Monday, December 27, 2021

Security is a Top Priority for Businesses of Every Size





Did you know that a cyberattack is attempted every 39 seconds? The constant barrage of cyberattacks and never-ending escalation in cybersecurity risk ahs brough home an importantfact for businesses of every size: cybersecurity has to be a top priority in 2022. 

All companies, regardless of size or region have a 1 in 4 chance of being hit by a ransomware attack today. We’ve all seen theimpact that one ransomware attac can have in the last two years. Evn one vent is expensive, s=disruptive and potentially ruinous for businesses. 60% of businesses that are hit by a successful cyberattack shutter wuthin 6 months.

That’s why it is essential to take the tme to review your orb=ganization’s cyber defenses and cybersecurity policies to ensure that you’re taking every possible precautin against ending up on a cybercrminal’s hit list. No business is too small for trouble. More than 50% of ransomware attacks last year struck SMBs with less than 100 employees.  

Set up a meeting now to talk to the experts you trust with your company’s IT to make sure that your company’s cybersecurity solutions are really meeting your needs and look at ways to boost your cyber resilence before you have to navigate a new round of cyberattack threats in 2022.

Bit by bit helps client networks run smooth and secure.. visit our website at www.bitxbit.com/texas 877.860.5831

Saturday, November 13, 2021

Why You Should Build Your Cyber Resilience

 


Cyberattack threats are headed for your business. In the recent IBM Cyber Resilient Organizations Study 2021, researchers reported that 67% of respondents said that the volume and severity of cybersecurity incidents that they’re facing has increased in the past 12 months. With the pace so high, you can’t afford to put your business operations on hold while you pivot to incident response. That’s why you need to make sure that you’re building a cyber resilient organization that can keep on chugging in adverse conditions.  

One of the most impactful ways that you can build your cyber resilience is by choosing a zero-trust approach to your company’s security. When researchers asked the leading businesses in the survey about the benefits of zero-trust security, 65% said that zero-trust security has fundamentally strengthened their cyber resilience.  

Zero-trust security architecture is also the model that the US federal government is moving toward, and elements of that strategy will be required for federal contractors in the near future. Start your journey to a cyber-resilient zero-trust security model by implementing identity and access management (IAM) with s a solution like Passly. Multifactor authentication, a feature of IAM solutions, is a foundational element of zero-trust security as well as a smart choice to immediately improve your company’s cyber resilience.  


Bit by bit helps client networks run smooth and secure.. visit our website at www.bitxbit.com/texas 877.860.5831

Adopting Zero-Trust Security

Adopting Zero-Trust Security 


Zero-trust security has been a hot topic, especially in light of rulemaking by the US federal government to move agencies and government contractors into a zero-trust framework in response to a spate of damaging high-profile infrastructure and supply chain attacks that sometimes included nation-state threat actors in 2021. The Colonial Pipeline incident and the subsequent outcry was a major catalyst for action at both the federal and state level. Cybersecurity legislation is on the agenda in every state legislature and congress, and many of those proposals include zero-trust elements. 

The Cyber Resilient Organizations Study has previously reported on the benefits of zero-trust security. This year, researchers took another look at how using a zero-trust approach to security benefits businesses and reduces risk, specifically by boosting their cyber resilience. Those findings showed that 35% of respondent organizations said that they have already adopted a zero-trust security strategy. Of that group, 65% agreed that zero-trust security fundamentally strengthens cyber resilience. That’s a great idicator that increased cyber resilience is a useful goal when looking ant big-piture ways to avoid a costly data breach

Why Are Companies Adopting Zero-Trust? 

  • 66% said to improve operational efficiency
  • 63% to reduce security risks
  • 38% said for better IT team support
  • 34% said to reduce costs
  • 23% said for a competitive advantage
  • 4% cited other reasons like regulation



What Leaders Are Doing & How to Follow Them 


Taking a look at what the leading organizations in the survey are doing to achieve high cyber resilience is important to determine exactly what benefits businesses get from building their cyber resilience. It also opens a window into the security mindset of leading organizations. There have been a few changes from 2020’s results that are evident in the 2021 survey as businesses have grappled with the volatility of today’s threat landscape.  

What Are Leaders Considering? 

