MSPNetworks Blog

Nowadays, it is crucial that you make security a top priority. With the right approach, it not only saves you massive headaches, but also a considerable amount of capital—particularly if you leverage the appropriate solutions for SMBs. As a managed service provider, we can ensure that you implement the appropriate IT solutions to maximize the return on your security investment.

One of the best things about the move towards streaming in media is that since people love watching real-life stories, studios have committed to creating documentary content that provides interesting perspectives. Many people don’t have a comprehensive understanding of technology, especially as it relates to real-world situations, so dramatized documentaries can be a good source of information. Today, we’re going to go through three riveting technology documentaries that are available on streaming services.

Cybercriminals fight dirty, whether it’s attacking small businesses, large enterprises, or individuals who just want to watch Netflix. It doesn’t matter who you are or what you do for the community; you’ll always be a target for hacking attacks. To save time and effort, hackers will use low-tech attacks and social engineering attacks to target individuals. Hackers aren’t developing new threats all the time; if anything, they largely use existing exploits, purchasable software, and social engineering to take advantage of people.

Let’s look at some of the more common types of attacks you might see.

Billing and Invoice Fraud

Let’s say you’re expecting a bill from one of your vendors. A hacker could impersonate that vendor through the use of email spoofing. Cybercriminals can usually take a pretty close guess at what an invoice might look like and use it to worm their way into your inbox.

For example, if you register your domain through GoDaddy, this information is available to the public. A cybercriminal could make an official-looking phishing email stating that your account is up for renewal or that your hosting bill is overdue. They can use this email to steal your website credentials and cause a lot of chaos in the process.

You’re the Bad Guy

Now imagine what the hacker can do with these credentials. They could take over your website, send emails from your company’s email domain, and even impersonate your company to steal even more information from your clients. You effectively become the bad guy in a situation like this, and it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to crack an email account that isn’t using complex passwords or multi-factor authentication.

When a cybercriminal gets a chance to mimic a legitimate organization, they have opportunities to take advantage of others who will use your good name as a reason to trust them. Don’t let them drag your business through the mud in this way!

Communication Mediums are Potential Threat Avenues

Depending on the configuration, hackers can exploit solutions like Microsoft Teams, Skype for Business, Slack, Zoom, and Discord against you. For example, back in September, a cybersecurity firm called Truesec announced they would be investigating a cybercrime campaign that used Microsoft Teams to send phishing messages and malware-infected attachments. This is hardly the only instance of this type of attack, as there was another back in 2020 that targeted 18,000 SolarWinds customers with malware distributed during a software update. This attack is thought to have originated in Microsoft Teams.

These types of solutions aren’t necessarily insecure; they’re just easy to trick people with, which is how hackers get your business and its employees into trouble.

Social Media is a Common Culprit

More likely than not, you’re already aware that social media can be used for cybersecurity attacks, so we won’t waste our breath here… but again, cybercriminals can and will use social media vectors that take advantage of the constant shifts in policy and procedure of websites like Facebook. You can never be too careful that the messages pretending to be from a social media authority are authentic, and if you get an urgent message claiming that you have violated community guidelines or some other nonsense, never trust it outright. Don’t click any links, or hand over your security credentials.

Chances are your business has a social media presence in at least some capacity, as it’s a good way to drive traffic to your business. However, hackers want to leverage this benefit against you. A new malware specifically targets Facebook business accounts to launch malicious advertisement campaigns using your own money against you.

Budget Tracking Templates Gone Wrong

Imagine that you are presented with a free budgeting spreadsheet that you can open up in Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets. Sounds like a pretty good deal, right? Well, in most cases, it is going to be too good to be true, and most cases involving the aforementioned Facebook threat involve a tool just like this. The tool markets itself to business page admins through Facebook Messenger, and while it might seem like a good resource at first glance, it’s far from it.

Once the user opens the file, the malware called “NodeStealer” installs. It can sometimes come bundled with other threats that steal cryptocurrency, disable Microsoft Defender, and other issues. The primary threat, however, is the one that steals your social media credentials, specifically your Facebook business account. It will gain access to your accounts to deploy ads using your financial information to foot the bill. These ads are designed to spread more malware.

Have you ever tried to reclaim access to a Facebook account? If so, you know exactly the type of pain to expect, and hackers are taking advantage of the social media website’s lackluster support options to prolong your suffering.

Here’s How to Dodge This Threat

If you’re aware of the threat, you’ll be more likely to think twice before committing to the click. If someone starts to randomly offer you free resources, you should always do your research before indulging them with your trust. If it looks suspicious, chances are you should be careful around it.

Implementing multi-factor authentication is another effective tool to secure your Google, Facebook, Microsoft, LinkedIn, and Twitter/X accounts. In fact, if you can implement MFA for any account, you absolutely should. The additional layer of security might just save your bacon one of these days.

