Technology Advisor Blog

What Should You Do If You Think You Have Been Hacked?

lhanson@ekaru.com (Linda Hanson) — Fri, 28 Aug 2026 14:25:34 GMT

If something about your business technology feels wrong today, that instinct is worth taking seriously. Whether it is a computer behaving strangely, an employee flagging an unfamiliar login, or a client who received a suspicious email from your address, the worst possible response is to convince yourself it is probably nothing and wait.

How you respond in the first hour can significantly affect the outcome. Here is exactly what to do.

1. Do Not Touch Anything Yet

Before taking any action, call your IT provider. Deleting files, wiping devices, or attempting to fix things yourself before anyone has assessed the situation can destroy evidence that investigators need and make recovery considerably harder. If you do not have an IT provider you trust, that conversation starts at ekaru.com.

2. Disconnect Affected Devices From the Network

If you have identified a compromised device, unplug its ethernet cable or disable its Wi-Fi connection. Do not turn it off entirely as this can destroy forensic data, but isolating it from the network prevents the threat from spreading. If you are not sure which device is affected, your IT provider can help identify the scope before you start disconnecting things.

3. Change Your Passwords Immediately

From a clean unaffected device, change passwords on your most critical accounts starting with email, then financial accounts, then core business applications. Enable multi-factor authentication on everything that supports it. Avoid doing this from any device you suspect may be compromised.

4. Identify What Was Accessed

Once the immediate threat is contained, you need to understand what the attacker actually reached. Which systems, what data, and how long they had access are all questions that shape everything that follows including your legal obligations.

For small businesses in Massachusetts handling personal information, a breach may trigger notification requirements under 201 CMR 17.00, the Massachusetts Data Security Law. HIPAA, PCI, and other industry regulations may impose additional obligations with their own deadlines. Getting this wrong adds legal and financial exposure on top of the breach itself.

5. Notify the Right People

Your IT provider and a legal advisor should both be involved in deciding who to notify and when. Depending on the incident you may need to contact affected individuals, state regulators, law enforcement, and your cyber insurance carrier. Report cybercrime at ic3.gov and contact your insurer as early as possible since most policies require prompt notification and provide access to forensic and legal resources that reduce your costs significantly.

6. Preserve the Evidence

Do not delete anything that triggered your concern. Suspicious emails, login alerts, ransomware messages, and unusual account activity are all evidence. Screenshot anything unusual and let your IT provider preserve forensic data properly before anything is removed or overwritten.

7. Understand How It Happened

Once the crisis is behind you, understanding how the attacker got in is the most important question to answer. A phishing email, a compromised password, an unpatched vulnerability, or a former employee whose access was never removed are all common entry points. Closing that gap is what prevents the same incident from happening again.

What Happens When Businesses Wait

The damage from a cyberattack compounds with time. An attacker inside your network for days or weeks has had the opportunity to steal credentials, exfiltrate data, and position malware for later deployment. For small businesses in greater Boston the average cost of a data breach approaches $254,000, and that figure does not capture lost clients, reputational damage, or the operational disruption that continues long after the technical issues are resolved.

The businesses that recover are the ones that acted quickly and had preparation already in place. The ones that do not recover waited too long or discovered too late that their backup could not actually restore their data.

What To Do Right Now

The best time to prepare for a breach is before one happens. That means continuous monitoring, a tested backup plan, a basic incident response process, and cyber insurance that reflects your actual risk. Create a culture of cybersecurity awareness in your company so people are encouraged to "see something say something" rather than fearing "getting in trouble". Often its not obvious there's a problem immediately, so open communication is key. We've seen many recent incidents of Business eMail Compromise (BEC). The sooner someone raises the flag - "I think I clicked on something bad", the faster you'll get to remediating the problem.

At Ekaru we help small businesses across Westford, Acton, Chelmsford, Lowell, and greater Boston respond to cybersecurity incidents, recover from data loss, and build the foundations that reduce risk before something forces the conversation.

If you think something may have already gone wrong, call us today.

Business Email Compromise: A Tale of Three Businesses

Ann Westerheim — Thu, 20 Aug 2026 19:55:03 GMT

Imagine three small businesses facing the exact same cyber threat.

An attacker gets access to an employee’s email account. Maybe a password was stolen through phishing. Maybe the attacker found credentials from an earlier breach. However they got in, they now have something incredibly valuable: access to a real business email account.

From there, they can quietly watch.

They can learn who handles invoices. Who approves payments. Which vendors the company works with. How the owner communicates. They may even watch an existing email conversation and wait for exactly the right moment to step in.

This is Business Email Compromise, or BEC. And it’s one of the most financially damaging forms of cybercrime facing businesses today.

According to the FBI’s 2025 Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) Annual Report, Business Email Compromise was the second-highest crime type by reported financial losses, behind investment fraud. Businesses and individuals reported approximately $3.05 billion in BEC losses in 2025 from 24,768 complaints. Read the full FBI report here.

That’s billion with a “B.”

But statistics don’t always make cyber risk feel real.

So let’s look at what happens when the same kind of threat hits three different businesses.

Business #1: The Attack Is Spotted Early

We recently shared a short video about two local businesses that faced similar cybersecurity threats but experienced very different outcomes. These are real cases from local businesses. For security reasons, the actual identifying data is redacted, but you can see the key points.

In the first business, security systems provided visibility into what was happening.

Something unusual was detected.

There was an alert. There was information to investigate. And there were systems in place paying attention who could take action. - QUICKLY!

That doesn't mean the business was magically immune from cybercrime. No cybersecurity system can promise that.

What it means is that they had a chance to see the warning signs and respond before a security incident became a financial disaster.

NO emails or files accessed, sent, modified, or deleted!

That distinction matters.

Business #2: Same Threat, Very Different Outcome

The second business didn't have the same level of protection and visibility.

And that's where a Business Email Compromise can become particularly dangerous.

Once criminals gain access to a legitimate mailbox, they don't necessarily do something obvious. In fact, doing nothing for a while may be part of the plan.

They can watch.

They can read.

They can learn how the business operates.

Then, when the timing is right, an email that looks completely normal can appear in an existing conversation:

"We've changed banks. Please use these new payment instructions for this invoice."

The employee receiving that message recognizes the vendor. They recognize the conversation. The invoice may even be legitimate.

The only thing that's changed is where the money is going.

And by the time someone realizes what happened, tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars could be gone.

In this case, the user thought they may have clicked on something wrong, and called us soon after so we could run an investigation. Unfortunately, 214 emails were read, but no emails or files were sent or modified. Five were deleted, and we could identify them from the logs.

But There's a Third Business We Need to Talk About

This is the business that worries us the most.

Business #3 doesn't know there's a problem at all.

There are no meaningful security alerts being monitored. No one is looking for unusual activity in Microsoft 365. No one is investigating suspicious logins or unexpected changes inside email accounts. Sadly, this is the typical scenario for most local businesses.

