Why Phishing Attacks Such a Huge Risk for Your Business
As one of the biggest cybersecurity considerations the modern business has to make, how to combat phishing attacks has to be at the top of any business’ cybersecurity strategy. The effects of phishing attacks on a business can be far-reaching and long-lasting. Phishing attacks
Let’s take a look at phishing and why it’s such a big problem for today’s business.
Why are Phishing Attacks Such a Huge Risk for Your Business
The effects of phishing attacks on a business can be far-reaching and long-lasting. One of the most significant impacts of phishing attacks is data breach. When a data breach happens through a phishing attack, it can cause severe business disruption and you must remain at your vigilant best to secure your business from a phishing attack.
Some other ways in which phishing attacks can impact your business are by damaging your reputation, loss of money and customer data, identity theft, loss of financial information, loss of company value, and intellectual property, and disruption of other operational activities. Put together, all these effects can create irreplaceable repercussions.
While any security threat can hurt a business, a phishing attack is of grave consequence because of its nature types. So, before we get to the deeper end of why phishing attacks are so serious for businesses, let’s learn about the common types of phishing attacks. It will give you a better understanding of how to avoid them and take corrective measures.
What is a phishing attack?
A phishing attack is a cyber-criminal activity that is aimed at getting sensitive business information like logins, certifications, and other important business data. Gordon Lawson, a member of the Forbes Council describes a phishing attack as a combination of two major components. He says, “A successful phishing campaign originates from two key factors: people and process. When a threat actor is able to successfully manipulate a user to engage with malicious content while simultaneously running the tactical details of the campaign and infiltrating the system, traditional security defenses are evaded.”
A phishing attack can come in the shape of phishing emails, phishing websites, phishing messages or instant messages. When users open any of this malicious content, they can fall prey to phishing attacks.
Some of the most common signs of such attacks include dangers or urgency from the sender, a message style or tone that is unusual or out of context, making peculiar requests to complete tasks that are totally unrelated to you, having strange web addresses and demands of payments or to disclose personal information or sensitive data. These are definite red flags and users must avoid clicking on emails that have these characteristics.
A successful phishing attack forces or lures users to click on the messages sent and divulge in providing sensitive information. Once the malicious links are clicked, the attackers gain access to your systems and get what they want.
Types of phishing attacks
Phishing attacks are a deceptive way of getting access to sensitive information without the user knowing it. Phishing attacks can also come in the form of a request to install malware, phishing scam or ransomware. Phishing attacks must be taken seriously because they can come in different avatars like Spear Phishing, email phishing, CEO Fraud, Whaling, etc. Here are some common types of phishing attacks.
Email phishing
This is the most common type of phishing attack. In this scenario, suspected phishing emails are sent to the users in the garb of an authentic organization. Such phishing emails get scammers access to a huge number of users registered on a website. That’s why phishing emails are often sent to a mass of users for en masse data breaches.
Clone phishing
Clone phishing is all about attackers cloning an actual email that a user might have received. By cloning the original email, the scammers replace attachments or links with malicious ones and once the user clicks on them, they become the target.
Phishing emails that come through clone phishing have a sense of urgency. They will often request you take immediate action to make use of an existing offer or threaten the closure of your account if you don’t change the username or password, resulting in a data breach These are quite tempting and users often fall prey to them.
Domain spoofing
This is the third kind of email phishing and it comes in the form of domain spoofing. In this form of a phishing attack, scammers spook an established organization’s domain name, making it look like you have received an authentic email.
The scammers can only mimic the organization’s address and the email would contain a unique email address. These phishing attacks can also create a fraudulent website that looks very close to the real one. The original website designs are replicated, and even though the domain is similar, they are not identical.
Spear phishing
Spear phishing is a form of phishing attack where phishers target a specific group of users rather than attack generic ones. Spear phishing, a form of social engineering, works because they are so personalized, making the users think that they are genuine.
These phishing emails are personalized using the recipient’s name, phone number, company, or other similar information. Such personalizations make them more believable. Since such phishing attacks require acquiring precise data and personal information, Spear phishing usually happens on various social media sites like LinkedIn. These can also be seen as a form of social engineering attack.
Whaling
This kind of phishing attack is another form of spear phishing that targets wealthy and high-profile individuals like CEOs. Targeting such high-profile people is not easy and so scammers use techniques like sending phishing emails about filing tax returns, upgrading login credentials for login, etc. Such phishing emails also contain personalized information about the recipient, making them more believable.
A successful whaling attack usually is the first step towards Advanced Persistent Threats (APT), resulting in CEO Fraud. Spear phishing must be taken very seriously as it can cause severe business disruption.
CEO Fraud
In this form of phishing attack, scammers impersonate a CEO by using information through compromised emails sent during whaling. Through this, scammers can do third-party transfers or file fake IT returns on behalf of the organization.
