Don’t let your devices become just another cog in the machinations of some hacker seeking to build their own botnet. MSPNetworks can equip your company with the tools necessary to protect itself from the threats associated with botnets. To find out more about what we can do for your business, reach out to us at (516) 403-9001.

What would you say if we told you that someone could buy access to your organization’s network for a measly $1,000? Well, this is the unfortunate reality that we live in, where hackers have commoditized the hard work you have invested in your organization. A study from KELA shows that the average cost to buy access to a compromised network infrastructure is insignificant at best, which is why it’s more important than ever to protect your business as best you can.

This report, published by KELA, followed Initial Access Brokers, an umbrella term used to describe threat actors that sell access to compromised network infrastructures. As you can imagine, these threats play a major role in online cybersecurity, as they are what facilitates many of the most dangerous threats out there that require access to a network, such as ransomware and other remote access threats. This report looked at one full year of listings by Initial Access Brokers to determine just what this type of network access is worth to other threats out there.

The results might shock you when you see how little value might be placed on access to your network. Out of 1,000 listings, KELA found that the average price of network access credentials was roughly $5,400, while the median price was about $1,000. There are other trends here aside from the average prices of credentials, including information on affected industries and countries. Among the top countries affected were the United States, France, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada, and the top industries affected included manufacturing, education, IT, banking/financial, government, and healthcare.

Just imagine—a disgruntled former employee or a competitor could potentially cause a lot of expensive harm by simply throwing away a small chunk of cash.

With such a low dollar amount placed on the value of your organization’s credentials, including VPN access, you need to start taking your security seriously before someone decides to purchase access to your network. There are a plethora of things you can do today to improve your organization’s security, including the following:

• Implement comprehensive security measures: We recommend unified threat management, or UTM for short, to deal with the majority of threats your business could run into. This all-in-one solution includes a firewall, antivirus, content filter, and spam blocker to minimize opportunities for your staff to encounter potential threats.
• Monitor your network traffic: If you are tracking who logs into your network and from where, you will have a greater chance of identifying sketchy traffic patterns and address them accordingly.
• Implement multi-factor authentication: Password security is important, but it’s not enough. Multi-factor authentication can ensure that anyone logging into your network is actually who they say they are.
• Take regular backups of your infrastructure: While you certainly don’t want it to come to this, you will want to make sure that you are prepared for the nuclear option on the off-chance that you are unable to regain access to your network.

Don’t get caught unaware by security threats. MSPNetworks can help you implement all of the appropriate measures to ensure that your network is as best protected as it can possibly be. Take proactive action now to prevent them from becoming major problems in the future. To learn more about network security, reach out to us at (516) 403-9001.

There are always going to be those who want to use your hard-earned data and assets to turn a profit. One of the emergent methods for hackers to do so is through twisting the “as a service” business model into network security’s worst nightmare. This type of security issue is so serious that Microsoft has declared that Phishing-as-a-Service is a major problem.

Phishing-as-a-Service is not a new concept, and neither is the idea of adopting the “as a service” business model in the context of hacking. The difference between those items and now is that ransomware exists, and it’s one of the more dangerous threats out there to be sure. The biggest challenge that many organizations face, and what makes Phishing-as-a-Service so dangerous, is that it enables even amateur hackers to make money off of someone else’s hard work.

The service entails organizations and groups such as BulletProofLink, a Malaysian phishing service, who sell their clients products like website templates, email delivery, hosting, and credential theft. These services are provided in the form of fully unidentifiable links. The service provider hosts these resources on their servers and works to harvest credentials on behalf of their clients. While the credentials can be stolen—and yes, this is bad—they can also be sold on the Dark Web to others. These other attackers can then use them to launch even more dangerous attacks in the future.

Basically, the one who buys the credentials is not necessarily receiving credentials that are guaranteed to work. They are simply paying for the opportunity to get working credentials.

The aforementioned Phishing-as-a-Service provider, BulletProofLink, provides access to templates for login pages such as Microsoft OneDrive, Google Docs, Dropbox, LinkedIn, Adobe, and more. A different service also uses what is called “double-theft” where the provider steals credentials for one customer and sells them to another. As you can imagine, this affects the ransomware workflow, as attackers can use these credentials to infiltrate networks and encrypt systems, forcing those on the receiving end to pay up.

While the devil is certainly in the details for these threats, we hope that you at least walk away from this article realizing how dangerous and innovative hackers can be. If you underestimate the damage they can do to your business, it might be the last mistake you make.

