BCS Provides Computer Network Design, Installation, Troubleshooting, Service and Support Throughout the Mid-Atlantic Region

3 essential security tools for every business

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Your data is one of your most valuable business assets. Keeping it safe should be one of your main priorities. So if you don’t have much security in place, there’s a minimum standard you should be implementing, right now.

There are dozens of security solutions available that all perform different tasks – from preventing criminals gaining access, to recognizing attacks in progress, and then limiting the damage that can be done. There’s no one-size-fits-all as every business has different priorities and different types of data to protect.

Here are three essentials that every business should put in place as a basic level of protection.

A firewall

A firewall monitors the internet traffic coming into and leaving your IT network. It acts as a wall between your network and the outside world. It’s your first line of defense against an intruder breaking in to your network.

A password manager for everyone in the business.

A password manager stores all your credentials securely, and can also generate nearly impossible-to-guess passwords for all your accounts and applications.

That’s useful against brute force attacks, where cyber criminals essentially try to force their way into your system by guessing the password. It also stops you writing down your passwords somewhere ‘safe’!

A VPN (Virtual Private Network)

A VPN is important for any remote or hybrid workers in your business.

It means your employees can access your network from wherever they’re working, without worrying that their online activity is being watched by a criminal.

VPNs make your browsing completely private, hiding your device and location details, and anything you download. If you or your employees regularly use public Wi-Fi – especially to access your network – a VPN is essential.

These are our absolute minimum recommendations.

The strongest security uses additional tools like Multi-Factor Authentication to prove the identity of all users, and antivirus software to deal with any intrusions.

These work together to create a multi-layered security shield to defend against threats on many fronts.

But it’s important you create a security plan that’s right for your specific business. It’s a good idea to seek some professional help.

Not everyone’s as excited about IT security as we are! But we definitely have a passion for it.

If we can help you, get in touch.

Published with permission from Your Tech Updates.

Criminals are exploiting AI to create scams

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One of the many cool things about the new wave of Artificial Intelligence tools is their ability to sound convincingly human.

AI chatbots can be prompted to generate text that you’d never know was written by a robot. And they can keep producing it – quickly, and with minimal human intervention.

So it’s no surprise that cyber criminals have been using AI chatbots to try to make their own lives easier.

Police have identified the three main ways crooks have found to use the chatbot for malicious reasons.

Better phishing emails

Until now, terrible spelling and grammar have made it easy to spot many phishing emails. These are intended to trick you into clicking a link to download malware or steal information. AI-written text is way harder to spot, simply because it isn’t riddled with mistakes.

Worse, criminals can make every phishing email they send unique, making it harder for spam filters to spot potentially dangerous content.

Spreading misinformation

“Write me ten social media posts that accuse the CEO of the Acme Corporation of having an affair. Mention the following news outlets”. Spreading misinformation and disinformation may not seem like an immediate threat to you, but it could lead to your employees falling for scams, clicking malware links, or even damage the reputation of your business or members of your team.

Creating malicious code

AI can already write pretty good computer code and is getting better all the time. Criminals could use it to create malware.

It’s not the software’s fault – it’s just doing what it’s told – but until there’s a reliable way for the AI creators to safeguard against this, it remains a potential threat.

The creators of AI tools are not the ones responsible for criminals taking advantage of their powerful software. ChatGPT creator OpenAI, for example, is working to prevent its tools from being used maliciously.

What this does show is the need to stay one step ahead of the cyber crooks in everything we do. That’s why we work so hard with our clients to keep them protected from criminal threats, and informed about what’s coming next.

If you’re concerned about your people falling for increasingly sophisticated scams, be sure to keep them updated about how the scams work and what to look out for.

If you need help with that, get in touch.

Published with permission from Your Tech Updates.

Cyber attacks are getting smarter. Are you vulnerable?

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Have you ever tried to buy tickets for a huge event and found that the seller’s website has collapsed under the weight of thousands of people all trying to do the same thing at the same time?

The ticket site falls over – usually temporarily – because the server is overloaded with traffic it doesn’t have the capacity for.

Criminal Distributed Denial of Service attacks – DDoS, for short – exploit the same principle.

When a DDoS attack targets a business, it floods it with internet traffic in an attempt to overwhelm the system and force it to fail.

This results in the business and its customers being unable to access services. That may trigger a temporary failure, or it could be more serious. Last year, the average DDoS attack lasted 50 minutes.

That may not sound like a long time, but it’s enough to create angry customers, or to bring business to a grinding halt. And downtime can be costly.

The really bad news is that DDoS attacks are not only lasting longer, but they’re becoming bigger, more sophisticated and more common.

Recently, the biggest ever reported DDoS attack was reportedly blocked. At its peak, it sent 71 million requests per SECOND to its target’s servers. Prior to that, the biggest reported incident stood at 46 million requests per second.

