Warning – The Most Effective Social Engineering Attacks

a person holding a cell phone in their hand

Although it may seem as if hackers, criminals, and thieves prefer the challenge of attacking only seemingly impenetrable computer systems, this is not necessarily the case. While it is true that companies do need effective security measures in place to handle these types of impersonal attacks, hackers still frequently turn to more traditional methods of cyber attacks for one good reason.

As IT security methods continue to become more sophisticated, hackers sometimes find it more lucrative (and easier) to perform social engineering attacks that allow them to manipulate human behavior. Unfortunately, this is because staff members are either poorly trained (if at all) to spot hacking attempts or unlike a machine, they sometimes let their guard slip. Of course, hackers understand all too well that a busy or unsuspecting employee may eventually provide them with an opportunity to slip their way into a corporate system — they just need patience.

Top Social Engineering Attacks 

  • Phishing – All it takes is a credible-looking email with either a link or an attachment to click on, and an employee may either give away sensitive information or allow a virus to enter their corporate computer system.
  • Spear Phishing – This is similar to traditional phishing attempts, except that hackers target a specific person in a company. Often the targets are in positions related to lucrative financial aspects of the company.
  • Whaling – Rather than targeting one individual, whaling attempts involve attacking an entire level of higher management. This could be in companies or government agencies. Some of the attacks require a significant amount of research and are quite sophisticated in nature.
  • Vishing – Vishing involves using a phone rather than email in order to impersonate a business. The hackers pretend to be a legitimate company simply making a business call. Their goal is to find unsuspecting employees who will provide them with sensitive corporate information, often banking details.
  • Pretexting – This type of hacking also involves impersonation. A hacker may phone an employee and pretend to be the company’s IT vendor. They may state they are investigating a hacking attempt. Then that they need passwords and other sensitive information for specific computer systems.
  • Baiting – A hacker may leave a memory stick somewhere in or outside of a company they want access to. An unsuspecting employee discovers the memory stick and plugs it into a company computer to determine what it contains. Unfortunately, the memory stick is loaded with a virus or other penetrative software.
  • Tailgating – This is another type of hacking attempt that involves the physical presence of the hacker. In this scenario, a hacker pretends to be a delivery driver, company visitor, or facilities manager in order to gain access to unauthorized areas.

Summary  

It’s difficult, if not impossible, for companies to stay up to date on all the latest technology pitfalls. Many hackers are very sophisticated, methodical, and patient. It takes a professional IT vendor who makes it their business to stay on top of all the latest technology security issues to develop an effective security training program for their clients. If you would like more information on security training for all of your staff members, please contact us.

Develop a Data Loss Prevention Strategy

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Every business needs to think about the risk of data loss. Even the smallest ones have customer and financial information that has to stay out of the wrong hands. Many have records that could lead to identity theft if they’re stolen. A business needs a plan and a policy for data loss prevention. It has to include these steps:

Perform risk analysis for data loss prevention

Some information is especially sensitive, and managers have to concentrate their efforts on protecting it. A risk analysis will identify the information that most needs protection. It will identify areas that are vulnerable, such as unencrypted databases with weak access control. A prioritized list of assets at risk will provide the basis for a strategy.

Identify data movements

The biggest risks come when data is carelessly moved from one place to another. Weakly protected intermediate storage provides thieves with a prime opportunity. Moving unencrypted data over the Internet leaves it open to interception. If the information isn’t wiped clean after transferring, those intermediate points create a lingering risk. Transfer of sensitive data should always use a secure channel.

Grant access conservatively

Grant access to data only to those who need it. Even if you are completely trustworthy, someone can compromise your account. The less an intruder can do with any given account, the more limited the damage will be. Role-based access tailors privileges to people’s jobs.

Train employees on loss prevention

Most data loss is due, at least in part, to employee error. Creating weak passwords, responding to a phishing scam, and saving insecure copies of data are just some of the mistakes that can lead to serious data breaches. Employees need to develop habits of treating their accounts and the data they handle carefully.

Get expert help

Bluwater Technologies provides managed IT services that will help you keep your data safe. Our experts will help you identify the sources of risk in your network and find the best ways to prevent data loss. Contact us to learn how we can help your business.

How to Start Building Your Disaster Recovery Plan

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Whether you’re a small business or a growing public company, your investors are most concerned about two things: profitability, and risk management. While businesses predominantly focus on the first, a disaster recovery plan is the best long-term strategy for keeping your brand in place and your company growing.

