Having managed IT services from a dependable MSP is a must for businesses these days. Especially now that cyber attackers have been especially targeting small to medium businesses with various kinds of malicious software.
Here are the latest technological updates that businesses should be aware of, even if they are already enjoying the convenience of managed IT support.
Mobile Gadget Attacks Are Up 400%
Security company Kaspersky Labs did a study on ransomwares for a two year duration (2014 to 2016) and the data shows that cyber attackers have focused their efforts in hacking mobile devices, and the numbers have increased year on year to up to 400%. Unfortunately for businesses and their managed IT services teams, there is nothing that suggests that this number will decrease anytime soon. Majority of the attacks were for Android OS phones and gadgets but there has been many attempts on iOS devices too.
Enterprises who do not have the added protection of having managed IT support that uses e-payment mobile transactions are particularly more vulnerable to ransomware attacks. The increase in the number of ransomware attacks is also credited to such malware being offered via affiliate networks. Most managed IT services teams are aware that majority of ransomwares today are of Russian origins, in terms of the creators of the malicious codes and the people who spread the ransomware for financial gain.
These groups of attackers, just like SMEs, have a business scheme with affiliate networks. They hire web specialists and programmers to create malwares and then build an IT infrastructure to support malware backbone. Much to managed IT services teams’ dismay, these groups have been creating various products that are being sold to less skilled hackers as DIY ransomware kits which they can modify into their own version of the malicious software and use as their cash cow.
Kaspersky Labs says that the rapid increase in ransomware attacks resulted from attackers success because businesses and people have been paying the ransoms through untraceable cryptocurrency. If your businesses had good managed IT support from a reputable MSP then your machines and gadgets would have been updated, and all important business data would have been backed up so you would not need to pay the ransom even if machines got infected with malicious software.
iPhones Targeted With SMS Phishing Scams
Businesses and their managed IT support teams should be on the look out for a new scam that is targeting iPhone users to share their personal information with cyber criminals. The phishing text message pretends to come from the Apple Support team warning users of their impending Apple ID expiration. Users are then led to a link which asks for their Apple ID user name and password to be able to log in so that their account would not expire. Users, regardless if they enter the correct password or username information, will then get notification that they have been locked out of the account for security reasons, then a set of more personal questions follows asking for phone numbers, birth date, and payment card details to be able to regain access to the locked account.
Apple issued a warning telling users not to send their payment information or account passwords via email or SMS. Apple also tells consumers to check on the URLs of the website being accessed to see its legitimacy. Most modern browsers (Firefox 7, Internet Explorer 10, Safari 5, Google Chrome) will display the name of the company in green colour if the website has been given an EVD (extended validation certificate) which says that it is a legitimate business and website. Businesses and their managed IT support group should inform all employees of these updates to better keep the business network secure.
Apart from keeping machines, phones, and other gadgets up to date with patches and paid security software, managed IT services teams can also set web filters for suspicious websites. They can also set email filters that would sift through mails containing words like “credit card” “payment.” This will greatly decrease the chances of one of your employees clicking on phishing links that could compromise your business network and valuable business data. The managed IT support team can coordinate with the contact person within your company and verify if the authenticity of the company sending the email an let the message through if it is legitimate
