Suffolk Computer Consultants Blog

I’m sure you’re familiar with those neat images that can look like multiple things at once - there’s the one with two faces that is somehow also a vase, the rabbit that is also a duck, and many other examples. Sometimes, our technology can seem to be the same way - take IT security and IT compliance. While these two considerations are definitely related, as they both contribute to risk mitigation, they are not the same thing.

We spend a lot of time on this blog discussing cybersecurity. Understanding the effects of full-scale cybersecurity attacks is useful, but will only motivate a person or business to do things that will work to keep their network secure. The problem is that when it comes to public computing resources, there isn’t enough being done. 

Today, keeping your network and computing infrastructure free from threats is the best way to control the security of your organization’s data. Any business that actively confronts their risks realizes early on that cybercrime has become a major problem that their business has to be kept insulated from. Unfortunately for many organizations, no matter how much your business spends on network security, all it takes is one misstep by someone who has access to your organization’s sensitive information to cause a major problem.

It feels like every week we learn about another big business or bank or municipality getting hacked, and the data of their customers getting stolen.

Big organizations are losing millions of dollars, forcing their hand to run damage control to millions of customers and deal with crushingly bad press. Beyond feeling a little numb to these cyberattacks (more on this in a moment), many small business owners might be feeling pretty lucky they don’t need to deal with these types of threats. Unfortunately, they are dead wrong.

The way a business handles its network security typically defines what kind of problems come from their use of information systems. As a result, cybersecurity has become a major part of any forward-thinking organization’s IT strategy and has become a multi-hundred-billion dollar a year industry. Of course, it wasn’t always such a huge problem. The history of cybersecurity doesn’t go back very far, but since it has such a major impact, we thought it would be interesting to go back a couple decades and look at the brief history of the practice. 

As a business owner security should be of the utmost importance to you and your business. Adapting to the modern age means implementing different strategies to adapt to employee physical location, travelling employees, or even employees dealing with circumstantial dilemmas such as health problems or family matters. Whilst your business can experiment with different off-site methods, there should always be one constant: security.

When over 16 million people are scammed out of over $16 billion, there’s likely some type of problem that needs to be addressed. Famous con artist, Frank Abagnale, the man immortalized in Steven Spielberg’s Catch Me If You Can, a movie that was based off his own memoir, has been working as a security consultant with the Federal Bureau of Investigation for over 45 years. In that time, he has become an expert in cybersecurity and fraud prevention.

Threats to data security are seemingly everywhere. Some companies spend millions of dollars a year on data security, but it only takes one unwitting user to tear down their huge investment. In fact, 2018 saw over 446.5 million records compromised, even if the number of data breaches dropped by almost 25 percent. Today, we will look at the biggest breaches that have happened from the beginning of May.

Working in conjunction with the Ponemon Institute, IBM Security completed a report tracking trends in 2018’s data breaches. As you might imagine, much of the data contained in this report could be seen as troubling to a business.

Phishing attacks are more commonplace than you might think. Whether it’s scamming someone into sending payments to fund who knows what or simply spreading malware or viruses, these phishing attacks are a part of doing business; therefore, it’s important that you take measures to avoid some of the most clever tricks in the book. Let’s examine some of them.

Huawei has found itself in an... interesting spot lately. Despite being the top telecom supplier in the world and second in phone manufacturing, many countries have banned the use of the Chinese company’s networking equipment. This is primarily due to the close ties Huawei has with China’s government, and the potential spying Huawei could do.

Capital One is one of the largest credit card issuers in the world. On July 29th 2019, Capital One made an announcement, confirming it is the victim of one of the largest data breaches in financial sector history, as a former software engineer for Amazon has been indicted on charges related to the hacking.

Habits are hard to break - but there are some habits that simply have to be broken if your business is going to be secure. Many of these habits may have been developed by your employees, which means that it is important that you recognize them.

Florida’s Atlantic coast is a destination for millions of visitors each year. One visitor is costing a coastal city a pretty penny. Riviera Beach, a small city just north of West Palm Beach, has been hit with a major ransomware attack. Today, we’ll tell you how it came to be that the small beach city would make dubious history by paying what is the largest ransomware payout in the short history of these attacks.

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 and obsolete.

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.

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.

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?

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, we’ll discuss how you can leverage an Android device as an added security measure.

In the dog days of summer, the news media started running a story about how Google’s location tracking services continue to track people even after they order their mobile device’s OS to quit it. A researcher from Princeton proved these claims by traveling through New York and into New Jersey after turning location services off on for hi Android smartphones, only to be tracked through all the Interstate travel. We’ll take an in-depth look at why Google seemingly knows exactly where you are if you want them to or not.