Bah Humbug CYBER ATTACKS Season!

Holidays are here and everyone is browsing the internet shopping and giving the bad guys opportunities to infect your computer. Do not open anything you don’t recognize in your browser to prevent cyber attack.
One of the biggest ongoing trends is Cryptominers and crypto-related threats as a whole. Cryptominers have greatly improved their capabilities as well as upgraded their targets array: servers, mobile devices, industrial systems andcloud infrastructure – no one is left behind.
The first half of 2018 has featured some new and interesting trends. The Cloud infrastructure for instance, has become one of the most attractive targets for threat actors; as the vast amount of sensitive data along with the available computing resources reside on the cloud environment, have easily captivated the attackers’ attention. Tesla’s cloud servers infected with Monero miner earlier this year and a massive leak of sensitive data of FedEx customers are just two examples of what 2018 has brought to us.
But it absolutely isn’t: cyber attack is potentially very close to home and to your business.
The very size of the targets that have received the most coverage is misleadingly comforting. According to a survey by CNBC, approximately 14 million small businesses in the United States have suffered data breaches at least once; that’s one-half of the total small businesses in the country. Why? Most hackers are motivated by profit, and they can net as much by hacking a number of small businesses as by making a killing on a corporate giant. And it’s so much easier, because limited budgets mean that small businesses simply can’t afford to stay on top of the dizzying proliferation of threats, much less assemble the resources to thwart them.
You might be thinking that this doesn’t apply to you, because you don’t maintain sensitive data files on anybody or anything. But unless you are currently using an abacus you still have computer architecture that could harbor malware designed to make your system vulnerable to the interference of a hacker. You could even export that liability to a customer—hardly the kind of word-of-mouth advertising you’re looking for.
What’s the answer? A Unified Threat Management tool consisting of a firewall, spam blocker, antivirus, and content filters is the first line of defense. A UTM isolates and limits threats, giving your IT provider timely warnings that your infrastructure is under attack. Proper security measures, such as strong password requirements, are something that you should make sure all your employees are committed to. Another essential facet of employee education is instruction on the micro-level versions of cyber attack: phishing and social engineering, which can endanger the organization as much as the individual.
It’s a lot to think about, especially when it’s not the focus of your business efforts. Maybe you’re even one of the 14 million small businesses that have suffered compromise at the hands of hackers, but you still don’t know how to protect yourself. Let CrafTech help you create a threat management policy that will give you and your staff peace of mind. It’s what we’re here for. Read more about Hosted Microsoft Exchange, HIPPA Privacy Protection, Email Filter
Written by: Susan Palmer