Firewall – Casserly Consulting

UTM is a Strong Solution to Ward Off Hackers

When your employees think about hackers and network security, do they picture some cloaked or hooded figure in a dark room typing away at a keyboard? Do they see a recluse living in their mother’s basement? Popular culture has given many users a false sense of reality regarding hacking attacks and the culture surrounding them, and it can come at the detriment of your business.

While there are, of course, amateur hackers who aren’t necessarily well-versed in how to do it, there are other, more professional hackers who “know their stuff,” so to speak. This is similar to just about any kind of profession or industry. You have the hackers who have no idea what they’re talking about, and you have the seasoned professionals who know the ins and outs of how to infiltrate a network. Unlike other industries, however, the cybercrime industry is effective regardless of the proficiency of those involved with it.

If you think about it, this makes sense. It doesn’t matter what kind of threat is installed on your computer. A virus is a virus, and malware is malware. It’s troublesome at best and dangerous or downright threatening at worst. Therefore, if you don’t take network security seriously, you could put the future of your business at risk.

Traditional Hacking Attacks
Many users might look at hacking attacks and think about the more traditional threats. This includes the typical viruses and malware that users associate with suspicious online activity. These threats can have varying effects, but they generally make life difficult for businesses and individuals alike. This is about the extent of the average user’s knowledge regarding hacking attacks. They know they are bad, but they might not know the real ramifications of such attacks.

Emerging Threats
Nowadays, security threats are much more advanced and dangerous, capable of crippling entire networks. Some examples are dedicated spear phishing attacks in which hackers take on the identity of someone close to your organization, tricking users into downloading the wrong email attachments or sending a wire transfer to an offshore bank account. Other times, it’s installing a backdoor on a network that lets hackers access a network at their leisure. The most dangerous of all–ransomware–literally locks down your business’ files and demands a ransom for their safe return, putting businesses between a rock and a hard place. Suffice to say, these advanced threats aren’t always identifiable by the average user, and some can’t be identified until it’s far too late and damage has already been done.

Don’t let your business remain in harm’s way any longer. COMPANYNAME can equip your business with solutions that can both prevent hacking attacks and respond to them quickly and efficiently. We do this through the use of a Unified Threat Management (UTM) tool that combines enterprise-level firewalls, antivirus, security blockers, and content filters together to create a comprehensive, preventative, and proactive way to keep your network safe. It’s the best way to approach network security, hands-down.

To learn more about how you can get started with a UTM, give us a call at PHONENUMBER.

Tip of the Week: 4 Scams to Look Out for and What You Can Do to Prevent Them

There’s no question that cybersecurity is an important part of managing a business, especially with so much technology in your office. Yet, the real challenge comes from making sure that your employees know and understand best practices, and are willing to adhere to them. Here are some easy ways that you can help your employees understand just how important IT security really is.

Change Passwords Frequently
Password security is a big problem for both the commercial and domestic computer user. Too often you see stories about users having passwords like “password” or “123456.” To help your team avoid this, create a handout that has the following best practices on it:

Make your passwords long (at least 16 characters). The longer, the better, as this makes the passwords more difficult to guess.
Make your passwords complex. Use a plethora of special characters, numbers, and both upper and lower-case letters.
Never use the same password twice. When a hacker steals a password, they may try to use it on other related accounts.

Of course, a password manager makes these tips much easier to accomplish; particularly one that allows you to share passwords across your organization’s network. You can group together users and distribute credentials as they’re needed, synced in real time to their devices. As a bonus, you can use complex passwords without the frustrations of forgetting and remembering them.

Watch Out for Spam
Hackers will often spread spam in the hopes that someone will slip up and offer important credentials or personally-identifiable information via email or phone call. We’ve outlined a couple of common spam situations below, so that you know what to look for:

A big congratulations: If you get an email saying that you’ve won the lottery or a big winner who needs to claim the prize, you can disregard it as spam. In general, if something is urging for immediate action, you might want to think twice about what it is.
Fake law enforcement threats: Hackers know that people are intimidated by the authorities, so they will create messages claiming to be from the FBI or local law enforcement. They will then declare that you have done something wrong and that there is a fine. Messages like this use fear against you, so be careful not to fall into the trap.
Spear phishing tactics: These are tactics in which hackers will target specific users and tailor their attacks to the individual. Details to look for could include customized phone numbers, addresses, and personal information regarding their schedule or workplace. Since the attacks don’t look like generic spam, they can fool users.
Whaling schemes: These are top-tier social engineering threats that almost don’t classify as spam due to how dangerous they are. Whaling schemes, or CEO fraud, is when a hacker impersonates the business owner in an attempt to get financial departments to wire transfer funds to offshore bank accounts. Look for inconsistencies with email addresses, or simply ask the one who has sent the message, if it’s a real request or not.

Many of the above email threats can be mitigated with an enterprise-level spam blocking solution. Spam blocking keeps suspicious messages from hitting your inbox in the first place, which increases the chances that your employees won’t see them at all. However, there are still some that might manage to squeeze past filters. Therefore, the only real way to prevent these problems is by taking proactive security measures.

To learn more about cybersecurity, reach out to COMPANYNAME at PHONENUMBER.