Finally, if you think that one of your systems has been breached or compromised, you need to take swift action. Change all of your passwords and notify the appropriate parties. There’s no good that can come from sweeping it under the rug.

MSPNetworks can help you secure your business. Find out how by calling us at (516) 403-9001.

As the threat landscape gets more concentrated with serious cyberthreats, new next-generation firewalls (NGFWs) have been developed to help stem the tide of negative outcomes that result from cyberattacks. An NGFW is an advanced network security device or software solution that combines traditional firewall capabilities with additional features and functionalities designed to provide enhanced protection and visibility into network traffic. NGFWs are designed to address the evolving and sophisticated nature of cyberthreats, including malware, intrusion attempts, and other malicious activities.

Key Features of NGFWs

• Application Awareness - These new firewalls can identify and control applications and services at the application layer. This allows them to make access decisions based on the specific applications or services being used, rather than just IP addresses and port numbers.
• Intrusion Prevention System - NGFWs often incorporate intrusion prevention capabilities, which help detect and prevent known and unknown threats by inspecting traffic for malicious patterns and signatures.
• User and Identity Awareness - These firewalls can associate network traffic with specific users or devices, enabling user-based policies and monitoring.
• Content Filtering - NGFWs can filter web content to block or allow specific types of websites, ensuring that organizations can enforce acceptable use policies and protect against malicious content.
• Advanced Threat Protection - Many NGFWs include features like antivirus, anti-malware, and sandboxing to detect and block advanced threats, including zero-day attacks.
• VPN Support - NGFWs often support Virtual Private Network (VPN) functionality, allowing secure remote access and site-to-site connectivity.
• Security Intelligence - Incorporating threat intelligence feeds and databases to keep up with emerging threats, NGFWs can update their security policies accordingly.
• Granular Control - Administrators can define granular policies for network traffic, specifying what is allowed and what is denied, based on various attributes such as application, user, content type, and more.
• Logging and Reporting - NGFWs offer robust logging and reporting capabilities to provide visibility into network activities, which can aid in incident response and compliance reporting.
• Scalability and Performance - NGFWs are designed to handle high volumes of traffic and offer scalable performance to accommodate the needs of large enterprises.

NGFWs are a crucial component of modern network security infrastructure, helping organizations protect their networks and data from a wide range of threats while maintaining control and visibility over network traffic. That is why it is so important to keep your firewalls, next-gen or not, updated with the latest threat definitions to ensure that you are getting the stated value out of it.

If you would like to learn more about outfitting your business with NGFWs, give the IT professionals at MSPNetworks a call today at (516) 403-9001.

This past year saw a dangerous 86% increase in the most dangerous types of malware out there, so we want to ask you an important question: are you ready to protect your business from the different types of threats you might encounter? We know a technology solution that might help this mission along, and we want to share it with you today: artificial intelligence.

Let’s discuss some ways that AI can assist your organization’s cybersecurity efforts.

Malware is Growing More Dangerous

The biggest notable trend in cybersecurity is the increase in dangerous types of malware, as it has increased by a whopping 86% over the past year alone. These threats are not easy for the average user to spot, either, thanks to phishing, malicious websites, downloads, and other types of attack mediums. They can be difficult to identify and respond to, and businesses that don’t have a plan of action will be in a difficult position.

AI Helps Solve This Problem

AI-powered security tools give businesses the upper hand in identifying threats and protecting their assets.

If you can leverage artificial intelligence and machine learning to your advantage, you’ll be more likely to uncover and stop attacks like ransomware before they occur.

Now, ransomware is pretty scary stuff, we won’t lie to you, and since it is spread primarily through phishing attacks, you need a solution in place that can help to stop these attacks before they have a chance to succeed. These attacks specifically target your users, and they can fool even the most seasoned employee into making a decision that they will come to regret. Naturally, this leads to cybercriminals making phishing attacks difficult to identify and making them as convincing as possible.

You can train employees to identify these attacks, but there will always be a chance that someone slips up. Artificial intelligence can pick up where they fall short, though.

How Does AI Help Your Business?

AI can use predictive tools and analysis to identify threats your organization might face. This has led to many companies adopting it as a security measure, and it can help in several ways. Here are some reasons why businesses might implement AI:

• Spam and phishing protection
• Analyzing DNS data to detect threats
• Identifying problematic data
• Tracking advanced malware

AI has become more accessible than it has ever been, so we think it is worth exploring the concept further.

Let Us Help You Protect Your Business

MSPNetworks can help your business manage its technology and cybersecurity. To learn more, reach out to us at (516) 403-9001.

When we think about cybersecurity, we usually think about protecting our computers from viruses, right?