Everything appears to be working just fine.

Email comes in.

Email goes out.

Employees log in every morning and get their work done.

From the business owner's perspective, everything is fine. No news is good news, right?

But would they know if someone else were inside their email?

That's the question.

For some businesses, the first cybersecurity "alert" they receive isn't an alert at all.

It's a phone call from a vendor:

"We never received your payment."

Or an employee asking:

"Did you really ask me to change that bank account?"

Or an accounting team discovering that a $50,000 invoice was paid to a criminal instead of a trusted vendor. Or one of your long term customers is tricked into paying a criminal.

That's a terrible way to discover that an email account has been compromised. Beyond the immediate financial loss, there is also loss of trust and reputation.

"We Have Microsoft 365" Isn't the Same as "Someone Is Watching"

This is an important distinction for small businesses.

Having email security features available, such as STRONG passwords and Multifactor Authentication MFA, isn't necessarily the same as having someone actively monitoring and responding to security events.

Think about a burglar alarm.

You can have sensors on every door and window in your building. But if the alarm goes off at 2:00 a.m. and nobody receives the alert, investigates it, or responds, how much protection did the alarm really provide?

Cybersecurity works the same way.

The goal isn't simply to collect more security tools.

The goal is to have the right protections and the visibility to recognize when something isn't right.

Why Business Email Compromise Works So Well

The FBI describes BEC as a sophisticated scam that often involves compromising legitimate business email accounts through social engineering or computer intrusion.

That's what makes it so effective.

The criminal doesn't always need to create an obviously fake email.

If they're actually inside someone's account, they may be able to understand the context of real conversations and use that trust against the business.

That's also why technology alone isn't enough.

Businesses need good technical protections, including multi-factor authentication and appropriate email security. But they also need strong business processes.

If a vendor suddenly asks you to send payments to a different bank account, verify the change using another trusted method of communication.

Don't simply reply to the email.
Call a phone number you already have on file. Talk to the person you normally work with. Confirm the change before the money moves.
A two-minute phone call can prevent a very expensive mistake.

Which of the Three Businesses Are You?

That's the question we'd encourage every small business owner to consider.

If someone gained access to one of your employees' email accounts today, how would you know?

Would someone receive an alert?

Would someone understand what the alert meant?

Would someone investigate?

Would someone take action?

Or would everything continue looking perfectly normal until an invoice was paid to the wrong bank account?

You don't need to become a cybersecurity expert to answer these questions.

But someone needs to be paying attention.

Ekaru Is Here to Help

At Ekaru, we work with small and midsized businesses every day, and we know cybersecurity can feel overwhelming. Our goal isn't to scare people or bury them in technical jargon.

It's to help businesses understand their risks, put practical protections in place, and know that someone is watching when something doesn't look right.

If you're not sure which of these three businesses looks most like yours, that's a great place to start a conversation.

We're happy to talk through what you have today, where there may be gaps, and what practical next steps might make sense for your business.

No scare tactics. No strings attached.

Just a conversation with a local team that wants to help keep your business, and the people who depend on it, safe.

About the author:

Ann Westerheim, PhD is the Founder and President of Ekaru, a Technology Service Provider of cybersecurity and IT services for small and medium businesses in the greater Boston area. Ann is an accomplished technology innovator and leader with three engineering degrees from MIT. She has twenty years of high tech experience in research, advanced development, product development, and as an entrepreneur. Her career has spanned a vast range of technology endeavors including research in thin film semiconductors and superconductors, microprocessor fabrication, development of early Internet medical applications, and now focusing on the application of technology in business. She has an avid focus on the "last mile" of technology and decreasing the digital divide.

How to Tell If an Email Is a Scam

lhanson@ekaru.com (Linda Hanson) — Wed, 12 Aug 2026 17:08:00 GMT

Not long ago, a scam email was easy to spot. Poor grammar, generic greetings, or suspicious links that looked nothing like the brand they were pretending to be. Most people learned to recognize them and felt reasonably confident in their ability to delete them before any damage was done, but that confidence is now a liability.

Phishing emails in 2026 are professionally written, visually convincing, and increasingly personalized. They reference your name, your company, your colleagues, and sometimes details about your business that feel like they could only come from someone who knows you. They arrive from addresses that look almost identical to the real thing, and create urgency that makes you want to act before you think.

In a recent workshop hosted by Ekaru, Ann Westerheim and Linda joined Lincoln Vierhus to break down exactly how Business Email Compromise and phishing attacks work and why they are so effective against small businesses in greater Boston. You can watch the full workshop here.

One of the clearest takeaways from that conversation was this: the emails that cause the most damage are not the obvious ones, but the ones that look completely legitimate right up until the moment they are not.

So how do you actually tell the difference?

That Email From Your Bank Might Not Be From Your Bank

The display name on an email can say anything. An email can appear to come from "Microsoft Support" or your own CEO while the actual sending address is something completely unrelated. Most people never check and attackers are counting on that.

Before you respond to or act on any email, look at the full email address, not just the name displayed. Attackers register domains that are one character different from the real thing, swap letters that look similar like a lowercase L and an uppercase I, or add words like "support" or "security" to a familiar brand name. An email from microsoft-support-alert.com is not from Microsoft. An email from your.ceo.name@gmail.com is not from your CEO.

Legitimate Organizations Do Not Ask You to Act Before You Think

Phishing emails are not designed to inform you, they are designed to move you. Every element of a well-crafted phishing email, the urgency, the authority, the consequences of not acting, exists to get you to do something before your instincts have a chance to catch up.

If an email is pressuring you to click, call, confirm, or transfer before you have had time to think clearly about whether the request makes sense, that pressure itself is the red flag. Legitimate organizations rarely ask you to click a link to verify your account, confirm a payment, or provide login credentials in response to an unsolicited email. Any email that creates pressure to act immediately is worth slowing down on regardless of how legitimate it looks.

The Link That Looks Safe Might Be the One That Is Not

Attackers do not need you to visit an obviously suspicious website. They need you to visit one that looks completely legitimate right up until the moment your credentials are captured or your device is compromised. The difference between the real site and the fake one is often a single character in the URL that nobody checks.

Hovering over any link before clicking reveals the actual destination address at the bottom of your browser or email client. If it does not match the organization sending the email, do not click it. This habit takes two seconds and stops the majority of phishing attempts cold.

The Details Attackers Get Wrong Are the Ones Most People Miss

A busy inbox is an attacker's best friend. When you are moving fast, a subject line that does not quite match the email body, a salutation that uses your email address instead of your name, or formatting that is slightly off compared to legitimate communications from the same brand are easy to miss. They are much harder to miss when you make a deliberate habit of slowing down before acting on any email that asks you to do something unusual.

