Ferrum Technology Services Blog

There are many different types of hacking attacks, but those targeting your computer can either be incredibly intrusive or so low-profile that you don’t even know you’ve been infected until it’s too late to do anything about it. Let’s discuss some of the telltale signs of a hack and what you should look for to prevent or identify them.

It’s one thing to avoid ransomware entirely, but what does a business do when it’s already within its walls? Today we are going to discuss how your business can recover from a ransomware attack, as well as measures and solutions you can implement to ensure that it doesn’t happen again.

The attack on SolarWinds earlier this year caused a lot of challenges, and now that time has passed and the dust has settled somewhat, Microsoft has uncovered another type of malware associated with the attack. This one is called FoggyWeb. What does this threat do and what can we learn about it?

If you own an Asus laptop, there is a chance that a recent update could have installed malware, and we are urging anyone who has an Asus device reach out to us to have it looked at.

A new ransomware attack has surfaced, this time mostly targeting IT companies and their clients. The attack is specifically targeting the Kaseya platform. Kaseya is management software that many IT companies use to remotely manage and support technology. The attack in question attacked Kaseya’s supply chain through a vulnerability in its VSA software; this attack is notable because of how it targeted the supply chain, not only striking at the vendor’s clients—notably IT companies—but also their customers. Basically, this attack had a trickle-down effect that is causing widespread chaos for a massive number of businesses.

Ransomware has been a scourge to businesses for years now, with it unfortunately experiencing a renaissance of sorts as the COVID-19 pandemic came to the fore. With increased phishing attacks and other means of spreading ransomware now taking advantage of the ongoing situation, it is all the more important that these attempts can be identified and mitigated.

Countless high-profile ransomware attacks have surfaced over the past several years, all against targets like manufacturers, pipelines, hospitals, and utility companies. Obviously, these attacks are a cause for concern, but some small businesses might make the mistake of thinking themselves too small to target. Unfortunately, this is simply not the case; we’ll help you protect your business from these devastating cyberattacks.

Once again, ransomware strikes, this time targeting the world’s largest meat processor and distributor, JBS S.A. This disruptive cyberattack forced the company to suspend operations in both North America and Australia, a move which had devastating consequences to the supply chain. What can we learn from this situation?

Anyone who uses a computer regularly knows that software can be finicky. Developers continuously update their software to account for changes in security threats and to add new features. For the small business, integrating and developing software can be useful, but it can also be one of the most problematic issues you can face; and, oftentimes it can often go under the radar. Let’s look at a few ways that old software bugs can cause problems for your business.

Quick Marty! Hop into the DeLorean! Let’s time travel back to a simpler time, back in the late 90’s!

Back then, you could walk into any store that sold software and you’d see two types of antivirus protection - orange boxes that said Norton, and red boxes that said McAfee.

Today, like most things, life isn’t as simple. There are a lot of choices, and… well, you shouldn’t be going to a store to buy your antivirus these days. Let’s discuss!

Mobile devices haven’t been known to have a lot of faults when it comes to security, but when a really bad malware attack does happen, the best solution may be to wipe the device and start over from a factory reset. Currently, there is a malware targeting Android devices that is so resilient that it can even withstand a factory reset.

Ransom: a sum of money is demanded in order for the release of goods.
Software: the programs and other operating information used by a computer.

What do you get when you combine the two? Ransomware. 

You’d be hard-pressed to find someone nowadays who hasn’t heard of malware, although they may have difficulty identifying different threats as they encounter them. Does this sound like the people that you work with? We’re here with a simple solution to assist you and your team in spotting the different kinds of threats - a malware guide to distribute among your staff so they can better spot the usual suspects.

Phishing attacks are the bane of modern businesses, and any organization’s employees need to be cognizant of the threat they pose. Unfortunately, no matter how much you protect against them, hackers are usually crafty enough to work their way around even the most well-defended security measures. However, not even the best security measures can keep your employees from making a split-second decision to click on a link or download an infected attachment.

What’s a smartphone without some apps to download to it? With millions of apps to choose from, developers might often have less-than-virtuous motives that put their users at risk for their own benefit. Recently, Google has removed 22 apps from the Google Play Store that were found to contain automated click-fraud scripts. We’ll delve into what these developers were up to with these fraudulent applications, as well as how they would affect the two-million users that downloaded them.

On June 12th, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security issued a warning to power grid operators and electric utilities concerning a newly surfaced malware called CrashOverride (aka Industroyer). Only, it’s not entirely new. The world has seen this before and the fallout from it is concerning.

It’s fair to say that today's organizations are faced with more online threats than ever before. To properly manage the information systems that they depend on for productivity, redundancy, and operational management, they need to ensure that they are doing what they need to do to mitigate problems stemming from the continuous flow of threats.

At the time of this writing, it has only been about a half a year since the Meltdown and Spectre exploits became public knowledge. Fortunately, patches were swiftly rolled out to mitigate the problems that these exploits could cause, but that doesn’t mean that these exploits are dead and buried. Let’s look back at Meltdown and Spectre to help us establish where we stand today.

There is a famous thought experiment devised by physicist Erwin Schrӧdinger, describing a very particular paradox in quantum physics through the experience of a cat. While Schrӧdinger’s cat was initially intended to demonstrate a very different phenomenon, it can also be applied to something that all businesses need to consider: their email security.

There is no shortage of threats on the Internet, from situational issues to deliberate attacks meant to damage your company or steal your valuable data. While new threats pop up almost every day, some have been around for some time--so long, that many seem to not consider them as viable threats.