I’d imagine a few of our older readers remember a time when you would go to the store and buy antivirus software that came in a big brightly-colored box with a CD in it each year.

As you probably already know, things aren’t as simple anymore.

Cybersecurity is a Huge Problem, Because It’s a Lucrative Business

Maybe the idea of going to the store to purchase the latest version of Norton Antivirus for my home PC makes me wax nostalgic a little, but things have become much more complicated over the last couple of decades when it comes to cybersecurity.

Gone are the days where computer malware simply exists to spread and annoy users. Well, that stuff still exists, but most users are pretty well protected from it, thanks to free antivirus software and built-in protections that are baked right into the various operating systems we’ve come to depend on.

Unfortunately, cybercriminals started to figure out the value of their skills and have been able to turn their talents into careers. I won’t dive too deep into the history of this, as it’s not even necessarily new, but it has been a major factor behind the majority of attacks against personal users and businesses.

It’s estimated that over one percent of the entire global economy is lost to cybercrime each year, and that rate has been increasing quickly over the years. A single percentage might not seem like much, but it’s monetary worth at least $600 billion, and it’s also likely that percentage is a bit higher as many crimes go unreported. As a comparison, the US film industry is about 3.2% of the GDP, and the US professional sports industry is about 1% of the GDP.

That’s not nothing.

Cybercriminals Treat It Like a Business

It’s pretty rare to come across a business that doesn’t have some form of antivirus these days (thank goodness). That’s good. All businesses need to have centrally-managed, carefully monitored, and thoroughly maintained antivirus.

Let that sink in, though. Most businesses have this base-level of protection, but cybercrime is booming.

You need to look at cybercriminals and realize there are very clever, hard-working entrepreneurs within this group, and that they are always looking for ways to grow and expand. You need to compare cybercriminals to other businesses you see today. They are constantly trying to disrupt in the same way that Uber and Lyft disrupted the taxi industry… while also disrupting the course of business for everybody else involved.

It’s a business about making the most money with minimal effort, using tactics that can easily be repeated and have a high success rate.

Look at them as your competitors in sort of a weird sense. They are ruthlessly vying for your revenue.

It’s Time to Take Cybersecurity Seriously

For many businesses, complying with certain levels of cybersecurity protections is the law, but it’s more than that too. Even if you are a healthcare practice that is strictly following HIPAA and every other compliance regulation, you need to review and push that envelope a little harder to stay ahead of those who are working just as hard to get a piece of your business.

It’s terrible, it really is. Like I said, I miss the days when it was as simple as installing new antivirus every year.

That said, we are here to help. At MSPNetworks, we take a security-first approach to everything we do, and we can help your business protect itself. It’s not worth waiting. Even if you just want a second set of eyes to evaluate your network, don’t hesitate to give us a call today at (516) 403-9001.

Your network security is of the utmost importance to your business for numerous, hopefully obvious reasons. However, there are a few errors that are easy enough to make that could easily be the proverbial monkey wrench in the works. Let’s go over what these network security faux pas look like, so you can resolve them more effectively (and don’t worry, we’ll discuss that, too).

So, let’s dive right into the mistakes you need to identify in your business—if they should be present—so that they can be fixed.

Not Preparing For (or Denying Outright) Threats

“But it doesn’t happen to businesses like mine,” is one of the most lethal opinions you could possibly have in terms of your preparedness against threats of all kinds. This is primarily because (spoiler alert) these kinds of attacks do, in fact, happen to businesses like yours.

They happen to all businesses—it really comes down to how well prepared you are to resist the efforts of such attacks. This will require some forethought to first generate a list of risk factors your business is apt to face and establish the means to minimize them. Between phishing and other forms of social engineering, pure cyberattacks, and the litany of other attack methods that modern cybercriminals employ—often using automation—the threats to all businesses are very, very real.

Neglecting Maintenance and Upgrades

Let’s say that you do accept that you’re at risk of cyberattacks. That’s a great start, but if you don’t keep up with your IT’s needs and allow your business’ technology to fall into disrepair, you’ll also accept that you’re going to be breached. You need to keep up with your upkeep, ensuring your technology and its defenses are all in proper working order and that you promptly install any upgrades that apply to your solutions.

Failing to Educate Employees on Security Processes

Look, I understand the impulse to want to trust your team members to make good decisions, but there’s a difference between trust and shortsightedness. While you should feel that you can trust your team, not educating them on how to recognize and appropriately respond to the various threats they are effectively guaranteed to encounter leaves them far more vulnerable than otherwise. Training them, on the other hand, helps you secure your business that much more effectively.

Not Establishing a Cybersecurity Policy or Standards

If you aren’t enforcing a baseline expectation for your team to follow in terms of their security, you are again providing an inroad into your business. Putting together the standards that your team members need to uphold—particularly in terms of passwords, multi-factor authentication, and the like—and holding them accountable to them will help to keep your business and its data secure.