MSPNetworks can help your business overcome the many challenges that come with cybersecurity. To learn more, reach out to us at (516) 403-9001.

Data breaches have become all too common for small businesses over the past several years and when it seems like there is a solution to one problem, something even worse pops up. Part of a comprehensive risk management strategy is identifying problems and doing what you can to keep them from affecting your business. Let’s take a look at the major cybersecurity threats small businesses are facing in 2021 and what you can do to keep them from hurting your business.

Phishing

For the small business, phishing makes up a large percentage of problematic cybersecurity situations. Phishing is more of a scam than a hack, but regardless of how you view it, it is the most dangerous problem businesses have to face when considering cybercrime. A phishing attack can come on any communications medium (including social media) and it only has to work one time for it to become problematic for your business. 

It works like this: A member of your staff, working at their regular breakneck pace, accidentally clicks on an attachment in an email that they think of as something to do with their jobs. Turns out, the email was spoofed and the attachment just deployed malware on your network. This can be trojans, viruses, or something as terrible as ransomware. 

Phishing is not only the most prevalent form of cyberscam, it is also extremely hard to combat. The hackers that use it are getting more sophisticated, and if your business isn’t evolving your strategies to keep up, you have a pretty good chance of being a victim. You need to have a comprehensive training system in place to tell your team about the dangers of phishing and how to spot possible phishing attempts. 

Poor Password Hygiene

Like passing that guy at the gym that always smells like B.O., it’s a sour situation when poor password hygiene is the reason for a data breach or a malware infection. Like phishing strategies, today’s hackers have very sophisticated strategies to guess people’s passwords. Not only that, social engineering can expose poorly made or duplicated passwords pretty easily. 

Passwords are used by almost every organization online and it is important that your employees select passwords that aren’t obvious and aren’t duplicates from other accounts. It is also important that your organization understands how to keep their data safe through the use of password best practices, such as not having employees constantly change their passwords, as they have a tendency to make them simple to remember or they don’t change them much from previous passwords.

Holes in Software

Like most other products, software titles have a support staff attached to them. These teams include development professionals whose job is to keep it secure. These patches are rolled out pretty regularly. If you don’t patch your software, you could have major holes that can be exploited. These vulnerabilities are regularly taken advantage of and are effectively open doors for hackers to get into your network.

The best way to keep these vulnerabilities from appearing is to regularly patch your software with the updates as they come out. Doing so will close the proverbial doors to your network and data and keep your digital resources safe. 

If your business would like to talk to one of our IT experts about getting the cybersecurity protection you need, or if you would learn more about which strategies work the best to keep your business’ network and infrastructure free from threats, give MSPNetworks a call today at (516) 403-9001.

The first half of this year has seen its fair share of ups and downs, especially on a global scale. With a global pandemic still taking the world by storm, it’s despicable that hackers would take advantage of the opportunity to make a quick buck using phishing tactics. Yet, here we are. Let’s take a look at how hackers have turned the world’s great misfortune into a boon, as well as how you can keep a lookout for these threats.

According to reports from SecureList, spam and phishing trends in Q1 of 2021 relied heavily on COVID-19 and the buzz generated by it. Let’s take a look at some of the major threats that took advantage of the pandemic.

Stimulus Payment Scandals

The first couple months of 2021 saw businesses and individuals receiving payments from governments, such as economic impact payments or business bail-outs. Hackers took advantage of this opportunity to try to convince users to hand over their credentials through the use of messages that both looked and sounded professional. As is often the case with phishing messages, some users of specific banks were targeted through the use of near-identical websites designed to steal credentials and fool users. Others tried to convince users to enter information by convincing them that the latest details on the bank’s COVID-19 practices could be found on the other side of links or sensitive information forms.

The Vaccine Race

For a while, the COVID-19 vaccine was a bit tricky to get your hands on. While things have improved significantly in recent months, the initial rush to get vaccinated triggered many would-be hackers to try their hand at vaccination phishing emails that replicated the look and language of communication from health officials. Users would have to click on a link in the message, which would then redirect them to a form for plugging in personal information and, in some cases, banking credentials. Even those who already received vaccinations were not safe, as there were fake surveys circulating urging people to fill them out and claim prizes for doing so.

What You Can Do

Don’t let hackers take advantage of the cracks in your business’ defenses. Phishing attacks can come in countless forms, so it is your responsibility to protect your business from them. Here are some ways that you can make sure your organization is secured from phishing attempts.