The question to ask is not just whether the email looks real, but whether this request makes sense coming from this person at this moment.

If Something Feels Off, It Probably Is

Attackers are skilled at creating emails that pass a quick glance but carry a subtle wrongness when you slow down and examine them. A request that does not fit the relationship, a tone that is slightly different from how a known contact normally writes, or a timing that does not make sense given where things stand.

Most people who fall for phishing attacks report afterwards that something felt slightly off but they acted anyway because the email looked professional and the request seemed plausible. That hesitation is worth listening to every single time.

When in doubt, verify through a separate channel. If you receive an email from your bank, your IT provider, or a colleague asking you to take an unusual action, call them directly using a number you already have, not one provided in the email, and confirm the request is legitimate before proceeding.

The Attack That Looks Like a Normal Email From Someone You Trust

Business Email Compromise does not arrive with a warning. It arrives looking like a routine message from your CEO, your accountant, your vendor, or your bank. It asks for something that is slightly unusual but not impossible. A wire transfer that needs to happen today, a change to payment details before an invoice goes out, or access to a file that someone urgently needs.

By the time the request is questioned the money is already gone or the access is already granted. For small businesses in greater Boston without formal verification processes for financial requests, this attack works because it exploits trust rather than technology.

In Ekaru's workshop, Lincoln Vierhus illustrated how these attacks unfold step by step and what makes them so effective against small businesses that do not have formal processes for verifying unusual financial requests. The answer is not complicated technology, but a simple verification habit applied consistently.

What Small Businesses in Greater Boston Should Do

The businesses that avoid these attacks are not the ones with the most sophisticated technology. They are the ones where every person on the team knows what to look for, feels confident enough to pause before acting, and knows exactly who to call when something does not feel right.

Does your team have that confidence right now? If you are not sure, that is worth finding out before an attacker finds out for you.

At Ekaru we help small businesses across Westford, Acton, Chelmsford, Lowell, and greater Boston build the security awareness and technical defences that reduce the risk of phishing and Business Email Compromise. From email filtering and security monitoring to staff training and incident response planning, we handle the protection so your team can focus on the work.

If you want to see exactly how these attacks work and what your business can do to stop them, our full workshop on Business Email Compromise and phishing is available now. Watch it at the link below and share it with your team.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4TdGcMg-eg

And if you want to know how well your current email security would hold up against a real attack, a free IT assessment is the fastest way to find out.

Why Is My Computer So Slow? (And what to do about it)

lhanson@ekaru.com (Linda Hanson) — Thu, 30 Jul 2026 14:21:10 GMT

Why Is My Computer So Slow? And What To Do About It

You sit down to start your day, open an application, and spend the next several minutes watching a progress bar that does not seem to be progressing. It is one of the most common frustrations in any workplace and for small businesses it is more than an inconvenience. Every minute your team spends waiting on a slow machine is a minute they are not serving clients, moving work forward, or doing what you are actually paying them to do.

The good news is that slow computers usually have a reason behind them, and most of those reasons are fixable. Here is what is actually going on and what you should do about it.

Too Many Programs Running in the Background

Every time you turn on your computer, a list of programs launches automatically without you seeing it happen. Antivirus software, cloud sync tools, communication apps, software updaters, and dozens of other applications are all competing for your computer's memory and processing power before you have even opened a single browser tab.

For small businesses running older hardware, this alone can be the difference between a computer that feels responsive and one that feels like it is working against you. The fix starts with reviewing your startup programs. In Windows, open Task Manager with CTRL + SHIFT + ESC, navigate to the Startup tab, and look at what is set to run automatically. Anything your team does not use immediately upon starting the computer does not need to be launching every single morning.

Your Storage Is Almost Full

Windows needs a certain amount of free space on your hard drive to operate efficiently. When storage drops below ten to fifteen percent of total capacity, performance degrades noticeably and files take longer to open, applications take longer to load, and the whole system slows down in ways that feel random but are entirely predictable.

For small businesses storing large files, client documents, emails, and application data locally on individual machines, storage fills up faster than most people realize. The solution is partly cleanup and partly a longer conversation about where your business data should actually be living. If your team is still saving everything to individual desktops rather than a shared cloud environment, you likely have a storage problem and a backup problem at the same time, and that is a conversation worth having with your IT provider before a drive failure makes it urgent.

Your Hardware Is Too Old for What You Are Asking It to Do

Software requirements grow over time and the computer that handled everything your business needed four years ago may genuinely not have the processing power or memory to run today's applications at an acceptable speed. Microsoft 365, modern browsers, video conferencing tools, and security software all consume significantly more resources than their predecessors did.

A computer running on four gigabytes of RAM purchased in 2018 is not going to perform like a modern machine regardless of how much you clean it up. For small businesses in greater Boston, aging hardware is one of the most common and most overlooked causes of productivity loss. The cost of replacing a machine feels significant until you calculate what your team's time is actually worth per hour and how much of it is being lost to a slow computer every single day.

Your Computer Has Not Been Properly Maintained

Computers require ongoing maintenance to perform at their best. Security patches need to be applied, drivers need to be updated, temporary files accumulate and need to be cleared, antivirus definitions need to stay current, and disk fragmentation on older hard drives compounds over time.

For small businesses without a dedicated IT team, this maintenance simply does not happen consistently because nobody has time to do it and nobody has been told it needs doing. The result is a computer that degrades gradually until the slowdown becomes impossible to ignore. This is one of the clearest illustrations of why proactive managed IT support for small businesses makes a measurable difference. A managed IT provider handles this maintenance continuously and automatically so your team never needs to think about it and the performance impact compounds positively over time rather than negatively.

Something More Serious May Be Going On

Not every slow computer is a hardware or maintenance problem. Malware, spyware, and other malicious software running in the background can consume significant system resources while operating completely invisibly, and a computer that has become dramatically slower without an obvious reason is worth investigating beyond the standard fixes.

For small businesses in Massachusetts handling client data, financial information, or protected health information, a compromised machine is not just a performance issue. It is a security incident and potentially a compliance issue depending on your industry. If your antivirus software is current and your computer is still inexplicably slow, that warrants a conversation with your IT provider rather than another restart and a hope for the best.

When a Slow Computer Is a Sign of Something Bigger

A single slow computer is often an isolated issue but multiple slow computers across your office is a different conversation entirely. If your entire team is experiencing performance problems, the issue may be network-related rather than device-specific. Bandwidth limitations, router configuration, network congestion, or a poorly configured server can all manifest as individual computers feeling slow when the real problem sits elsewhere in your infrastructure.

This is exactly the kind of diagnostic work that requires someone who knows what they are looking at. A slow computer that is actually a network problem will not be fixed by cleaning up startup programs or adding memory to individual machines, and diagnosing it incorrectly costs time and money that could have been spent solving the actual issue.