Using the Default/Built-In Options

Honestly, you get what you pay for when it comes to your security, so default security options that come integrated into your solutions aren’t the wisest move. The investment into more trustworthy security options will be well worth it when you compare it to the cost of a breach. We can equip you with security solutions that you can trust your business’ data to.

Shortchanging Your Business Data

You need to consider your data itself, and what might happen if your infrastructure was to fail. Failing to maintain a comprehensive backup and data recovery strategy only risks your business further. On the other side of the coin, you need to ensure that your data is only accessible by those who need it, and remains protected both while in storage and while in transit.

Worst of All, Not Turning to the Experts for Help

Finally, the biggest network security mistake you can make is trying to go it alone, instead of leaning on the team of professionals we have here at MSPNetworks. Find out more about our multiple cybersecurity services that can help you avoid these mistakes by calling (516) 403-9001.

Penetration testing is a topic that you might often hear and read about on the Internet, but you might not know exactly what it is without having it explained to you by a professional. Today, we want to clear up any misconceptions or ideas you might have about penetration testing and how it relates to your business’ network security, compliance, and regulatory requirements.

What Is Penetration Testing? 

At its core, penetration testing is a strategy used by your IT department to test the security of your systems. Basically, your team will “hack” your systems themselves to see how they might stand up to hypothetical attacks. All your hardware and software will be tested for flaws in their operating systems, applications, and other parts of your computing infrastructure, all to identify the level of risk involved with your company’s network.

The big takeaway here is that penetration testing is responsible for managing risk for your organization. The more digital tools and resources your business utilizes, the more at risk your company becomes. Therefore, you need to take any and all measures to protect your business—penetration testing included. This type of probing can show you where there are holes or flaws in your security that must be patched up. If you fail to address them, you could be staring down data breaches and the costs associated with them in the near future.

We recommend that you perform a penetration test by working with network security professionals, as they know what to look for and how to conduct the procedure. The less risk you take on with your penetration testing, the better.

Compliance Concerns

When figuring out your risk, you’ll have to undergo an extensive analysis of the worst-case scenario if you don’t comply with regulations and other forms of compliance. If you fail to adhere to compliance laws, it could cost you dearly, and not just monetarily. It could end your business’ operations entirely. Sometimes failing to stick to these regulations could mean facing criminal charges.

Penetration testing ensures that you are adequately protecting this important data. This has never been more important, especially with regulatory bodies and legislators keeping close watch on data privacy issues. If anything, we can expect even more legislation to surface, making your job as a business professional even more difficult. Better to just leave securing your infrastructure to the professionals.

Reputation

Security can forge or destroy your reputation with your customers and prospective clients. If you are negligent with your protections, it could have disastrous consequences for your company’s patrons. People want to work with those who take their security seriously, so failing to do so could put your income source on the line.

MSPNetworks can help your business improve its security situation through regular penetration testing. To learn more, reach out to us at (516) 403-9001.

Businesses sure use a lot of online accounts, and if they don’t keep track of the passwords associated with these accounts, things can get messy fast. To help with this effort, password managers, or applications that store passwords in an encrypted vault, have really taken off. Here are some of the reasons why businesses invest in password management solutions.

Why Businesses Often Take Advantage of Password Managers

Password Managers Save Time

Many IT departments throw away much of their day resetting passwords for forgetful employees, but this time can be reclaimed through the use of a password manager. Since the passwords are stored in a secure vault, employees can rely on that instead of a call to the help desk.

Password Managers Are Secure

Due to their nature as repositories for credentials and important account information, password managers are also extremely secure. Some password managers have features built right into them that allow employees to generate complex passwords, as well as features like two-factor or multi-factor authentication to aid in security. Through all of these features, it’s possible for any employee to overcome their poor password practices. Keep in mind that not all password managers are the same, however, and you should never rely on the password management features of your web browser alone.

Password Managers Are Convenient

Modern password managers are simple to use and make it easy for users to retrieve credentials as needed, no matter the device. The cloud enables these credentials to be synced to multiple devices, something which deters employees from writing down passwords and carrying them around in an insecure way.

We Can Help You Take Advantage of a Password Manager

MSPNetworks can help you implement a password management solution for your business. To learn more, reach out to us at (516) 403-9001.

We often discuss how your business can avoid the impact of ransomware, but what we don’t often discuss is what happens to businesses that do, in fact, suffer from such a devastating attack. We want to use today’s blog as an opportunity to share what your business should (and should not) do in the event of a ransomware attack, as well as measures you can take to avoid suffering from yet another in the future.