• Filter Out Spam: A spam filter can keep the majority of threats out of your inbox, but the unfortunate fact is that most phishing emails are probably going to make it past the spam filter. Therefore, you will want to take more advanced tactics against these threats.
• Train your Employees: Training your employees on how to identify threats gives them the power to avoid threats that do manage to get past your defenses. Teach them what to look for and you’ll be giving yourself a better chance of overcoming them.
• Implement Unified Threat Management: No matter how well trained your employees are, it helps to have just a little bit of reassurance that you have done all you can to secure your business. This is what a UTM does; it’s a single security solution that can optimize your network’s protection.

MSPNetworks can help your business keep itself secure. Not only can we implement great security solutions, but we can also help to train your employees, including regular “tests” where we send out fake phishing emails to see who is and is not paying attention. To learn more about how this can help your organization, reach out to us at (516) 403-9001.

We know, we know; you’re probably sick of seeing ransomware in headlines, and so are we, but we cannot stress enough how important having an awareness of it is for any business owner. A new study has found that businesses infected by ransomware who choose to pay up experience a different type of fallout--one that is a major cause for concern and a stark reminder that there are no guarantees with ransomware. Ever.

A Cybereason survey, conducted by Censuswide, polled 1,263 security professionals from all over the world and discovered some concerning results. Here are some of the major takeaways, specifically related to companies that paid their ransomware attackers:

• 80% of organizations that paid their ransomware attackers the ransom experienced a second attack.
• Of these organizations, 46% believe that the same hackers were responsible.
• 46% of organizations that paid the ransom found that at least some of their data was corrupted.
• 51% of organizations did not experience data loss or corruption.
• 3% were not able to retrieve their data at all.

This study confirms something that we have been preaching for years. Why should you ever trust a hacker who has encrypted and stolen your data to return it to you? It just doesn’t make sense. Furthermore, when you pay hackers to decrypt your data, you are doing two things. For one, you are inadvertently funding future ransomware attacks by providing the funding hackers need to execute such attacks. You are also showing hackers, and everyone else watching the situation, that ransomware works, which is a far more dangerous idea to foster. If cybercriminals see that these attacks work, they continue to propagate them.

Granted, we understand that it’s not always so simple; the recent rise in “double-extortion” ransomware puts a lot of pressure on organizations to pay the ransom. Hackers threaten to release the encrypted data when the ransom is not paid, potentially subjecting the company to further data privacy fines. It’s just adding insult to injury and kicking organizations when they’re down. This particular approach is devastating because even the usual method of beating ransomware--restoring a data backup--won’t stop the hackers from releasing said data. It’s a tough spot to be in.

Our recommended course of action is simple: take proactive measures against ransomware before you get infected by it, as no matter what circumstances you find yourself in post-infection, it is sure to get messy and complicated.

MSPNetworks can equip your business with the proper security measures and tools to minimize the chance of ransomware infection. Furthermore, we can help you take appropriate action in the event that you do get infected. Don’t let hackers dictate the future of your business; give us a call at (516) 403-9001.

There is an entire litany of stereotypes that are commonly linked to the term “hacker”… too many for us to dig into here, especially since they do little but form a caricature of just one form that today’s cybercriminal can take. Let’s go into the different varieties that are covered nowadays under the blanket term of “hacker,” and the threat that each pose to businesses today.

To give this list some semblance of sensible order, let’s go from the small fish up to the large players, ascending the ladder in terms of threats.

The Ethical Hacker

First and foremost, not all hackers are bad. Certified Ethical Hackers are high-profile cybersecurity experts that are designed to think like a cybercriminal. They can be employed to determine how secure your organization is. 

The Unintentional Hacker

We all make mistakes, and we can all get a little bit curious every now and then. Therefore, it stands to reason that this curiosity could get people into trouble if they were to find something—some mistake in its code or security—on a website. This is by no means uncommon, and the question of whether this kind of hacking should be prosecuted if the perpetrator reports their findings to the company has been raised by many security professionals.

Regardless, if someone can hack into a website without realizing what they are doing, what does that say about the security that is supposed to be protecting the website… or, by extension, a business’ network? Whether or not you take legal action, such events should never be glossed over and instead be addressed as growth opportunities for improving your security.

The Thrill Seeker

Each of the hackers we’ll cover here has their own motivation for hacking into a network. In this case, that motivation ties directly back to bragging rights (even if the hacker only ever brags about it to themselves). While these hackers were once far more common, the heightened accountability and legal consequences that such behaviors now bring have largely quashed the interest in such hacking. Many of those that would have once been interested in this kind of hacking are now focused on modifying hardware over software, turning to interest-based kits like the Raspberry Pi and others to scratch their “hacking” itch.