Such phishing emails target the lower-level employees of the organization, who spring to action seeing an email from their CEO, falling easy prey to the phishing attack. These are extremely sophisticated forms of social engineering and are believed to cost billions of dollars to companies in the US alone, causing business disruption across industries.
Evil Twin
Can there be something more dangerous than a malicious Wifi network? Frequented by several users to access free wifi, such hotspots are ver targets for a cyber attack. As users connect to this fake wifi, the scammers steal the usernames and passwords of their social media and bank accounts.
The phishers can gain access to a host of information while the users browse or surf on the compromised wifi networks.
Effects of phishing attacks on Business
Phishing attacks can be a nightmare for businesses amounting to a loss of sensitive information, financial information, customer data, identity theft, trade secrets, data loss, and even access to bank details. It can result in direct monetary losses as well.
Let’s look at the impact of phishing attacks on businesses in detail.
Reputational damage
Once the news of a data breach comes out, the reputation of a company takes a major hit. Several headlines like “British Airways data breach: Russian hackers sell 245,000 credit card details” and “EasyJet admits data of nine million hacked” were widely distributed and consumed across the internet.
The reputational damage caused by such headlines can take years to be forgotten from popular memory, amounting to incremental loss to the companies.
Customer loss
If you thought that reputational loss was a huge adversary, it is only the beginning. Incidences of data breaches make customers quite nervous, especially if it’s a bank. Data from a recent report revealed that 44% of users of a UK-based firm stopped doing business with them for months after the news of the data breach broke. 41% of consumers said that they will never want to do business with the company again.
This kind of loss of customers can make it really difficult for businesses to win back and the trust is lost. Winning that trust back is a huge uphill task.
Loss of company value
Apart from impacting customer confidence, data breaches also affect investors’ confidence. Data shows that every data breach results in a fall of 7.27% of fall in a company’s share value. When Facebook’s user data was leaked in 2018, it lost close to $36 billion. Similarly, the British Airways data breach saw a 4% drop in its share in the same year.
Financial Penalties
Data breaches or mishandling of consumer data attract several regulatory and financial penalties as well. In 2020, the British Airways data breach also attracted a fine of 20 million UK pounds by the IOC following the 2018 data breach where the data of more than 400,000 consumers was compromised.
Similar to the British Airways data breach, a phishing incident with Marriott Hotels attracted heavy fines. They had to shell out 18.4 million UK pounds post the 2014 data breach.
Business disruption
Every data breach amounts to business disruption, irrespective of its scale. Phishing attacks paralyze businesses as staff is unable to work post a data breach and there is no data available. Even consumers find it difficult to interact with businesses in such a scenario.
Even though businesses are able to bounce back within 24 hours, any loss of time and productivity can have a long-lasting impact on the commercials.
How to prevent a phishing attack
Now that we know how a phishing attack can cause severe damage to a business, let’s get to know how you can prevent such incidents from happening. Here are the best ways of doing so:
Understand how a phishing scam looks like
Being vigilant and aware of the latest phishing scams is the best way of safeguarding yourself from a phishing incident. There are websites that list the latest phishing attack trends. Keep an eye on them.
Don’t click on anything, well, fishy
One of the most common ways of falling prey to a phishing attack is by clicking on a malicious link. It is better to visit the website directly rather than clicking on an unknown link, no matter how irresistible it looks.
Anti-phishing add-on to the rescue
Most web browsers provide free anti-phishing add-ons that alert you of a malicious link or a phishing attack. Install these to be safe.
Don’t share sensitive information on unknown site
Be careful of which site you feed your sensitive information on. Any website without “http” or a padlock icon should be avoided. The same goes for websites without security certificates.
Change your passwords regularly
You might not even know if the login credentials of your online bank account or social media accounts have been compromised and scammers will continue to have unlimited access to it. Changing your password regularly is a good habit to inculcate.
Be alert to be safe
Some of the other things you can do to be safe are installing firewalls, not clicking on any pop-ups, regularly updating your browsers, not giving information on a website unless absolutely necessary, and having a Data Security Platform to spot signs of a phishing attack.
Why Phishing Attacks are Such a Threat to Businesses
Phishing scams are more common than you think. In many cases, businesses don’t even realize that they have been scammed, which is the worst case possible.
You’ve Probably Been Phished
When trying to explain what phishing scams are to someone who has no idea about it, we typically start with the namesake. Phishing is the same as fishing. A hacker will bait a hook and users will bite on it. It’s that simple. Instead of worms or minnows, a cyber attack like a phishing attempt needs some bait that will fool an unsuspecting computer user into providing sensitive information that will allow a hacker to access secured networks and steal or corrupt data.
To say that this method is effective would be an understatement. First of all, the massive breadth of attacks—there are literally millions of these attacks per day—results in high levels (and low percentages) of successful attacks. In fact, 88% of organizations that were polled claimed to experience at least one phishing attack in 2019. In 2020, phishing emails were one of every 4,200 emails sent or about 73 million. The pace has actually quickened in 2021.