Worse still, more businesses are reporting being targeted by DDoS attacks where criminals are demanding huge ransoms to stop the attack.

What does this mean for you?

It’s important you check all your security measures are up-to-date and working as they should be. Are your firewalls up to the task, with DDoS monitoring and prevention tools set up? And is your team fully aware of the importance of staying vigilant?

We can help make sure your business stays protected. Just get in touch.

Published with permission from Your Tech Updates

AI is making phishing scams more dangerous

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AI chatbots have taken the world by storm in recent months. We’ve been having fun asking ChatGPT questions, trying to find out how much of our jobs it can do, and even getting it to tell us jokes.

But while lots of people have been having fun, cyber criminals have been powering ahead and finding ways to use AI for more sinister purposes.

They’ve worked out that AI can make their phishing scams harder to detect – and that makes them more successful.

Our advice has always been to be cautious with emails. Read them carefully. Look out for spelling mistakes and grammatical errors. Make sure it’s the real deal before clicking any links.

And that’s still excellent advice.

But ironically, the phishing emails generated by a chatbot feel more human than ever before – which puts you and your people at greater risk of falling for a scam. So we all need to be even more careful.

Crooks are using AI to generate unique variations of the same phishing lure. They’re using it to eradicate spelling and grammar mistakes, and even to create entire email threads to make the scam more plausible.

Security tools to detect messages written by AI are in development, but they’re still a way off.

That means you need to be extra cautious when opening emails – especially ones you’re not expecting. Always check the address the message is sent from, and double-check with the sender (not by replying to the email!) if you have even the smallest doubt.

If you need further advice or team training about phishing scams, just get in touch.

Published with permission from Your Tech Updates.

Is your security focusing on the right things?

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To protect your home from an intruder you make sure your doors and windows are all locked and secured. You might go further: build a fence around the perimeter, perhaps even get an angry-looking dog to stand guard.

But there’s no point going to all that effort if someone’s already broken in and set up camp in the basement.

Yet that’s the security policy of thousands of big businesses trying to protect their data from cyber criminals.

They do many of the right things. They invest in security software. They take a strong, multi-layered approach to security – including all the things we recommend, like multi-factor authentication, encryption, reliable backup systems and staff training.

But they don’t pay enough attention to detection and response. That involves constantly scanning systems for any sign that a crook may have gained entry somewhere, and having a process to stop an attack in its tracks.

A new study shows that only a third of businesses place detection as their main priority, while two thirds say prevention is their primary focus.

That means, they could be building 10-foot walls around their systems with intruders already inside.

In-house security teams might be super-confident in the security measures they’ve put in place. But the data suggests that they’re being too complacent. The study reveals that more than eight in ten businesses experienced more than one data breach last year – even with good security in place.

Criminals are constantly finding ways to evade security. That tells us that we need to take a rounded approach, with strong prevention AND detection policies providing the best protection against today’s determined criminals.

If you need world-class security, get in touch today.

Published with permission from Your Tech Updates.

A little trust can go a long way

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Countless employers still don’t trust their people to do their best work unless they’re physically in the office. But while managers may be struggling to adjust to our new hybrid world, this perception is a long way from the truth.

Research from around the world reveals that greater flexibility from remote and hybrid working often results in a major boost to productivity. Yet still some firms are bringing back an office-only policy.

Employers may be grappling with the fallout of the last few years and hoping that a return to the office will result in a post-pandemic productivity boost.

But seeing as hybrid workers show improved morale, greater creativity and better collaboration (compared with pre-pandemic levels), this could be a big step in the wrong direction.

Big Brother will never be popular

Some businesses have increased their employee monitoring to try and track performance. But this is often perceived as a Big Brother tactic that ends up having the opposite effect – a drop in productivity, a lack of trust, demoralized teams, and a greater feeling of ‘us and them’.

All businesses need to understand how they are performing and decide which metrics give the best insight into productivity. But this has to be done in a way that doesn’t leave employees feeling like cogs in a machine.

So what’s the answer?

There is some clear advice for building a productive and successful hybrid environment:

? Encourage people to work in the way that’s best for them
? Find the right ways to measure performance – without people feeling like they’re constantly being watched
? Automate repetitive tasks to free up your team’s creativity
? And provide everyone with the tools and tech they need to do their job properly. That could include choosing the right devices, using communication tools that aid collaboration, and making the right connectivity choices.

We can help with all of this.

So if you’re having trouble adjusting to a hybrid world, get in touch – we’re here to help.

Published with permission from Your Tech Updates.

Windows is the prime target for cyber criminals

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With its huge dominance in the workplace, Microsoft’s Windows has become the prime target for cyber criminals. They’re looking to access your information, disrupt your business, or hold your data to ransom.

Tens of millions of attempted malware attacks were discovered throughout this year, and a massive 95% of those threats were targeted at Windows.