First of All, Don’t Panic

If you suddenly get a message from a ransomware attacker claiming that the files on your computer have been locked down, first of all, don’t panic. Ransomware is scary, but there is a chance that the attacker really hasn’t infected your device. Some recent threat actors have been able to make a quick buck with “fake ransomware” attacks, where the threat is so dangerous that they can make money just from the panic these attacks can create.

Also, you absolutely should not pay the ransom without first consulting your trusted IT resource. You don’t know if the situation is out of control just yet, so it’s best to not make any impulsive decisions. Paying the ransom only proves that ransomware is effective and further funds future ransomware attacks against other businesses like yours.

Contact Your Trusted IT Resource

Regardless of the extent of the attack, your business needs to contact its trusted IT resource to accurately gauge its impacts. Depending on how bad it is, you might be able to get away with restoring a data backup to a point before the ransomware attack struck. If the hacker is using double-extortion methods, however, this might not be possible. Either way, you don’t want to take action until you have had a discussion with your IT resource about what to do. There is almost always another option available, so you want to know what these are before you commit to any one in particular.

Implement Proactive Measures for the Future

Obviously you don’t want to suffer from another ransomware attack in the future, so it’s best practice to prevent these types of threats from infecting your infrastructure in the first place. You can do so with comprehensive security measures designed to keep threats out of your systems. Furthermore, we recommend that you implement multi-factor authentication and train your employees to identify threats. Doing so can keep your employees from making silly mistakes due to social engineering attacks, as well as limit user access controls in the event someone does slip up.

MSPNetworks can help you implement any measures needed to keep ransomware at bay, including cybersecurity training for your business’ employees so they are more cognizant of the threat in the future. To learn more, reach out to us at (516) 403-9001.

It’s easy to focus on threats that are external to your business, like viruses and malware that are just waiting to infiltrate your network, but what about threats that exist from within? While insider threats are not particularly common in the dramatic, over-the-top way that they are made out to be in movies and media, they are still a very real issue that should be addressed by your organization’s network security protocols.

In a lot of ways, insider threats are even harder to identify because of the fact that it is difficult to discern what activity is acceptable and what activity is not. According to Gartner, there are four types of insider threats. Believe it or not, most insider threats don’t necessarily have malicious intent; rather, they just have a gross negligence for network security and rules put into place that protects your organization’s intellectual property. Let’s meet some of these insider threats, shall we?

Those Who Are Tricked

Also known as the “pawn,” this category includes those who are more or less tricked into becoming complicit with hackers’ agendas through the use of social engineering scams or phishing campaigns. In these cases, hackers are simply taking advantage of others who may not know enough to not go along with it.

Those Who Cooperate

Those who cooperate with third parties to disclose sensitive information or trade secrets, also known as the “collaborator,” are dangerous in their own right. Not only do they leak important information, but they do so with the deliberate intent to harm or create problems for your organization.

Those Who Make Mistakes

Sometimes people just make mistakes because they don’t take security standards seriously or deliberately fly in the face of policies. These folks fall into the category of the “goof,” and their arrogance and negligence is what leads them to make such mistakes. Goofs often make choices that benefit themselves, even if they make things significantly less secure in the process.

Those Who Act on Their Own

Sometimes insider threats emerge on their own without being a part of a bigger effort from a hacker or third party. These threats, dubbed the “lone wolf” insiders, are particularly dangerous if they have high-level access to sensitive information. The reasons for lone wolf insider threats acting the way they do might vary, but even if they are made for ethical reasons, like leaking suspicious practices or dangerous activity, this does not change their status as insiders, as they are still acting with a deliberate intent to damage the organization they work for.

MSPNetworks can help to secure your business from threats of all types, including insiders. To learn more about the methods we use to determine legitimate or illegitimate network activity, 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.

We don’t like it any more than you do, but if we have learned anything at all over the past several years, it’s that security absolutely needs to be a priority for all small businesses. In the face of high-profile ransomware attacks that can snuff companies out of existence, what are you doing to keep your own business secure? To put things in perspective, we’ve put together a list of some of the more common threats that all companies should be able to address.

Common Security Threats for Businesses

The following list of threats should give you an idea for how to start securing your business. You can never prepare too much for a potential security breach, so take the time now to get ready for what will inevitably come down the line.

Viruses

Some viruses are little more than an irritation, whereas others are incredibly disruptive to operations. They are basically bits of code that can harm your computer or data. Viruses are known for being able to spread from system to system to corrupt data, destroy files, and other harmful behavior. You can get viruses through downloading files, installing free software or applications, clicking on infected advertisements, clicking on the wrong links, or opening email attachments. Fortunately, modern antivirus software has gotten really good at protecting computers, provided that your software is up-to-date. For businesses, it’s best to have a centralized antivirus on your network that controls and manages all of the antivirus clients on your workstations. 

