Three best practices to protect your data. While malware and phishing attacks have evolved over time and are constantly becoming more and more sophisticated, there are ways to protect your data from them. Here are two best practices to observe no matter the size of IT infrastructure needed in your company or organization to follow that can help safeguard your business. Install a strong firewall A firewall can help prevent unauthorized access to your network by monitoring access attempts and allowing or rejecting them. Firewalls are flexible in the sense that you can choose how stringent or lenient you want it to be in terms of limiting access. There are different kinds of firewalls, each serving a particular purpose and offering different protection levels. An MSP with deep experience with these technologies, as well as your specific industry, can be an excellent resource. Firewalls basically work to block unauthorized traffic to your network based on various factors including IP addr

Ransomware vs. other malware attacks There is no end to the volume and type of malware out there in cyberspace. For a very long time, organizations were aware that viruses could attack their data, render it corrupted and unusable. They were also aware that malware was used to steal data and use it for–primarily–monetary gain. Sell off banks of credit card numbers, steal identities, re-sell Social Security numbers, etc. Phishing, as we talked about in an earlier blog, is a set of tricks to get access to personal information and probably even to your IT network by stealing access credentials, but that’s not the only way. Cybercriminals also deploy various malware such as viruses, worms and trojan horses to attack IT networks. These malware usually gain entry into the system disguised as genuine email attachments, links to file downloads, etc. and then corrupt the data. If it is a case of a virus whose sole intent is criminal mischief, your surest protection are consistent and frequent b

Everyone wants to go phishing. You are very much aware that your company or organization is at risk, every minute of the day, from cyberattacks, malware, ransomware, and even benign errors that can put your data at risk. Even a failed backup procedure could mean a loss of critical company and customer data. In today’s blog we’re just going to review one of the most common methods that bad actors use to try to gain access to your data. Phishing. Phishing isn’t a particular type of malware or virus that attacks your data. Instead, it refers to the tools cyber criminals use to get access to your data. Phishing refers generally to the bag of tricks they use to break into your house. In phishing attacks, cybercriminals generally send a web link that is disguised to look genuine, and prompt the receiver to share information that will then be misused. For example, an email may be sent to you that looks as though it came from your bank or the IRS announcing a tax refund that your business i

You’ve been hijacked! Has it ever happened to you that you opened the web browser on your PC and it looked a bit off? Then you perhaps did a Google search for something or tried to access your email only to have a dozen ads popping up or to be redirected to some other URL. Well, it means your web browser was hijacked. Browser hijacking is one of the most common cyber crimes out there today. What is browser hijacking? Browser hijacking is when a malware enters your system and takes control of your browser. It then makes changes to your browser settings and while it seems innocuous, the consequences can be serious. Your browser is the gateway to the internet. By hijacking your browser, the malware will be able to steal your data including private information, log-in credentials and more. How does a browser hijacker gain access to your system? Browser hijacking malwares can enter your system in various ways. Generally, they gain an entry when you click on a malicious link or accidentally

Your employee quit your organization - Make sure your data hasn’t When someone new joins your organization, how do you manage their onboarding? Chances are, you already have processes in place for everything. The employee paperwork is taken care of by the HR, the on-floor assistance and other training is probably provided by a senior team member or the training and development team, and your IT team or MSP handles their IT/computer setup. But, what happens when they are leaving the organization. Is your off-boarding process just as meticulous? Businesses pay a lot of attention to data safety and security when employees are handling their data, but often overlook the same when it comes to outgoing employees. But, outgoing employees can be a threat to your organization’s data security. You never know when a disgruntled employee may actually go out of their way to intentionally harm your business by stealing (and later misusing or selling) or destroying your data. Even if an employee is p