Ferrum Technology Services Blog

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!

The COVID-19 pandemic has put a lot of stress on people.  Nowhere is this more true than in the small business arena. Small businesses, many of which were forced to suspend or severely alter their operations, are also dealing with cyberattacks. Let’s take a look at the effects COVID-19 has on small businesses regarding cybersecurity. 

As statewide stay-at-home orders lapse, more and more businesses aim to reopen. For a fair share of these businesses, remote technology has been a godsend. For the businesses that cannot reopen yet, being able to monitor your IT infrastructure while you are out of the office is extremely important to the sustainability of your remote access solutions. Today, we’ll discuss monitoring your infrastructure.

When it comes to protecting your business, cybersecurity is a huge consideration that must be kept in mind. However, it isn’t the only consideration. Some of the biggest threats to your business can actually come from your own team. Let’s go over the three kinds of insider threats that you need to be on your guard against, and how to avoid them.

Millions of people find themselves sitting in front of a computer moving files around and corresponding with people over the phone, through email, or updating info in the company’s line of business app. What many of them don’t know, however, is that, at any time, they are only a couple of clicks away from causing major problems for their company. Therefore, it is extremely important to train your staff on what to look for and how to address those situations when they do arise.

As business owners, with so much talk about cybersecurity and all of the threats that face us, we tend to put a lot of faith in the security investments we make. I say we, because an IT company has to be as protected, if not more, than their most demanding client. I’m going to talk shop a little bit about security, and some major concerns that I have in regard to all of our businesses.

In many ways, explaining why sufficient cybersecurity is important for your business has become redundant - especially when it is much more important to understand how this cybersecurity needs to protect you. The threats to data and privacy are known, but no less potent. In order to counter them, you need to make sure you have what you need to protect your business - starting with a few key considerations.

If you have a bank account or a credit card, chances are you’ve been made aware of a hack or a data breach. Big organizations are more frequently being breached, forcing them to run damage control for the often millions of customers affected. News coverage often bashes these big organizations, but what about smaller ones? The truth is, smaller businesses are breached just as often, with the consequences being just as severe. 

The modern threat landscape is filled with horror stories of people that have been the victim of software vulnerabilities, hackers, and situations that could have been managed differently. Today, we will go over some of the best ways to keep your business from being a victim of a data breach, data theft, or malware attack.

Cybercrime is at a record high and today’s businesses are the ones that take the brunt of the issues. For the retail business, cybersecurity has a couple of different faces. For Cybersecurity Awareness Month, we thought we’d talk a little bit about the retail space and how businesses are securing their customers’ information. 

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. 

People’s exposure to cybercrime has been increasing for some time. Today, people with very little coding experience can infiltrate systems and steal data. There is demand for data, and now there is a supply of low-cost--or even free--hacking tools available on the dark web that allows people to get closer to that data. In fact, according to a report by Deloitte entitled Black Market Ecosystem: Estimating the Cost of “Pwnership”, there is a complete economy built around these readily-available hacking tools that are relatively easy to use.

The man in the middle has a lot of power and influence over the end result, and this is true even in the technological world. In fact, there are attacks dedicated to this vector, twisting and turning something that your organization needs into what amounts to a threat. We’ll discuss what a Man-in-the-Middle (MitM) attack is, as well as what you can do to combat these threats.

Passwords are often all that stands between hackers and account information; this is true for both personal and business data. However, passwords are often not enough to protect data from the clutches of hackers. We’ll walk you through how to ensure your organization implements only the most powerful of passwords, as well as additional security measures to guarantee maximum protection.

Your organization needs to take network security as seriously as possible. While it might seem tempting to just implement security solutions and hide behind them, thinking you’re safe, it’s much more important that you invest time and consideration into your organization’s culture. We’ll walk you through how you can minimize threats to your network, as well as provide a primer for what to expect from comprehensive enterprise network security solutions.

It wasn’t so long ago when your business could get away with protecting your computer with a simple installation of antivirus software. There were only around 50,000 known computer viruses in the year 2000, but that number has since skyrocketed to an astounding 185 million unique variants of threats.

Disasters lurk around every corner in the workplace, even on an end-user level. All employees of a business should understand how to identify specific office disasters and what to do when they are encountered. We’ll discuss some of the most common (and deceptive) disasters, as well as how your team should handle them on the off chance they show themselves.

Properly handling cybersecurity is extremely important for individuals and businesses, alike, but if you are an organization that has to meet external compliance mandates, it could be a major cost for a business that has a tendency be a target for nefarious outside entities. How many times can businesses get hacked before they take network security seriously? The answer is usually one. Prior to their first hack, most small businesses implore a “we’re too small to worry about it” strategy, but after (if there is an after), security is a major priority.

It’s nice to get away every now and then, but if you have stayed at any property under the Marriott umbrella, including St. Regis, Westin, Sheraton, or W hotel since 2014, there is a good chance that your personal information has been leaked, a spokesperson from parent company Marriott has said. They said the multinational hotel corporation will begin emailing users impacted by the leak in the coming days.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year… for scammers, that is. These kinds of criminals love to take advantage of the gift-giving season. With the right tools for the job, hackers can have a field day stealing sensitive information, like credit card numbers, due to the sheer amount of stuff being purchased by consumers. It’s up to you to stay vigilant and make sure you’re not being scammed, but we have a couple of tricks you can use to stay as safe as possible.