Malware

Malware is malicious software that performs a specific task. A virus can also be considered a type of malware, albeit more simplistic in nature. Malware comes in various forms according to its purpose, such as spyware for spying on infected machines and adware for displaying ads in extremely intrusive or inconvenient ways. The major takeaway here is that you don’t want to deal with malware in any capacity. It’s often installed on devices under the radar, and unless you are actively looking for it, it’s entirely possible that it can run in the background and cause all kinds of trouble without being detected. You can get malware through the same processes as viruses, and the same antivirus solutions can help you to resolve malware as well.

Phishing Attacks

Phishing attacks are mediums to spread other types of threats rather than actually being threats in and of themselves. Hackers might try to send out spam messages with links or infected attachments aiming to get the user to download them or click on them. When they do, the device is infected. Some phishing attacks are so inconspicuous that they can be hard to identify.

There are other types of phishing attacks as well, some of which try to get the user to share sensitive information or send money to the cybercriminal. Cybercriminals can spoof legitimate-sounding email addresses and use psychological hacks to convince the user to act in a certain way. It’s the most common way that hackers see results, so you should be aware of it.

Ransomware

Ransomware is so dangerous and high-profile that it is deserving of its own section. Ransomware locks down files using encryption and forces the user to pay a ransom in order to unlock them, usually in the form of cryptocurrency. Recent ransomware attacks are also threatening to release encrypted data on the Internet if the ransom is not paid, something which basically forces the user to pay up and gets around the possibility of restoring a backup.

Denial of Service (DDoS)

Denial of Service and Distributed Denial of Service attacks occur when a botnet, or a network of infected computers, repeatedly launches traffic at a server or infrastructure to the point where it just cannot handle the load, effectively disrupting operations and forcing it to shut down. Sometimes this happens with websites or services, so it’s no surprise that businesses can suffer from them, as well.

Trojans

Trojans (also called backdoors) install themselves on devices and work in the background to open up more opportunities for hackers later on. These can be used to steal data, infiltrate networks, or install other threats. Basically, if a hacker installs a backdoor on your network, they can access it whenever they want to; you are essentially at their mercy.

Zero-Day Vulnerabilities

Zero-day vulnerabilities are those that were previously unknown to developers but are currently in use by cybercriminals. These zero-day vulnerabilities are problems because when the developer discovers them and issues a patch, cybercriminals can identify the vulnerability based on the patch, and then exploit users who haven’t installed the patch yet. There is not much to be done besides keeping your software up-to-date, monitoring your networks for issues, and trusting the developers to issue patches as they discover security problems.

User Error

User error is a critical issue for many businesses. Your business is made up of people who perform tasks and work toward objectives. If one of these employees makes a mistake, it could leave your business exposed to threats. Thankfully, a combination of best practices and security solutions should be enough to minimize user error, and with some security training under their belt, your employees should have a good idea of how to handle it.

Get Started with Security Solutions

MSPNetworks can equip your business with the tools you need to be successful when protecting your organization. To learn more, reach out to us at (516) 403-9001.

With countless threats out there waiting for IT professionals to slip up, it’s no small wonder that many of these professionals are opting into what is called a zero-trust policy for their security standards. But what is a zero-trust policy, and why is it so effective at curbing potentially dangerous situations for your business? Let’s investigate this in today’s blog article.

What Does Zero-Trust Actually Mean?

The official definition, according to the United Kingdom’s National Cyber Security Centre, is “the idea of removing inherent trust from the network. Just because a device is within the internal "trusted" side of a firewall or VPN, it should not be trusted by default.” Essentially, what this means is that even devices that are on the correct side of your network, i.e. those that have already connected to it, cannot be trusted to be inherently secure.

Ultimately, all devices connected to your network are subject to security scrutiny.

How Effective is It, Really?

That said, zero-trust security policies are not for all businesses, so you will have to put in some legwork to make sure that your company’s network fits the bill here. It is important, according to the NCSC, that organizations think of this less as a guideline and more like an approach to network design, meaning that this should not be considered a steadfast rule. Naturally, all businesses will have different needs, and some companies just might not be able to make a zero-trust policy work.

This is particularly notable for companies that have large computing infrastructures, as the number of devices involved and the sheer cost of moving in this direction could eat holes in your business’ budget for months or even years, right up until the policy is fully implemented and beyond. Businesses might have to acquire new hardware and services, train technicians, and frequently update all of this technology to keep up with security standards. Furthermore, companies that utilize a BYOD policy, or Bring Your Own Device policy, have an even harder time with a zero-trust policy.

