How many text messages from companies do you receive today as compared to about two years ago? If you’re like many people, it’s quite a few more.This is because retailers have begun bypassing bloated email inboxes. They are urging consumers to sign up for SMS alerts for shipment tracking and sale notices. The medical industry has also joined the trend. Pharmacies send automated refill notices and doctor’s offices send SMS appointment reminders.These kinds of texts can be convenient. But retail stores and medical practices aren’t the only ones grabbing your attention by text. Cybercriminal groups are also using text messaging to send out phishing.Phishing by SMS is “smishing,” and it’s becoming a major problem.Case in point, in 2020, smishing rose by 328%, and during the first six months of 2021, it skyrocketed nearly 700% more. Phishing via SMS has become a big risk area. Especially as companies adjust data security to a more remote and mobile workforce.How Can I Text Myself?If you haven’t yet received…

You’ve completed your annual phishing training. This includes teaching employees how to spot phishing emails. You’re feeling good about it. That is until about 5-6 months later. Your company suffers a costly ransomware infection due to a click on a phishing link.You wonder why you seem to need to train on the same information every year. But you still suffer from security incidents. The problem is that you’re not training your employees often enough.People can’t change behaviors if training isn’t reinforced. They can also easily forget what they’ve learned after several months go by.So, how often is often enough to improve your team’s cybersecurity awareness? It turns out that training every four months is the “sweet spot.” This is when you see more consistent results in your IT security.Why Is Cybersecurity Awareness Training Each 4-Months Recommended?So, where does this four-month recommendation come from? There was a study presented at the USENIX SOUPS security conference recently. It looked at users’ ability to detect phishing emails versus…

The number of internet-connected devices in homes has been growing. It's increased exponentially over the last decade. A typical home now has 10.37 devices connected to the internet. PCs and mobile devices make up a little over half of those and the rest are IoT devices.IoT stands for Internet of Things. It means any other type of “smart device” that connects online. IoT devices in a home can be everything from your streaming stick to your smart refrigerator. Smart baby monitors and Alexa voice assistants are also IoT.There's also been another change that has happened over the last couple of years. It has been the increase in remote and hybrid work. The pandemic caused a major shift in where we work, turning the standard office paradigm on its head.Now, working remotely has become the norm for many companies around the world. This has put increased scrutiny on the security of all those IoT devices. They are now sharing a Wi-Fi network with business data and…

Credential theft is now at an all-time high and is responsible for more data breaches than any other type of attack.With data and business processes now largely cloud-based, a user’s password is the quickest and easiest way to conduct many different types of dangerous activities.Being logged in as a user (especially if they have admin privileges) can allow a criminal to send out phishing emails from your company account to your staff and customers. The hacker can also infect your cloud data with ransomware and demand thousands of dollars to give it back.How do you protect your online accounts, data, and business operations? One of the best ways is with multi-factor authentication (MFA).It provides a significant barrier to cybercriminals even if they have a legitimate user credential to log in. This is because they most likely will not have access to the device that receives the MFA code required to complete the authentication process.What Are the Three Main Methods of MFA?When you implement multi-factor authentication…

Smartphones and tablets are often the preferred device for communications, web searching, and accessing many types of apps. They’re more portable and can be used from anywhere.We’re seeing the takeover of many activities that used to be performed on traditional computers. Now, people are using mobile devices instead.For example, Microsoft estimates that up to 80% of the workload in many enterprise organizations is now done via mobile devices. Over half of all web searches are also now conducted from a mobile device rather than a desktop PC.This has caused mobile devices to become more targeted over the past few years. As hackers realize they’re holding many of the same sensitive information and app access as PCs, they’ve been creating mobile malware and other exploits to breach mobile devices.In 2020, approximately 36.5% of organizations were impacted by mobile malware and 2.5 million people unknowingly downloaded multiple mobile adware apps.It’s important to start treating mobile devices in the same way as you do computers when it comes…

Approximately 34% of businesses take a week or longer to regain access to their data and systems once hit with a malware attack.Malware is an umbrella term that encompasses many different types of malicious code. It can include:VirusesRansomwareSpywareTrojansAdwareKey loggersAnd moreThe longer that malware sits on your system unchecked, the more damage it can do. Most forms of malware have a directive built in to spread to as many systems as possible. So, if not caught and removed right away, one computer could end up infecting 10 more on the same network in no time.Early detection is key so you can disconnect an infected device from your network and have it properly cleaned by a professional.Keep an eye out for these key warning signs of malware infection so you can jump into action and reduce your risk.Strange Popups on Your DesktopSome forms of malware can take on the disguise of being an antivirus app or warranty notice that pops up on your screen. Hackers try to…