N-Line Technologies takes a probing look at how Microsoft Office 365 addresses the cyber-security concerns of small business owners like Bryce McDonald, whose company, Day1 Wake, delivers wakesurf boards to customers across the country. Bryce knows that, wherever he goes, Office 365 multi-layer security is working 24/7 to safeguard the integrity of his business data. Contact us–we’d love to show you how Office 365 can do the same for businesses in Midland, Odessa, and the Permian Basin.
Should You Pay for a Ransomware Attack?
Let’s face it getting hit with a ransomware attack just plain sucks, your files get encrypted by cybercriminals and are held hostage. You are then left having to decide: should we pay to get them back? Sadly, this is a scene that’s played out across the world with 70% of businesses saying ‘yes’ in 2016 alone. Here’s what you should consider if you’re ever in this situation.
Do you trust them?
We have all seen the TV shows where the rich guy’s son or daughter is kidnapped and when they pay the ransom the kidnappers take the money and kill the kid. This situation is no different. The cold fact is that they’re criminals holding your data hostage, how confident are you that they’ll send the decryption key after you pay up? Most attackers demand you send the payment via untraceable Bitcoin, so you can do nothing if they take the money and run. You’re also equally trapped if they decide they asked too little and come back with increasingly higher demands. If they do send the decryption key, be aware they still have access to your systems and can hit you again at any time until your network is disinfected by experts. Businesses don’t exactly want the embarrassment of a breach publicized either, so many don’t admit to paying the ransom, whether it went to plan or otherwise.
Can you manage the impact?
In the best-case scenario, you can wipe the affected drives and restore from a clean backup without paying the ransom. You might even decide the encrypted files aren’t that important and simply let them go, or even wipe a whole laptop or workstation. On the other hand, if your data management comes under any special regulations, like health or legal, you may find the attack has a much wider, more intense impact. The attacker will usually give you a countdown to motivate a payment, with a threat of deletion when it hits zero. If the data isn’t that valuable, or you have confirmed backups, this urgency has no effect. There are also new types of ransomware like “KillDisk” which can permanently wipe your entire hard drive or even your entire network.
How much do they want?
Cybercriminals rarely send out global attacks with set amounts, instead, they prefer to customize the ransom based on how much they think you can pay. Large corporations and hospitals are hit with very high demands, while small business demands are more modest. They may be criminals, but they’re smart people who know your financial limits. They’ll also consider how much similar businesses have paid and how quickly, then expect you to follow suit.
Are your backups good?
Many businesses are discovering too late that their backup systems aren’t good enough to withstand this kind of attack. Often the backups themselves become infected too, they weren’t up-to-date or they backed up the wrong data. OUCH. It’s worth doing some quick checks on your backup processes because even if you must shut down the system for a day so you can recover, you’re still light years ahead of those without them.
What’s your policy?
More and more often, businesses are adding ransomware to their disaster recovery plans and having predefined actions mapped out. Seemingly simple inclusions like who has final say over the payment decision can stop this chaos in its tracks. Employees and management alike can then approach the situation calmly, ready to make the best decisions for the business.
Stay safe in the first place
Ransomware is just plain evil and it is showing no signs of slowing down. There is just too much easy money for the crooks. As more businesses keep them funded the cybercriminals are steadily launching new attacks and making it their full-time job. Most attacks come via phishing emails – those emails that trick employees into clicking a link – and they can be extremely convincing. While training helps people spot them, it’s no guarantee. We recommend using business-class spam filters, such as our excellent “N-Line Spam Control” Product, to catch these types of emails before they land in your employee inboxes. You want that ransomware attack be something that happens to other businesses, not yours.
N-Line Technologies can help you secure your data systems now!
Call us at 432-279-0671
We proudly service Midland and Odessa Texas and the Permian Basin area.
Contact us today!
Take a step toward cyber safety!
Take a step toward cyber safety! Here’s a collection of tools, services, and other solutions to secure your business and prevent cyber attacks.
N-Line Technologies helps many businesses with these products and many more. We proudly service Midland, Odessa, and the Permian Basin.