Successful phishing attacks result in:
- Stolen credentials
- Compromised networks
- Installing malware
- Loss of sensitive information
- Creation of a fake login page
- Loss of financial information
- Compromised credentials
- Loss of consumer confidence as well as investor confidence
- Compromised company’s reputation
- Increased fraudulent activity
Phishing is More Prevalent Than Ever
Phishing has been an issue for quite a while, but the COVID-19 pandemic and the corresponding jump in remote work provided the perfect opportunity for these scammers to operate. In 2020, 75% of worldwide organizations were targeted by cyber attacks, while 74% of US businesses fell prey to cyber attacks in some way. Increased use of social media has also made users easy prey to cyber criminals.
This often led to massive losses, some $3.92 million on average. That’s an average and takes into account loss of productivity from downtime, data breach, deterioration of consumer confidence, and other factors.
It is therefore important that you do what you can to train your staff about how to recognize and thwart phishing attempts before they have a chance to have a negative effect on your business.
Point North Networks, Inc., can help you put together a training strategy, as well as put together tools to help you keep your network and data safe. Call us at 651-234-0895 to learn more.
Frequently Asked Questions About Phishing Attacks
What are some of the most common ways a phishing attack happen?
A phishing attack is a form of cyber-attacks where scammers target users through phishing emails or unsolicited emails, instant messaging, clicking on links to malicious websites, sending malicious emails that look like a legitimate email, voice phishing, phishing messages, targeting social media pages of users, etc.
What are the main aims of phishing attacks?
Scammers aim at unprepared users for various reasons. These include gaining privileged access to sensitive information, financial information, important company information, user credentials, data breach, installing malware and ransomware, and a lot more.
How phishing impacts a company?
A phishing attack and cause a loss of company value, investor confidence and consumer confidence, the company’s reputation, etc. Such attacks can also result in the loss of money. Business disruption is the most common impact a business faces. Data breaches through phishing attacks can result in a substantial decrease in productivity.
Conclusion
Phishing attacks are a real threat to businesses, especially in today’s digital world where more and more information is being shared online. The need to be vigilant and alert has never been more than what it is now. Unless you act smart and understand phishing, you are most likely to fall prey to phishers. Alternately, take professional help from experienced service providers like Point North Networks and stay safe at all times.
IT Service Checklist for Small and Medium-Sized Businesses
Most business owners that rely on their IT have heard about managed II services. Many already subscribe to some form of outsourced IT service. It is one of the best ways to cut down your business’ operational costs while gaining value through the use of services that, if they were to be purchased intermittently, would cost a lot more.
Today, we thought we’d list some of the most essential variables you should consider if you are looking to choose a managed IT services provider.
Challenges of Managing IT Needs for Small Businesses
The IT network needs of small businesses might not be different from those of large organizations. However, where they often struggle is with the budget of hiring an entire IT team. Despite these massive challenges, a business must make sure that all the IT needs of the company and employees are met, either by an in-house IT team or an outsourced partner or a managed IT service provider.
Information technology management has become such an integral part of the business world that it can’t be ignored or put on the back burner to be dealt with as a secondary responsibility. It is at the forefront of most businesses now and intertwined with almost online services that businesses offer.
Accenture describes the importance of IT infrastructure, saying, “IT infrastructure is the foundation that allows companies to seamlessly operate in the cloud. It enables businesses to build exceptional experiences that leverage new cloud technologies for consumers and employees.”
While it is imperative to have the right IT network, where most medium and small-sized businesses struggle is with the right knowledge and management of where to start with. It just feels like an unending task with a huge capital investment. The recurring cost that having in-house IT systems demand makes it even more difficult to put things together.
However, it is not all that complicated. To make things easier for you, we have put together an IT Service Checklist for a business that will help you get going with ease.
The IT checklist for medium and small-sized businesses
Put together the initial setup
Having a checklist of what exactly need for putting together a comprehensive IT network is the first step towards your useful IT checklist. Knowing what you need to complete your IT checklist will make the entire management process much more efficient, enhance the security of your sensitive data, software and office equipment and ensure maximum performance.
Some of the things you must include in this checklist are the space for the server room, network infrastructure, routers and security of access points, workstations, UPS, printers and scanners and a conference room.
These are part of putting together a comprehensive information technology network and they must be accounted for right at the beginning of your checklist journey. It ensures that it provides the right security to a company’s data center, mobile devices and desktop computers to meet business needs.
Fast, Fast, Fast
If your small business is going to use a service over hiring your own IT professionals, you have to know that the service provider can provide you with the reaction speed necessary to do the job. At Point North Networks, Inc., we can do you one better.
We use some of the most cutting-edge management software available to monitor and maintain your hardware and network’s integrity, patch your software before there are problems, and do all this proactively.
You need an IT service provider who can return your IT to an acceptable standard of working order as quickly as possible, but if it’s always working as intended, that would be better, no? Get proactive and forget the downtime.
