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Increasing Threats Companies rely more and more on digital information and network-enabled devices. Threats are increasing, and cybercrime is on the rise, so it’s no wonder cybersecurity is increasingly important. Is your company prepared for a cyber attack? If you are like most small/medium businesses, you don’t have a written plan at all. If you have a plan, was it well thought out and tested, or was it thrown together quickly to appease a customer’s request? Take It Seriously It’s time to seriously consider the question: How would your business perform if it is hit by a cyber attack right now?  What would you do? Who would you notify? How would you recover? Cybersecurity Threat Evolution Cyber threats are constantly evolving, making it necessary to continually ensure your cybersecurity defenses and responses are effective for your business right now. A slow or inadequate response can have a very negative impact on the bottom line, along with your reputation. Regular Cybersecurity Audits It’s not enough to have plans in place; they need to be audited regularly. When was the last time your team updated the business’s cybersecurity plans? Are the documents current, and do they still meet the needs of each department? Has network and server equipment changed since the plan was written? What about 3rd party tools and services? The Four-Step Plan Regular internal audits are a smart way to prepare for a more comprehensive external audit.  The brief internal audit I’m recommending below can ensure your cybersecurity plans are up to date and functioning as they should. Here are the four quick steps you can take right now: Step 1 – Review your plans Pull out your documents and give them a hard look. Consider whether your policies and procedures still make sense. Has any personnel changed, etc… Ensure every component of the plan has a clear purpose and that roles and responsibilities for executing the plan are clearly defined. Every aspect of your plan should clearly say who has to do what and by when in the case of a cyber-attack. Step 2 – Assess risks and exposure Have any new services been introduced that have changed where threats can originate? For example, is there new off-site data storage or new wireless access points that have come online? Have there been other infrastructure upgrades such as new server hardware, software, or cloud-based services? If you discover new risks or identify new components, make sure to update your plan to include them. Step 3 – Consider security standard Once you have reviewed and updated the plan, consider whether it meets applicable security standards. If you work with CUI data (confidential unclassified information) under NIST 800-171, for example, do you meet the requirements appropriate to your role?  Does your plan meet the requirements of your standards? How does the plan measure up to general industry best practices?  Step 4 – Test for Action Would employees be able to use the plan in the case of a security breach? Where might a breach be discovered, and who would discover it? Would that person or group know what to do? Does the plan define who they would contact and how long it would take to mitigate the breach and fully resolve the situation? If you’ve taken a look at these steps and are still unsure whether they would be effective, Centrend can help you with a professional external audit. Give us a call or submit our contact form for a free Q&A session to discuss your organization’s readiness for handling a cyber attack.

https://youtu.be/FtdD_mQsTRg Technology Tips by Centrend Podcast: Episode 2 “Phishing” is a social hacking attempt to get you to reveal information that hackers can use to exploit your email or computer account. Here are some clues on how to detect a phishing attempt and what you should be looking for. Welcome to Email Phishing Anatomy 101! You cannot assume that an email you receive actually came from the sender it claims to be from. Phishers are very crafty and will do everything they can to appear familiar so that you will follow their call to action. The infographic below illustrates a very clever phishing email. “Keep Same Password” Now, what would happen if the recipient actually clicks the button? Now, what would happen if you clicked the button? You would be taken to a website that looks like an Outlook Web Access Portal and asked to do the following things: They tell you to confirm your current login name and password to “renew” it. Upon submitting your name and password, you are taken to a screen that asks for previously used passwords for verification purposes. This process is open-ended. The more time you spend time submitting passwords, the more data they collect to hack into other systems at your organization. You can do several things in your business to reduce the amount of these types of emails that actually make it through. Use a strong commercial-grade firewall with deep packet inspection. If you’re suspicious, don’t click the link. Instead, log in by going directly to the website yourself. Have strong endpoint security software on your workstations, so if you do click a link, you will get a warning like Centrend’s managed service clients get (see grap[hic at right) Centrend works hard to protect our customers from phishing by blocking many of these types of threats from ever entering your network or email folder, to begin with. Everyone gets fooled, especially if you are in a hurry. For times like this, we make sure there is local workstation security to safely check suspicious links. For example, clicking on the email below in one of our managed services environments will give the email recipient a second chance to reconsider by showing the following message: If you want to keep the phisherman from trolling your computer’s waters, give us a call or drop us a line.

When an Internet Service Provider (ISP) installs internet access in your business, you are usually provided with a router/firewall combination. Do you need to invest in a commercial-grade firewall, or is the ISP’s firewall sufficient? Let’s start with a simple description of what a firewall is and how it protects your network from intruders. The role of a firewall is to determine what data can come in, and what data will not be allowed. The pieces of data that arrive at your firewall are called packets. For a basic firewall, the rule is simple:  If somebody requested the packet, it is allowed into the network. If the packet was not requested, the firewall burns the packet. The graphic below shows a typical small business network. BASIC FIREWALL – LIKE FROM YOUR ISP When a packet approaches the firewall, It is analyzed to see if it should be let in. A basic firewall is only going to ask one question before deciding to let the packet of information into the network: Was the packet requested by someone inside the firewall? COMMERCIAL-GRADE FIREWALL When a packet approaches a commercial-grade firewall, it is scrutinized much more carefully and in BOTH directions – IN and OUT, When it decides to let the packet pass through, the decision is logged in a database. The activity log proves invaluable in chasing down and isolating data breaches. Here are some of the things a business-class firewall considers before letting a packet pass: Was the password Requested? Is the packet SAFE to let in or does the packet contain a virus, malware, or other malicious code? Is the destination internet address listed on any “blacklists” due to bad activity coming from there? Is traffic from the country of origin allowed? Does the corporate policy for content filtering allow access to the material that is on the destination website? The chart below shows examples of the types of traffic that are allowed or blocked by the different firewall options. The commercial-grade firewall is not only a strong defense against unsolicited traffic, but it also gives business control over what content is allowed on their network. Business-class firewalls are surprisingly affordable. If you would like help evaluating whether it’s right for your home or business, please give us or fill out the contact form below.

