• By Rafiq Masri
• July 5, 2020
• Security

When was the last time you thought seriously about upgrading your business’s technology solutions--particularly its software? We know that administering patches and updates can be challenging for some businesses to maintain, but with the right support, it’s more manageable and certainly more secure. Unfortunately, after a certain period of time passes, Microsoft stops supporting certain outdated solutions, rendering them dangerous...

• By Rafiq Masri
• July 5, 2020
• Security

Any organization that is running unpatched versions of older Windows operating systems is playing with fire… period. Therefore, it’s your prerogative to make sure you’re adequately protecting your business’ data, and one of the most important ways you can do this is by ensuring your infrastructure is properly maintained. Why Are Windows Updates So Important? Windows is a complicated operating...

• By Rafiq Masri
• July 5, 2020
• Security

Hackers aren’t the only ones out there developing malware tools, but sometimes, they get their hands on some of the others. This is precisely what happened when Double Pulsar, a malware that the NSA has used in the past, was paired with a Chinese hacking tool and used to attack Hong Kong and Belgium in 2016. Double Pulsar was, in...

• By Rafiq Masri
• July 5, 2020
• Security

Ransomware is still going strong, and now more than ever it’s important to emphasize the danger that it poses for your organization. Even municipalities and other high-profile targets are at risk of being taken down by ransomware. Since 2013, over 170 government systems at the county, city, or state levels have been attacked. Keep in mind that these numbers don’t...

• By Rafiq Masri
• July 5, 2020
• Security

If you have access to a phone, chances are you’ve received a spammy robocall. In fact, you’ve probably received a bunch… but why? And how are these robocalls able to hide behind what looks to be a local number? Unfortunately, it’s because the scammers behind these robocalls are using a helpful business tool… Voice-over-Internet-Protocol telephony, also known as VoIP. How...

• By Rafiq Masri
• July 5, 2020
• Security

When considering cybersecurity, it can be easy to overlook the computers that so many of us typically carry with us every day: our smartphones. However, as attacks to mobile devices have risen considerably in the recent past, it is important to recognize the severity of these attacks, as well as how to avoid them. It only makes sense that cybercriminals...

• By Rafiq Masri
• July 5, 2020
• Security

Have you ever played the telephone game? One person in a group whispers a phrase to another, who then passes it to another, and the fun is had when the group shares what they heard and how the message was garbled along the way. In many ways, this activity is similar to a Man-in-the-Middle (MitM) attack - although the attack...

• By Rafiq Masri
• July 5, 2020
• Security

Take a moment and consider the data that you have collected during your business’ operations. How valuable is it to you? What would it mean if it were to leak out of your business’ control? Many businesses have had to deal with the negative ramifications of their data making its way out from under their protections and into the wild....

• By Rafiq Masri
• July 5, 2020
• Security

I’d be willing to bet that your phone is within reach at the moment, assuming you aren’t actively using it to read this blog right now. The tendency that people have to always have their phones on them has contributed to these devices becoming more deeply integrated into work processes - including security, via two-factor authentication. For this week’s tip,...

• By Rafiq Masri
• July 5, 2020
• Security

How cyber criminals hide attacks on your network using SSL/TLS Abstract Encryption technology such as SSL/TLS and HTTPS offers protection against hacking, and its use is growing exponentially. But cyber-criminals have learned to leverage encryption as an effective method to hide malware, ransomware, spear-phishing, zero-day, data exfiltration, rogue sites and other attacks. Fortunately, advanced network security with deep packet inspection of SSL/TLS and...