As we already discussed this month, Compromised Email Attacks (BEC) are on the rise and everyone is at risk of being a victim. It would be nice if these attacks were uniform although the attacks and the attackers come in all shapes and sizes. To better protect yourself against these types of attacks it is vital to educate yourself on the different methods these attackers are using to strike.

Yubikey by Yubiko was a hit at last week’s CES 2019. Fans of this multifactor authentication device were already singing its praises, but these praises multiplied when Yubiko announced it now is compatible with iPhones and will be available soon to all users. Yubiko is a relatively new company so many have not heard the incredible reputation it is developing in the world of data security so if you are one of these individuals, dial in now and continue reading! Large corporations like Google and Facebook, who have extreme needs to secure data are already on board with Yubiko and have seen great success with their security needs.

What exactly is the Internet of Things (IoT)? In the simplest of terms, it is the interconnection of devices which allows them to communicate and collect data fully. When we think of connecting devices, we typically think of our smartphones, computers, and TVs but the IoT goes way beyond this. The devices that are now being connected include such things as cars, jet engines, coffee makers, refrigerators, heart monitors and soon, potentially anything with an on/off switch could potentially be connected.. According to Gartner, it is expected that there will be 20.4 billion devices connected by 2020.

If you are paying attention to the news at all right now, you have noticed the increase in cyber-attacks around the globe. Cyber-crimes are a hot topic and for a good reason. The threat is terrifying but understanding what is indeed happening is a challenge. Within cyber-crime reporting, keywords are being thrown around, and to understand the dangers, you must first understand a few of the basics. One of the topics you may have heard is port scans. First off, what is a port and why is a port scan a threat?

NIST’s Newest Password Guidelines

Gone are the days of the required monthly password changes. NIST, which stands for National Institute of Standards and Technology, released their new guidelines, almost exactly a year ago to date, for password management. These thoroughly researched guidelines are not only recommended by NIST but have also been approved by the Secretary of Commerce. In the past, the recommendation has been to change our passwords monthly and to use extremely complicated passwords which included upper and lower-case letters and special characters. This process definitely had a tendency to lead a great deal of us down the road to a frustrated log-ins which typically ended as relying on a password manager (check back for our upcoming blog) or having to click on the “forgot password” button. We at Pendello understand that Security is not always convenient, but these guidelines are a win-win. They can help protect against the alternative and also make your log-ins a great deal less cumbersome.

Dot-coms that were just before their time

Ever had a great idea and before you realize it, someone else has already made it a reality? Well, these companies were the first to bring it to the market during the dot-com boom and sadly they were just way too early to the party. Timing is everything, and usually the first to market wins out; unfortunately, these dot-coms were just too forward thinking for their time. Now, their original ideas are killing it! Take a look at one of the few times forward-thinking was at fault…