The vast majority of attacks are unsuccessful, but those that do succeed can create havoc for the affected businesses. So you need to be sure that you’re taking all possible precautions to protect your business and your data.

– Hardware and software companies release regular updates to address threats to Windows users, as well as security patches designed specifically to deal with new risks. These should all be installed as soon as they become available.

– Your people should be regularly trained in how to spot cyber security threats and what to do if they suspect one.

– And because it’s not possible to protect every business from 100% of all threats, it’s also important that you have a strong resilience plan in place.

This should detail exactly how your business should react if it falls victim to a cyber attack and who should be notified to take action. Everyone in the company should have access to this document and know to report any potential attack as quickly as possible – that’s the best way to lessen its impact.

If you have an IT service provider, they’ll be able to make the best recommendations to keep your business safe and secure, train your people, and even provide monitoring to spot any potential danger before it becomes a problem.

This is something we do every day. So if we can help your business become more resilient, just get in touch.

Published with permission from Your Tech Updates.

Don’t walk the plank with pirated software

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A huge number of small and medium-sized businesses would consider using pirated software to try and save money. A new study has revealed a surprising number of businesses willing to break the law to save costs. Our advice? Think twice before you walk the plank.

Right now, the most popular types of pirated software are project management tools, and marketing and sales software. But a huge 56% of business owners said they’d even think about using illegal cyber security software in an effort to cut costs.

Don’t do it.

Not only is pirated software unsupported – so if you have a problem with it (which you probably will) there’s no help available to rectify the issue – but it can open your business up to bigger problems too.

It’s common for cyber criminals to use pirated software to distribute malware. Some of this is designed to evade firewalls, which means once installed, it can spread malicious files beyond your device to your entire network. That can lead to your sensitive data being compromised or stolen.

The cost of putting things right after this kind of cyber attack can end up costing a fortune, and the pirated software can damage your devices by causing them to slow down or overheat.

We advise our clients to always use genuine software from a reputable source. If the cost of the software seems too good to be true… it probably is.

But there’s more you can do. You should prevent unauthorized employees from downloading software that could be harmful by managing admin rights properly. And you should ensure your whole team has regular cyber security awareness training to make everyone aware of the risks to your business data.

If you’d like help finding genuine software for your business, or creating a cyber security plan, just get in touch.

Published with permission from Your Tech Updates.

Your USB cable is about to get a speed boost

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We’re all familiar with USB. After all we’ve been using it with our computers since 1996, and now with mobile devices too.

Yes… it’s really been that long.

Without USB it would be harder to connect different types of devices, charge them, and transfer data.

Of course, USB has changed and improved over the years. And there’s another new improvement due in the next few months.

What makes this one fun is that you won’t need to buy any new USB accessories or cables.

The USB Promoter Group, which is the industry body that drives USB improvements, recently announced the planned release of USB 4 2.0.

What’s exciting about that, you ask?

This will actually allow you to double the speeds of data transfer on cables you already own – so long as they’re no more than a couple of years old.

This new standard will see a maximum data transfer performance of up to 80GBps. That’s gigabits per second.

It means displays will perform better and data will transfer faster. Great news to improve productivity in your business.

The USB Promoter Group is made up of tech giants like Microsoft, Apple, HP, and Intel.

Its primary job is to develop USB capabilities to meet the demand of the current market and to extend support for more platform types.

We expect to have an update on USB 4 2.0 in around November.

If you want improved productivity and performance in your business before the end of the year, please get in touch. There are always ways to make things faster in every business.

Published with permission from Your Tech Updates.

Are you using a malicious browser extension?

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There are hundreds of thousands of browser extensions designed to help us to save time, be more productive, and personalize our online experience.

And while the majority of them do what they’re supposed to, some are not designed to help you at all…

If you’re unfortunate enough to download a malicious browser extension without realizing, it could harm your productivity and even flood your work with unwanted advertising.

This is known as adware. It’s a form of malware (malicious software) that’s designed to bombard you with unwanted adverts.

It can also change your search engine and send you to affiliate pages when you’re making purchases. These activities generate revenue for the extension’s creators.

In a recent report from a cyber security company, it revealed more than 4 million of its customers have been attacked by adware hiding in browser extensions over the last couple of years.

And often people didn’t realize they were under attack.

There’s a darker scenario where these malicious extensions are hiding actual malware which can infect your computer.

This can lead to sensitive data such as your logins or even payment details being stolen. And of course malware can spread across an entire network.

To keep your business and its data safe from the risk of malicious browser extensions, it’s important you only ever download them from reliable and trusted sources.

Read reviews and look at ratings. If a browser seems too good to be true it probably is.

As the business owner, you might also look into controlling which extensions can be installed by your team. We can help with this, as well as looking at up-to-date software protection and (fun) security training for your team.