Cyber Criminals are taking advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic in some of the worse ways. Read on to learn how to avoid their evil scams… 1. Phishing: Phishing (pronounced fishing) occurs when criminals send fake mail, email, or phone calls pretending they are legit. They try to convince you to share your sensitive information like passwords or credit card details. They pretend they are from an organization you know, such as FedEx, UPS, or even a government agency. 2. Fake Products: Keep your eye on e-commerce websites, social media accounts, and emails from people and stores claiming to sell medical supplies currently in high demand. Supplies might include things like hand sanitizer, toilet paper, and surgical masks. When you make purchases from these fake stores, criminals will keep your money, but you will never see the products you purchased. 3. Fake Charity: Individuals and companies, sometimes with real-sounding names, call or email to ask for donations for people and groups affected by the coronavirus. Some of their elaborate backstories sound extremely legitimate and emotional but completely fake. 4. Medical scams: People are getting calls and emails from people pretending to be hospital workers or medical professionals claiming they treated someone they know for the coronavirus and demand payment. 5. Malware. Think of these malicious applications as Trojan Horses. You download them to your computer or phone for some purpose, and behind the scenes, the program is stealing your personal information. Sometimes these record your logins to banking sites, email, Facebook, etc., and send the data back to the hackers. 6. Zoom Bombing. Lots of businesses, schools, and individuals are using Zoom to hold online meetings. To make it easier, meeting hosts often don’t require a password. Unfortunately, not having a password makes it all too easy for hackers to jump on your meeting and flood your virtual room with swear and porn. They can embed virus code in the image files or stealthily share a file with all the participants that have virus or malware code in it. Check our blog next week for details on how to keep hackers out of your Zoom meetings. The number one way to protect yourself from cybercrime is to use strong passwords on your computer, phone, and meetings and make sure your computer is tuned up and secure. If you ever feel concerned that your computer system is hacked or you just want a security checkup, please contact us at 774-241-8600 or submit the quick contact form on this page. We’re always here to help!

Sometimes, it’s obvious, right?  There is a big obnoxious warning that pops up and tells you that you are infected and you need to call for support! Don’t call the number presented because that’s a scam. Call us instead!  Other times, the infection is much more subtle. Here are some things to watch out for… Signs that your computer is infected with a virus or malware Random pop-ups – if you are using your computer, especially the web browser and you are getting a lot of pop-up messages without clicking If you click a link in a web search but get an unexpected, less relevant result If in the bottom right, you are bombarded with notifications and solicitations If your browser has extra “toolbars” across the top or bottom that weren’t always there, or that you don’t see on other computers If you suddenly can’t open documents on your computer that you have always been able to open You are prompted for a password at a strange time. Such as when you are just working on a Word document or browsing a website that doesn’t require login Your virus scanning software is no longer running – malware or a virus may have shut it down If you have any of these problems, please call us for help! If you aren’t sure if you are infected, we are glad to offer a free consultation. Just fill out the Quick Contact form or call us at 774-241-8600.

Since the Coronavirus pandemic outbreak, there has been a massive surge of remote workers. Your information is at risk when remote access is not done correctly! Read on to learn what to avoid when it comes to remote workers. Remote access requires careful thought and planning to keep business data private and safe. As a result of COVID-19, many organizations are rushing to piece together remote access solutions to mobilize their workforce and remain productive while serving customers.  The haste to mobilize has created a dangerous situation for business data.  Since the Coronavirus pandemic outbreak, there has been a massive surge of remote workers. Your information is at risk when remote access is not done correctly! Read on to learn what to avoid when it comes to remote workers. Remote access requires careful thought and planning to keep business data private and safe. As a result of COVID-19, many organizations are rushing to piece together remote access solutions to mobilize their workforce and remain productive while serving customers.  The haste to mobilize has created a dangerous situation for business data.   Here are some of the things I see happening that create the riskiest scenarios: VPN Connections are being set up quickly by inexperienced personnel, and their encryption policies are weak.  Companies lack the knowledge to accurately monitor remote activity to identify and mitigate a data breach that originates from these new remote channels. When a VPN is not available, very insecure connections are being created to remote desktop servers, or directly to desktops. Remote desktop connections that are open to the outside world are vulnerable to all types of hacking. If systems have not been regularly patched and maintained, they are at risk of known vulnerabilities that hackers will exploit. Employees may be using their own computers to log in from home, and the individual’s computers lack adequate security protection.  The lack of sufficient security on the home computers allows an attack from the inside – through the VPN. An attack launched from within the trusted, secure tunnel is tough to identify and close the door on. Entry-level or free versions of software like Team Viewer, Logmein, or GoToMyPC are being used to provide remote control over office desktops. The limited versions of these software packages generally work well but offer limited or NO AUDITING capability. If your system is compromised, you will not know what the thieves stole or how long they had access to your business data. Centrend wants to help.  We are now offering free consultation AND free implementation of remote access solutions to businesses affected by COVID-19. Reach us at 508-347-9550 or submit the Quick Contact form below to get help.