Email is the gateway used by most hackers to launch their nefarious schemes. Today’s hackers are far more sophisticated than before, and they’re willing to take their time to gather the information they need to successfully hack into your organization. Your best phish defense – besides layers of security and a great MSP partner – is employee education. Training your staff on what to look for in a phishing email and to be cautious with every email – even those that look like they come from your CEO – could potentially save your organization hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The First Danger of a Phishing Email: Know Who It’s From
Be honest: If you were busy and you received an email from john@qutterinstallers.com, would you really notice that the email address was off by one letter? Now go back and look at the email address. You probably thought it read ‘john at Gutterinstallers.com,’ right? But in reality, it read ‘john at Qutterinstallers.com.’ Yes, hackers are that subtle. Because not only can they make emails look like they have been sent from an internal address, but they can also insert themselves mid-conversation into an email thread so that you really do think you’re talking to the right person. This is why every email requires the same vigilance – even if you think it’s from your boss or best client.
Hackers can also make it look as if an email was sent from john@Gutterinstallers.com, but when you hover over the email link (try it here), you’ll see that, in fact, it was sent from hacked@hackerswin.com.
Keep these questions in mind with every email you receive:
- Is the sender unfamiliar to you?
- When you hover over the email address, is it different than what appears in the header?
- Is the email out of character?
- Is the email from someone outside of your organization and asking you to do something outside of your typical role?
- Is the sender a stranger?
- Does the email include a link or attachment?
No Action without Asking
It should be the policy of every company not to pay invoices, click links, open attachments, or take other actions without at least asking if it’s possible that the email could be fake. Look for these telltale clues and red flags in an email header:
- Did the email arrive at an odd hour?
- Is it from someone you don’t know or addressed differently than you would expect?
- Is your name spelled incorrectly?
- Is the email sent to multiple people, making the same request?
When you’re always on high alert about the potential risks of email, you’ll start noticing when something seems off. Watch for these clues:
- Is it asking you to do something that’s not really your job?
- Is there a sense of urgency or threat from the email that attempts to emotionally compromise you into taking action?
Don’t Click
If there is a link in an email, you should be on high alert. You can often tell when it’s a phishing email. Try these steps: When you hover over (but don’t click) on the link, does it go to a different website than what it says in the text? Does the hyperlink look similar to a legitimate website but differ, if only slightly?
Don’t Open
Does the email contain an attachment? Is the attachment a file of any type other than a text file (.txt)? Were you expecting the attachment because of a previous conversation or is it out of the blue? Does the message seem to pressure you into taking action of some kind?
Protect Your Organization Against Phishing Attacks
Strong spam filtering can stop most phishing emails, but some will still make it through. At this point, your employees are your final line of defence against an attack. Yes, your firewall and threat management software should protect you, but without extensive training and awareness, a plan of action to protect your data, and non-stop vigilance, email may be what brings your organization down.
Download The ITeam’s Email Security Guide
Your greatest weakness can also be your greatest strength if you invest the necessary time and resources in educating your employees. When education is provided, employees become a partner in your overall cybersecurity efforts. The ITeam understands the email security issues facing Canada businesses. We are committed to helping Calgary- and Alberta-based businesses develop proactive, cost-effective IT strategies that minimize risk and maximize efficiency. Contact us to learn more.
Your Password IS a Problem
/0 Comments/in Managed IT, Small Business IT /by Shadra BruceData security is something every organization in Canada must contend with. Implementing layers of security and 24/7 threat detection can help provide protection, like leaving the your door locked at all times so no one can just walk into your business. But when your staff (executives included) reuse passwords across a variety of different sites and apps, they’ve essentially left the keys to your most valuable information in the lock.
The Password Problem
But it’s more than just the repeated use of the same passwords across different apps and sites that poses a risk to your business; it’s the fact that many people don’t change their passwords even after being notified of a breach. How many of your employees are still using the same passwords (or variations) following the Yahoo data breach? The LinkedIn breach? The Capital One breach?
It Takes More than Passwords to Keep Your Data Safe
Yes, you still need to have strict password policies. But in addition to that, you must:
Protecting data is one of the most complex issues facing organizations today. It’s not just about PIPEDA compliance, although that is a significant factor, but it’s also about protecting proprietary data, customer information, trade secrets, and financial information. Complicating all of this are the hackers who continue to develop more insidious ways to penetrate your defenses, gain access to your data, and either sell it or use it for financial gain. Employing best practices does make a difference.
Data breaches are not going away, but you can minimize the risk to your organization with strong IT security and a comprehensive disaster recovery plan. You can’t just address one of these issues; you must have a comprehensive, proactive data security program that addresses all of these risks and more.
The ITeam understands the IT security issues facing businesses in Canada. We are committed to helping Calgary- and Alberta-based businesses develop proactive, cost-effective IT strategies that minimize risk and maximize efficiency. Contact us to learn more.
Does Your IT Strategy Support Your Business Strategy?
/0 Comments/in Business Continuity, Small Business IT /by James WagnerAs the year hastens toward its final days, most organizations are gearing up for 2020 with a renewed sense of purpose and solid business strategies. While developing your strategy, you may have some concerns about the unknowns facing your business and industry. But if you are preparing your plan for the coming year without including your IT strategy and infrastructure needs assessment, you’re missing a core piece of your ability to remain competitive, differentiated, and functional. Does your IT strategy support your business strategy?
IT Deserves a Seat at the Planning Table
Business strategy and IT strategy are two sides of the same coin. Yet most businesses look at IT and IT investment as a cost, not an opportunity. Whether you’re launching new products in 2020, planning to hire new staff, rolling out an app, or adding a new location, IT strategy is an essential piece of every goal. Do your new products include IoT components? What resources will be required to launch a new product or service? What kind of equipment will you need to add new people to your network? How will you handle security and training? As you plan for changes, growth, and the future of your business, IT should be a factor in every decision. Your IT team – internal and outsourced – should be part of your planning process.
Proactive IT Planning Saves You Time and Money
If you don’t include IT in your strategic planning, ultimately it will still be something you have to deal with. Unanticipated needs and adjustments will just end up costing you more, slowing you down, or complicating your plans. Proactive IT planning is essential for ensuring that you can meet your strategic objectives. It forces you to consider how your current infrastructure and support will enable you to deliver on your goals, identify where gaps are in your IT support, and establish what will be required to accomplish your strategic plan.
A Symbiotic Relationship
The more closely you can align your IT to your business strategy, the stronger your organization will be. It’s not just about cybersecurity, although that is certainly a piece of the puzzle. It’s about having a mindset in which your IT infrastructure, security, technology, and assets are considered integral pieces of your entire business strategy puzzle and not simply an afterthought.
The ITeam partners with businesses to ensure that their IT strategies and business strategies align. We understand the challenges facing Canada businesses and are committed to helping Calgary- and Alberta-based businesses develop proactive, cost-effective IT strategies that minimize risk and maximize efficiency. Contact us to learn more.
Catching Phish: Email Security for Your Team
/0 Comments/in Email Security /by James WagnerEmail is the gateway used by most hackers to launch their nefarious schemes. Today’s hackers are far more sophisticated than before, and they’re willing to take their time to gather the information they need to successfully hack into your organization. Your best phish defense – besides layers of security and a great MSP partner – is employee education. Training your staff on what to look for in a phishing email and to be cautious with every email – even those that look like they come from your CEO – could potentially save your organization hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The First Danger of a Phishing Email: Know Who It’s From
Be honest: If you were busy and you received an email from john@qutterinstallers.com, would you really notice that the email address was off by one letter? Now go back and look at the email address. You probably thought it read ‘john at Gutterinstallers.com,’ right? But in reality, it read ‘john at Qutterinstallers.com.’ Yes, hackers are that subtle. Because not only can they make emails look like they have been sent from an internal address, but they can also insert themselves mid-conversation into an email thread so that you really do think you’re talking to the right person. This is why every email requires the same vigilance – even if you think it’s from your boss or best client.
Hackers can also make it look as if an email was sent from john@Gutterinstallers.com, but when you hover over the email link (try it here), you’ll see that, in fact, it was sent from hacked@hackerswin.com.
Keep these questions in mind with every email you receive:
No Action without Asking
It should be the policy of every company not to pay invoices, click links, open attachments, or take other actions without at least asking if it’s possible that the email could be fake. Look for these telltale clues and red flags in an email header:
When you’re always on high alert about the potential risks of email, you’ll start noticing when something seems off. Watch for these clues:
Don’t Click
If there is a link in an email, you should be on high alert. You can often tell when it’s a phishing email. Try these steps: When you hover over (but don’t click) on the link, does it go to a different website than what it says in the text? Does the hyperlink look similar to a legitimate website but differ, if only slightly?
Don’t Open
Does the email contain an attachment? Is the attachment a file of any type other than a text file (.txt)? Were you expecting the attachment because of a previous conversation or is it out of the blue? Does the message seem to pressure you into taking action of some kind?
Protect Your Organization Against Phishing Attacks
Strong spam filtering can stop most phishing emails, but some will still make it through. At this point, your employees are your final line of defence against an attack. Yes, your firewall and threat management software should protect you, but without extensive training and awareness, a plan of action to protect your data, and non-stop vigilance, email may be what brings your organization down.
Download The ITeam’s Email Security Guide
Your greatest weakness can also be your greatest strength if you invest the necessary time and resources in educating your employees. When education is provided, employees become a partner in your overall cybersecurity efforts. The ITeam understands the email security issues facing Canada businesses. We are committed to helping Calgary- and Alberta-based businesses develop proactive, cost-effective IT strategies that minimize risk and maximize efficiency. Contact us to learn more.
Cyber Security Tips from The ITeam
/0 Comments/in Cybersecurity /by James WagnerAll month long, we’ve been sharing daily tips for Cybersecurity Awareness Month. We have gathered here some that we feel are most important to keeping your organization safe.
Use Strong Passwords
Looking for a way to make passwords that are easy to remember but are not breakable? Try a phrase or sentence that you’ll remember that is at least 12 or more characters long. To really strengthen your protection, add multifactor authentication. And remember to keep your passwords secure.
Apply Multifactor Authentication (MFA)
A password just isn’t enough anymore. MFA makes it virtually impossible for someone to hack into a user’s devices, the network, or a database.
Back Up Your Data Regularly
It is much more cost-effective and efficient to have replication and cloud backup services, rather than paying a ransom and working to decrypt infected files. Create an effective data disaster recovery plan with our guide for creating a backup and disaster recovery plan.
Patch and Update Regularly
Organizations that postpone patching or don’t have a team dedicated to keeping their applications and operating systems up to date risk ignoring vulnerabilities that invite hackers.
Stay Updated on Current Threats
Being proactive can save you a lot – in terms of money, time, and customers. But you can’t be expected to know about every new threat. That’s why layers of security and monitoring, managed with the support of a strong IT security partner, is essential.
Develop a Proactive Approach to Your Compliance and Cybersecurity
When you wait for network processes to slow down or for something to go wrong with your IT infrastructure before you invest in upgrades, you are forced into a costly cycle of repairs that prevents you from investing in up-to-date cybersecurity safeguards and getting ahead. When you work with an MSP, they constantly monitor the state of your infrastructure and network, heading off issues and replacing equipment before it stops your business from operating. The difference between proactive IT and reactive IT can be measured in the thousands of dollars. Act now to protect your business.
Work with a Trusted IT Vendor
The ITeam is committed to helping Calgary- and Alberta-based businesses develop proactive IT strategies that keep them competitive. Contact us to learn more.
4 Ways to Make Your Organization More Cybersecure
/0 Comments/in Business Continuity, Cybersecurity /by James WagnerOctober is Cyber Security Awareness Month (CSAM), an internationally recognized effort to improve cybersecurity for all persons and organizations. In Canada, cybercrime is one of the biggest threats facing the nation, from identity fraud to phishing attacks and ransomware to election security. Every person and every business have a role to play in keeping Canada safe.
The ITeam is proud to participate in Cyber Security Awareness Month. Be sure to follow us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, or Instagram for daily cybersecurity tips, news, and updates. And follow these recommendations to make your organization more cybersecure:
Employee Training
Your employees are your first line of defense against cybercrime. They need to know what to look for, how to respond, and when to act. Employee training should be mandatory for every person working in your organization, from the top down. Ensure that your training includes information about using strong passwords, improving email security (don’t click links or open files from unknown or unconfirmed sources), and establishing firm policies about how, when, and what devices can access your network.
Backup and Disaster Recovery
It’s not a matter of if but when your organization will fall victim to cybercrime. Even with the best training, a sophisticated hacker may still trick an employee into clicking a link that locks you out of your network. Instead of paying a ransom and further encouraging cybercriminals, develop a comprehensive data backup and disaster recovery protocol to protect your business. Start with our guide, How to Create an Effective Disaster Recovery Plan.
Develop a Comprehensive IT Strategy
Securing your business requires more than just passwords. It begins with the right policies: making cybersecurity a business fundamental, setting limits within your organization in regard to who can access your data, and assessing risk regularly. Once you begin to develop a culture of IT security in your organization, you will be able to prioritize essential cybersecurity tasks, such as updating and patching software and apps, implementing layers of security to protect your organization, meeting necessary compliance requirements for your industry, and identifying any vulnerabilities in your network.
Partner with a Managed Services Provider
Every organization faces the real possibility of a catastrophic event that could compromise its data integrity and threaten its very existence. The ITeam provides essential IT support to businesses in Alberta. We provide fully managed and personalized services designed to meet the needs of virtually any business. Our team will work with you to customize a cost-effective solution and help you develop a comprehensive IT security strategy that will help you survive any threat, whether natural or human-caused. Contact us to schedule a network assessment today.