Disaster Recovery
Many business owners don’t know how to identify a disaster, let alone have a disaster recovery platform in place. With a comprehensive IT services platform from Point North Networks, Inc., you will.
Not only do our IT service management offerings come with a comprehensive backup security and recovery plan built in, but it also comes with the experience of our certified technicians who have seen everything and can get your business back up and running quickly after any type of disaster, whether it be malware, user error, or full-scale disaster.
Employee Support
Your staff is going to have computer issues. It goes with the territory. Sometimes they lose their passwords, sometimes the printer won’t print, and sometimes the computer they’re using sounds like a small prop plane.
No matter what the problem is, Point North Networks, Inc. offers a comprehensive help desk platform. Giving your staff direct access to certified technicians can provide the answers they need or the remote help required to deal with 98-out-of-100 situations.
Budget Planning
As mentioned above, our people have seen it all. Our consultants can help you plan out your IT budget management for the year, to the dollar. In order to get control over your IT budget, you will need to have solutions to not only support your staff, but also service the hardware that you have in-house, and handle your cloud and software vendor agreements, you will need a business plan for the future.
We can help you plan out every single aspect of your business’ IT, and do it cost-effectively.
Adopt a professional attitude
One of the biggest mistakes that a business makes when putting together an IT network is doing it all by themselves or not taking a proper approach. Buying an IT system and hardware equipment without a professional’s guidance is one of them. Another mistake is installing or putting together systems by the employees. These two mistakes must surely be checked off the list as they compromise a company’s security.
Instead, take a professional’s help to get things right. Remember, your IT infrastructure will decide how well you run your business.
Things you must also remember to include in your IT checklist are compatibility of devices, getting professional help for equipment and system installation, checking for proper warranties and service contracts, having a common OS for operational and business continuity and purchasing only the latest versions of all software and hardware.
Get your software requirements right
Purchasing the right and updated software solutions, whether is it mobile technology or desktop computers, is important for every business’ security. This ensures that your business and your employees get what they need. However, what is even more important is to remember the licenses and service contracts. It is easy to forget when your software expires and the terms of the service contracts. This can lead to a world of trouble for you in maintaining business continuity.
Standardizing the purchasing, licensing and renewing processes is an important part of your IT infrastructure checklist. To ensure smooth functioning, customize the software system to suit your business needs, download and install them by users and use mobile device management for managing the assessment and deployment of security patches. This will ensure that your mobile devices, operating systems and applications are secure.
Managing the Cloud
Cloud technology solutions are an important component of the IT network for all medium and small-sized businesses. It helps them scale their infrastructure and keep up with the growing business needs. It is fast, flexible and affordable, making it an ideal option for small businesses.
However, it is not as straightforward as it looks. You must consider things like checking the use of the Cloud technology to be in line with external legislations, ensuring data privacy and compliance, the level of services the Cloud provide for your business, and ensuring that your Cloud SLA has clauses on response time, business continuity and disaster recovery. You must also check Cloud access and updates.
Keep cybersecurity in mind
It is more likely for small businesses to fall prey to ill cybersecurity practices than larger ones. This usually happens due to a lack of robust cybersecurity or IT infrastructure security policy in place. Data shows that 43% of all cyber attacks happen on medium and small-sized businesses. That’s why it is extremely important for you to step up your cybersecurity game with every new technology adoption.
Some of the IT security best practices you can follow include password best practices (create complex and long passwords), providing limited access to users, securing the wifi network, using licenced and legitimate software, keeping your software and hardware updated, having a disaster recovery plan in place and providing the right IT security training to your employees.
How to use the IT checklist to maximise the impact
Now that you have the IT checklist, you must also know how to use it properly. Here are a few things you must do:
- Plan for the present and the future technology solutions
- Build a new system, expand your IT infrastructure network and update them periodically
- Evaluate your operations regularly
- Train your employees for better security
- Monitor the computers and innovate at all times
Gain Complete Peace of Mind with Point North Networks, Inc.’s Managed IT Services
The bottom line is, if your organization doesn’t have managed IT services, you should really consider it, and if you do have managed IT services, you should know that not all companies deliver equal services. At Point North Networks, Inc., we take pride that our clients are better for having trusted us to look after their business’ IT infrastructure as we provide top-notch services at the most cost-effective rates.
If you would like to learn more about what we can do for your business, give us a call today at 651-234-0895.
Frequently Asked Questions about IT Checklist for a Business
Why is having an IT checklist important for companies?
Having an IT infrastructure checklist will ensure that your organization gets all that is required to build a strong IT infrastructure and keep your business up-to-date. It will also ensure that your expenditure is well within control and there is no overspending.
What are the main components of a perfect IT checklist?
The server maintenance program, store backup media, data encryption, a robust data center, updated operating systems, data safety, implementation of cloud-based solutions, security analysis, implementing security patches, and software updates, securing desktop computers, and safeguarding critical information with an updated security network are some of the main things your organization must look at as a business owner.
