Technology Advisor Blog

In Ekaru’s previous blog, we went over how typos can unexpectedly lead you to mimicked websites designed by hackers to steal your personal information. But what if I told you that on top of having to be hyper vigilant of spelling, you also need to check a URL’s characters if all letters are from the same font?
Tricks hackers use to scam unsuspecting individuals usually consist of spam texts, phishing emails impersonating reputable companies, scams claiming you owe a specific amount of money, creating a sense of urgency - all are attempts to fatigue you and steal your information. For some, these tricks have become easy to spot due to recognizing the signs from their intensive cybersecurity awareness training. However, bad actors use evolving technology and strategies to improve their game and become harder and harder to detect.
One of their strategies to become harder to detect, is the usage of visuals in random letters from different fonts. This is a term we call Internalized Domain Name (IDN) Homograph attack.

October is here, and threat actors are ramping up their attacks to the point where its… spooky.
While Halloween is coming up, Thanksgiving and Christmas are also on the horizon, it’s more evident than ever we must remain hypervigilant and not fall for these intricate phishing attempts.

In September, many folks and including some of us in the office, experienced a rise in spam (Vishing) phone calls. You may be wondering ‘Where are all these unknown numbers coming from?” If you’re like me, when you notice an unknown caller ID notify your phone, you never pick up. However, not everyone is like that. However, the Ekaru team is here to teach you all about cold calling scams, how to identify them, reasons why they are potentially occurring, and the steps/services we provide to help protect yourself and others from falling into their trap.

Ekaru, a trusted provider of managed IT and cybersecurity services, is proud to announce that we are now Generative AI Certified by Breach Secure Now (BSN). BSN is a leading provider of human-centric cybersecurity, AI awareness, and productivity training. This industry-first certification empowers our team to confidently lead clients through the complexities of AI adoption - safely, strategically, and securely.

A Real-World Wake-Up Call

Last week a 10-person machine shop in the Boston area reached out to us with an urgent challenge. They were eager to win Department of Defense contracts, but there was one major roadblock: compliance. Specifically, they needed to meet CMMC (Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification) standards to even qualify.

As we begin a new month, cybersecurity trends continue to evolve, keeping us in the industry on our toes.
Today’s world of cybersecurity, cybercriminals and hackers use tactical, socially engineered techniques, targeting large and small businesses in stealing their personal information at an alarming rate. At Ekaru, we have seen businesses become targets for these attacks and have provided them with tools to identify their approach and react accordingly to a variety of scenarios. Our goal is to have businesses acquire the resources they need to be aware of cybersecurity, while also being your helpful ally in an unprecedented evolving geopolitical climate a phone call or email away.

IT spending choices directly impact your bottom line, with cloud solutions offering clear ways to control costs while building capabilities. Your technology investments - from email systems to cybersecurity tools - keep your company competitive without creating budget surprises.  I recall a conversation I had with a client years ago - a local business owner with about 25 employees - he said; "Ann, I just need all my tech to work, and at a reasonable price".  A lot has changed over the years - tech is so much more pervasive everywhere, and managing cyber risk is now a big part of it.  But the bottom line is the same:  IT spending choices directly impact your bottom line.

Large corporations have a Chief Executive Officer, a Chief Operating Officer, a Chief Financial Office, a Chief Information Officer - and maybe some more "Chiefs" on the team.  Each plays a separate and vital role moving the business forward.   While smaller organizations can't afford to have so many full time employees at the top, there's no reason you can't benefit from the vital role the Chief Information Officer (CIO) can play in your organization - maybe just on a fractional or virtual basis.

Cybersecurity is in the news just about every day!  The balance between cybersecurity and convenience is always tough, and sometimes cybersecurity can even get in the way.  

Building on annual success Cybersecurity Awareness Month 2022 is set to highlight the growing importance of cybersecurity in our daily lives and look to empower everyday individuals and business to take cybersecurity steps by making cyber more accessible.

We're more than half way through 2022, the world has been through a tough two years with the pandemic, and we're getting through to the other side.  We just checked in again with the CompTIA IT Industry Outlook 2022 report, and it's pretty on track for the year.  Ekaru is a proud member of CompTIA, and if you're not familiar with CompTIA, you should be!  "The Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) is the leading voice and advocate for the $5.3 trillion global information technology ecosystem.  Through education, training, certifications, philanthropy, and market research, CompTIA is the hub for advancing the tech industry and its workforce."