What You Should Do

Start with the basics. Restart your computer fully rather than leaving it in sleep or hibernate mode, check your startup programs and disable anything unnecessary, clear your temporary files, and make sure Windows and your applications are fully updated.

If those steps do not make a meaningful difference, the problem likely requires a more thorough evaluation. Hardware age, storage configuration, network infrastructure, and security posture all play a role in how your computers perform day to day and getting to the real cause usually requires someone who knows what to look for.

At Ekaru, we provide managed IT services for small businesses across Westford, Acton, Chelmsford, Lowell, and the greater Boston area. We handle the ongoing maintenance, monitoring, and proactive support that keeps your team's computers running the way they should so your business does not slow down with them.

Not sure whether your computers are a hardware problem, a maintenance problem, or something more serious? That is exactly what we help small businesses figure out. Reach out today and we will take a look.

Windows July 2026 Patch Tuesday: What Small Businesses in Greater Boston Need to Know

lhanson@ekaru.com (Linda Hanson) — Fri, 17 Jul 2026 19:25:08 GMT

Microsoft released its July 2026 Patch Tuesday security update yesterday, and the numbers are impossible to ignore.

570 vulnerabilities addressed in a single release. That is not a typo. It is the largest Patch Tuesday in Microsoft's history, and it raises a question every small business owner in greater Boston should be sitting with right now: how confident are you that your devices are actually being managed?

At Ekaru, we provide proactive managed IT services for small businesses across Westford, Acton, Chelmsford, Lowell, and the greater Boston area. Every Patch Tuesday we break down what was fixed, what it means in plain English, and what your business needs to do. This month, that conversation is more important than it has ever been.

Why 570 Vulnerabilities Should Make You Uncomfortable

Part of the reason July's number is so large is that Microsoft has begun using an AI-powered vulnerability discovery system to find security flaws across its Windows codebase before attackers can. In other words, the threats have always been there, but the difference now is that they are being identified and disclosed faster than ever before.

That is good news for businesses that are patching promptly, but is a significant problem for businesses that are not.

Of the 570 vulnerabilities fixed this month, 59 are rated Critical. Two were already being actively exploited in real attacks before the patch was released. One was publicly disclosed, meaning it was known to attackers before a fix existed.

If your devices have not been updated, some of those vulnerabilities are probably open right now.

The Vulnerabilities Worth Understanding

Three areas stand out this month for small businesses in Massachusetts.

The first is Active Directory Federation Services, where an actively exploited zero-day allowed attackers to gain administrative privileges. If your business uses Microsoft's identity and access management systems, including single sign-on for cloud applications, this is the kind of vulnerability that puts everything behind your login screen at risk. The flaw was discovered by Microsoft's own incident response team, which suggests it was found while investigating live attacks.

The second is Microsoft SharePoint Server, where another actively exploited zero-day allowed an unauthorised attacker to gain elevated privileges over a network without authentication. SharePoint is widely used by small businesses for document management, team collaboration, and internal communications. An unauthenticated attacker gaining elevated access to that environment is not a theoretical risk.

The third is Windows BitLocker. A publicly disclosed bypass allows an attacker with physical access to a device to circumvent full disk encryption and access the data on it. For small businesses that rely on BitLocker to protect laptops, particularly relevant when devices are travelling with employees over summer, this patch is not optional.

Beyond these three, July's update also addresses critical vulnerabilities in Microsoft Office, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and SharePoint, as well as Windows DHCP, Remote Desktop Services, Hyper-V, and Microsoft Defender itself. The scope of this release touches nearly every piece of software a typical small business relies on daily.

The Question Most Small Business Owners Cannot Answer

Here is what this month's Patch Tuesday actually reveals about how most small businesses approach IT.

Most are not patching promptly. Research consistently shows that the gap between a vulnerability being disclosed and it being exploited at scale is shrinking. With AI now accelerating both vulnerability discovery and attack automation, that window is narrowing further.

Most do not know what is running on their network. The 570 vulnerabilities in this month's release span Windows, Office, Azure, Exchange, SharePoint, SQL Server, Hyper-V, Defender, and dozens of supporting components. Do you know which of those your business relies on? Do you know which of your devices are running outdated versions? Do you know which ones have not restarted in weeks?

Most assume someone is handling it. And sometimes that assumption is correct. But assumption is not the same as verification, and when a vulnerability is being actively exploited in the wild, there is no safe margin for assumption.

What This Means for Small Businesses in Greater Boston

The businesses that avoid serious incidents are not the ones that got lucky. They are the ones that have a systematic, consistent approach to patch management that does not depend on someone remembering to click update.

July 2026 Patch Tuesday is a useful moment to ask some honest questions about your current setup. When were your devices last fully updated? Who is responsible for verifying that updates actually complete? What happens when a device fails an update silently? Is there a process for that, or does it go unnoticed until something breaks?

If you are not sure of the answers, that gap is worth understanding before something forces you to.

Ekaru Keeps Greater Boston Businesses Protected

The Ekaru team monitors and manages Windows updates for small businesses across Westford, Acton, Chelmsford, Lowell, and the greater Boston area. Our managed IT services include patch management, device monitoring, compliance tracking, and proactive security support so your business is protected before a vulnerability becomes an incident.

If you have questions about this month's update or want to know where your business actually stands, a free IT assessment is the fastest way to find out. No obligation, no jargon, just honest answers from a local team that genuinely cares about your business.

🌐 ekaru.com | 978-692-4200

Thinking About Switching IT Providers? Here's What the First 30 Days Look Like

Ann Westerheim — Mon, 13 Jul 2026 18:55:15 GMT

"We know we need better IT support...we're just not sure we want to go through the hassle of changing."

If that thought has crossed your mind, you're not alone.

Many businesses stay with an IT provider long after they've become dissatisfied. Support requests take too long. Communication isn't what it should be. Cybersecurity doesn't feel as proactive as it once did. Yet making a change can seem like a project you'd rather put off.

The hesitation usually isn't about whether a better IT partner exists. It's about wondering what happens next. Will there be downtime? Will employees have trouble logging in? Will anything get missed? How much of your own time will the transition require?

These are reasonable questions.

The good news is that changing IT providers doesn't have to be disruptive. Like any important business project, success comes from having a well-defined process and a team that's done it many times before.

At Ekaru, we've refined our onboarding process over years of helping organizations transition from another IT provider - or, in some cases, from having little or no formal IT support at all. Our goal is simple: make the transition as smooth as possible so you can keep your focus on running your business.

Here's what that process typically looks like.

Step 1: We Start by Understanding Your Business

Before we make any technical changes, we take the time to learn about your organization. What are the specific tech needs in your industry? What compliance standards will be you accountable for? Who are the key players in the organization? What are your most important systems? What is your daily workflow like?

We meet with your primary point of contact to review your goals, discuss your current environment, explain how the onboarding process works, and make sure everyone knows what to expect. We also review your service agreement and the tools we'll be implementing to support and protect your business.