Policies that Every BYOD Strategy Needs to Abide By
One of the most effective means for a business to shave a few dollars off its budget (and potentially boost employee engagement, for that matter) is to adopt something called a Bring Your Own Device policy—effectively, an agreement that allows their team members to access business-owned documents and files on devices they personally own to get their work done. While these policies have been shown to be very effective, they also need to be carefully considered so they can be adopted appropriately.
Let’s take a few moments to review some practices that are recommended for a secure BYOD implementation.
Determine Acceptable Parameters
Device and OS Requirements
For your productivity to remain intact and for your organizational security to be preserved, the tools your team brings to use need to meet the baselines that you set—otherwise, there is likely to be a shortcoming that leaves an opening. Certain workflows may require a specific operating system to be used, simply for the processes to be compatible. Keeping track of your team’s chosen hardware will help you determine if their devices are eligible to participate.
Accepted Software
On the topic, your business workflows should have defined software solutions identified for your team to use so that processes can flow smoothly. Make sure your team knows that they are expected to use these titles for their work processes and that they are expected to have certain protections in place on their mobile devices before they can use them to work.
Upkeep Policies
When using a personal device to access your business’ network, there needs to be some supported expectation that the user will ensure that the device remains functional and secure. This could mean that only authorized dealers or professionals are authorized to perform basic maintenance tasks and that these tasks are carried out promptly.
Security Preparations
Encryption Policies
In terms of protecting your data from the prying eyes of hackers, you’d be hard-pressed to find a more effective method than encrypting it. Considering this, it is important that you encourage/require encryption to be put in place as a part of any BYOD policies you implement.
Password Standards
We know, we know… the importance of secure passwords is a topic that has been covered frontways, backways, and every which way for a long time. However, once people start to follow these guidelines, we’ll stop bringing it up. When it comes to strong passwords, make sure your team is using them on all their devices, and that these devices are set to lock if an incorrect password is repeatedly entered.
Data Handling Guidelines
Where your data is concerned, you need to also establish the proper means for it to be stored and accessed while an employee is using a personal device. Ideally, your BYOD plan will have the means to block any data transfers to an insecure device as well as establish the proper procedures for accessing this data.
Necessary Prerequisites
Data Removal Circumstances
When an employee’s device has access to your company’s data via a BYOD strategy, it is critical that you retain the means to rescind that access as needed—like if a device is lost or stolen, or if an employee leaves the company. You may also want to include the right to review an employee’s device for company-owned data so that it can be removed if they were to leave so that your data isn’t brought elsewhere or abused.
Lost or Stolen Device Procedures
On the topic, your team needs to have a reporting process to follow should something happen to their device that will help to ensure that mitigating actions can be appropriately taken. Reinforce that these reports need to be promptly submitted to help minimize the potential impact of such occurrences.
Breach of Policy Consequences
Finally, you need to establish how employees will be reprimanded should these policies go unheeded or disregarded. While the loss of BYOD privileges is a common tactic, you should also seriously consider what is acceptable before an employee should be terminated. Once these distinctions have been made, share that information with your team when they opt into your BYOD implementation, so they are aware of the severity of such indiscretions.
A Bring Your Own Device policy is an essential piece of the modern office’s IT considerations and is something that we can help you out within much more detail. Find out what needs to be done by calling 651-234 0895 today.
Do Google’s New Policies on User Data Privacy Indicate Larger Changes?
Just in case you haven’t been paying attention, online privacy has been highlighted significantly in recent years—in no small part due to the sale of our profiles by the tech giants that provide today’s most (in)famous websites… including and especially Google. Having said this, it is also important to acknowledge that some of Google’s recent policy changes could suggest that this may change at some point.
Let’s dive in and see what we can piece together.
How Google Makes Its Money
In fairness, there are a lot of answers to this question. For our purposes, we’ll focus on just one.
The short answer is simple: by selling advertisements.
Make no mistake about it: whenever you use the Internet, you are being watched. Giant platforms, including and especially Google, monitor your activities while using their services and use it to create a knowledge base of user behavior.
For instance, by using a combination of Google Search, Google Analytics, and Google Maps, Google could likely deduce that a user in Anytown, USA looking up “best pizza in anytown” would be interested in the most popular pizzeria. By analyzing which websites, phone numbers, and navigational directions got the most positive reaction after coming up as a search result, Google’s algorithms can figure out that this user would be happy to get the result for “Mario Rossi’s Fine Italian Ristorante and Pizzeria” and continue through the link to the establishment’s website.
This is that website’s goal—for more users to click into it, where they’ll be more encouraged to do whatever that website is trying to get them to do. As it stands, Google’s search results are organized based on an extensive list of factors far too numerous to go into depth with here… basically, it depends on how much Google likes how your website is put together, how other users have behaved after clicking the link to your website, and again, so much more.
As a result, Google has some leverage here, effectively serving as the gatekeeper for a staggering amount of Internet traffic. This puts them in the position to profit from these other websites.
