Who discovered it and can it affect you?

Are you one of the 250 million email accounts breached? Well Alex Holden, founder and chief information security officer of Hold Security found this discovery. Holden was previously in uncovering some of the world’s biggest known data breaches, affecting tens of millions of users at Adobe Systems, JPMorgan, and Target exposing them to subsequent cyber crimes.The latest discovery came after Hold Security researchers found a young Russian hacker bragging in an online forum that he had collected and was ready to give away a far larger number of stolen credentials that ended up around some 1.17 billion records.

Yahoo Mail credentials numbered 40 million, or 15% of the 272 million unique IDs discovered. Others, 33 million, or 12%, were Microsoft Hotmail accounts and 9%, or nearly 24 million, were Gmail, according to Holden. Holden says efforts to identify the hacker spreading the current data and sources of the stolen accounts would have exposed the investigative methods of his researchers and crew.

“This information is potent. It is floating around in the underground and this person has shown he’s willing to give the data away to people who are nice to him, and these credentials can be abused multiple times,” said Holden. But this still Begs the Question, Are you one of the 250 million email accounts breached?

What can you do?

• Change your passwords if you suspect that they may have been stolen,
• Change your passwords if you have any accounts that share the same password, and DON’T DO IT AGAIN
• Consider using two-factor authentication

If you would like more information on Security and Anti-Virus Software and like our recommendations, please contact us.

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Encryption Security Tips

In the online world encryption disguises data rearranging the data bits so that nobody can read or see the information without the secret key, this key can consist of a password or a digital file, encryption secures plain text as well as any other digital media like photos, videos or software, you can also encrypt a whole operating system.

To secure data, encryption uses mathematic functions known as cryptography algorithms, aka ciphers. Examples of well known cryptography algorithms are AES, Blowfish, Twofish and Serpent.

An encryption algorithm key length indicates its size measured in bits, the length indicating the algorithm strength in bits will always be even (bit is binary unit composed of zeros and ones), these keys are used to control the operation of a cipher.

The more mathematical strength the encryption algorithm has the more difficult it will be to crack it without access to the key but a strong cipher normally requires more computational power, a few seconds of wait might not matter much to the home user but for businesses dealing with thousands of calculations each hour to decrypt/encrypt data in their servers it will mean that more money has to be spent in hardware and electricity.

The importance of choosing a strong password for encryption

Encryption software gathers random data before encrypting your files, aka entropy, the password you use will be part of this random data gathered to cipher the files, hence why it is very important that you choose a long passphrase.

Encryption security tips

• Always choose an encryption program that uses a standard cipher that has been scrutinised by experts, ex. AES
• Do not use dictionary words as your password, use a long passphrase made up of capital and small letters with punctuation signs and numbers
• Do not use the passphrase you use to encrypt your data for anything else like your webmail password or an online forum which security can be compromised
• Watch out for keyloggers and malware in your computer that could capture your keystrokes and your secret passphrase, use an updated antivirus and firewall
• Never reveal to anyone your password

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Tips for Preventing Malware & Ransomware

If you haven’t been hit by malware or ransomware, you’re either very lucky, or you’ve taken some proactive steps to protect your computers and files. If you do get infected with ransomware, unless you’ve got back-ups, or the crooks made some kind of mistake, you’re left with either paying or losing your locked up files forever.

1. Back up your files regularly and keep a recent backup off-site. The only backup you’ll ever regret is one you left for “another day.” Backups can protect your data against more than just ransomware: theft, fire, flood or accidental deletion all have the same effect. Make sure you encrypt the backed up data so only you can restore it.

2. Don’t enable macros A lot of ransomware is distributed in Office documents that trick users into enabling macros. Microsoft has just released a new tool in Office 2016 that can limit the functionality of macros by preventing you from enabling them on documents downloaded from the internet.

3. Consider installing Microsoft Office viewers They allow you to see what a Word or Excel document looks like without macros. The viewers don’t support macros so you can’t enable them by mistake, either.

4. Be very careful about opening unsolicited attachments Most Windows ransomware in recent months has been embedded in documents distributed as email attachments.

5. Don’t give yourself more login power than necessary Don’t stay logged in as an administrator any longer than necessary. Avoid browsing, opening documents or other regular work activities while logged in as administrator.

6. Patch, patch, patch Malware that doesn’t come in via document macros often relies on bugs in software and applications. When you apply security patches, you give the cybercriminals fewer options for infecting you with ransomware.

7. Train and retrain employees in your business Your users can be your weakest link if you don’t train them how to avoid booby-trapped documents and malicious emails.

If you have questions on Malware and Ransomware, contact us today. Keep safe out there!

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What is Windows Defender? And is it Good?

Microsoft has a new system that alerts you when you’re hacked it’s called Windows Defender.

Windows Defender is essentially the latest version of Microsoft Security Essentials, a free antivirus program Microsoft offered for Windows 7. Now it’s built-in, ensuring all Windows 10 PCs have some baseline level of antivirus protection.

