Category: Cyber Security Blog

One of the newest threats that business owners all over the world must be aware of is cybercrime. In this new article from Forbes, “The True Cost Of Cybercrime For Businesses”, experts are saying that malware, Ransomware and other forms of cybercrime are being perpetrated a lot more than we think.

In spite of how much money organizations are spending on their Internet security, data breaches are still occurring at an ever-increasing rate. In addition, these attacks are evolving and becoming more effective. As security experts continue to try and curtail this epidemic, business owners are left paying the price.

In a new report from the Ponemon Institute, we learn that hacking now costs the average business in America $15 Million a year. Though this includes indirect and direct expenses, that number is constant regardless of the size or type of business you operate. It would seem like only larger companies would be hit, but all research reveals that small and medium-sized businesses are the most common targets.

The reason for this is simple. Hackers are looking for easy targets and most small businesses are not using the best security for their IT infrastructure. Smaller companies don’t have the budget for training their employees or hiring top-notch security people to assess their security protocols. This leaves them more vulnerable than others.

The Anatomy of a Ransomware Attack

For hackers, Ransomware is the newest and best way to earn a few thousand dollars a day. In the first stage of this attack, an email is sent out to employees of a company. Hackers might send thousands of these emails each day. Though everyone should be aware of the dangers of phishing emails, occasionally a careless employee will click on a bad link.

Remember that hackers are learning from their mistakes. They know how to send out unique emails that seem authentic. Add to that the fact that many workers get busy during the day and simply don’t watch what they’re doing. Once the employee visits the bad website or clicks on the toxic link, the Ransomware virus is quickly downloaded to the employee’s computer. From there it spreads like wildfire infecting every computer in the network. Within moments your entire operation can be shut down.

In the next phase of the Ransomware attack, the business owner is shown a threatening message that scrolls across all computer screens. It will include the amount of the ransom, a bank account to send payment to, and the countdown clock letting you know how much time you have left to pay the ransom. In most attacks nowadays the ransom will go up if you do not pay within the allotted timeframe.

What happens next depends on you and the recommendations made by your IT security department. In cases where the ransom is under $10,000, many business owners will simply pay. The FBI warns business owners not to pay the ransom for several reasons. The main reason is that it sets a bad precedent. If business owners make it too easy for hackers, then they will get bolder as time goes by. The other issue is that there is no guarantee that you will get all your files returned to you intact.

What Can You Do To Protect Your Company?

Most experts agree that one of the most important things you can do is to train your employees about all the latest cyber threats. Your employees can either be your strongest asset or your weakest link. It’s worth your time and trouble to make IT security training mandatory for every employee. Your IT department can set up quarterly training sessions for all employees. They can also send out good YouTube videos on this topic each month to everyone in your organization.

So What’s The Answer?

There are many other things you can do to protect your business from cyber thieves. This NIST report at https://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/hb/2017/NIST.HB.162.pdf has some great tips on how to avoid being a victim of cybercrime.

At Data Magic, we offer numerous security packages that provide whatever level of security your business requires. We can begin by assessing the state of your current IT security then make recommendations for improving everything. We also offer employee training classes that will keep your staff up-to-date on all the latest Internet scams going around.

We approach security with the attitude that eventually hackers will find a way into your network unless we remain proactive. Our services include round-the-clock monitoring of your network. Below are just a few of our other IT security services:

• Bundled security products that include an anti-virus solution, intrusion prevention firewall, data encryption, email and web protection, and integrity monitoring.
• Mobile Device Monitoring for your mobile devices and support for your BYOD (bring your own device) policies.
• Solutions to help you comply with HIPAA, SOX, FFIEC, FISMA, PCI or DSS, and other regulations.
• Protection for your PCs, laptops, tablets, servers, and other computer devices such as point-of-sale machines, using continuous cloud-based updates.
• Penetration Testing and Ethical Hacking to reveal how effective your security measures are.

Contact Us

If you’d like to learn more about how Data Magic can protect your business from the growing number of global cyber-attacks, please contact us. We have the tools, resources, and expertise to stop attacks from occurring and ensure that your data and computer assets are safe and secure.

Checking Personal Email At The Office Can Lead To Potential Security Concerns.

Dallas business owners concerned about the security of their organization continue to read on.

This is becoming a common story. An employee decides to check his email during lunch and winds up spending his whole lunch break surfing the web. Eventually, he lands on a website where a ransomware virus is accidentally downloaded. Now, his computer and all the others are infected. No one can do their work until the ransom is paid. If you’re lucky, the hackers will only want a small amount to restore access to your files.

Depending on the size of your firm or business, you could pay from a few hundred dollars to thousands. Of course, they must be paid in bitcoin so this brings up a whole new problem. In the meantime, your whole workforce is just sitting around waiting. You can’t serve your clients, perform billing, or access important documents.

Your IT staff seems to be running in circles, frantically trying to figure out how to regain access to all the encrypted files. Even if you pay the ransom, there is a chance that you will not get everything back that you lost.

Data Breach Reporting

This type of event can ruin your day, plus there are serious repercussions that most business owners haven’t even thought of yet. For instance, all data breaches must be reported within a specific timeframe. You must notify anyone whose data has been compromised. Failure to do so could mean hefty fines for your organization. The nightmare never seems to end.

Each day, people get phishing emails in the Inbox. Hopefully, they’re well-trained and know how to spot these. But in many cases, people are simply busy and don’t take the time to make sure that some survey from Apple is really authentic. Instead, they click the link, eager to get their $50 gift card and guess what? They wind up downloading malware.

Ransomware Attacks Growing & Targeting Small Businesses In Dallas

This happens in small businesses in Dallas every single day. It’s one of the biggest problems business owners face today. Ransomware was a billion dollar industry in 2017, but today it has escalated by 250 percent and that number continues to grow.

It is now more important than ever for your law firm or organization to establish strong guidelines surrounding employee access to your company network. They should never be allowed to do personal business on a company computer and that includes checking email and visiting social media sites.

Train Your People

Employees also need regular training about phishing campaigns. It’s important for them to be able to spot a phishing email and know what to do next. Many employees have no idea what ransomware is or how it works. Though employees are your biggest asset, they’re also your biggest risk factor when it comes to cyber-crime.

Untrained employees pose a significant data security risk to your Dallas company. All it takes is one employee on a company computer who doesn’t know anything about phishing and malware scams.

For most business owners, there’s simply too much at stake. The cost of one data breach could be well over a million dollars, not to mention the damage to your reputation and brand.

The Threats Are Evolving

The threat landscape is shifting each day to include better phishing emails that can get past even trained employees. Once hackers download a Trojan horse or ransomware virus onto one computer, it can quickly spread to all the others. Some of the newer attacks are sneaking in the back door of your business and taking control of your business computers.

What Are Zombie Computers?

These are referred to as Zombies. A Zombie computer can be used by hackers for all sorts of unscrupulous purposes. One of the most popular is mining bitcoins. With bitcoins now worth almost $10,000 each, it’s well worth a hacker’s time and trouble to seize control of your business computers and use them to mine bitcoins in the background. It might take you months to learn about this.

Some hackers have been successful in gaining control of several computers at a company. These are referred to as Botnets. A botnet can send spam emails out to everyone in your contact list. They can steal your data or use your computers for their own purposes.

Many people including business owners are shocked to find their data for sale on the Dark Web. This type of data can be sold for a lot of money, especially if it comes from a legal or medical firm. Imagine your client’s banking information and credit card information for sale on the Dark Web.

Hackers are looking for more thorough information like medical records. This type of info is worth big bucks to hackers.

If you suddenly notice that your computers are no longer working the way they should, it’s important to have an IT tech look them over. There are a few tell-tale signs, such as:

• Messages that say your computer has been hacked
• Your antivirus has been disabled
• Frequent pop-ups
• Your computer acts strangely
• Your passwords no longer work
• Web browser has new tools
• Software has been downloaded without your approval
• Redirected web searches

What Should You Do?

If you notice any of these anomalies, contact an experienced IT professional and tell them what you suspect. They can check your computers for viruses, eliminate them and then install better security so hackers won’t be able to get into your network anymore.

There are lots of things you can do to protect your network and data. Your business or law firm should have strictly enforced security policies. Employees must be trained properly and be fully aware of the risks involved.

Ask your IT Service Company to establish a Mobile Device Management program to manage the security of all employee-owned devices. An MDM program should include security for all devices, as well as the ability to remotely erase the data on a device that has been lost or stolen.

The Food Chain: Protecting The Process From Byte To Bite

Every food chain is unique in its ecological construct, but the links within a food chain follow a universal flow from predator to prey. In the human food chain, consumers benefit from a high perch at the top of the chain, regardless of diet – vegetarian, keto, paleo, pescatarian, the list goes on.

Food is a lifeline: without food, the world would not only starve but over time simply cease to exist. Food distributors are responsible for maintaining a successful and timely process, a process which relies on technology in modern society. Technology is used to track orders, schedule deliveries, process transactions, forecast and project future orders, and much more. Food distribution processes are undoubtedly filled with moving parts that require sophisticated software and advance technology to function properly.

Because food distributors are the most critical element to society’s food supply, the need to protect the technology on which the processes depend is equally critical. Failure in this sense would mean a catastrophic shutdown of unimaginable proportions – but successful protection is simple with a few key steps.

• Backup

The number one rule of data: Where there is data, there is a need to back up your data. The best backup plan is to have a backup plan, no matter what. Your data backups should include not just the information within your systems and applications, but also these applications and anything needed to run operations and prevent an impact to the business. Not only is downtime preventable, but the alternative can kill a business.

Food distributors should consider these questions:

• What is your current data backup process?
• When was the last time your data backup process was fully tested to ensure complete and total recovery?
• Are there holes in your backup process that you’ll need to prepare for?

Aside from the answers to these questions, it’s imperative to assess what elements should be included in a backup plan and to what degree the plan needs to be adjusted or scalable for future needs.

• Protect

Enabling firewalls, encrypting data, and antivirus software are ways food distributors can protect and defend the security of your technology. All of the systems, processes, and applications that work together to manage the flow of data are intertwined using technology that needs to be protected. These processes and applications help you collect, store, and use this information that is most meaningful to food distributors, and technology makes this possible in an efficient and cost-effective way.

Food distribution technology security is a complex undertaking, and is best overseen by a team that is experienced in the needs of food distributors. Staffing an internal IT team can be a costly and incomplete process, but partnering with a managed IT services provider is the most cost-effective relationship available today. For a low monthly fee, managed IT services providers (MSPs) offer a customized “bundled” relationship at significant savings to businesses who need targeted services like:

• Help Desk support
• Cloud storage and services
• Network and cybersecurity
• IT consulting
• Infrastructure design and support

Most MSPs also offer 24/7 monitoring to safeguard networks from threats, with the added benefit of immediate response should a threat be detected. Enjoy the feeling of a team of full-time food distribution technology security experts at a fraction of the cost!

• Educate

A recent global study found that more than half of all security breaches were from internal threats. Exactly how many of those breaches were from accidental clicks are unknown, but just as important as a data backup plan and protecting a network from external threat is educating an internal team about cybersecurity, including ongoing training. Partnering with an MSP helps protect your network from external threats, but MSPs also help with internal issues, like:

• Email safety
  • Avoiding phishing attempts, SPAM, and malware.
• Web filtering
  • Prevent team members from visiting dangerous websites, including those masquerading as legitimate sites that aim to trick visitors into entering login credentials.
• Password protocols
  • Training teams to use complex and unique password combinations of numbers with uppercase and lowercase letters, and not keeping passwords in easy-to-access places, like handwritten notes next to a workstation.
• Cybersecurity best practices
  • Require teams to update passwords at least once every quarter.
  • Limit access to secure network locations.
  • Only allow network access via secured connections.

Food distributors are responsible for a challenging and complex technology security process. In addition to meeting technology security needs, choose an MSP that is compliant with industry regulations, and understands the USDA’s global food security strategy. With the right set of tools in place, and partnering with an MSP that meets the needs of your industry and your business, food distributors can rest easy knowing that their systems and processes are protected and safeguarded.

The food industry’s best solutions for data backups give more insight into how data is collected, analyzed, used, and even lost. When processes work together, it’s critical the flow of information is seamless and smooth – but what steps can you take to prevent loss?

Food is the fuel that keeps people moving.

Technology is the fuel that keeps food moving.

Data is the fuel that keeps the entire process moving.

You lose data, and you lose orders, delivery tracking, contracts – you lose the entire process.

Food is a lifeline, no matter how you look at it. All living things need food to keep systems going. The definition of “living” doesn’t only apply to biological organisms, but also any process with moving parts and a systematic flow that depends on successful completion of acts in successive order.

A collection of processes that work together to manage the flow of information is the fundamental foundation of an application. Applications help us collect, store, and analyze information in an organized way such that we can understand and use this information in a meaningful way. Applications run on tablets, workstations, laptops, servers, or any other computer hardware, and involve executable files that run processes.

Technology is what makes all of this possible. The basic definition of “technology” is the set of tools and practical knowledge and the application of these tools and knowledge in a specific scope. Technology applied to processes to automate the tasks and flow make the entire process move more efficiently and require less human interaction. The technology exists to support and simplify, and we are coming to depend more on technology today.

Why wouldn’t we simplify everything we can?

Through the use of technology, we are able to simplify and automate processes to require less manual input, thus skyrocketing efficiency in recent years. No business says “no” to skyrocketing efficiency!

As the use of technology evolves in modern offices, and the volume of computerized processes increase, so do requirements in key areas, like storage space and maintenance. As processes run, they generate data with each informational transaction. When processes run, the output – file or information – generated needs a destination. The data produced takes up space on a computer or a server, filling up the hard drive with these files or this information.

What can you do to safeguard against data loss?

Processes need reliable input and a reliable destination for output, but what happens when processes “break”? It’s worth repeating: you lose data, you lose the entire process. Interrupted processes can wreak havoc on a system, corrupting data or ceasing output entirely. Anything can happen to cause this, like “bad” data in the source files or a virus in the system for example, and the bad data can spread throughout a system like an out-of-control infection.

In other words, the way we see it, processes are living things, too.

The (potentially) million-dollar question: What can you do?

#1 – Maintenance

Processes, like people, need basic maintenance to keep going, like fuel for a car. The fuel to feed processes is basic maintenance:

• Ensuring enough space on servers and hard drives
• Making sure software versions are up to date
• Installing the latest security updates for operating systems and network programs

Like a plant needs water and sun to thrive, technology needs routine maintenance to stay in tip-top shape.

#2 – More Maintenance

Simple maintenance isn’t enough if you want your technology to simplify your process. Preventing catastrophic data interruption and loss requires extra ongoing maintenance to protect proprietary processes:

• Reliable data backup solutions with fast and easy file restorations
  • Companies who have reliable data backup solutions in place have saved millions of dollars in lost revenue after what could have been a catastrophic loss.
• 24/7 system monitoring to detect – and react to – threats quickly
• Secure infrastructure and 100% compliance with industry and security regulations

Data backup solutions provide safeguards for businesses, protecting data and restoring information. The best data backup solutions go further by allowing comparison points so you can see changes and establish a time frame for insight into data interruption and pinpoint precise breaks in the processes.

#3 – Ask For Help

How can you keep your processes running their best? Feed them with the best care and technology possible, and bring in help where you need it.

Partnering with a managed IT services provider (MSP) to protect files with backup solutions not only safeguards your information but also ensures business continuity should something out of the normal happens, like power outages, natural disasters, or a threat from cybercriminals seeking network weaknesses to gain access.

Strategic partnerships

What does an MSP do? Partnering with an MSP, like Data Magic in Dallas, gives customers – like food distributors – an incredible technology resource. The service line-up can vary, but many of the ongoing maintenance details previously listed are included when businesses partner with an MSP:

• Remote system monitoring
  • MSPs are a 24/7 protection force, monitoring systems and ready to respond quickly to issues and problems, making sure they don’t have time to “snowball” and lead to decreased productivity or downtime.
• Regulatory audits and compliance
• Data encryption, to add an extra layer of security against data intervention
• Support for third-party applications that focus on helping businesses with seamless daily operations in a secure environment
• Cloud solutions and consulting
  • Flexible – set-up is easy and manageable and can be integrated with many applications, like the cutting-edge Zettabyte File System (ZFS) for advanced storage options.
  • Scalable – when you experience quick growth or need to increase storage capacity quickly, cloud storage can adjust fast.
  • Easy – a favorite aspect of cloud-based solutions by every cloud user (throughout history!) is that cloud solutions are maintained by the solution provider.
  • Cost-effective – the cloud is a vastly more economical option than buying and maintaining on-site hardware, as well as the internal staff to maintain the hardware.

If you’re not already utilizing the cloud for data backup solutions, what are you waiting for? Protect your technology, and keep processes moving and on track.

If you do a web search on “deep web scanning” the most likely results you will get are from credit bureau companies wanting to shine up their image after a recent hack left millions of people’s information exposed. Of course, in their rush to become the saviors of their own catastrophe, these companies have suddenly pushed their own deep web and dark web scanning services.

But before we get to more about the “scanning” part of our question, we should talk for a moment about the difference between the deep web and the dark web.

The deep web is any part of the internet that cannot be found by using browsers. Not all the deep web is bad or nefarious. In fact, companies legitimately choose not to list certain pages on websites as public because they add no sales or information value to the public. Usually this is back-end and process information that is useless to anyone but the company itself.

The dark web is a small portion of the deep web that requires special software and browser capability to access. This, of course, is the area of the internet where criminals buy and sell personal information that they have stolen, using untraceable crypto-currency for money.

Now that we understand the difference between the dark web and the deep web, let’s continue.

Scanning The Deep Web Is Both An Art And A Science.

The tools used by Data Magic Computer Services and others to scan the deep web for mentions of your name, your company name, and your personal information are complex and not nearly as simple as entering a search term into your Google browser. A deep web scan requires a combination of human operators to collect data from sites they have access to and bots that can scan some public channels. We make a note of this to say that it matters WHO you hire to do deep web scanning for your business. There are rookies out there trying to make a buck off of this latest identity theft scare. In addition, there are those companies who have a few simple tools and offer a deep web scanning service, but they don’t have the volume of deep web scanning work to keep up-to-date on this evolving service.

Is a Completely Automated Deep Web Scan Available?

Many companies – such as the credit bureaus noted above – are offering what on the surface seems to be a fully automated process for deep web scan. To put it bluntly, a fully automated deep web scan is not publicly available as of yet. Sure, there are tools that do some of the work, but human operators have to be involved. So naturally, you want to ensure that the deep web “experts” you hire truly are experts.

There is one automatic deep web scanning tool that beats all the rest. It’s called Memex and was built by the Department of Defense. But, for reasons of national security, it’s available to the military but not to the private sector.

What’s The Difference Between Deep Web Scanning And Dark Web Monitoring?

As we have already noted, the dark web is only a small part of the deep web.

When companies offer subscription “Dark Web Monitoring,” often what they mean is that they will regularly check sites that historically have been places where criminals have traded illegally gotten information. If pressed, these companies likely won’t tell you what sites they “monitor,” how often they check those sites for your specific information, and how often they check the rest of the deep and dark web for other illegal info trading sites that have popped up.

So when signing up to an automated “Dark Web Monitoring” subscription service online, be sure to do your homework. Big companies are making big money right now in this area and doing little to nothing to earn the money they are making from these monitoring subscription plans.

Deep web scanning, on the other hand, is more targeted in focus and broader in scope than dark web monitoring. IT professionals that offer deep web scanning put customized approaches together for their client to try to dig up specific information that the client wants to find on the deep and dark web. Most times, the goal is to see if criminals have access to personal and company information, but sometimes IT professionals are hired to do deep web scans to find information that is not readily available through a browser search – such as the theft and use of proprietary information by competitors.

Why Do Companies Hire Data Magic Computer Solutions to Perform Deep Web Scans?

The reasons that individual companies want to discover whether their information is available on the deep web are usually financial. Having said that, there are other legitimate reasons to engage the deep web scanning services of the Data Magic team.

• Protect Your Reputation – Knowing what is in the hands of criminals is half the battle. By hiring a professional IT services team to perform deep web scans, you can discover what is out there and could be used against you and your company. Although that private information may not be able to be retrieved and protected, knowing that it’s there, you can take the next steps to protect yourself and your business.
• Protect Your Proprietary Information – As we have already noted, the guarding of trade secrets is one of the reasons that companies engage the deep web scanning services of companies like Data Magic Computer Solutions. Finding your proprietary information online and taking action against those responsible before competitors can use it to their advantage is one way you can ensure competitive viability.
• Protect Your Employees – Forward-thinking companies are now offering deep and dark web scanning as a part of their benefits package for their employees. By helping protect their employees, they, in turn, protect their own company’s productivity.