The Spammer

Adware—or a piece of software that hijacks your browser to redirect you to a website hoping to sell you something—is a real annoyance, as it wastes the user’s valuable time and energy. It also isn’t unheard of for otherwise well-known and legitimate companies to use it in their own marketing, despite the risk they run of having to pay regulatory fines due to these behaviors.

While the real damage that adware spamming can do may seem minimal, it is also important to put the nature of these efforts into perspective. An adware spammer will use the same tactics that other serious threats—things like ransomware and the like—are often spread through. If you’re finding your workstations suddenly inundated with adware, you are likely vulnerable to a much wider variety of threats than you might first assume.

The Botnet Recruiter

Some threats to your network aren’t even technically directed toward your business itself. Let me ask you this: would you see it as a threat to have your computing resources taken over and co-opted for another purpose? After all, the result is effectively the same as many more directly malicious attacks—greatly diminished productivity and efficiency.

This approach is quite literally how a botnet operates. Using specialized malware, huge numbers of otherwise unassociated machines can be taken under control and have their available resources directed toward some other means. A particularly famous example of a botnet’s power came just a few years ago, when a botnet was utilized to disrupt the services of Dyn, a DNS provider. This took popular websites like Twitter and Facebook down for several hours.

Missing or neglected patches are one of the simplest ways for a botnet to claim your resources as its own—particularly when login credentials haven’t been changed.

Hacktivists

While political activism can be a noble cause, the hacktivist goes about supporting their cause in a distinctly ignoble way. Operating in sabotage, blackmail, and otherwise underhanded tactics, a hacktivist that targets your company could do some serious damage—despite the good that most of these groups are truly attempting to do.

Of course, the law also doesn’t differentiate between different cybercrimes based on motive, making this form of protest particularly risk-laden for all involved.

The Miners

The recent cryptocurrency boom has seen a precipitous uprising in attacks that try to capitalize on the opportunity, using tactics that we have seen used for good and bad for many years now. Above, we discussed the concept of a botnet—where your computing resources were stolen to accomplish someone else’s goal. However, the practice of utilizing borrowed network resources is nothing new. The NASA-affiliated SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) Institute once distributed a screen saver that borrowed from the CPU of the computers it was installed on to help with their calculations.

Nowadays, cybercriminals will do a similar thing, for the express purpose of exploiting the systems they infect to assist them in hashing more cryptocurrency for themselves. The intensive hardware and utility costs associated with mining cryptocurrency often prohibit people from undertaking it on their own—so enterprising hackers will use their malware to find an alternative means of generating ill-gotten funds.

The Gamers

Despite the dismissive view that many have towards video games and their legitimacy, it is important to remember that the industry is worth billions (yes, with a “B”) of dollars, massive investments into hardware and hours poured into playing these games. With stakes that high, it is little wonder that there are some hackers that specifically target this industry. These hackers will steal in-game currency from their fellow players or launch their own distributed denial of service attacks to stifle the competition.

The Pros-for-Hire

The online gig economy has become well-established in recent years—where a quick online search can get you a professional to help you take care of your needs, whether that be for childcare or for car repairs or any other letter of the alphabet. Similar services exist for directed cybercrime efforts as well.

Using a combination of home-developed malware as well as examples that they’ve bought or stolen themselves, these professionals will license out their services for a fee. Whether it’s a governmental body seeking sensitive intel or a business seeking to undermine a competitor, these mercenaries can pose a significant threat against anyone who lands in their crosshairs.

The Thief

On a related note, a lot of modern cybercrime is simply a digitized version of crimes we have seen in years past. Without another stagecoach to hold up, highway robbery has simply been shifted to the information superhighway, the stick-‘em-up translated to ransomware, dating scams, or denial-of-service attacks. The overarching motivation behind most of these efforts is simple: illegitimate fiscal gain.

The Corporate Crook

Corporate spying is a decidedly more direct version of the pro-for-hire trend that we discussed above, where a hacker will target a business’ documents and resources to help their competition in any way they can. While there may not be honor among thieves, there can be amongst the businesses that these thieves will try to sell stolen data to, as some companies have reported the theft after being approached.

The Nation State

Finally, we come to perhaps the biggest threat out there to many: massive teams of professional, government-employed hackers working to undermine the operations and machinations of other nations—both in their governments and their industries. This is generally intended to put the other nation in a diminished position should hostilities ever erupt.

