Without passwords, cyber criminals would have free, unlimited access to all of your accounts and online information. Indeed, the password is the first line of defence against such thieves, and so it is very important that you consider them carefully.
Android is the most popular mobile operating system in the world. Developing nations are jumping onboard this platform at a fast rate but there are some negatives to consider. Android has a bad reputation when it comes to malicious malware. This is often very dangerous and it can completely wipe a user’s phone and with it their personal details.
There are lots of accounts of harmful malware being discovered in apps and on Android running phones. Malware on Google’s OS seems set to rise and Google has recently begun patching some of the numerous holes in its mobile platform. Mobile malware is up by 700% since 2011 and most of it is destined for the Android OS.
Starting on May 30th a conglomerate of law enforcement agencies hailing from eleven different countries led by Europol and the FBI and with support from the private sector, have been working together to curb an online threat. Law enforcement, alongside Internet Service Providers and the Information Security industry, have been attempting to combat two specific malware groups – Cryptolocker and P2PZeuS (aka GameOverZeus).
Those malware groups however have been disrupted due to the efforts of law enforcement agencies. This isn’t to say the threat is negated however. Instead it marks a distinct shift in policing tactics and the number of countries working hand-in-hand shows just how seriously cyber crime is now considered.
This malware collective effectively holds your files hostage. An internet user will find those files inaccessible until they pay a ransom of one bitcoin, worth about $600 USD. This insidious threat is a pain and one that can be avoided – or at least that’s what the enforcement agencies believe.
Computer security is an important issue for any business and it seems that hardly a day goes by without us hearing about another botnet, hack or malware attack doing the rounds. The most notable of late was a vulnerability in SSL certificates, and whilst there’s little evidence to suggest that hackers have taken advantage of the Heartbleed bug, it still brings to the fore the ever-increasing problem that is network security.
For businesses, securing the company network isn’t a particularly difficult task, nor is staff training, but many still don’t have adequate enough protection to ensure that the company, or even customer, data is safe.
According to a recent survey carried out by the Poneman Institute, this is due to many enterprises lacking the tools to protect their information and “a disconnect in executives’ perceived value of data”. The study saw a huge 80% of IT professionals state that their company execs don’t seem to see the correlation between a cyber-attack and loss of revenue when it comes to stolen data.
This is a worrying statistic, as security has to be a priority in this technological age that we live in. If customer data is stolen, firms stand to lose not only a loss in business due to the spectre of a system audit, but also possible fines and even the loss of customer confidence. Even if it’s not customer data that’s stolen, the loss of sensitive data from within a company can have serious ramifications for the future.
Early next month all support for popular operating system Microsoft XP will end, leaving many systems vulnerable to attack from malware and hackers. This isn’t the first we’ve heard about it of course, Microsoft has been warning for months that the April 8th cut-off date is looming.
So if you’re still using XP, now’s the time to stop, especially if you’re an enterprise user and need to protect both company and customer data. Currently, Microsoft are working on a number of tools to help those that have not yet updated with data migration in order to make switching a painless affair.
Because without security updates and fixes, it soon will be and whilst, as the BBC point out, many issues with XP come through third-party applications such as Java and Adobe products, the lack of patches to address issues with these will lead to infection.
This in-depth look at BYOD and its increasing use in the workplace gives a great overview of what every company needs to consider when thinking about implementing a BYOD scheme. Whilst for many, security remains an issue, with strong policies and MDM software, BYOD is now completely manageable.
Bring your own device (BYOD) describes a situation where employees use their personal computing devices in the workplace. It’s employees using smartphones, tablets, netbooks etc., to access business enterprise content or networks.
BYOD also takes in software and services, as employees use cloud resources and other tools on the web in order to connect to the company intranet.
Windows 8 represents a huge step forward for Microsoft’s operating system, especially for touchscreen devices. Microsoft has also made bold claims that the new system would be less appealing to hackers, thanks to the increased security measures that include built-in antivirus software.
Progress rarely comes without a price, however, and Microsoft may have again underestimated the determination of the hacking community. There are a lot of shiny new features in the new OS and substantial improvements in almost every area, but there are also disturbing weaknesses that cybercriminals could exploit to the full.
This is not exclusive to Windows 8: every generation of Windows operating system has faced this baptism of fire. A whole new wave of architecture means there are inevitably holes that an army of hackers take great joy in exposing to the world.
It’s an international sport for some, with hackers exchanging bragging rights on forums around the world. For others, it’s big business. Cybercriminals have turned hacking systems in to one of the big growth industries of the new Millennium. So it was not a big surprise that within days of receiving Windows 8, French agency Vupen had found its first virus. That’s how fast this ‘market’ moves.
You already know you need to secure your business Wi-Fi network. But did you know that Wi-Fi access points are still a weak link that could compromise your efforts and put precious data at risk?
Wi-Fi signals don’t respect boundaries and often spill out into the street. That can be an open door for hackers and unless you take steps to nail down your Wi-Fi, you may as well leave the office unlocked at night. If you don’t secure your network then, at best, you’ll get the local Wi-Fi moochers stealing your bandwidth. At worst you’ll have a serious security breach on your hands.
Here are five tips to beef up your Wi-Fi security and keep hackers out.
According to Symantec’s 2013 Security report, there was a 42% increase in targeted attacks on businesses in 2012, with 31% of these aimed at companies employing less than 250 workers. There were 14 zero-day vulnerabilities found and one waterhole attack infected 500 organisations in just one day.
This highlights the fact that internet security remains one of the biggest challenges that face modern businesses, especially as the use of the internet and cloud services become increasingly important to the enterprise.
Further to the stats above:
· 32% of all mobile malware threats steal data
· Windows PCs are now not the only target, Macs are also vulnerable
· Phishing sites that ‘spoof social networks’ have increased by 125%
· Web-based attacks grew by 30%
· In 2012 there were 5,291 new threats discovered with 415 of these threatening mobile OS
Network security, is something like your own personal health. When you’re in good health, and fighting fit as it were, everything is hunky-dory. But as soon as you begin to feel under the weather, you suddenly realise just how much you took your good health for granted. Well, it’s exactly the same with network security. During the time it functions well, it also gets taken for granted. But as soon as it becomes compromised, we suddenly realise just why, network security is vital.
In the broadest sense of the word there are two types of network. On a personal level, you have the internet, whereby any number of individual devices can share one common source of data. In this “personal” sense, network security is all about the security of the individual device (e.g. a PC, a laptop, a tablet). Most of the operating systems today that are preloaded onto the various types of devices all tend to incorporate a firewall.
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