  • 66% of 2021 leaders say that security automation and AI are important, up slightly from 63% in 2020 
  • 60% recognize that cyber resilience impacts a company’s revenue, up from 56% in 2020 
  • 41% say that cyber resilience impacts brand value and reputation, down from 46% in 2020 
  • And new this year, 41% of leaders are regularly assessing third-party risk 

IBM also lays out a series of recommendations to improve cyber resilience: 

  • Create and test incident response plans: comparison research shows that regularly updating and reviewing incident response plans was a key reason why cyber resilience improved for 47% of high performers. IBM recommends developing both enterprise-wide CSIRPs and threat-specific incident response plans as well as drilling them regularly. 
  • Protect your critical databases: 52% of the survey respondents ranked leakage of high-value information assets as a key measure of severity in data breach incidents.  Developing a comprehensive data security strategy is suggested to help organizations reduce risk. 
  • Keep systems running with advanced protection from cyberthreats: 47% of the companies surveyed ranked data center downtime as a key measure of severity. The report points to proactive threat management with a zero-trust approach as a good way to avoid system downtime. 
  • Speed up analysis with AI and threat intelligence: 47% of respondents cited diminished productivity of employees as a measure of severity in security incidents. More advanced analytics and automated workflows are pointed out as processes that can give teams time back for threat investigation. 
  • Break down silos and increase visibility: High-performing organizations said that the inability to reduce silos(87%) and lack of visibility into applications and data assets (74%) were their top two blockers when it comes to improving their cyber resilience. Researchers say that an open platform that fosters integrations between technology can help unite disjointed processes and data and provide broad visibility. 
  • Implement a patch management strategy: Delay in patching vulnerabilities is always a security bugbear, and 59% of average respondents cited it as a major reason why their organization’s cyber resilience didn’t improve. IBM suggests a formal vulnerability management program to help cybersecurity teams proactively identify, prioritize and remediate the vulnerabilities that threaten critical assets. 

Bit by bit helps client networks run smooth and secure.. visit our website at www.bitxbit.com/texas 877.860.5831

Are You Prepared to Face Today’s Prime Threat?



The 9th edition of The ENISA Threat Landscape (ETL) report is out, and it lays out the findings of their experts and observers after analyzing what they saw in 2021 including the biggest threats that they see businesses facing today. 

To no one’s surprise, ransomware topped the list, climbing up from thirteenth place last year. It was followed by its progenitor malware, falling from the top spot down to number two and cryptojacking which climbed up to number three in 2021 from fifteenth place in 2020.  

What does this mean for your business? That building a strong defense against ransomware and mitigating your ransomware risk is more important than it’s ever been before to the continued success of your business – after all, 60% of businesses that are hit by a cyberattack shutter within a year.  

Your business isn’t immune to this danger. No business is too small to become the next victim of a ransomware attack – 50% of ransomware attacks in the last 12 months have hit SMBs, and 55% of those ransomware attacks have hit businesses with fewer than 100 employees. ENISA researchers cautioned that small ransoms are popular with cybercriminals because they can get paid without troublesome press coverage. 

Be sure that you’ve got the right defenses in place, including a security awareness program like BullPhish ID that helps you defend against ransomware and other cyberattacks to ensure that that your business is ready for whatever cyberthreats you may face in the future.


Bit by bit helps client networks run smooth and secure.. visit our website at www.bitxbit.com/texas 877.860.5831

Is Stress Impacting Your Business Security?



We’ve all been through some tough times in the last year, and that’s ratcheted up stress at home and at work. Unfortunately, that’s not just a factor that impacts your company’s efficiency and performance, Stress and burnout also play a big role in the state of your company’s cybersecurity. 

For the last few years, the cybersecurity sector has been grappling with the problem of an increasing cybersecurity skills shortage. Just last month, federal officials disclosed that there are an estimated 500,000 unfilled existing cybersecurity jobs. That means every team is trying to more work with fewer hands to carry the load. 

So how can businesses reduce stress on their cybersecurity teams while increasing their overall security? By increasing their investment in security automation. In an IBM report, researchers noted that automation reduces stress on security teams by decreasing trouble tickets and increasing efficiency while improving a company’s cyber resilience, an important measure of your company’s ability to resist cyberattack damage. 

Today’s leading security solutions include automated elements that will give your business an edge over stress as well as cybercrime. Why file password reset tickets when a solution like Passly handles it automatically? Set it and forget it when you automate your security awareness training program with a solution  Make it a priority to see how security automation can benefit your business and your employees.   


Bit by bit helps client networks run smooth and secure.. visit our website at www.bitxbit.com/texas 877.860.5831

Are You Ready to Face Fresh Ransomware Threats?



Ransomware incidents are regular newsmakers. But it’s not just the big dogs who are facing increased cyberattack danger from ransomware threats. Did you know that 50% of ransomware attacks last year were actually aimed at small and medium businesses?