One way that they do so: selling advertisement space in key positions on their search results pages. Another way: selling ads that are personalized to your web browsing history.
Google’s Recent Announcement, and What it Means
Google’s revelation that they will no longer create or support trackers that can follow an individual’s behavior and activity across the Internet has some significant ramifications regarding privacy and the Internet as a whole.
This is a sizable shock, as it seems to say that Google plans to hamstring one of its profit centers. However, it is important to clarify that this isn’t the entire truth.
Rather than eliminating tracking altogether, Google is simply shifting its approach to doing so. Instead of using cookies to compose in-depth profiles for each user, Google is shifting over to evaluating trends amongst groups of similar users and phasing out the comprehensive data collection that their past efforts were based in.
This “privacy sandbox,” as it is called, will allow users to be anonymously bundled together by browsing behaviors and other interests, with the data these groups generate being sold to advertisers. The idea is that this way, an advertiser can still target their most likely prospects, without that prospect’s information changing hands more than they may anticipate.
Caveats and Conditions
Of course, Google has left themselves a few loopholes in their new strategy. First, if a user signs into a website using their Google account, that information can still be tracked and used to shape advertising. Plus, this change only applies to the websites—mobile apps are still fair game as well.
This new sandboxing approach has already inspired scrutiny from regulatory bodies, with officials in the United Kingdom investigating these tools to catch any anticompetitive features. This comes as Google is also facing numerous antitrust lawsuits stateside, suggesting that this change in tack could be construed as an effort to show how important customer data security is to the corporation.
So Really, What Does This All Mean?
In terms of Google, these tactics seem to telegraph that the company is preparing for a future where data collection is much more controlled than it is now—and that Google is in a place where the downsides of such tracking have overtaken the value that these activities once net them.
In terms of the Internet as a whole, a player as large as Google might inspire other large providers who have not yet addressed how they balance data collection and data privacy. Having said this, Facebook’s current battle against Apple’s privacy-boosting features show that this approach will certainly not be universally accepted, either.
One way or another, this move will likely create some shifts to the Internet as a whole—and should reinforce how you need to be careful about your own organization’s data collection and storage practices.
Point North Networks, Inc., can help you out in that regard. To find out how our solutions and services can make your company more secure, efficient, and compliant, reach out to us at 651-234-0895.
How Virtual Environments Can Work For Your Business
Hardware is expensive, this much is certain. When a small or medium-sized business is looking to get the most bang for buck from their technology investments, they have to consider hardware to be the most crucial part of the equation. One option that businesses can take advantage of today is to use virtualized environments. Whether these computing environments are hosted onsite or in the cloud, a business can extend the usefulness of their IT budget by utilizing them. Let’s take a look at some of the benefits of virtualization on your business.
Business Computing is Shifting
There was a time, not too long ago, where there weren’t a lot of options when it came to business computing. The small business that wanted to expand its computing infrastructure would buy a server and use it for a dedicated purpose. This strategy gives the business the most control over their hardware, data, and applications, so for the business that has an onsite IT support team, it’s logical.
It’s also very expensive.
One of the main problems with this organizational computing strategy is that it doesn’t utilize the capacity of these servers. The servers are used for a specific purpose and that can leave a significant amount of resources unused. This underutilization is a wasted opportunity. By using virtualized environments, new hardware can be more effectively utilized, and therefore, can help control hardware costs.
Here’s How Virtualization Works
Instead of running one server for every mission-critical application, you run several virtual machines on one server. Each virtual machine only uses the hardware resources that it needs, meaning that three or four servers can be consolidated into one. You will get the same performance out of one server with many virtual servers on it as you would get from multiple in-house servers.
Pros of Virtualization
Outside of the admittedly hefty upfront cost of virtualization, the reduction in hardware costs you see down the road make the strategy a sound one for almost any business. Not only do you save money on buying servers, the environments are accessible from nearly any device. This means that you cut down on your workstation spend, and you can take full advantage of remote workers. All-in-all, businesses that commit to virtualization can save between 40-to-60 percent on their organizational hardware costs, and see reduced management, utility, and maintenance costs as well.
This also allows you to spend more time driving your business forward and less time managing it. Virtual servers can deploy new environments in minutes, expediting the process by a substantial amount. Virtualization also makes security and data redundancy much easier as your IT admins only need to work on one server rather than several, and back up one piece of hardware.
Your Company in the Cloud
Another consideration is hosting your virtual environments in a bigger virtual environment. Cloud computing is more affordable and secure than ever and companies have been paying attention. By using cloud offerings to extend the benefits of virtualization you’re effectively paying to host your company’s servers in the cloud. This can be even more cost effective than using virtualization on your own in-house servers, but it does remove some of the control you and your team have over your hardware.
Either way, if you aren’t considering virtualization, you are probably wasting money. If you would like to learn more about virtualization for your business, contact the IT professionals at Point North Networks, Inc., at 651-234-0895 today.
