Tag: cyber security protection

  • If you’re an Outlook or Gmail user, you’ll want to be aware of this ransomware warning just issued by the FBI

    If you’re an Outlook or Gmail user, you’ll want to be aware of this ransomware warning just issued by the FBI

    A new ransomware targeting Gmail, Outlook and other popular email providers has made enough waves for the FBI to issue a warning about it. In addition to targeting these email providers bad actors have narrowed their search to those in specific fields like medical and tech.

    The ransomware is called “Medusa” and it first came on the scene in 2021, emerging as part of a new group of ransomware found under the “Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS) umbrella. This means the hacker are not necessarily the creator of the ransomware but are instead utilizing scripting created by others as a means to profit from ransoms paid in lieu of getting your data back.

    The creators of Medusa have been linked back to a group called Spearwing, which are particularly ruthless in that they try to extort victims twice. First, they steal your data and extort payment to not expose it and they also encrypt it and will not provide victims with a method to decrypt it until they receive a second payment. Spearwings ransom demands have ranged from $100,000 all the way up to $15 million.

    There hasn’t been a definitive answer as to how the latest breaches were conducted, so it’s uncertain at this time whether the attacks were accomplished due to user error or through another method of breach. As such the FBI and CISA have recommendations as to how users can protect themselves from the Medusa ransomware that include:

    1. Mitigate known vulnerabilities by ensuring operating systems, software, and firmware are patched and up to date within a risk-informed span of time.
    2. Segment networks to restrict lateral movement from initial infected devices and other devices in the same organization.
    3. Filter network traffic by preventing unknown or untrusted origins from accessing remote services on internal systems.

    Proactive services (including cyber security) are a keystone offering for Valley Techlogic. With ransomware threats becoming more sophisticated and lucrative year over year, you need a team behind you to protect against outside threats. Below are five ways Valley Techlogic approaches cybersecurity protection for our clients:

    1. 24/7 Threat Monitoring & Incident Response – We provide continuous monitoring of networks, endpoints, and cloud environments to detect and respond to threats in real time.
    2. Advanced Endpoint Protection (EPP) & Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) – We deploy antivirus, anti-malware, and behavioral analytics tools on all endpoints and use EDR solutions to detect, analyze, and remediate suspicious activities on client devices.
    3. Security Awareness Training & Phishing Simulations – Our security awareness training educates employees on cybersecurity best practices and how to recognize social engineering attacks. We also run weekly phishing simulations to assess and improve employee readiness against cyber threats.
    4. Regular Security Audits & Compliance Management – We can conduct penetration testing, vulnerability assessments, and risk audits to identify security gaps at the client’s request. We also offer specialized support for compliance with industry regulations like GDPR, HIPAA, NIST, or CMMC to avoid penalties and data breaches.
    5. Consistent and Layered Approach to Backups – Our backup program TechVault is our multifaceted approach to backups, which includes separate backups for Microsoft (including Outlook), daily backups for servers, and an immutable copy that is write once read only. This approach gives us a wider array of options should a breach or data loss event occur.

    Interested in learning more? Schedule a consultation with us today.

    Looking for more to read? We suggest these other articles from our site.

    This article was powered by Valley Techlogic, leading provider of trouble free IT services for businesses in California including Merced, Fresno, Stockton & More. You can find more information at https://www.valleytechlogic.com/ or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/valleytechlogic/ . Follow us on X at https://x.com/valleytechlogic and LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/valley-techlogic-inc/.

  • China sponsored hacking data dump highlights the importance of seeing the bigger picture when it comes to your cyber security protections

    China sponsored hacking data dump highlights the importance of seeing the bigger picture when it comes to your cyber security protections

    It’s not a new concept to many Americans that cyber warfare crosses all borders and boundaries and affects many areas of our day to day, from the increase in attacks at the start of Russia’s war with Ukraine, to concerns related to our voting systems and democracy, to even leaving US citizens nationwide transfixed over the implications of an errant balloon. Overseas sponsored cyber-attacks tend to strike a different chord with us than attacks that originate stateside.

    Many of us have heard of applications on our phones being rife with spyware connected to China, conversations about apps such as Temu or TikTok and how to safeguard our information from not only being sold and used in overseas ventures but even whether these apps are a potential threat vector have lead to talks about whether they should be banned outright. Again, the fear surrounding the unknown nature of the threat these apps may or may not pose is often palpable.

    Awareness is only one part of the equation when it comes to overseas invasions of a digital nature, agreeing on what to do about it, how to prevent it or whether it can even be prevented in our interconnected world is no small matter and something that is constantly debated at a government level.

    We don’t often have the proof needed to back up the claims that are made, however, that these cyber-attacks are occurring. As you would expect the threat actors behind attacks on other countries are experts in their field and covering their tracks can often be a matter of life and death for them.