And as companies rely more and more on technology and stored data to operate, most of that risk is centered around data recovery and electronic failure. Mitigate those risks by forming a plan in advance. Here’s how:

Disaster Recovery Plan
  • Find both the most likely and the most critical risks. A power outage that knocks out local data storage for the day might be relatively unlikely. Additionally, a small enough risk to your overall business. But a storm that floods your office space and ruins your local servers is improbable as it is devastating to your business. Find, document, and assess these risks so you can effectively answer them.
  • Create backup procedures for your data. Most of your critical information might already be online through SaaS like Salesforce or Oracle. However, make sure all of your information is backed up securely in the cloud. Then, your employees can access it during any potential disasters in your physical office space. Thus, so no data is lost. Each department should have a dedicated online portal for their information and critical categories. These include financial records and your company’s tax history, employee information, legal documents specifying entity ownership, and copies of procedures such as your disaster recovery plan.

Not only can disaster strike at any time, investors need to know that you’re reliable and planning for the future. Start to build and implement your long-term disaster recovery plan by dedicating a team to assessing risks. Then, start to store business-critical information with Bluwater Technologies.

What Are the First Steps to Creating a Business Continuity Plan?

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Anything from a regional storm to a power outage can shut down your office when you run a small business. Instead of stressing to contact your employees when your phone’s signal is bad and the power is out or trying to arrange for an alternate delivery when everyone else is trying to do the same thing, start creating a business continuity plan before you need it. Here are two of the first steps for keeping your network up and running during a disaster:

Creating a Business Continuity Plan

  • How much power do you need? If you’ve experienced a hurricane, you might have a backup generator or know who in your neighborhood does. Having a separate generator just for your business is great. Ensuring your business can take care of critical steps or be the first online once a storm blows over. Talk to your landlord or electrician to see what type of generator is best for your business needs and your lease conditions.
  • Make sure your data is backed up starting today. Having your information stored in the cloud shouldn’t just be part of a business continuity plan. It should be part of your everyday plan. Having cloud-based backup means knowing your data is securely offsite in case something happens to your local hardware. It also means that you can access information from a secure laptop. Or even your phone if you can’t make it into the office.

There are many other steps to having a business continuity plan in the event of an emergency. Including planning communications, preparing alternate supply chains, and knowing who is responsible for what aspects of the plan. If you want to create a business continuity plan that will help you keep your business running, contact us at Bluwater Technologies to get started.

How To Develop A Disaster Recovery Plan: Six Key Tips

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IT disasters are inevitable. They range from cyber attacks to power outages, and if they occur when you’re unprepared, they may cause severe losses. The best way to safeguard your business and sustain its success is to develop a strong disaster recovery plan.

disaster recovery plan

To develop a disaster recovery plan, consider the following tips:

  1. Map out your responses to different risks. Disaster recovery following a network equipment outage will look different than the responses called for after a ransomware attack. (There are also combinations of disasters to account for, such as hackers who deploy malware and launch DDoS attacks simultaneously.)
  2. Be as specific as possible. For example, name the employees in charge of different aspects of disaster recovery (such as notifying the public or overseeing data restoration). Come up with clear, measurable goals, such as the maximum allowable downtime for certain critical applications and the frequency with which you’re performing data backups. When planning how you’ll recover from a cyber attack, differentiate between different kinds of attacks and their likely effects.
  3. Conduct a thorough company review. Do you know where you’re storing all your data (the cloud, on-premises backup drives, etc.)? Are you aware of the vulnerabilities in your network? What major weather phenomena are likely to affect you? You can’t plan without this kind of detailed knowledge. You’ll also need to update your plan as your company undergoes changes.
  4. Prioritize your data and other assets. What’s your most critical, sensitive data? What other IT assets do you need to protect most strongly? This information will shape your disaster recovery plan.
  5. Make sure you’re always ready to respond. If a disaster strikes, designated employees will quickly issue communications, retrieve and restore data backups, etc. Even when disaster isn’t imminent, you should remain on alert – for example, by monitoring your network round-the-clock and regularly backing up your data. Disaster recovery depends on extensive preparations.
  6. Test your plan. Run drills or exercises to ensure that your employees know what to do and that your disaster recovery measures work as you expect them to.

For further questions, please contact us. A well-developed disaster recovery plan protects you against severe financial losses and even the possibility of going out of business. We can help you draw up your disaster recovery plan and implement it successfully.