VoIP Significantly Improves Business Communications in Multiple Ways
With all the communication tools that businesses use today, there still is no more important option than the telephone system. Unfortunately for small businesses, the telephone system can be expensive and hard to manage. However, there is a way for you to get a fully featured telephone service with some of the most important tools your business needs, at a fraction of the price you currently pay for your enterprise telephone system.
With that, we’d like to introduce you to VoIP.
What Is VoIP?
VoIP, or Voice over Internet Protocol, is a telephone system that uses your business’ Internet connection to fuel its telephone system. Rather than paying the antiquated telephone company an arm and a leg, you can now use your existing Internet connection to host a dynamic and reliable telephone platform. There are different tiers of VoIP, but today’s most cost effective, and popular, is a VoIP platform that is hosted in the cloud.
Using a VoIP system can frequently provide a business with a variety of operational perks:
- VoIP is easily manageable – Your VoIP solution will either be hosted on your in-house infrastructure or in a dedicated cloud server, making management simpler and reconfiguration possible in just a few clicks.
- VoIP enables mobility – A VoIP system doesn’t restrict your employees to only using their business telephone while physically at their desk. While it will work with a dedicated business phone, your employees can also leverage a mobile device via a dedicated application.
- VoIP provides cost reductions – One of VoIP’s most attractive benefits is how it can scale back your communication costs in multiple ways. VoIP eliminates the need to pay for phone services on top of your Internet service, and most “premium” features are generally included.
- VoIP incorporates integrations – VoIP solutions can be integrated into your other management and line of business solutions.
- VoIP offers advanced features – VoIP has some built-in options that can really be a huge benefit for your business. These include call waiting, call forwarding, instant and text messaging, and video and audio conferencing.
Naturally, higher-tier plans will have a greater selection of these features available, allowing you to boost your operations even further.
Would you like to know more about VoIP? Call Point North Networks, Inc., and our IT professionals today at 651-234-0895 to get more information.
Tip of the Week: How to Prepare a Data Breach Response
Unfortunately, the more people lean on technology, the more data breaches there are. The correlation makes sense, but with so much innovation in data security and data systems, it’s a shame more can’t be done to keep businesses and individuals from losing data to opportunists and scammers. That’s why knowing how to circumvent these forces is essential to keep your data safe. Let’s take a look at how the people that are best at it keep their data secure.
Best Practices Keep It Simple
To avoid negative data situations like this you will want to ensure that your best practices are being followed. In this particular case, they aren’t very complex. They include:
- Keeping data (particularly sensitive data) organized in secure locations
- Keeping data on a need-to-know basis via access controls
That’s the list. It’s not a lot to consider on the surface, but let’s unpack them a bit. By keeping data in a secure location, it makes it easier for the professionals that manage your data and infrastructure to respond to a breach; and, by controlling who can access what, they can easily identify where the problem comes from and work to remedy it.
Detecting When You’ve Been Breached
Obviously, to remedy against data breaches, you actually have to know that you’ve been breached. Unfortunately, attackers are using more sophisticated methods than ever to hack into your network, making evasion a priority. This means that the speed in which you identify a data breach is taking place is one of the most important factors.
Businesses today are using smart technology to consistently monitor and automate a response. A Netwrix 2020 Data Breach and Security report suggests that organizations using automation were better able to detect data breaches in minutes rather than hours or days. Comparatively, most of those without (56 percent) measured their detection time in days.
Respond Confidently
It can be quite off putting to consider that people are trying to break into your network. This is why you have all those procedures in place, after all. For those that haven’t gotten around to concocting a cyber threat response strategy for their team, it’s important that it is standardized and consistent; it makes it easier to follow should you have to deal with it.
Your business will definitely have to train its staff on what to do if they are confronted with a cyber threat. Training your staff on phishing, password hygiene, and more will put your workforce in a position to help you sustain a record of security, not hinder it. On top of testing, you should consider evaluating each worker individually to better understand who needs more training and who is competent to effectively respond against these threats.
Staying On Your Toes
Having the tools to recover from a data breach is almost as important as thwarting one. Your business may be on solid footing today, but one scam, hack, or situation brought on by outside forces can floor your business. Not only do you need to have the infrastructure and the support team in place to deal with a potential data breach, you have to know that your business can recover from one. This is why you need a business continuity plan with a full data backup and recovery strategy in place. Additionally, the exploit you have dealt with could have come from a vulnerability on your network (not a human). You will need to ensure that your team’s access credentials are updated and all software patched to their most current versions.
This is not a situation you have to handle alone. Call the IT professionals at Point North Networks, Inc., today at 651-234-0895 to learn about how we can help you protect your business against cyber threats, and provide you with the tools and support to handle any situation that comes your way.
