Business Solutions & Software Group Blog

Have you ever noticed how you might start to get unsolicited emails from various organizations asking you for your input or asking you to consider using one of their services? Chances are the culprit behind this action is data scraping. If used properly, scraping can be used as an effective marketing tool, but it can also be utilized by hackers and other malicious or unethical entities in a more nefarious way.

The idea that cybersecurity will always be a major concern isn’t an extreme one. All one has to do is consider some of the threats we’re just starting to see now. Let’s take a few moments to consider what today’s threats might tell us about tomorrow’s.

Adept (noun): someone who is a professional at a given task, possesses knowledge needed to be successful in completing said task.

While this level of skill is important to cultivate in all aspects of business, it is perhaps most important where cybersecurity is involved. Let’s go over a few practices you can adopt and adjust to improve your business’ network security—specifically, in terms of bringing professional-level expertise on for assistance.

You can’t always plan for data security, especially if your business doesn’t have professionals on-hand who know the security ins and outs of your industry. The usual methods, like passwords, firewalls, antivirus, and so on, may work for a while, but they are far from the end-all-be-all for network security. What are you doing for the physical security of your business?

Today’s blog might seem a bit simple, and that’s because it is. Your network security is going to play a huge part in the operations and functionality of your business, whether you realize it or not. In fact, your network security might be the only thing keeping your business in proper working order. We’re going to discuss some of the less-obvious reasons why security is beneficial for businesses like yours.

Ransomware can be disastrous for any business that gets hit by it, but not always in the way that you might expect. It might threaten business continuity and compromise data security, but it can also directly impact the way that the public views your company. In fact, the decision you make about whether or not to pay the ransom can be a major deciding factor in whether a customer will stick with you.

Shadow IT—while it sounds like the title of some B-movie suspense thriller or airport gift shop novel, it’s a very serious business issue that can easily make its way into your operations. Let’s review what shadow IT is, and what can be done to minimize the threats that it causes your business.

With cybercrime more prevalent than ever, the importance of keeping your business protected cannot be overstated. In fact, it is so important that there’s a C-suite level role dedicated to it: the Chief Information Security Officer—the CISO. While such a position is fairly common amongst enterprise organizations, smaller businesses might not be able to implement this role in their own hierarchy… at least, not without assistance.

Penetration testing is a term that you often hear about, but won’t really understand it unless it is completely explained to you. Well, you’re in luck because in today’s blog we will explain what penetration testing is and why it is important for data and network security and maintaining compliance with regulatory requirements that your organization operates under. 

Today’s business world is subject to countless scams and cybersecurity threats, and it’s your job to ensure that your company does not fall victim to these scams and con artists. How can you be sure that the many messages you receive on a regular basis are actually from legitimate sources and not from someone out to make a profit off your business? To put it simply, awareness is the key.

There are many ways that hackers have attempted to subvert the advanced security precautions implemented by enterprises and small businesses alike, but some of the more recent and crafty ones include sending threats through seemingly legitimate sources, like social media. The latest in this string of attacks includes Google Docs, and it is problematic for a number of reasons.

One of the most dangerous threats out there is ransomware, and for good reason. In many cases, the problems from ransomware can have far-reaching and devastating consequences for businesses, no matter which industry they operate in. Let’s take a look at why ransomware is so problematic and what you can do to stop it.

Data breaches are a modern reality, and they’ll still be around in the new year. While it is obviously preferable for your business not to fall victim to one, that isn’t always something in your control. Therefore, it is better to have planned ahead, so that your operations can continue and you can more effectively keep your contacts apprised of the situation. Let’s discuss what you need to do.

The holiday season has a variety of famous key players, including the likes of Santa, Rudolph, and the rest of the North Pole crew. Each year, they use their magic to help spread goodwill and joy to all the nice children of the world… but did you know that they are also responsible for protecting those who make the naughty list from Santa’s villainous counterpart, Krampus?

As the official managed service provider for Santa’s operation, we have been cleared to share the story about how we’ve helped defy Krampus to save Christmas.

There are many cybersecurity threats out there, but the one that has cemented itself in the minds of business owners in recent years is ransomware. Ransomware encrypts data on the victim’s devices, forcing them to pay a ransom for the decryption key. As you might imagine, this practice is quite lucrative for cybercriminals—some more than others, of course.

While some threats don’t waste any time when they install themselves on your devices, like ransomware and malware, others tend to lurk in the background on your device and cause problems without being detected. A threat called MosaicLoader is one such threat, and it’s a pretty serious issue for businesses.

Cyberwarfare has continued to evolve in sophisticated ways, and while security researchers try their best to keep up, hackers are always trying to outdo them. One example of such attacks, which are often sponsored by government agencies, is a recent attack on the United States and Israeli technology sectors, which have become the target of password spraying campaigns.

The past few years have been nothing if not tumultuous for businesses of all shapes and sizes, which has only exacerbated the shifting terrain we’d expect to see in a business’ cybersecurity needs and threats. Let’s take a few moments to examine what 2022’s cybersecurity landscape is likely to look like, considering what we’ve seen recently.

You’ve no doubt seen the concept of “streaming” online at some point or another, whether it’s consuming content on Netflix or Youtube. However, content creators with an established fan base can stream their content on Twitch to make a living. If you have ever wondered how much some of these creators make, well, a recent hack has exposed this information and created a whole kerfuffle that must be addressed by Amazon.

Yet another major vulnerability has been discovered, this time in Microsoft’s MSHTML browser engine. The vulnerability, discovered and tracked by Kaspersky, is currently being exploited all over the world. As such, it is critical that you know how to avoid vulnerabilities like this so that you do not inadvertently allow a hacker onto your network.