We’ve all read and heard about the enormous sums that cybercriminals are asking for as ransoms in their various extortion schemes. But ransomware attacks are incredibly expensive without even considering the ransom. Companies impacted by ransomware lose an average of six working days, and an estimated 37% of companies experienced downtime that lasted one week or more. 

No business can afford to shutter for a week. But many small and medium businesses are facing tough budget decisions this year, putting the squeeze on every department, including IT, and that can make it hard to shake out the cash to invest in new solutions. You need to find the right solutions, the kind that offers you strong protection against ransomware and a great value.

That’s not as hard as you may think. Protecting your business from ransomware threats starts with protecting your business from phishing attacks. Security awareness training that includes phishing resistance using a solution like BullPhish ID will help your business build cyber resilience, enabling it to resist more cyberattacks and keep on moving in adverse conditions.


Bit by bit helps client networks run smooth and secure.. visit our website at www.bitxbit.com/texas 877.860.5831

Expert Advice Will Help You Build a Stronger Defense Against Cyberattacks



The market is awash in software that makes all sorts of promises. Not only that, much of the information available about those solutions is an impenetrable morass of jargon. You need to make sure that you have the right security solutions in place to protect your business from rising cybercrime rates, but how can you be sure that you are choosing the right ones? 

Seeking out a trusted, informed advisor is the best way for you to make sure that you’re finding the right solutions for your business. An expert like an MSP will be able to offer you important guideposts for determining the suitability of a solution for your company’s needs. By conducting security and privacy assessments, your MSP can give you hard data on exactly how your company’s security will benefit from a new solution.

Many industries around the world also have complex compliance and regulatory requirements that businesses in that sector need to meet. For US Government contractors, moving to a zero-trust framework is critical to remaining compliant with ongoing cybersecurity rulemaking and legislation. Companies in the beleaguered healthcare sector need to be sure that they’re doing everything that they can to put strong protections on the client data that they maintain or risk a HIPAA disaster. Every organization in the EU faces the prospect of ever-increasing fines and penalties in the event of a GDPR violation.

Don’t take chances with your business IT security. It’s just too important – 60% of companies who are damaged in one cyberattack go out of business within a year. Stay out of that number by getting regular risk assessments and tuning up your security regularly with advice from an expert in the field that you know you can trust.


Bit by bit helps client networks run smooth and secure.. visit our website at www.bitxbit.com/texas 877.860.5831

It’s the Truth: Security Awareness Training Works



Everyone’s trying to control their spending these days as businesses start to climb back from the tumult caused by the global pandemic. As you start that climb you may be reviewing your budget to make sure that you’re not wasting money somewhere. But when you’re reviewing your expenditures, don’t put security awareness training on the chopping block – it could be the difference between life and death for your business. 

Many business owners think cybersecurity and cyberattacks are only problems for big companies and won’t impact them. An IBM report noted that  60% of SMB owners feel that their business will not face any kind of cyberattack including threats like ransomware in the next year, a dangerously incorrect assumption. An estimated 55% of ransomware attacks now involve companies with fewer than 100 employees. 

But with a limited budget, you’re certainly looking at the ROI on your business spending. So how good of an investment is security awareness training? It’s a very good investment with an impressive ROI. On average, smaller organizations (under 1,000 employees) can enjoy an ROI of 69% from a training program. The ROI is even bigger for larger organizations (1,000+ employees) at 562%.  

The most important factor is this one: Businesses that conduct regular security awareness training are up to 70% less likely to have a cybersecurity incident. Beginning or revamping your training program is easy with an affordable, effective solution like BullPhish ID. By giving your employees training in the phishing threats that they actually face every day using customized content and other threats like ransomware and credential compromise, you can ensure that the smart money is on your business staying safe from cybercrime.


Bit by bit helps client networks run smooth and secure.. visit our website at www.bitxbit.com/texas 877.860.5831

How Attractive is Your Business to Ransomware Gangs?



It seems like every other cybersecurity story that you come across these days is talking about another audacious ransomware attack. Ransomware attacks increased by 288% between Q1 and Q2 2021 across the board. But while it may seem like cybercriminals are just targeting everyone, there’s actually a method to the madness, and knowing a little more about that can help you keep your business safe. 

Geography matters. Businesses in the US are the most popular choice for cybercriminals, with almost half of ads measured in a popular dark web cybercrime forum looking for access to US companies. Canada (37%), Australia (37%), and European countries (31%) were also contenders.  To compare, organizations located in Asia (33%), North America (30%) and Europe (27%) were the hardest hit by ransomware attacks in 2020.