This first meeting sets the foundation for everything that follows. Clear expectations and open communication help ensure there are no surprises along the way. We'll take the time to explain every step in plain English.

Step 2: We Coordinate with Your Current IT Provider

One concern we often hear is, "Do I have to manage the handoff between the two IT companies?"

In most cases, no.

We work directly with your current provider to coordinate the transition, gather important information, and establish a timeline. Our goal is to make the process as seamless as possible for you.

Occasionally, an outgoing provider isn't as responsive as we'd hope. While that's never ideal, it's something we've encountered before. We have established procedures for moving forward while keeping your business on track.

Many business owners also wonder what it's like to tell their current IT provider they're making a change. That's a perfectly normal concern. While no company likes to lose a client, we've found that most transitions are handled professionally. If the current relationship isn't working, its usually apparent to both sides. We coordinate directly with the outgoing provider whenever possible and keep the focus where it belongs - on making sure your business continues to operate smoothly throughout the transition. In our experience, the transition will be professional.

We approach every onboarding with empathy. We understand that no one enjoys losing a client, and our goal isn't to criticize the work that came before us. Instead, we focus on making the handoff as seamless as possible, communicating clearly, gathering the information we need, and treating your former provider as a professional partner in the transition whenever possible.

That respectful approach benefits everyone - especially you. It helps us obtain documentation, transfer systems efficiently, and minimize disruption so your business can keep running while we get to know your environment.

Step 3: We Carefully Plan the Technology Transition

One of the most important parts of onboarding happens behind the scenes.

Your security tools, monitoring software, and other management systems all need to be transitioned carefully. Installing new tools too early can create conflicts. Waiting too long can leave unnecessary gaps in protection.

Timing matters.

That's why we carefully coordinate when existing tools are removed and when Ekaru's solutions are installed, helping ensure your business remains protected throughout the transition. Our team monitors on a daily basis to help ensure there are never any gaps.

Step 4: We Meet Your Team Where They Work

Every business is different.

For some organizations, we'll schedule onsite visits to install software, answer questions, and make sure everything is working properly.

For organizations with remote employees, we schedule individual remote sessions so each person receives the same attention and support. With many remote workers we set up a calendar and invite employees to select times that work the best. Typically, we just need a short session to install some tools. Of course, we're also available to answer any questions along the way.

Sometimes onboarding is completed in a single visit. Other times, multiple visits make the most sense. We tailor the schedule to your business - not the other way around.

Step 5: We Build the Foundation for Great IT Support

Installing software is only part of onboarding.

Behind the scenes, we configure system monitoring, establish secure administrative access, review security settings, enroll employees in cybersecurity awareness training, and make sure your environment is properly documented.

That documentation is especially important.

When you contact our Help Desk in the future, our technicians already understand your systems. Instead of spending valuable time figuring out how your network is configured, they can get to work solving your issue more quickly.

A well-documented environment helps us deliver better support from day one. We also have internal daily huddles and weekly meetings to make sure everyone on our team is aware of your business, and has secure access to the tools to support you.

Step 6: We Make Sure Nothing Gets Missed

Our onboarding isn't finished simply because the tools have been installed.

We review everything against the original plan, confirm that all contracted services have been completed, finalize our documentation, and schedule a follow-up meeting with you.

That gives us an opportunity to answer questions, review the onboarding experience together, and make sure you're comfortable with everything moving forward. At that time, we'll review preliminary reporting to you to show your current tech status. If we missed a computer in a corner somewhere, or at a remote employees house, this inventory is crucial to make sure we have all bases covered.

A Good Process Builds Confidence

Most business owners have never changed IT providers before. It's understandable that they don't know what to expect.

What we've found is that once clients understand the process, the transition feels much more manageable. There isn't one big "switch-over day" where everything changes at once. Instead, it's a series of carefully planned steps, clear communication, and ongoing coordination designed to minimize disruption while making sure nothing important gets overlooked.

Changing IT providers is an important decision, but it doesn't have to be a stressful one. With an experienced team and a proven process, the transition can be far smoother than most businesses expect. We help lay the groundwork for open communications. It there's ever something you're not happy with, or don't fully understand, we just ask that you speak up and our team will help.

If you've been considering a change but weren't sure what the process would involve, we'd be happy to walk you through what onboarding would look like for your organization. Even if you're not ready to make a move today, understanding the process can help you make a more informed decision when the time is right.

Interested in continuing the conversation?

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What If the Cyberattack Starts With a Conversation?

Ann Westerheim — Wed, 24 Jun 2026 20:54:48 GMT

Modern cybersecurity threats don't always begin with malware or a suspicious link. Sometimes they start with a conversation that seems completely legitimate. Here's what one recent social engineering assessment can teach small businesses about protecting themselves.

When most people think about phishing attacks, they picture an email filled with spelling mistakes, suspicious links, and obvious red flags.

Unfortunately, that's not how many modern attacks work. "Don't click on a suspicious link" doesn't cut it anymore for security awareness training.

A recent social engineering assessment conducted by security researchers at NetSPI demonstrated just how sophisticated today's attackers have become. Instead of sending a traditional phishing email, the researchers spent time building trust before ever introducing a malicious link.

The scenario they created was simple - and highly believable. Too many people think they'll never fall for a scam, and what's fascinating about this report is it goes into depth and shows just how tricky these things are. ANYONE could fall for this.

The target organization had recently announced plans to build a new facility. The researchers posed as a local journalist investigating an anonymous tip about possible hazardous waste disposal at the construction site. Rather than including a suspicious link in the first email, they simply asked executives whether they would be willing to comment.

At first glance, nothing seemed unusual.

In fact, the executives involved were responding exactly as many responsible leaders would. A potential reputational issue had been raised, and they were trying to address it.

That's what makes this example so important.

The Real Threat Wasn't Carelessness

One of the biggest misconceptions about cybersecurity is that successful attacks happen because someone was reckless or ignored obvious warning signs.

In this case, the executive wasn't being careless.

He was responding to what appeared to be a legitimate inquiry involving a sensitive business matter. The attackers established credibility first, engaged in conversation, and only later introduced a malicious link.

This approach is becoming increasingly common because it bypasses many of the warning signs employees have been trained to look for.

Email security tools are often very effective at detecting malicious links and attachments. They are much less effective at identifying a believable conversation between two people.

By the time the phishing link appeared, trust had already been established.

At Ekaru, we've seen similar situations affect small businesses throughout Massachusetts. The details vary, but the pattern is often the same. An employee receives what appears to be a legitimate message related to a current project, a vendor relationship, a customer issue, an invoice, or an urgent business matter. Because the request fits naturally into ongoing work, it doesn't immediately raise suspicion. We've seen diligent employees fall for a fake negative review by the Better Business Bureau. We've seen sales people open fake Requests for Proposals (RFPs). Its not careless, its someone trying to do their job.

