National Cyber Security Awareness Month was created to raise awareness of the role cybersecurity plays in everyone’s lives. Since the emergence of major cybersecurity events, such as the WannaCry ransomware attacks and the Equifax breach, there’s now an even greater urgency to adopt safer cybersecurity practices.
Hackers breached Equifax by exploiting a security hole in the website application and stealing personal data from an estimated 143 million Americans. Equifax is one of the big three credit reporting bureaus. They work with companies, banks, retailers, landlords, and lenders to retrieve the credit history of the organization’s customers.
Watch out for opportunistic cybercriminals trying to make a profit from Hurricane Harvey. They will send out messages pretending to be a charity collecting donations for the disaster victims. In reality, these fake charities will pocket the proceeds for themselves and send nothing to the victims.
The easiest way to hack an IT system is by manipulating a user, rather than a machine. Social engineering allows hackers to gain access to data, systems, or buildings by exploiting human psychology. Cybercriminals can carry out social engineering attacks on the internet, over the phone, and in person.
A Trojan horse is a malicious program disguised as legitimate software. Trojan horses pretend to provide helpful or fun features, such as PDF to Excel conversion software. However, some of these “free resources” may be bundled with malware that can take over your computer. The Trojan horse will then download malicious software in the background.
Phishing scammers are not simply targeting victims by email. They are also sending text messages asking for personal information so they can steal your identity and apply for new credit in your name. This scam, called smishing, or SMS phishing, is any type of phishing activity carried out through text messages.
A new variation of the Petya ransomware called NotPetya infiltrated businesses around the globe. The latest outbreak started in Ukraine but spread to businesses throughout Europe and the United States. The malware exploits vulnerabilities in the Microsoft file-sharing protocol and the RTF document handling function.
Websites are the official online presence of a business. But, they sometimes get hacked, whether you have an HTML website, a Content Management System, or a cloud DIY builder. A hacked website can hurt your business through lost website visitors, stolen customer private data, infection of visitor devices with malware, and lost online transactions.
Many businesses depend on convenient access to data. The types of data crucial to daily operations include tax forms, sales records, and customer databases. But, data thieves can access this information by taking advantage of unsafe user habits. The main goal of their attacks is to make a profit from stolen data with as little effort as possible.
Tech support scams typically follow a widespread malware attack. These scam artists see the buzz surrounding the WannaCry ransomware spread as an opportunity to make a profit. These scammers hook their victims by launching a suspicious tech support pop-up browser window that displays a phone number for people to call.