Your Data is Safe with Office 365
In this video, N-Line Technologies explores how Office 365 works overtime to safeguard the business data of entrepreneurs like Bryce McDonald, owner/operator of Day1 Wake, a company that makes wakesurf boards for customers around the world. While giving Bryce unprecedented freedom and flexibility, Office 365 provides multiple layers of security, which Microsoft monitors 24/7. Contact us to learn how Office 365 can do the same for you. 432-279-0671
33 Ways to Use Technology In Your Small Business
Small business owners who use technology have an edge. I found this great list of tips. These small business technology ideas will get you started on the path to productivity.
Office 365 can provide many ways to implement these ideas and we can help you with that. Call us today at 432-279-0671 and let us help become more productive.
The True and Unexpected Costs of Being Hacked
If your systems get hacked, the unexpected costs can be more than you think.
There are the normal costs everyone associates with a breach, like getting your own server and computers fixed up, with maybe a little downtime. But really, most businesses view the possibility of getting hacked as more of an inconvenience than a bottom-line cost. For those who’ve come out the other side though, it’s a very different story. They know the hidden and ongoing costs of a data breach can be crippling, and that IT security exists to protect your business on multiple levels. All those surprise costs that spiral out of control are why most businesses close after a cyber-attack. Here are a few of the hard, but common realities of life after a hack.
Raiding the budget to reduce downtime
From the moment a cyber-attack gets into your system, things get expensive, and the longer the attack goes, the more it costs. Latest stats reveal most breaches aren’t identified for around 191 days, then it can take on average another 66 days to contain the damage. During this time you’re cleaning PCs, mobile devices, laptops, servers and even entire networks. Add to this the fee for experts to fix everything up, all the new tools and software they insist you have, and all the hours/days/weeks when your business is struggling with downtime, you’ll exhaust your emergency funds very quickly.
The long arm of the law
Depending on what data was stolen and how you handled the situation, you could be liable for fines into the millions. Having any medical data or legal files leak is a particularly messy scenario with fines coming from multiple sources. In any case, new privacy laws mean businesses are liable for massive fines if they don’t disclose a data breach, even if only email addresses were stolen. Where this gets even trickier is that the burden is on your business to know exactly what data has been stolen/illegally accessed, so you can report it before the fines stack up. This means that even if you were able to fix up the systems yourself, you still need to hire an expert who can identify exactly what the hackers took, from where and when.
Customer retention measures
In a double-down crush to your bottom line, not only does your business have to bear the cost of the hack, your future income takes a hit as customers lose trust and leave. To offset this, many businesses need to engage PR experts, spend more on advertising, and go all out to ensure they survive to fight another day. Even so, your breach disclosure will still come up in search results for many years. The more negative publicity your breach attracts, the more you’ll need to spend on customer retention.
All your secrets exposed
While you may not have Pentagon level secrets to protect, your business does have information that you’d like to keep to yourself. Hackers love going after those juicy tidbits, and the more closely you guard them, the more attractive they are. Think Coca Cola recipe, Big Mac Secret Sauce or 11 Herbs & Spices…While those corporations would be big enough to keep their competitive edge after the breach, your business success relies on at least some information staying secret. It may not be a secret recipe, but your proprietary methods and databases have a black-market value all of their own.
But simply avoiding a breach doesn’t cost much at all…
The thing is, it’s not expensive to stay on top of it all and keep your business protected. For a low monthly fee, we can reverse the entire scenario and secure your systems against the unknown. That means no need to raid other department budgets in a panic, pay crippling fines, make embarrassing public announcements, or fight to retain your competitive edge.
We can help with making sure your systems have the latest security patches and your anti-virus knows the latest tricks to watch for. Our technicians can build a virtual fortress around your business that keeps the bad guys out while letting you thrive and even monitor security with early warning systems. Whatever your needs are, both now and moving ahead, we’re here to help keep you safe while keeping your IT costs low.
Ready to secure your business against breaches?
Give us a call today on 432-279-0671 and ask about our
Free Risk Intelligence Scan.