If you remember the 2014 satirical movie The Interview—and more pertinently, the hack that Sony Pictures suffered in retaliation for the film—you’re aware of a very recognizable example of this kind of threat actor.

Clearly, the idea of a hacker that so many have is far too minimalistic to be relied upon anymore… especially if you’re staking your company’s cybersecurity preparedness on it. That’s why MSPNetworks is here to help. Our professionals are well-versed enough in best practices to help prepare you to deal with a much more realistic cyberattack. You just have to reach out to us at (516) 403-9001 to get started.

You’ve probably heard by now, a Russia-based hacking collective by the name of DarkSide targeted Colonial Pipeline, a company that supplies nearly 45 percent of the fuel used along the Eastern Seaboard of the United States, with a ransomware attack. Not only does this hack have an effect on fuel prices and availability, it highlights just how vulnerable much of the nation’s energy infrastructure is. Let’s discuss the details of the hack and the raging discussion about cybersecurity that’s happening as a result. 

The Facts Surrounding the Hack

On Friday, May 7, 2020, Colonial Pipeline had to shut down operations after a ransomware attack threatened to spread into critical systems that control the flow of fuel. Almost immediately gas prices started to jump in the region, averaging around six cents per gallon this week. The pipeline, which runs from Texas to New York, transports an estimated 2.5 million barrels of fuel per day. The shutdown has caused some fuel shortages and caused panic buying in some southern U.S. states. Administrators said that the ransomware that caused the precautionary shutdown did not get into core system controls but also mentions that it will take days for the supply chain to get back up and running as usual again. 

Who Is DarkSide?

The hacker group DarkSide is a relatively new player, but it has set its sights high. The group claims to be an apolitical hacking group that is only out to make money.  In fact, they put out the following statement after the FBI started a full-scale investigation of the group:

“Our goal is to make money, and not creating problems for society. From today we introduce moderation and check each company that our partners want to encrypt to avoid social consequences in the future.”

DarkSide seems to be a professionally-run organization that deals in ransomware. They follow what is called the Ransomware-as-a-Service model, where hackers develop and sell their ransomware to parties looking to conduct operations like the one that stymied Colonial Pipeline. They also are known for their “double extortion” methodology, where they threaten to take the data they encrypt public if their demands aren’t met. Their ransom demands are paid through cryptocurrency and have only been in the six-to-seven figure range. 

What’s interesting is that the group seems to have its own code of ethics, stating that they will never attack hospitals, schools, non-profits, or government agencies. Either way, their current attempt at extortion has made a mess for millions of Americans. 

Problems Securing Infrastructure

Even before the world completely changed, cybersecurity analysts were recommending that more had to be done to protect aging utility systems around the world. Back in 2015, hackers took down a power grid in Ukraine and left 250,000 people without electricity, and it caused some movement to improve system security, but nowhere near as much as is required. Now, with the push to use renewable energy and more efficient systems of deployment, more technology has been added to these systems than at any time in history. These smart systems, coupled with a resounding lack of security, means that the next cybersecurity catastrophe is just around the corner. 

The pandemic didn’t help matters. Systems that are being updated are increasingly being connected to public and private networks for remote access. All it takes is one vulnerability and hackers can exploit and take control of systems that affect the lives of millions of Americans. Hackers causing a gas shortage is scary, but hackers taking down power grids or other systems that the public depends on to live could be looked at as an act of war.

The scariest part is it seems as though no system is immune to these problems. According to CISA, the Colonial Pipeline hack is the fourth major cyberattack of the past year. You have the Solar Winds breach that allowed Russian Intelligence to infiltrate thousands of corporate and government servers; an attack where Chinese nationals rented servers inside the U.S. to invade a still unnumbered amount of Microsoft Exchange servers; and a still-unknown hacker that hijacked a tool called Codecov to deploy spyware on thousands of systems.

Microsoft is widely renowned as being at the forefront of cybersecurity and Solar Winds is itself a cybersecurity company. This tells you a little bit about where we are about protecting essential systems. It’s not a good situation.

While you can’t always worry about cybersecurity everywhere you are, you have to prioritize it for your business. If you want to talk to one of our security experts about your cybersecurity, give MSPNetworks a call today at (516) 403-9001.

As one of the biggest cybersecurity considerations the modern business has to make, how to combat phishing has to be at the top of any business’ cybersecurity strategy. Let’s take a look at phishing and why it’s such a big problem for today’s business. 

