As we near 2021, I hope you rejoice in the ending of a challenging year and eagerly step toward a year with more light and promise. We have seen significant advancements in technology throughout 2020 with the immediate need to change the way we live and work. In addition to the significant advances, we unfortunately have also seen cybercrimes spike. We are all thrilled to shed this current year and move past it, although we need to make sure we are stepping into 2021 educated and ready to take on the imminent threat of cybercrimes. Now is the time to ready ourselves to be educated, secure, and cyber-ready.

In regards to Multifactor Authentication, the question should not be if but instead what kind. Multifactor authentication (MFA) is vital to the security of your network. As Brian Sherman from Valeo was quoted, “Weaker MFA is better than no MFA.” However, if you can protect your data more thoroughly, then why wouldn’t you? Let’s take a look at the forms of MFA and how they will help keep your data safe.

Top 2020 Phishing Threats and How to Dodge Them

2020 has been quite a year thus far. Alongside record alcohol sales, Cybercrimes are also at an all-time high. As we have discussed in the past, 91% of breaches begin with a phishing attempt, and we have seen phishing attempts increase by 600% since January. To avoid these tricky phishing schemes, we need to understand what to be vigilant of when it comes to phishing attempts. We know that COVID-19 phishing attacks are on the rise but don't get too complacent in that fact. Let's take a look at the top trending phishing attacks in 2020.

As we have discussed time and time again, COVID-19 has changed a great deal about our world. It has altered the way we work, the way we socialize, and it has put a massive new stressor on our shoulders. Not only do we fear our health, but COVID-19 has proven to be a threat to our business’ cybersecurity. The scams that have come out of the fear and uncertainty surrounding COVID-19 are elaborate. From using frightening subject lines to adopting faux letterhead, these scam artists are scrambling to use the climate of fear and disruption that has been caused by COVID-19 to their benefit.

With the fact that 158 accounts are hacked every second on average, businesses need to be versed in what to do when you receive the alert that your or employee's credentials have been compromised. It is an unfortunate reality that once exposed on the Dark Web, your information cannot ever be completely removed or hidden. You cannot file a complaint or contact a support line to demand your data be removed. Your company should immediately start taking appropriate steps and measures to correct or minimize the risks and potential damages associated with this exposed data. We must identify, understand, and learn from past mistakes or failures, and adopt a more proactive and preventative approach to your business' cybersecurity strategies moving forward.

Many business owners - and the IT professionals they rely on - focus on protecting their companies from external threats – the lone hacker out for a large ransom, the industry competitor pilfering secrets, or organized cyber-criminals with sophisticate phishing schemes, etc. But what about internal threats? Organizations sometimes fail to consider the true risks that insiders pose to their cybersecurity. Yet, internal risks are every bit as dangerous and damaging as the external ones, even if there is not malicious intent. The 2019 IBM Cost of Data Breach survey revealed that 24 percent of all data breaches in the past five years were the result of negligent employees or contractors.1 Another report, Insider Data Breach Survey, found that 60 percent of executives felt employees who made mistakes while rushing to complete tasks were the primary cause of internal breaches. Another 44 percent pointed to a lack of general awareness as the second most common reason, and 36 percent cited inadequate training for their organization’s security tools as a close third.2 To drive home the full harm of insider threats, we’ve compiled five actual case studies of internal actors who’ve wreaked financial and reputational damage when they got careless, or abused their knowledge and positions for personal gain.

Nist 2020 guidelines recommend that you have at least eight characters in your passwords. That is beneficial, but only if the characters in your passwords are effective. Over 80% of cybersecurity incidents are caused by bad passwords. Knowing the substantial criteria to create a valid password is essential to keeping a powerful front-line of defense in the face of cybercrimes. Today we are going to take a look at what are the "Dos" and "Don'ts" for strong passwords.