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Experience a New Level of Freedom with Office 365
N-Line Technologies takes a deeper look at how Microsoft Office 365 helps Bryce McDonald, a solo entrepreneur who runs DAY 1 Wake, a wakesurf board making business, scale his home-based business out to the world. Office 365 gives Bryce a new level of freedom that he didn’t have previously because the cloud-based app lets him access, edit, and share documents from anywhere on any of his devices.
Want this same level of flexibility? Sign up for Office 365 today.
Fake Invoice Attacks Are on the Rise – Here’s How to Spot (and Beat) Them!
Businesses around the world are being struck with a cyber-attack that sends victims a fake invoice that looks real enough to fool to most employees. It’s an old scam that used to see bills faxed or mailed in, but it’s made its way into the digital world and instances are on the rise.
Chances are you’ve already seen some of the less effective attempts, like an email advising your domain is expiring, except it’s not from your host and your domain is nowhere near expiration. These new attacks are more advanced, in that they look completely legitimate and are often from contractors/suppliers you actually use. Logos are correct, spelling and grammar are spot on, and they might even refer to actual work or invoice numbers. The sender name may also be the normal contact you’d associate with that business, or even a co-worker, as cybercriminals are able to effectively ‘spoof’ real accounts and real people. While it’s worrying that they know enough about your business to wear that disguise so well, a successful attack relies on you not knowing what to look for, or even that fakes are a possibility. With that in mind, here are two types of invoice attacks you might receive:
The Payment Redirect
This style of fake invoice either explicitly states payment should be made to a certain account, perhaps with a friendly note about the new details, or includes a payment link direct to the new account. Your accounts payable person believes they’re doing the right thing by resolving the invoice and unwittingly sends company money offshore. The problem usually isn’t discovered until the real invoice from the real supplier comes in or the transaction is flagged in an audit. Due to the nature of international cybercrime, it’s unlikely you’ll be able to recover the funds even if you catch it quickly.
The Malware Click – Rather than go for the immediate cash grab, this style of attack asks your employee to click a link to download the invoice. The email may even look like the ones normally generated by popular accounting tools like Quickbooks or Xero, making the click seem safe. Once your employee has clicked the link, malware is downloaded that can trigger ransomware or data breaches. While an up-to-date anti-virus should block the attack at that stage, it’s not always guaranteed, especially with new and undiscovered malware. If it does get through, the malware quickly embeds itself deep into your systems, often silently lurking until detected or activated.
How to Stay Safe
Awareness is key to ensuring these types of attacks have no impact on your business. As always, keep your anti-virus and spam filters up to date to minimize the risk of the emails getting through in the first place. Then, consider implementing a simple set of procedures regarding payments. These could include verifying account changes with a phone call (to the number you have on record, not the one in the email), double checking invoices against work orders, appointing a single administrator to restrict access to accounts, or even two-factor authorization for payments. Simple pre-emptive checks like hovering the mouse over any links before clicking and quickly making sure it looks right can also help. Like your own business, your contractors and suppliers are extra careful with their invoicing, so if anything looks off – even in the slightest – hold back on payment/clicking until it’s been reviewed. Fake invoices attacks may be increasing, but that doesn’t mean your business will become a statistic, especially now that you know what’s going on and how you can stop them.
We can help increase your security, talk to us today. Call us at 432-279-0671
Microsoft Office: Made for Achieving
Any organization that wants to achieve something that matters can’t do it alone. In this video, Microsoft describes how it’s reinventing productivity around people. Taking collaboration fueled by intelligence and the flexibility to work with anyone, anywhere to a whole new level. It’s a premium connected experience grounded in trust, not a collection of products. That’s the core Microsoft Office 365 ambition, helping people focus their energy on purpose rather than process, allowing them to achieve what matters most.
Let N-Line Technology help your employees better collaborate with Office 365
Contact us today at 432-279-0671
Office 365 Spreads One Man’s Love for the Lake to the World
In this video N-Line Technologies takes a look at how Microsoft Office 365 helps solo entrepreneur Bryce McDonald tap into the power of the cloud to manage the vendor and customer relationships that help him scale his home-based wakesurf board making business, DAY 1 Wake, out to the world – without sacrificing the thing that matters to him most, his family. Contact us today to find out how we can help you do the same.
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