What makes these attacks effective is that they don't feel like cyberattacks at all. They feel like business conversations.

That's why cybersecurity awareness training can no longer focus only on obvious phishing emails. Employees need to learn how attackers build trust, create urgency, and use real-world business situations to lower a target's guard.

How Third-Party Risk Entered the Picture

One of the most interesting findings from the assessment wasn't the initial interaction - it was what happened next.

The executive forwarded information to external contractors involved in the construction project. Fortunately, because this was a controlled security assessment, the researchers immediately stopped the exercise before any contractor credentials could be captured.

But the lesson is important.

Cybersecurity risk doesn't stop at your organization's boundaries.

When employees communicate regularly with vendors, contractors, accountants, attorneys, and other trusted partners, a successful social engineering attack can quickly spread beyond the original target.

For small businesses, these trusted relationships are often critical to daily operations. That makes them attractive pathways for attackers looking to expand access. Another common thing we see is an employee forwarding a questionable email to co-workers and asking "Is this legit" - this increases the reach of the malicious email internally as well.

This is one reason cybersecurity has become a shared responsibility. Your organization's security can be affected by the security practices of vendors and partners, just as their security can be affected by yours.

What Small Businesses Can Learn

Most organizations spend time teaching employees not to click suspicious links.

That's still important.

However, this assessment highlights another challenge: employees also need guidance on how to handle unusual requests, sensitive allegations, media inquiries, vendor communications, and other situations that fall outside normal business processes.

The executive in this assessment wasn't responding to a fake package notification or a password reset request. He believed he was helping address a potentially serious business issue.

We've seen attackers use similar tactics involving vendor payment changes, urgent requests from executives, customer disputes, legal matters, and other situations designed to trigger an immediate response.

The common thread is almost always the same:

Someone feels they need to act quickly. With AI, its so easy for cyber criminals to harvest information online - from websites, press releases, and social media. Take a moment to think about how much of your information is "out there.

Creating a culture where employees are encouraged to pause, verify, and escalate unusual situations can dramatically reduce risk.

Practical Steps to Reduce Social Engineering Risk

While no organization can eliminate risk entirely, several steps can make these attacks significantly harder to execute:

Slow down when a request feels urgent. Why the urgency?
Verify journalists, vendors, and other external contacts through independent channels.
Be cautious when external parties ask you to access internal company systems.
Avoid using links sent by unknown parties to continue conversations.
Establish clear procedures for handling media inquiries and sensitive allegations.
Conduct security awareness training that goes beyond traditional phishing examples. This doesn't make an organization bullet proof, but it sure helps!
Review email security controls and impersonation protections.
Implement strong identity security measures such as multifactor authentication and conditional access policies.

Most importantly, employees should know exactly who to contact when something doesn't feel right.

Cybersecurity Is About Process, Not Just Technology

One of the biggest takeaways from this assessment is that technology alone isn't enough.

The vulnerability wasn't simply a malicious email. It was the absence of a clearly defined process for handling an unusual business situation.

The organizations that handle these attacks best are often the ones that have established procedures, clear communication channels, and employees who feel comfortable asking questions before taking action.

That's why cybersecurity isn't just an IT issue. It's a business process issue.

For small businesses, that's actually good news. Improving security doesn't always require buying new technology. Sometimes the biggest gains come from creating clear procedures, providing practical employee training, and helping your team know what to do when something unexpected happens. Run a table top exercise with your team to talk about "what if?"

If you're wondering how your organization would respond to a sophisticated social engineering attempt like this, we'd be happy to have a conversation. We regularly help small businesses throughout Massachusetts evaluate their security awareness programs, review their processes, and identify practical ways to reduce risk without making day-to-day work more difficult.

A quick discussion can often uncover opportunities to strengthen security that don't require a major investment - just a thoughtful approach and the right guidance.

Source: This article is based on research published by NetSPI in "Asking the Wrong Questions: Social Engineering as a Reporter." The original article provides additional details about how the assessment was conducted and the lessons learned.

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Is Your Business Vacation Ready? What Small Business Owners in Greater Boston Need to Know

lhanson@ekaru.com (Linda Hanson) — Wed, 17 Jun 2026 13:25:08 GMT

Summer is here and most small business owners are thinking about time off.

The problem is most of them will not actually take it. They will check their email between meals, handle the tech issue their team texted about, and spend the whole trip quietly wondering what is happening back at the office.

That is not a vacation, that is a relocated office with better weather.

A vacation ready business is not one where everything stops while you are gone. It is one where everything keeps working without you.

Here is what that actually looks like small businesses in greater Boston:

You should not be the IT help desk

If your team calls you when the Wi-Fi goes down or something stops working, that is a systems problem, not a people problem. Your team is not doing anything wrong. They just do not have a reliable place to go for help, so they go to you.

Proactive managed IT support changes that entirely. Issues are monitored continuously, caught early, and resolved before they become urgent. Your team knows exactly where to go when something needs attention, and it is not to you.

For small businesses in Westford, Acton, Chelmsford, Lowell, and the greater Boston area, having a local managed IT services provider means someone is always watching your systems, whether you are in the office or not.

Slower response times create bigger risk

Here is something most small business owners do not connect until it is too late: when you step back, cybercriminals pay attention.

They are patient and they look for moments when oversight is lower and response is slower. A suspicious login that goes uninvestigated for a few hours or a phishing email that travels further through your organization than it should because nobody was sure who to escalate it to doesn’t sound catastrophic on their own, but given enough time, they can be.

A resilient business has continuous monitoring and clear escalation paths that work regardless of who is available. Cybersecurity for small businesses should never depend on one person being reachable. You should not be the first line of defense when something goes wrong. You definitely should not be the bottleneck.

Your team should not have to guess

Most security incidents are not caused by sophisticated attacks. They are caused by people making reasonable decisions under uncertain conditions.

When you are away, your team fills the gap as best they can. Someone gets an unusual email and is not sure whether to click it. A vendor requests access and the decision feels urgent. Nobody wants to interrupt you, so they make a judgment call.

Uncertainty increases risk. That is not a reflection on your team, it is human nature under pressure.

Clear policies, cybersecurity awareness training, and defined escalation paths mean your team knows what to do without needing you in the loop. That protects your business whether you are in the office or on a beach in Portugal.

Having IT is not the same as being supported

Most small business owners think they have their IT covered because there is someone to call when things break.

Fixing problems is not the same as being supported.

In a reactive setup, issues show up without warning. Something that could have been caught early becomes urgent in the middle of everything else. Work gets reshuffled and customers feel the delays even if they never know the cause.

Proactive managed IT services work differently. Systems are monitored and maintained continuously. Software stays current and security risks are handled before they become incidents. When something does go wrong, it is contained before it affects your business.