Industry is also an important factor in a company’s likelihood of a ransomware attack. Manufacturers, suppliers and business services companies are hot targets. Cybercriminals love a 2 for 2 bargain, like a successful attack on a small company that can give them an access point that enables them to attack a larger, wealthier corporation.

No matter what industry you’re in, making sure that your business is ready to fight back against a ransomware attack is critical to your future success – 60% of companies that fall victim to a cyberattack go out of business within a year.

The most common delivery system for ransomware is a phishing email. But security awareness training can reduce your company’s chance of experiencing a successful phishing attack by up to 70%.

Choose a solution like BullPhish ID that offers you a wide variety of content options from customized training materials to plug and play phishing campaign kits to make sure you’re getting exactly what you need, and start training your staff to spot and stop threats in order to effectively protect your business from ransomware and other damaging threats. .


Bit by bit helps client networks run smooth and secure.. visit our website at www.bitxbit.com/texas 877.860.5831

Tuesday, September 7, 2021

Simple Protection Can Defeat Complex Cyberattacks

Simple Protection Can Defeat Complex Cyberattacks 


You may think that stopping complex cyberattacks by sophisticated gangs requires deploying complicated (and expensive) solutions. But that’s not always the case. It’s totally possible to protect your business from some of today’s most devastating cyberattacks without breaking the bank. In fact, you only need to use one resource to do it – yet an estimated 50% of businesses aren’t using it.

That magic tool is multifactor authentication (MFA). Microsoft has noted that multifactor authentication alone can stop up to 99% of password-based cyberattacks cold. That includes potentially damaging attacks like password-spraying, brute force hacking, systems intrusion and more – even malware like ransomware. MFA can also give you an edge against the impact of a phishing incident by making that phished password useless automatically.

MFA is an important part of secure identity and access management, a security category that empowers businesses to control who has access to what quickly and easily. It makes it simple for comianies to make sure that the right people have access to the right things – and only the right people. Keeping your data in and cybercriminals out.

Talk to your MSP about adding MFA to your security plan with an affordable, dynamic secure identity and access management solution like Passly and deploy this powerful weapon to secure your business.


Bit by bit helps client networks run smooth and secure.. visit our website at www.bitxbit.com/texas 877.860.5831

Now More Than Ever, Getting the Right Advice on Cybersecurity is Critical

Now More Than Ever, Getting the Right Advice on Cybersecurity is Critical


These days, stories of devastating cyberattacks are in the news every day. From frightening attacks on infrastructure targets by nation-state threat actors to ransomware threats from small-time operators looking to make a quick buck, cybersecurity threats are around every corner for businesses in 2021. Last year, more than 80% of businesses saw an increase in cyber threats in a record-breaking year for cybercrime – and damaging attacks like ransomware are already up by more than 40% in 2021. How can your business stay safe from cyberattacks in this volatile atmosphere?

An assortment of variables can impact your company’s safety, from the industry that you’re in to the desirability of your data. Even the location of your company can play a part in your likelihood of experiencing cybercrime. Your employees’ habits and your staff makeup can also impact your security calculus in good and bad ways. Don’t forget to consider the conditions of the world economy and the dark web economy as factors. Plus, the way that technology is changing and potentially providing cybercriminals with new avenues of attack.

The size of your business won’t keep you safe from cybercrime either. Many small and medium-sized businesses (SMB) have value as strategic targets that enable cybercriminals to gain access to larger operations. Even without that aspect, SMBs aren’t a potential profit center that cybercriminals are going to overlook. Not only can they provide valuable data and other assets, but they can also be profitable sources for making a quick profit from ransoms. Two in five SMBs were the victims of a ransomware attack in 2020.

An estimated 47% of small businesses aren’t adequately prepared for a cyberattack. Are you? Make sure that you’re ready for trouble by making the right cybersecurity moves with expert guidance from a trusted partner like an MSP. to give your business an edge against cybercrime as the threat level continues to rise.


Bit by bit helps client networks run smooth and secure.. visit our website at www.bitxbit.com/texas 877.860.5831

Industry & Regional Dangers Can Complicate Your Security

Industry & Regional Dangers Can Complicate Your Security


While you’re considering your security needs, are you also considering your unique threats by industry or region? Cybersecurity isn’t a one-size-fits-all proposition in any business. you may face a higher incidence of certain threats depending on your region, as some cybercrime types are more prevalent by locale. In North America, Asia and Australia, social engineering through things like phishing reign as the leading regional cause of danger, but for European firms that factor changes to web application attacks, with social engineering in third place.

