Ferrum Technology Services Blog

The World Health Organization has been busy dealing with one of the biggest calamities in contemporary times, the COVID-19 pandemic that has had much of the world on pause for the past few months. Unfortunately, they’ve been dealing with an increase in cyberattacks. Today, we’ll take a look at some of the issues the WHO is having with cybercriminals. 

If you don’t think that your business is at risk of cyberattack from the Internet, you are running your business on borrowed time. If you want to avoid this scenario, you will have to be prepared to do what you can to keep it safe.  This entails following some strict rules and being smart about where and when to deploy security checkpoints. We looked at what an organization needs to do in order to keep the threats that are bandying about from having a marked effect on your business.

Spoiler alert: it isn’t good news.

On September 7th, 2017, it was made public that Equifax had suffered one of the largest cybersecurity breaches in history, and as a result, had left 145.5 million consumers in the United States vulnerable to identity theft. Due to a website application vulnerability, the personally identifiable information of these people was exposed from May until July of that year.

With all the threats that stand to create problems for your business, it can be surprising to hear that some of your biggest security risks actually derive from your staff, and their exposure to your technology. Less surprising to hear: security issues interfere with the successful operation of your business. Here, we’ve shared a few tips to help your staff better adhere to security practices.

When reading through Microsoft’s latest Security Intelligence Report you will quickly get the notion that phishing attacks are some of the most prevalent cyberattacks. With businesses forced to use technology to support a remote workforce, this is definitely still relevant information. It, then, becomes extremely important that your business does a quality job of training your employees to spot phishing attempts before they become a problem. Let’s take you through some of the telltale signs that you have received a phishing message.

There are many reasons that your team may want (or need) to work from home, and there are many reasons to allow them to do so. A 2019 survey by OwlLabs indicated that 71 percent of remote workers are happy with their job (as compared to 55 percent of on-site workers); remote workers responded that they are 13   percent more likely than onsite workers to stay in their current job for five more years than onsite workers will; and when respondents claimed to be working longer than 40 hours per week, onsite workers were doing so out of necessity, while remote workers did so out of desire and enjoyment.

It’s not uncommon where a situation arises and you will find yourself working from home. To make this work, it is important that you keep a few additional issues in mind so that you can make the most of it. We have put together a few simple best practices that you should keep in mind as you operate remotely.

At this point, it’s hard to believe that anyone needs to be told that cybersecurity is important, but some organizations are still doing the bare minimum to protect their network and data. That can’t go on forever. Today, we thought we would discuss how to put together a cybersecurity policy that covers all the bases, and will give you the peace of mind that you are actively combating today’s most present threats to your network, infrastructure, and data. 

When it comes to protecting your business, cybersecurity is a huge consideration that must be kept in mind. However, it isn’t the only consideration. Some of the biggest threats to your business can actually come from your own team. Let’s go over the three kinds of insider threats that you need to be on your guard against, and how to avoid them.

With so many different technologies being used in business, it can sometimes be too much for the people out there who aren’t as tech savvy as others. In fact, some of the people you will work alongside will not be able to grasp some of the simplest technology concepts. Unfortunately, these people don’t know a fraction of what they need to about the technology they use, and it could put your organization at a disadvantage. This month, we thought we’d give you a few pointers on how to talk to your less-technology-inclined co-workers.

Millions of people find themselves sitting in front of a computer moving files around and corresponding with people over the phone, through email, or updating info in the company’s line of business app. What many of them don’t know, however, is that, at any time, they are only a couple of clicks away from causing major problems for their company. Therefore, it is extremely important to train your staff on what to look for and how to address those situations when they do arise.

There are a lot of security threats directed toward businesses today, with plenty of immoral opportunists seeking to profit at your expense. This makes it critical to secure your network and its data, which sounds like an expensive and time-consuming process. However, it doesn’t have to be, as we’ll show you by highlighting a few ways to protect your business and its assets.

Millions of people are still using the Microsoft Windows 7 operating system despite it being completely unsupported. When Microsoft pulled the plug on support for the OS in January, most industry professionals expected there to be some exploits found pretty rapidly. It turns out that the very first exploit was actually Microsoft’s fault, and that Windows 7 support had a little life in it after all. 

Over the past two decades, business technology was largely separated between information technology (IT)--that is, the business’ computers, networking equipment, and peripherals--and operational technology (OT): all other technology. As IT advanced, so has OT, which today presents many of the same risks that IT always has. Today, we will take a look at how to secure your business by focusing on where your IT meets your OT.

The 2020 Consumer Electronics Show is always a good place to see the most innovative consumer technology. CES features products of all types from companies of all sizes. This year, there was a strong contingent of companies bringing products to market in the physical security space. This isn’t all that uncommon, but the reaction to many of these devices is noteworthy.

A few years ago, there was a decision made to make a concerted effort by manufacturers to create their products, but to also create those same products with “smart” technology inside. Basically, because of the rampant innovation of Internet-connected systems, devices, appliances, and knick-knacks of all types we have to ask the question: Are we being dumb for using all these smart devices? 

Unless you run a business in which each and every employee is responsible for identical tasks, you are going to encounter the need for variable permissions among your staff so that your data can be better protected. One effective means of enforcing these permissions is through an access management policy. Let’s review a few components you should include in such a policy.

With data being such a valuable asset today (especially personally identifiable data), you can’t afford to let any of the information your company has access to fall into the wrong hands. The same goes for all of your data, especially that which concerns your employees or your clients. Let’s go over a few tips that should help you keep this data safe, step by step.

Over time, your business will accumulate a lot of data, including some that certain employees or departments will have no need to see (or perhaps shouldn’t see). An effective way of keeping eyes from wandering is through an access management policy. Let’s go over a few elements you ought to prioritize in your approach to controlling internal access.

Let’s take a look at a real-world scenario that I ran into a few weeks ago with a family friend. For the sake of this story, let’s call him Bob. Bob lost access to a pretty important online account.