    That’s why the leak that occurred this week of a 600-page document detailing a complex network of for hire hackers used to spy on Chinese citizens and conduct global cyber attacks is so shocking. The document which was posted to GitHub is being analyzed and experts are weighing in on what is nearly a first of its kind look at the inner operations behind global cyber warfare conspiracies that have proliferated news cycles for decades.

    This leak occurs during heightening tensions with the US and China and is being dubbed “the tip of the iceberg” by FBI Director Chris Wray who reported in October that Chinese cyber operations are the “biggest hacking program in the world by far, bigger than ever other major nation combined” in an interview with CBS News.

    You may be reading this now wondering, what does this have to do with me? Well besides the implications when it comes to our global security, cyber attacks don’t occur in a vacuum.

    Hackers are constantly looking for new ways to infiltrate systems and the aftermath is new threats are being released for public consumption. Not every hacker is an expert, and many attacks don’t have financial motivation and are simply orchestrated to disrupt.

    We need to come together as a community and make sure we’re doing everything possible to prevent our systems from being infiltrated and our devices from being used in potential attacks.

    Even if your business is unlikely to be targeted by an overseas orchestrated attack, that doesn’t mean it cannot be used to assist a specific hacker’s operations and the more ways we shut down cyber attacks as a profitable enterprise the better off we all will be.

    If you want to know how you can help or where to start, here are 10 items you can implement in 2024 that will be up your cyber security protections 10-fold.

    If you need help with the implementation of cyber security measures in your business, Valley Techlogic is the resource you’ve been looking for. We are experts in the field of cyber security and for helping businesses improve their cyber security protections and comply with government regulations and frameworks. Reach out to us today to learn more.

    Looking for more to read? We suggest these other articles from our site.

    This article was powered by Valley Techlogic, an IT service provider in Atwater, CA. You can find more information at https://www.valleytechlogic.com/ or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/valleytechlogic/ . Follow us on Twitter at https://x.com/valleytechlogic.

  • Data breached? 5 ways to reduce the impact on your business.

    Data breached? 5 ways to reduce the impact on your business.

    We’ve posted a lot of articles on how to avoid a data breach (here are a couple of recent ones for you to review if one hasn’t happened to you so far and you’d like to keep it that way).

    Unfortunately, we fear that if you’ve reached this article you may be part of the growing number of business owners whose data has been breached (in 2020 there were 700,000 attacks on small businesses with damages exceeding $2.8 Billion).

    Data breach severity varies widely, from an employee email being temporarily hacked all the way to having your backups infiltrated and locked for a ransom – and even if you pay the ransom you still might not recover your data.

    So if you’ve experienced a significant data breach and wondered what you could have done to have a better outcome, or even if you’re in the midst of one now what should you do?

    Here are our top five tips for reducing your data breach costs (now or in the future):

    1. Damage Control – Turn to the pros (like us) when it comes to recovering your data in the event of a breach, they will have access to tools that could recover data that will otherwise be lost if decryption efforts fail in the hands of someone who doesn’t know what they’re doing. Bottom line, know who you’re going to call in an emergency and don’t be afraid to get their help sooner rather than later.
    2. Downtime Mitigation – Downtime is one of the most expensive elements of a data breach, if you don’t already have a disaster recovery plan a previous breach can highlight exactly what needs to be a priority in your business if your data is unavailable. Also, a team like Valley Techlogic can help you create a disaster recovery plan.
    3. Turn to Your Vendors – Your vendors may have some methods for assisting you in the event of a data breach. For example Microsoft has a shared responsibility model for data but if you have Microsoft 365 and use OneDrive, some of that data may still be safe on their end and accessible to you (once your devices have been cleared and are safe to use).
    4. Be Transparent – If your business is very customer facing, an outage in your business caused by a data breach may be very obvious to them. We don’t recommend trying to hide the fact that a breach has happened but instead being transparent about what happened and what you did to fix it, and how you plan to prevent it in the future.
    5. Cyber Prepared – The best way to recover financially from a data breach is to have cyber insurance in place before the attack happens, while it may be too late for a past breach you can prevent future financial loss by using our guide to reviewing and obtaining cyber security insurance here.

    Of course, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure unfortunately when it comes to cybersecurity attacks. We would be remiss not to offer a few tips on preventing a data breach specifically. You can grab this checklist to make sure these items are covered to prevent future data breaches:

    Click to download the full size version.

    If you’re currently dealing with a data breach or have dealt with one in the past and want to prevent future breaches, Valley Techlogic can help. We are experts in cybersecurity and use industry best practices to provide the best security coverage for our customers that is also cyber insurance compliant. Learn more with a consultation today.

    Looking for more to read? We suggest these other articles from our site.

    This article was powered by Valley Techlogic, an IT service provider in Atwater, CA. You can find more information at https://www.valleytechlogic.com/ or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/valleytechlogic/ . Follow us on Twitter at https://x.com/valleytechlogic.