Most of the time, none of this requires your attention, and that is the whole point.

What a vacation ready business actually feels like

When your technology runs the way it should, you stop thinking about it. Your team logs in and gets to work, problems do not interrupt the day, and customers get what they need without everything routing through you.

And when you step away, that does not change.

Your phone buzzes and you do not panic. Not because nothing can go wrong, but because you know it will be handled if it does.

That kind of confidence does not come from hoping things hold together, it comes from knowing they will.

Is your business vacation ready?

If you are not sure how your business would hold up without you for a week, that is worth finding out before summer is over.

At Ekaru, we provide managed IT services for small businesses across Westford, Acton, Chelmsford, Lowell, and the greater Boston area. Our proactive IT support includes continuous monitoring, patch management, cybersecurity, and helpdesk support so your business keeps running smoothly whether you are in the office or away.

Start with a free IT assessment. No obligation, no jargon, just an honest look at where your business stands and what it would take to get it where it should be.

Windows June 2026 Patch Tuesday: What Small Businesses Need to Know

lhanson@ekaru.com (Linda Hanson) — Fri, 12 Jun 2026 12:52:18 GMT

Microsoft released its June 2026 Patch Tuesday security update yesterday and this one is historically large.

June 2026 marks the largest single Patch Tuesday release in the program's history, addressing 200 security vulnerabilities across Windows, Office, Azure, Exchange, Hyper-V, and related products. For small businesses in Massachusetts that rely on Windows devices, there are several things worth understanding before the end of the week.

At Ekaru, we provide managed IT services for small businesses across greater Boston. Staying ahead of security patches is one of the most important things a small business IT support provider can do for its clients. Here is what matters most this month.

The Secure Boot Deadline Is 16 Days Away

Before diving into this month's new vulnerabilities, the most important reminder for any small business still running Windows devices is this: the Secure Boot certificate expiration deadline is June 26, 2026, just 14 days away.

If your devices have not yet received the May 2026 update, June's Patch Tuesday is your final scheduled opportunity to get compliant before that deadline. Boot-level malware will be impossible to detect or remove with standard tools on devices that miss this window. The June 26 deadline is absolute and non-negotiable.

If Ekaru manages your IT, your devices should already be tracked. If you are not sure, run Windows Update today and confirm KB5089549 from May is installed alongside this month's updates. This is exactly the kind of proactive IT management that protects small businesses in the Boston area from preventable security incidents.

What Microsoft Fixed in June 2026

Of the 200 Windows security updates addressed this month, 33 are rated Critical, 166 are rated Important, and one is rated Moderate. Twenty-eight of the critical flaws are remote code execution vulnerabilities, four are elevation of privilege issues, and one is an information disclosure flaw.

Here are the Microsoft security patches small businesses should understand:

Windows Kernel Remote Code Execution

This is the most serious vulnerability management concern in this month's release. A remote unauthenticated attacker can run code at SYSTEM level with no user interaction, through a flaw in how the kernel handles TCP/IP. In plain English, an attacker on the internet could potentially take full control of an unpatched Windows device without any employee clicking anything. This one alone makes June's Windows 11 update urgent for every business.

Windows BitLocker Security Bypass

This vulnerability allows an attacker with physical access to a device to bypass BitLocker's full-disk encryption and access the data on it. For small businesses that rely on BitLocker to protect laptops, particularly important if a device is ever lost or stolen, this fix is essential. This patch closes a significant gap in your endpoint security protection.

Windows Denial of Service

This vulnerability is related to an attack technique that can affect web servers and knock them offline in seconds. For businesses running any web-facing services or applications on Windows Server, this is worth prioritizing.

Remote Desktop Services

Remote Desktop Client received the most concentrated cluster of critical patches this month with 11 total fixes. If your team uses Remote Desktop to connect to office computers or servers remotely, this month's security patch is non-negotiable.

What You Should Do Today

The steps are the same as every month but this month they are more urgent than usual given the severity of the vulnerabilities and the approaching Secure Boot deadline.

Go to Settings, select Windows Update, and check for updates. Install everything available and then do a full Restart, not just Shut Down. The restart is what completes the installation process.

If any devices in your office show errors during the update process, contact your IT support provider before the end of the week. With the June 26 Secure Boot deadline approaching, there is no comfortable buffer left. Unpatched systems remain one of the leading entry points for ransomware attacks targeting small businesses.

Ekaru Helps You Stay Ahead

The Ekaru team provides managed IT services in Boston and monitors Windows updates for small businesses across Westford, Acton, Chelmsford, Lowell, and the greater Boston area. Our patch management services include security update tracking, compliance monitoring, and device management to catch update failures before they become problems.

Not sure whether your business is protected? A free IT assessment is the fastest way to find out.

Cybersecurity in 2026: What Small Businesses Need to Learn from 22,000 Data Breaches

Ann Westerheim — Wed, 03 Jun 2026 19:43:45 GMT

Every year, Verizon publishes its Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR), one of the most respected cybersecurity reports in the industry. The 2026 report analyzed more than 22,000 confirmed data breaches across 145 countries, making it one of the largest collections of real-world cybersecurity data available.

At Ekaru, we pay close attention to reports like this because they help us separate trends from headlines. Instead of relying on assumptions, we can see exactly how attackers are succeeding, where businesses are struggling, and what organizations can do to better protect themselves.

Before we dive into the findings, it's helpful to understand two terms you'll see throughout cybersecurity reports:

Incident: A security event that disrupts business operations, compromises systems, or creates a security risk.

Breach: A type of incident where sensitive information is actually accessed, stolen, or exposed to someone who shouldn't have it.

In other words, every breach is an incident, but not every incident becomes a breach. For example, a ransomware attack or website outage may be considered a security incident even if no customer or company data is stolen.

The biggest takeaway from this year's report is surprisingly simple:

Cybersecurity fundamentals matter more than ever.

While artificial intelligence, ransomware, and sophisticated cybercriminal groups continue to dominate the news, most successful breaches still come down to a handful of preventable issues. Here are the lessons small businesses should take away from Verizon's findings.

1. Unpatched Systems Have Become the #1 Way Attackers Get In

For years, stolen passwords were the most common way attackers gained access to business systems. That's no longer the case.

According to the Verizon DBIR, exploiting software vulnerabilities is now the leading method attackers use to gain initial access to organizations (and AI makes that easier and faster!).

In plain English, this means cybercriminals are actively scanning the internet looking for outdated software, unpatched firewalls, vulnerable VPNs, and exposed systems. Once they find one, they can often gain access without ever needing a password. They use automated tools and scan - have you ever looked at your firewall logs or Microsoft 365 logs to see who's trying to get in?

For small businesses, this highlights the importance of:

Regular software updates
Security patch management
Vulnerability assessments
Continuous monitoring

Many organizations don't get breached because they lack expensive security tools. They get breached because a known vulnerability remained unpatched for too long. Those boring and annoying updates? Don't delay!

