Technology Advisor Blog

Big businesses make the headlines but small businesses are NOT immune to Cyber Attacks!  

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Tags: cybersecurity, ransomware

We do a lot of cybersecurity training at Ekaru and one of things we tell people is to "THINK BEFORE YOU CLICK".  But what do we need to look out for?

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Tags: email security, cybersecurity

This week an astonishing 773,000,000 records were released in a monster breach.  Security researcher Troy Hunt first reported the data set which includes 772,904,991 unique email addresses and over 21 million unique passwords, all recently posted to a hacking forum.

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Tags: password, cybersecurity, Dark Web

Cyber threats are real and they're local.  Major corporations like Marriott make the big headlines, but too many smaller businesses and institutions think they're "under the radar".  Attacks are widespread and they're automated.  The average firewall is getting hundreds of thousands of intrusion attempts per month, over 50 ransomware attempts, and twelve phishing attempts.   All it takes is ONE user clicking on ONE wrong link and a lot of damage can be done.

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Tags: cybersecurity, SMB, ransomware

It's the holiday season and people are busy, and it's also a season to beware of scams.  There are many different scams related to gift cards, and here's a new one we just saw locally. 

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Tags: Cybersecurity, email scams, cybersecurity

Identity theft is an unfortunate occurrence that is all too familiar with most business owners, but do those individuals know where the compromised data will end up? Often, these business owners are unaware of the virtual marketplace where stolen data is purchased and sold by cybercriminals; a place known as the “Dark Web”.

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Tags: cybersecurity, Dark Web

The "tech support" scam is a common threat on the Internet.  While working on your computer, a pop up will appear that says your computer has a problem and help is just a phone call or click away.  Many of these scams pretend to be from Microsoft.  The graphics may look very professional, and the tech jargon sounds convincing enough that may people fall for these scams.  After the "repair" is done, then you'll be asked for a credit card to pay.  Most people assume they won't fall for a scam, but if you're very busy, and the support price is low enough, it could seem like the fastest and most efficient way to get support and get back to work.  

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Tags: cybersecurity, data security

Disaster recovery is a basic element of good business continuity planning. You've probably heard the phrase and like many businesses, it's something you'll get around to "later". 

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Tags: backup, cybersecurity, ransomware

We hear routinely in the news that a major corporation or government agency has had its data integrity compromised, with millions of pieces of personal data accessed. In these cases the criminals behind the attack hope to get money by selling that data to other criminals. In the case of ransomware, the criminals want your money, and try to get it by holding your data hostage. Plain, old fashioned kidnapping with a hi-tech spin.  It's not about how much your data is worth to them, it's about how much it's worth to you.

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Tags: cybersecurity, ransomware

If you're unfortunate enough to be the victim of a ransomware attack, there are basically only three options open to you. Ransomware is a type of computer virus that kidnaps your data and holds it hostage for money. It has become increasingly common attacking governments and all manner of business and non-for profit institutions.  These are often automated attacks that are broadly distributed, so even if you're a small business you're still at risk.  Too many small businesses think they're "under the radar" and in fact, about half of ransomware attacks hit small businesses.

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Tags: cybersecurity, ransomware, cybersecurity, SMB