You’ve Probably Been Phished

When trying to explain what phishing is to someone who has no idea about it, we typically start with the namesake. Phishing is the same as fishing. A hacker will bait a hook and users will bite on it. It’s that simple. Instead of worms or minnows, a phishing attempt needs some bait that will fool an unsuspecting computer user into providing information that will allow a hacker to access secured networks and steal or corrupt data. 

To say that this method is effective would be an understatement. First of all, the massive breadth of attacks—there are literally millions of these attacks per day—results in high levels (and low percentages) of successful attacks. In fact, 88 percent of organizations that were polled claimed to experience at least one phishing attack in 2019. In 2020, phishing emails were one of every 4,200 emails sent or about 73 million. The pace has actually quickened in 2021.

Successful phishing attacks result in stolen credentials, compromised networks, ransomware and other malware. They all lead to businesses losing money. 

Phishing is More Prevalent Than Ever

Phishing has been an issue for quite a while, but the COVID-19 pandemic and the corresponding jump in remote work provided the perfect opportunity for these scammers to operate. In 2020, 75 percent of worldwide organizations were targeted by phishing attacks, while 74 percent of U.S. businesses were successfully attacked in some way. This often led to massive losses, some $3.92 million on average. That’s an average and takes into account loss of productivity from downtime, data theft, deterioration of consumer confidence, and other factors.

It is therefore important that you do what you can to train your staff about how to recognize and thwart phishing attempts before they have a chance to have a negative effect on your business.

MSPNetworks can help you put together a training strategy, as well as put together tools to help you keep your network and data safe. Call us at (516) 403-9001 to learn more.

It’s been reported that a hacker virtually broke into a Floridian water treatment facility and briefly increased the levels of sodium hydroxide in the Pinellas County water supply. Fortunately, onsite operators noticed the spike and reduced it right away, keeping the public from risk of increased levels of poison in their water. This is just the latest story in a seemingly never-ending supply of them that have to do with public utilities being at risk from cyberattacks. Today, we will take a look at this issue. 

Protecting Online Utilities

Today, most systems are not only run through the use of computers, they are perpetually online so that remote operators have access to manage these systems. This provides hackers a wider-range of opportunities to carry out attacks against public infrastructure. Despite the massive amount of capital invested to ensure that these systems remain secure and reliable, all it takes is one situation to cause a great deal of public harm. The event in Florida just accentuates how important the security protecting these systems is. 

The Shifting Utilities Landscape

Over the past year, more people have been asked to work remotely to help keep the COVID-19 pandemic from spreading. This has not only led to more people working remotely at jobs that would typically require on-site staff, it also has helped push a degree of automation (using artificial intelligence and machine learning) to help identify incongruencies and threats to critical IT systems. This means that more people are relying on unfamiliar tools to do their jobs remotely. One can understand how this can lead to some confusion when trying to thwart very specific and targeted attacks. 

Threats Against Utilities and Infrastructure Are More Severe

A recent report from the Ponemon Institute suggests that threats against utilities are becoming shockingly more sophisticated. 54 percent of utility managers stated that they expect to have to deal with at least one cyberattack on critical infrastructure in 2021. That means that half of the people that work in electricity, water treatment, solar and wind, and gas think that they will be directly dealing with a major event triggered by a cyberattack this year. That’s completely unsettling considering how important these systems are to the sustainability of our society. 

What is Being Done?

This is where it gets a little tricky. Utility companies spend a lot of time and resources securing infrastructure. There’s a reason most of these places are surrounded by razor wire. To secure themselves against cyberattacks, however, they are taking much the same approach that your average enterprise would. They will try to secure systems by learning from past mistakes, innovating the tools they use, and simply being more vigilant.

Some innovations to speak of are similar to the ones you might see at your business. Using the integration of AI to actively search for and identify threats can end up being quite beneficial. AI can go through a lot of data extraordinarily quickly, meaning that it can identify potential problems quicker and thwart bad actors’ attempts at sabotage. Another technology that is being used in energy distribution is the Internet of Things. Utility companies are starting to utilize smart meters that modulate the flow of electricity and water. While you’d think that the integration of IoT devices would actually make the systems less secure, utility companies identified that from the outset and spent time and resources securing those systems before they were ever deployed in the field. 

Protecting our utilities has to be essential not only for utility companies, but also for society as a whole. What are your thoughts? Should the public subsidize utility companies for their cybersecurity? What moves would you make? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below.