Is Windows Defender Good Enough? Antivirus is already running out of the box. Windows Defender automatically scans programs you open, downloads new definitions from Windows Update, and provides an interface you can use for in-depth scans. Windows Defender has a lot of advantages. It’s built-in, won’t harass you with pop-ups and requests for money, and is lighter than some competing antivirus solutions. It won’t attempt to harvest your browsing data and make money from it, as some free antivirus programs have started doing in an attempt to make a profit.

Overall, Windows Defender doesn’t provide bad protection, assuming you keep Windows up-to-date, use an up-to-date browser, and avoid potentially dangerous plug-ins like Java. In short: the standard computer security practices you should be following go a long way, and Windows Defender combines that with a baseline of protection.

Windows 10 also includes various other protections introduced in Windows 8, like the SmartScreen filter that should prevent you from downloading and running malware, whatever antivirus you use. Chrome and Firefox also include Google’s Safe Browsing, which blocks many malware downloads.

In conclusion: Windows Defender isn’t bad, it just isn’t as good as your other options. However, it’s by far the least intrusive, considering most other antivirus programs can install problematic browser extensions, and contain occasional popup ads.

If you’re following common sense and other security practices, Windows Defender may be sufficient, depending on your risk tolerance. However, if you’re regularly downloading pirated apps or engaging in other high-risk behaviors, you may want to skip Windows Defender and get something that does better against the collection of malware samples used to test antivirus software.

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Letting Security Go Can Cost You Big Time!

One of the fastest growing threats to your business may be lurking right under your nose. The worst part is that if you’re like most business owners, you’re not prepared to deal with it. The threat? Data security. Data breaches are occurring more frequently. There is a 12% year-to-year increase in security events, and it seems we hear about new data breaches everyday.

How can a data leak affect your business?

Damage to reputation/brand If your company is the victim of a cyberattack, it can cost you much more than money. Imagine all the trust and goodwill you spent years building between your company and your suppliers, customers, and employees vanishing in the blink of an eye.

Lost revenue Revenue from lost customers and fewer sales due to declining customer loyalty is typical following a serious security incident. You may be responsible for reimbursement to customers. In fact, if one employee loses a laptop, you’ll feel the pain. According to a Ponemon Institute study, the average value of a lost laptop is an astonishing $49,246.

Potential liability in response to the rash of major data breaches lawmakers are scrambling to put stronger measures in place to protect consumers. If you fail to safeguard sensitive information you could put yourself at risk for expensive lawsuits.

Lost productivity data breaches and other security incidents cause serious losses in productivity. Consider some of the fallout from a data breach. There’s downtime. You may also have to recreate lost data from scratch, engage in PR activities, contact individuals affected by the breach, go through litigation, and many other time-consuming activities that will distract you from your main focus.

You may wonder why more business owners aren’t doing something about data security if it poses such a big threat. So, Why aren’t business owners doing more?

There are three key reasons that businesses aren’t prepared for the costly effects of a data breach.

Lack of knowledge If you don’t know there’s a looming disaster, you can’t prepare for one. Many business owners that are aware of the data breach epidemic don’t know what to do about it so, they do nothing. Business owner’s should get up to speed on the things to do to minimize your risk for data breach.

No plan to protect data 83% of small business owners surveyed by the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) and Symantec have no formal cyber security plan. According to the same study, 59% don’t have “a contingency plan outlining procedures for responding and reporting data breach losses.

Lack of resources The average small business owner has nowhere near the resources that large companies have at their disposal to secure their sensitive information. Typically, small businesses lack security awareness, technical expertise, and budget. Nonetheless, there is help available for data security for small businesses.

If you want to protect your business, you will have to invest some time and effort to secure your business but you owe it to yourself to get started today. Learn more about safeguards for data security, contact us today!

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How to Browse the Internet Safely

While you are surfing the Web, you may not realize that you could be picking up spyware, downloading malware, or even visiting fraudulent sites. Think of browsing like taking a walk down town. If you keep on the main streets you’re likely to be in a safe environment ( ex. Goggle, Wikipedia, Youube ) but if you veer off onto the side streets it could lead you to a sketchy place!

Follow these guidelines to protect your personal information and your computer online.

Update Web browsers regularly and enable security features choose “Yes” when browser programs like Firefox, Internet Explorer, or Safari prompt you to update; current versions of these browsers protect you against security vulnerabilities in older versions. Adjust security settings for Firefox, Internet Explorer, or Safari browsers to warn you about annoying and potentially dangerous threats to your security, like popups, spyware, and malicious add-ons.

Install protective software protects against spyware that other security tools might miss and it can safely be used with other antimalware programs like Shopos Endpoint Protection Web warns you if a Web page might pose a risk to your security and helps you verify that a page you are about to visit is legitimate.

Guard Personal Information look for signs of an encrypted Web page when providing sensitive personal information (credit card or banking information, SSNs, etc.) online; key identifiers include a URL for the Web site’s login page that begins with “https” and a padlock icon encryption padlock, in your browser status bar.

Be wary of Internet downloads streaming media Web sites might seem harmless, but watching or listening to streaming media may mean downloading a special media player that could contain malware. Downloaded files like software or other media can hide malware on your computer without your knowledge.If a download seems too good to be true, it is—don’t risk it.

This Security Tip is brought to you by BlackBox Connections. 

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