2. Ransomware Isn't Going Away

Ransomware continues to be one of the most significant cybersecurity threats facing businesses today.

Nearly half of all breaches analyzed in the report involved ransomware or extortion-related activity.

The impact goes far beyond encrypted files. Modern ransomware attacks often involve data theft, operational disruption, reputational damage, and regulatory concerns. What would you do if confidential client information was published on the Dark Web?

The good news is that businesses are becoming more resilient. Verizon found that a growing number of organizations are refusing to pay ransoms and instead relying on recovery plans and backups.

That's exactly why we continue to emphasize:

Tested backups
Endpoint protection
Email security
Incident response planning
Business continuity strategies

The best ransomware response is preparation long before an attack occurs.

3. Your Security Is Only As Strong As Your Vendors

One of the most eye-opening findings from this year's report was the dramatic increase in breaches involving third parties.

Think about all the external services your business relies on every day:

Microsoft 365
Payroll providers
Accounting software
Cloud storage platforms
CRM systems
IT service providers (And this is the big reason we completed the GTIA Cybersecurity Trustmark this year!)

Businesses today are more connected than ever. While those connections improve productivity, they also increase risk.

A security issue at a vendor can quickly become a security issue for your organization.

This doesn't mean avoiding cloud services or modern business applications. It means understanding who has access to your data, enabling security controls like multifactor authentication, and periodically reviewing your vendor relationships.

4. People Are Still a Major Target

Technology wasn't the only focus of this year's report.

Verizon found that the human element was involved in nearly two-thirds of breaches.

What's changing is how attackers are targeting people.

Traditional phishing emails remain common, but attackers are increasingly using phone calls, text messages, and impersonation tactics to trick employees into providing access or sensitive information. With AI, its so easy to clone someone's voice, or create a video with their image. These day's seeing is NOT believing!

Many of these attacks don't look suspicious at first glance. They often appear urgent, helpful, or completely routine. Often the emails contain things like QR Codes or other "security" tools that make it look like the sender is being more secure.

This is why cybersecurity isn't just an IT issue.

Every employee plays a role in protecting the organization.

Regular security awareness training, clear verification procedures, and a culture where employees feel comfortable asking questions can dramatically reduce risk. Talk to your team regularly about cybersecurity. We recently had a great training session over cake at one of our local client sites - just get people talking!

5. Artificial Intelligence Is Helping Attackers, Too

Artificial intelligence is transforming business operations, but it is also becoming a tool for cybercriminals.

The report found growing evidence that attackers are using AI to help write phishing messages, research targets, develop malicious code, and automate parts of their attack process.

This doesn't mean AI is creating entirely new categories of threats.

Instead, it's making existing attacks faster, cheaper, and easier to scale. It's so easy to automatically harvest information from social media, websites, former breaches to make emails look VERY convincing. Gone are they days where you could just tell your team to not click on a "suspicious" email.

The result is that businesses may face a greater volume of convincing phishing attempts and social engineering attacks than ever before.

The answer isn't fear.

The answer is strengthening the fundamentals that have always worked: security awareness, strong authentication, patch management, monitoring, and layered defenses.

What This Means for Small Businesses

When reading cybersecurity headlines, it's easy to assume the biggest risks involve sophisticated nation-state hackers or highly technical attacks.

The Verizon DBIR tells a different story.

Many successful breaches still start with:

An unpatched system
Weak authentication
A trusted vendor being compromised
An employee being deceived
A missing security control

These aren't new problems. They're foundational security challenges that every organization can address.

That's encouraging because it means small businesses are not powerless.

With the right strategy, consistent processes, and ongoing attention to cybersecurity fundamentals, organizations can significantly reduce their risk. There are so many smart and affordable things local businesses can do to help stay safe online. Start small and build a successful program one step at a time. We're currently working with several local businesses getting ready for CMMC compliance - while this seams overwhelming at first, making weekly progress gets the job done.

Final Thoughts

One reason we closely follow research like Verizon's annual DBIR is that it helps us make better recommendations for our clients.

The threat landscape continues to evolve, but the core principles of cybersecurity remain remarkably consistent. Organizations that know what assets they have, keep systems updated, secure accounts with multifactor authentication, train employees, and prepare for incidents are far better positioned to withstand today's threats.

Cybersecurity is not about eliminating risk entirely. It's about making informed decisions that reduce risk and improve resilience.

The businesses that focus on the fundamentals today will be the ones best prepared for whatever comes next.

Interested in continuing the conversation?

Technology Advisor Blog

What Should You Do If You Think You Have Been Hacked?

Business Email Compromise: A Tale of Three Businesses

Business #1: The Attack Is Spotted Early

Business #2: Same Threat, Very Different Outcome

But There's a Third Business We Need to Talk About

"We Have Microsoft 365" Isn't the Same as "Someone Is Watching"

Why Business Email Compromise Works So Well

Which of the Three Businesses Are You?

Ekaru Is Here to Help

About the author:

How to Tell If an Email Is a Scam

Why Is My Computer So Slow? (And what to do about it)

Windows July 2026 Patch Tuesday: What Small Businesses in Greater Boston Need to Know

Thinking About Switching IT Providers? Here's What the First 30 Days Look Like

Step 1: We Start by Understanding Your Business

Step 2: We Coordinate with Your Current IT Provider

Step 3: We Carefully Plan the Technology Transition

Step 4: We Meet Your Team Where They Work

Step 5: We Build the Foundation for Great IT Support

Step 6: We Make Sure Nothing Gets Missed

A Good Process Builds Confidence

About the author:

What If the Cyberattack Starts With a Conversation?

The Real Threat Wasn't Carelessness

How Third-Party Risk Entered the Picture

What Small Businesses Can Learn

Practical Steps to Reduce Social Engineering Risk

Cybersecurity Is About Process, Not Just Technology

About the author:

Is Your Business Vacation Ready? What Small Business Owners in Greater Boston Need to Know

Windows June 2026 Patch Tuesday: What Small Businesses Need to Know

Cybersecurity in 2026: What Small Businesses Need to Learn from 22,000 Data Breaches

Incident: A security event that disrupts business operations, compromises systems, or creates a security risk.

Breach: A type of incident where sensitive information is actually accessed, stolen, or exposed to someone who shouldn't have it.

In other words, every breach is an incident, but not every incident becomes a breach. For example, a ransomware attack or website outage may be considered a security incident even if no customer or company data is stolen.

1. Unpatched Systems Have Become the #1 Way Attackers Get In

2. Ransomware Isn't Going Away

3. Your Security Is Only As Strong As Your Vendors

4. People Are Still a Major Target

5. Artificial Intelligence Is Helping Attackers, Too

What This Means for Small Businesses

Final Thoughts

About the author: