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Showing posts from October, 2020

Ransomware emails: How to identify

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Ransomware emails: How to identify and steer clear of them Ransomware attacks have suddenly become more prevalent. Each year sees more of them. Hospitals, NPOs, shipping giants, etc., have all been victims of ransomware attacks. Your business could be too! Did you know that emails are one of the most common gateways for ransomware to get into your systems? In this blog, we tell you how you can stay safe by following a few tips. If you think something is amiss, it probably is Does that email seem unfamiliar? As though you weren’t meant to get it, or it doesn’t quite sound like your colleague wrote it? Perhaps it’s not. Malicious email senders often try to mask actual email IDs with something similar. For example: An email you believe to have come from billing@yourvendor.com might actually be from billing@yourvemdor.com . So take a good look at the email ID if you spot something ‘phishy’. Attachments and form fills Does the email contain an attachment that you are being asked to save to

How good is your password

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How good is your password? Did you know that having a weak password is one of the biggest security risks you face? This blog focuses on the best practices related to passwords that you can follow to ensure passwords are not your weakest link. Avoid sequences and repetitions: How many times have you used passwords like dollar12345 or $$$BobMckinley. Passwords containing sequences and repetitions are just easier to hack. Avoid using your personal data: Do not make your birth date, bank account number or address a part of your password. It puts your data at stake if your personal information is stolen. Don’t repeat passwords: Make sure you pick unique passwords every time. Unique, not only verbatim, but also in combination. For example, if password one is a combination of number, symbols and letters in that sequence, password two should be letters, numbers and symbols. Manual password management is not a good idea: Invest in a good password management tool. You can even fi

Think you are too small

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Think you are too small to be targeted by a cybercriminal? Think again. When I meet with clients, especially SMBs, I often hear them say that they feel their business is too insignificant to be a target of cyber-criminals. Why would someone go after my business when there are bigger ones out there, making more money? Here are a few reasons why. Because you think so - The fact that you think you are safe makes you more vulnerable, because you are not prepared for the eventualities that arise from an attack. Most SMBs I interact with don’t have a well-defined plan in place in terms of IT security Your staff is a gateway: Smaller businesses rarely conduct formal training sessions or provide information updates to their staff about the latest cyber threats. Such sessions are never a priority when the staff is too caught up with other ‘real’ work. As a result, your staff is more likely to fall for phishing messages and unknowingly become a gateway for cybercriminals to enter your or