Securing Utilities Has to Be a Priority
It’s been reported that a hacker virtually broke into a Floridian water treatment facility and briefly increased the levels of sodium hydroxide in the Pinellas County water supply. Fortunately, onsite operators noticed the spike and reduced it right away, keeping the public from risk of increased levels of poison in their water. This is just the latest story in a seemingly never-ending supply of them that have to do with public utilities being at risk from cyberattacks. Today, we will take a look at this issue.
Protecting Online Utilities
Today, most systems are not only run through the use of computers, they are perpetually online so that remote operators have access to manage these systems. This provides hackers a wider-range of opportunities to carry out attacks against public infrastructure. Despite the massive amount of capital invested to ensure that these systems remain secure and reliable, all it takes is one situation to cause a great deal of public harm. The event in Florida just accentuates how important the security protecting these systems is.
The Shifting Utilities Landscape
Over the past year, more people have been asked to work remotely to help keep the COVID-19 pandemic from spreading. This has not only led to more people working remotely at jobs that would typically require on-site staff, it also has helped push a degree of automation (using artificial intelligence and machine learning) to help identify incongruencies and threats to critical IT systems. This means that more people are relying on unfamiliar tools to do their jobs remotely. One can understand how this can lead to some confusion when trying to thwart very specific and targeted attacks.
Threats Against Utilities and Infrastructure Are More Severe
A recent report from the Ponemon Institute suggests that threats against utilities are becoming shockingly more sophisticated. 54 percent of utility managers stated that they expect to have to deal with at least one cyberattack on critical infrastructure in 2021. That means that half of the people that work in electricity, water treatment, solar and wind, and gas think that they will be directly dealing with a major event triggered by a cyberattack this year. That’s completely unsettling considering how important these systems are to the sustainability of our society.
What is Being Done?
This is where it gets a little tricky. Utility companies spend a lot of time and resources securing infrastructure. There’s a reason most of these places are surrounded by razor wire. To secure themselves against cyberattacks, however, they are taking much the same approach that your average enterprise would. They will try to secure systems by learning from past mistakes, innovating the tools they use, and simply being more vigilant.
Some innovations to speak of are similar to the ones you might see at your business. Using the integration of AI to actively search for and identify threats can end up being quite beneficial. AI can go through a lot of data extraordinarily quickly, meaning that it can identify potential problems quicker and thwart bad actors’ attempts at sabotage. Another technology that is being used in energy distribution is the Internet of Things. Utility companies are starting to utilize smart meters that modulate the flow of electricity and water. While you’d think that the integration of IoT devices would actually make the systems less secure, utility companies identified that from the outset and spent time and resources securing those systems before they were ever deployed in the field.
Conduct a Security and Compliance Audit, You Won’t Regret It
If you are an avid reader of our blog, we are constantly saying how there are always a growing number of threats. This is true. Two-in-every-three business owners consider that their cybersecurity risks are increasing each year. The other third must not focus on them, and that is a problem. In fact, many business owners don’t give the proper respect to cyberthreats and many of those businesses pay the price. This is why every business should consider a security and compliance audit a mandatory part of their yearly IT assessment.
Explaining the Security and Compliance Audit
Since there is a constant stream of threats coming at your business from the Internet, it stands to reason that you need to come up with a strategy to reduce or completely eliminate those threats’ path to your business’ IT infrastructure. Traditionally, that means installing security software solutions such as firewalls and antivirus, training your staff on how to navigate potential scams, and doing your best to monitor the threats as they come in. This seems comprehensive, right? Unfortunately, these efforts are unlikely to prevent a breach of your network or a corruption of your IT infrastructure.
The IT infrastructure that continues to grow.
If you consider that every year more and more is added to your IT infrastructure, it’s not a stretch of the imagination to not only gain more to support, but also additional points of potential exploitation. New systems can create new vulnerabilities in your network, and more to support can add even more holes in your existing system. These are the avenues hackers use to access your network and steal your data.
Additionally, the more complicated your IT infrastructure gets, the more difficult it will be to stay in compliance with any regulations your business operates under. As issues with data privacy start to be taken seriously by lawmakers, expect more regulations; and additional focus on compliance.
A security and compliance audit is basically the full assessment of your cybersecurity situation. It goes far beyond your average vulnerability scan as it takes into account how your technology is used and provides you with specific criteria that you need to take into account. This profile will go above and beyond your cursory network and infrastructure scan. COMPANYNAME has the certified technicians on staff to comprehensively conduct such an assessment. We can provide you with information on where your business is weakest and what you can do to bump up your network security to stay in compliance and keep your network resources safe.
Go Even Further
Our security and compliance audit can tell you what you need to know, but once you have taken the steps to patch the potential vulnerabilities in your network and infrastructure, you will need to keep it up. We can conduct penetration testing to ensure that the steps you take work to fix the vulnerabilities in your network. This can function as assurance that your business isn’t caught up in two terrible situations: a data breach or fallout from non-compliance.
If you would like to talk to one of our IT professionals about getting a security and compliance audit, or if you would like to talk about how our managed IT services can work to thwart all types of negative situations, give us a call at 651-234-0895 today.
