Data Net Blog

The Verizon Data Breach Investigations report states that emails are the primary source of two-thirds of malware. Email is an easy target simply because there is more human touch involved in the case of emails. There’s always a stray chance that someone will end up clicking on a phishing link or downloading the wrong attachment or simply including sensitive, confidential information in an unencrypted email. The first step to securing your email systems is training your employees. Train your employees to identify harmful email messages and to be aware of your firm’s IT protocols and rules. There are 4 major ways in which your employees may end up compromising your email security. These are

For any organization, its employees are its biggest assets. But, what happens when your biggest assets turn out to be your greatest threats or liabilities? That is how cybercrime can change the game. In a recent study, it came to light that employee actions account for about 70% of the data breaches that happen. This blog focuses on the first step you need to take as an organization to better prepare your employees to identify and mitigate cyber threats--adopting a top-down approach to IT security.

Being a victim of cyber-attack can prove disastrous for your business as it has the following repercussions.

• Affects your brand image negatively:  Business disruption due to downtime or having your important business data including customer and vendor details stolen reflects poorly on your brand.

• It can cause you to lose customers:  Your customers may take their business elsewhere as they may not feel safe sharing their PII with you.

• Can cost you quite a bit financially:  Data breach makes you liable to follow certain disclosure requirements mandated by the law. These most likely require you to make announcements on popular media, which can prove expensive. Plus, you will also have to invest in positive PR to boost your brand value.

• It makes you vulnerable to lawsuits:  You could be sued by customers whose Personally Identifiable Information (PII) has been compromised or stolen.
  
  
  

The organizational mindset needs to change and acknowledge the fact that IT security is not ONLY your IT department, CTO or Managed Service Provider’s (MSP) responsibility. You need to truly believe that IT security is everyone’s business, and that includes everybody working in your company, from the C-level execs to the newly hired intern. Everybody needs to understand the gravity of a cyberattack and its impact. Only then will they take cybersecurity seriously.

The Cloud presents plenty of benefits that make it a very attractive choice, especially for SMBs who don’t want to be burdened with higher in-house IT costs, putting your data in the Cloud is not risk-free. Just as storing data on physical servers has its security threats, the Cloud presents certain security concerns as well. These include

• Data breach: A data breach is when your data is accessed by someone who is not authorized to do so.
• Data loss: A data loss is a situation where your data in the Cloud is destroyed due to certain circumstances such as technological failure or neglect during any stage of data processing or storage.
• Account hijacking: Like traditional servers, data in the Cloud could be stolen through account hijacking as well. In fact, Cloud account hijacking is predominantly deployed in cybercrimes that require entail identity thefts and wrongful impersonation.
• Service traffic hijacking: In a service traffic hijacking, your attacker first gains access to your credentials, uses it to understand the online activities that happen in your domain and then uses the information to mislead your users or domain visitors to malicious sites.
• Insecure application program interfaces (APIs): Sometimes, Cloud APIs, when opened up to third parties, can be a huge security threat. If the API keys are not properly secured, it can serve as an entry point for cybercriminals and malicious elements.
• Poor choice of Cloud storage providers: A security lapse from the Cloud storage provider’s end is a huge security concern for businesses. It is very important to choose a trusted and experienced Cloud service provider who knows what they are doing.

Apart from the above, there are some common threats that apply to both the Cloud and traditional data storage environments such as a DDoS attack, or a malware attack where your data in the Cloud becomes susceptible because it is being shared with others and at other places.

Some Cloud security mechanisms that SMBs can invest in to keep their data safe

Cloud firewalls: Much like the firewalls you deploy for your local IT network, Cloud firewalls work to prevent unauthorized Cloud network access.

Penetration testing: Penetration testing is a sort of a Cloud security check where IT experts try hacking into the Cloud network to figure out if there are any security lapses or vulnerabilities that could serve cybercriminals.

Obfuscation: In obfuscation, the data or program code is obscured on purpose such that the system delivers unclear code to anyone other than the original programmer, thus mitigating any malicious activity.

Tokenization: Tokenization is the process of replacing sensitive data with unique identification symbols that retain all the essential information about the data without compromising its security.

Virtual Private Networks (VPN): Another, more commonly used mechanism is the VPN. VPN creates a safe passage for data over the Cloud through end-to-end encryption methodology.

Investing in a good Cloud security system is a must, but, in the end, you also need to remember that Cloud security is not only about antivirus software, firewalls, and other anti-malware tools. You need to pick the right MSP and work closely with them to implement a Cloud security solution that works for you.

Did you know that you could be the victim of a data breach without even knowing it? It’s possible, really. If a hacker has managed to infiltrate a website or service that you use without giving up the goat, so to speak, they could have your information and you might not even know about it. Thankfully, there are ways around this, and it all starts by asking that simple question: what if my information was stolen, and what is it being used for?

Cybersecurity is an incredibly important part of any business, but there are slight differences in various terms that can make for huge misunderstandings. For example, the average office worker might hear of “data breaches” and imagine they are “security incidents.” They might not technically be wrong, but the two terms aren’t exactly the same, either. Let’s examine the definitions and provide some clarity on these terms.

Your business may rely on its technology, but it relies on your employees more. This relationship can expose your business to a myriad of different problems that hinder progress and stymie productivity. One of those problems happens to be IT-related threats that come from inside your company. Today, we are going to discuss the different types of insider threats to help you understand what you need to be looking for to keep your data and network secure. 

As remote operations continue for many, while many are working to return to the official workplace, security and business continuity are more important to your business than ever. Let’s go over a few things you need to address to successfully reopen without exposing your business to undue risks.

By now, you’ve heard all about the Equifax data breach, which exposed sensitive information of 143 million individuals. To keep this from leading to identity theft and other challenges for these users, many professionals are encouraging them to freeze their credit lines. To do so, a PIN is required, which is something that a hacker can easily take advantage of.

In the realm of cyberattacks, a data breach is perceived as one of, if not the biggest threat that a business can face. They are seen as so dangerous, in fact, that threats like phishing attacks are largely disregarded. However, data from a recent study suggests that this is the opposite of what should happen in a decision maker’s mind.