Despite these difficulties, it doesn't hurt to consider a zero-trust policy for your business. Here are five reasons why it might be a good idea, according to the NCSC:

• Greater control over data means delegation to the appropriate users.
• Stronger authentication and authorization
• Better user experience (consider single sign-on as an example)
• Every action or device is subject to some form of policy, meaning every attempt at accessing data is verified.
• Detailed access logs

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There is a lot to be done to protect your business from the plethora of threats out there, and we guarantee that working with a cybersecurity professional like MSPNetworks will give you the best shot at protecting your business as possible. To learn more, reach out to us at (516) 403-9001.

Phishing attacks are some of the most common threats out there. Hackers will craft messages or web pages designed to harvest information from your employees, be it through suspicious requests for credentials via email or through false websites that look so much like the real thing that it’s no wonder they were tricked. How can you make sure that your employees don’t fall for these dirty tricks? It all starts with comprehensive phishing training.

So, what goes into a successful phishing training program? Let’s take a look.

Phishing training involves exposing your team to simulated real-world scenarios in which they might encounter a phishing scam. It’s worth mentioning here that phishing can potentially involve much more than just a simple email containing requests for sensitive information or forms on websites asking for credentials. Phishing can come in the form of phone calls, text messages, and other communication mediums. Therefore, it becomes of critical importance that your staff have the skills needed to identify these phishing scams in whichever form they take.

As for what this phishing training might look like, it depends on the context. Training might take a more passive approach with videos, but it also takes on more active approaches with interactive workshops and hands-on training exercises.

One of the best ways to get a feel for how well your employees understand phishing attacks is to test them without them knowing it using these simulated attacks to see who takes the bait and who doesn’t. In this way, you can get a sense for how they would react under normal everyday circumstances. This type of threat awareness is important to gauge where your employees are in regards to cybersecurity, and it can give you an idea of which employees need further training.

We want to emphasize that phishing training is not about calling employees out on reckless behavior; rather, it’s about corrective practices that can help your business stay as secure as possible long-term. It is better to find out which of your employees struggle with identifying phishing attacks in simulated situations than when the real deal strikes, after all.

Look, we all want to trust our employees to do the right thing and know better than to click on suspicious links in emails, but at the end of the day, wanting something and actually getting it are two entirely different things. We need to accept reality and admit that hackers can and will succeed in their phishing attempts if we don’t do anything to prevent them. The best way to keep phishing attacks from becoming a nightmare scenario for your business is to implement comprehensive training practices and consistently reinforce them with your staff.

MSPNetworks can give your employees the training they need to keep from falling victim to phishing attacks. After working with our trusted IT professionals, your employees will know how to identify phishing attacks and how to appropriately respond to them without risking your organization’s security. To learn more about our phishing training and other security services, reach out to us 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.

Cybersecurity is critically important to businesses of all sizes, which means that all businesses need to put forth a concerted effort to ensure their security is locked down. This, in turn, will require someone to take point on developing a cybersecurity-focused internal culture.

Who better to do this than the boss?

Here’s the deal: it doesn’t matter how advanced your cybersecurity solutions are, or how recently your team updated their passwords. No amount of cybersecurity safeguards will protect you if your team members aren’t behaving in a security-conscious way.

The Importance of a Cybersecurity-Centric Company Culture

Have you ever heard of social proof? While it is more often a term associated with marketing, describing how people can be convinced by testimonials from their peers and contemporaries, it can play a significant role in shaping your workplace environment… although this can be a double-edged sword.

Basically, the culture around your cybersecurity will reinforce itself over time.

Let’s say that John Doe gets a job with a company, and is busy getting set up with network access and permissions to everything he will need to do his job. With a poor cybersecurity culture in place, his coworkers may suggest he just repeat his username as his password, or take some similar shortcut. If the whole department insists that this practice is okay and accepted, it’s likely that John will do just that. What’s more, old Johnny boy will likely amplify this message to Jane, the next person hired, and so on and so forth.

However, if we take this same scenario and change just one detail—the message that the team shares with their new coworker—the outcome could be much, much different. If company policies outline the expectation that passwords will meet a set of best practices and the employees emphasize this in their day-to-day, it is far more likely that they will be upheld.

The Boss is the One Who Sets the Tone in the Business

So, apart from turning your employee handbook into a glorified cybersecurity dream journal, what can you do to infuse security awareness into your day-to-day? There are a few things, actually:

• In addition to implementing password policies, you can enforce them by only permitting passwords that meet these policies to be accepted.
• In addition to establishing access controls, you need to audit your protections at regular intervals to identify any overlooked weak points, civilly calling attention to these shortfalls as you encounter them.
• In addition to adding security training into your onboarding processes, you should periodically have your employees go through a refresher training course on occasion.

As the business’ leader, it is on the boss to take the lead in all things. Security is not where you want to make an exception. MSPNetworks is here to facilitate your improvements to your cybersecurity. Reach out to us today by calling (516) 403-9001 and find out the many ways that we can assist you in improving your business—whether it's regarding your security, your processes, or any other IT considerations.

For all the attention that we (and many others) give to cybercrime, people are still falling victim to hacks and scams every day. With most businesses operating more in the digital sphere than ever before, it stands to reason that they need to do more to keep from being a victim of a data breach or worse. Here are six things your business should do to keep from being a victim of a cyberattack.

#1 - Train Your Staff

You will want to establish basic security practices that make sense. You will want to go through how to identify a phishing attack and what to do if they come across one. You will want to explain what good password hygiene is and what benefits it offers both for your business and for them, individually. You will also need to go through the best practices of handling customer, vendor, and their contemporaries’ sensitive information. 

#2 - Patch and Manage

You will want to keep your business’ infrastructure updated and managed. This includes all machines and endpoints, web browsers, software; any part of your IT infrastructure that, if it were to be breached, could have a huge negative effect on your ability to continue business.

#3 - Security Solutions

Make sure that your firewall, antivirus, and any other security solution you have in place to protect your business is updated with the latest threat definitions. This includes setting up firewalls or a VPN for every member of your staff that is working remotely. 

#4 - Backup Your Data

In order to protect your data, regularly backing it up and storing it multiple places is suggested. That way you have copies of your data to restore from if something was to be corrupted, some IT were to fail, or there was some type of user error; and, also if some disaster were to compromise your data at your place of business.

#5 - Secure Wireless Networks

You will want to secure your Wi-Fi network(s). It should be hidden from view and encrypted to give your business the best chance at mitigating potential hacks aimed at accessing your wireless network. 

#6 -  Promote Sound Password Hygiene

Ensuring that your staff understands the best practices of using passwords and multi-factor authentication can go a long way toward protecting your business from outside threats. Passwords should be complex, but also easily remembered and use multiple characters.

If you are going to keep your data and infrastructure free from threats, these six steps are the bare minimum. If you would like to discuss additional steps you can take to protect your business’ most important assets, give our IT experts a call at (516) 403-9001 today.

2020, unsurprisingly, has decided to go out with a bang, as it has been revealed that the United States was targeted in the largest cyberespionage attack to date. Let’s go over what this attack means, and how things will need to play out in the future.

How Did the Attack Happen?

In short, an IT management company known as SolarWinds was breached back in March, affecting a massive number of organizations—18,000 in all. These organizations include the likes of Microsoft, Cisco, and FireEye, as well as many states and federal organizations, including:

• The U.S. Department of State
• The U.S. Department of the Treasury
• The U.S. Department of Homeland Security
• The U.S. Department of Energy
• The U.S. National Telecommunications and Information Administration
• The National Institutes of Health, of the U.S. Department of Health
• The U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration

When the attackers gained access to SolarWinds’ network, they were able to use what is known as a supply chain attack to introduce their malware to these departments and organizations by pushing it through the company’s automatic software update system for their Orion products. These kinds of attacks can be particularly effective since the threat is introduced to an environment via a trusted application.

Making this situation worse, many SolarWinds customers had excluded Orion products from their security checks on SolarWinds’ recommendation to prevent their other security products from shutting them down due to the malware signatures that these security products contain.

While (at the time of this writing) it is unclear what the attackers responsible used this access to do, the potential ramifications are truly terrifying. While government departments were targeted, it also needs to be said that this attack could have potentially continued from the major providers like Microsoft and Cisco to their clients, and so on and so forth. That’s why there is still no estimate of this attack’s true scope.

This attack was seemingly only discovered when an employee at FireEye received an alert that their VPN credentials had been used from a new device, and a little digging revealed the much larger situation playing out.

This Wasn’t the Only Attack, Either

Another attack was also discovered on SolarWinds’ network when the company performed an internal audit of its systems. On December 18, a second malware was found to have used the same tactic to infiltrate SolarWinds, but as of this writing does not seem to come from the same source.

What This Needs to Teach Us

Frankly, the most important lessons to be learned here are painfully obvious. First off, cybersecurity needs to be prioritized above all else, and all potential threats should be considered a likelihood. After all, the U.S. government was warned about the viability of exactly this kind of threat back in 2018 by the Government Accountability Office.

Secondly, the concept of your employees being a huge part of your cybersecurity strategy needs to be reinforced. This was only discovered when an employee was alerted of unusual activity and took that alert seriously. Your team needs to know what they are looking out for, and how to proceed if they spot it.

Unfortunately, the full extent of this threat will not be clear to us until much later, but what is clear is that we’ll be here to keep your business’ IT as secure as possible. To learn more about what we can do for your business and its security, take a few moments to give us a call at (516) 403-9001.