Technology Advisor Blog

We’ve had a few conversations recently with local business owners who all said some version of the same thing:

“I think our IT is fine… but I’m not really sure.  Maybe we're not doing everything we should be doing.”

Nothing was obviously wrong. Systems were running. But underneath that was uncertainty - and when it comes to IT and cybersecurity, “I think we’re okay” isn’t the same as actually being protected.

Sometimes its the "One-man-show bottleneck":

 “We’ve been working with the same IT person for years, but I think we’ve outgrown them. It’s getting harder to reach them, and when something goes wrong, we’re kind of stuck waiting.” 

The holidays are here, many larger companies have gone on company freeze, while many smaller businesses are beginning to close their devices to focus on family instead of work. During this time, it’s essential to ensure all safeguards are set up, that way cybercriminals don’t find an opportunity to cause havoc while you’re away.  As your expert IT cybersecurity ally, we will discuss the steps you and your business should initiate in terms of updates, network safety, and phishing attempts before you clock out of the office.

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.