Blog

According to the second quarterly AppRiver Cyberthreat Index for Business Survey, more than 55 percent of executives at small-to-medium-sized businesses (SMBs) admitted they would pay ransomware attackers in order to recover their stolen data. For larger SMB’s, employing 150-250 employees, this number surges to 74 percent. In recent years, launching ransomware attacks has become a lucrative vocation for cybercriminals. While the number of attacks on the public sector has decreased in response to the COVID-19 crisis, the private sector has remained largely unaffected.

Last week the FBI’s charlotte office warned social media users to pay close attention to the information they share online and “carefully consider the possible negative impact of sharing too much personal information online.” This alert comes at a time when many people are confined to their homes and consequently taken up social media to pass time during the period of social isolation.

In a market where security and IT vendors are heavily saturated it is increasingly becoming difficult to determine which vendors truly have sound security solutions. Moreover, from the vendor perspective, how can they distinguish themselves from their competition? One approach both parties can take is following the risk based approach to cybersecurity recommended by the National Institute of Standards and Technology Cybersecurity Framework (NIST) 8170.

In yet another crackdown on the Google Play Store, Google has removed hundreds of phony and terms of service breaking applications (apps). The Play Store is the official app store for the Android Operating System (OS). In a survey conducted by software company Lefttronic, it is estimated that Android is the most dominant OS with 76% of the market share. Moreover, Lefttronic’s forecast suggests this number will only jump to 87% by 2022. This means every business currently has or will have at least one Android user and with many small and medium sized businesses (SMBs) permitting Bring Your Own Devices (BYOD), employees utilizing Android OS pose a major security risk.

The internet has become increasingly critical for survival during the COVID-19 pandemic and is a necessity with millions of people working remotely. A recent discovery by Digital Revolution, a Russian hacker group, reveals that Russia’s national intelligence service (FSB or Russia’s Federated Security Service) has been working on an Internet of Things (IoT) botnet project that could shut down the internet.

A Penetration Test (Pen Test) is a simulated cyber-attack against an organization to identify exploitable weaknesses. The purpose of the simulated attack is to uncover any weak spots on a network, application or endpoint that a threat actor could take advantage of and address them accordingly before an attacker can exploit them. Pen testing is becoming more critical as all companies have a network presence and thus, are susceptible to attackers. Moreover, a successful cyber-attack has major consequences that can be detrimental to the livelihood of an organization.  

Most companies are looking for ways to set themselves apart from their competition. One way they can stand apart is by proving their operational security maturity and adopting the National Institute of Standards and Technology Special Publication (NIST SP) framework 800-53. NIST is a non-regulatory agency of the U.S. Commerce Department that establishes standards across federal agencies. NIST SP 800-53 is a set of standards to assist federal agencies in meeting the requirements set by the Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA). However, given the latest cyber security headlines, NIST 800-53 is starting to influence the private sector as well.

The business profiles and mitigation priorities of service companies today are incredibly diverse. Furthermore, with breaches occurring left and right customers are increasingly expecting proof that their data is being properly secured. One way companies can meet this expectation is by attaining Service Organizational Control (SOC) 2 compliance. SOC 2 compliance was designed to validate that service providers are handling customer data in a confidential manner and with the utmost care. Ultimately, this provides organizations that seek to become SOC 2 compliant with a competitive advantage against industry competitors.

I’ve been watching the news, as we all have been with the pandemic impacting our daily lives.  We continually see tearful appreciation and tributes to doctor’s, Nurses, healthcare workers, first responders, military, teachers, which are all truly deserved. We see their challenges and heroic actions during this challenging time.  What I haven't seen is any acknowledgement of the behind the scenes workers that allow these professionals to function in their roles.  IT professionals work in a field where generally the only time they are acknowledged is when something goes wrong.  Yet due to our Nation's dependence on IT to perform many of these functions, the IT teams that are keeping things up and rolling deserve a THANK YOU as well!  After all, IT workers are designated essential by DHS. 

With everyone willing to abandon Zoom for several pretty serious security mistakes, it seems the future of our digital world will hopefully now better see the benefits of stringent security requirements for technology we are both using and building for others to use.