The reasons why companies are attacked change by region as well. Malicious insiders and cybercriminals have different motivations for undertaking cyberattacks in different parts of the world, and that can add variables that change your risk calculation. In North America and the Asia Pacific region including Australia, over 96% of the bad actors involved in data breach incidents are in it for the dough. While that is still the largest motivator for bad actors in Europe, that figure drops to 89%. 

Considering regional and industry risks is also important when you’re forming relationships with new vendors to determine what level of risk they may be bringing to the table. Unaddressed vulnerabilities in a supplier or service provider’s cybersecurity can have a negative impact n your business too. One great way to mitigate that risk is to add multifactor authentication (MFA) to your credentials to provide extra protection against intrusion with a stolen or compromised credential. An affordable secure identity and access management solution like Passly includes MFA and more tools to help you guard your systems and data from third-party risk. 

To make sure that you’re protecting your organization correctly and completely, schedule a cybersecurity tuneup at least once per year. By going over your resources and determining where you may have unexpected vulnerabilities because if regional variances, you’ll increase your company’s cyber resilience making it more able to withstand a dangerous cybersecurity landscape.


Bit by bit helps client networks run smooth and secure.. visit our website at www.bitxbit.com/texas 877.860.5831

Automation Reduces Delays and Headaches

Automation Reduces Delays and Headaches 


Everyone dreads having something go wrong in IT. The process of filing tickets, looking for answers and tracking down personnel doesn’t improve your day. But there is an easier way to get the job done. By choosing security solutions that make the most of today’s smart automation technology you can save your employees time and headaches – and you won’t have to blow up your budget to do it.

Security automation is an essential tool for businesses that want to maximize every dollar that they spend on security. In a recent report by IBM and the Ponemon Institute, experts noted that security automation can save more than 80% of the cost of manual security. That’s a big chunk of change for a small investment. 

In the same report, researchers uncovered another important piece of information: an estimated 80% of leading cyber-resilient organizations rely on security automation for all kinds of tasks. Why wait for a trouble ticket to resolve when you can just reset your password immediately using automation technology. Plus, smart solutions that utilize AI are constantly learning, reducing the need for maintenance.

Best of all, today’s automation technology isn’t expensive, allowing every business to access the benefits. Talk to your MSP about adding smart automation to your security plan and you can choose from an array of affordable options including dynamic solutions from ID Agent and Graphus to secure your business without breaking the bank.


Bit by bit helps client networks run smooth and secure.. visit our website at www.bitxbit.com/texas 877.860.5831

Does a Data Breach Damage Your Company’s Financing Prospects?

Does a Data Breach Damage Your Company’s Financing Prospects? 


The last thing that you want to discover when your company is in a bind is that a data breach that you had two years ago is impacting your ability to secure new financing at a rate that you can afford, but that’s exactly what has happened to many companies in the last few years.

In a recent study by the American Accounting Association, “Do Banks Price Firms’ Data Breaches?” it’s easy to see that a data breach can be a huge blot on a company’s financing prospects from banks and other lenders. Companies that experience a breach pay higher interest rates, face a 22% higher loan spread and a 40-basis-point increase as well as negative impacts on their collateral requirements and loan covenants.

The best way to stay out of that group is to take every possible security measure that you can to keep your systems and data safe. The most effective one for you to adopt immediately is secure identity and access management using a smart, affordable solution like Passly. Just by adding Multifactor Authentication (MFA), you’ll stay safe from 99.9% of password-based cybercrime. Plus, Passly gives you so many additional security boosters it’s like getting three solutions for the price of one.

Waiting until you’ve had a security disaster isn’t a good way to save money. Make a small investment in secure identity and access management now to ensure that you’re taking sensible precautions to protect your organization’s financial future.


Bit by bit helps client networks run smooth and secure.. visit our website at www.bitxbit.com/texas 877.860.5831

Businesses Report Increasing Cyberattacks in 2021

Businesses Report Increasing Cyberattacks in 2021


2020 was a banner year for cybercrime, and that trend isn’t slowing down in 2021. In a recent survey, more than 35% of businesses reported double-digit increases in cyberattack threats including ransomware and nation-state threats. At the same rate, hiring people with security experience for in-house security is extremely difficult and risks are changing constantly. How can you defend your business effectively? 

By turning to the same thing that the big players are using: security automation. Today’s smart tools enable companies to make a lean team more effective in spotting and stopping security threats. In fact, more than 40% of the organizations in IBM’s most recent cyber resilience survey cited security automation as a major factor in their success at improving their cybersecurity posture.  

Strengthening your security without a big spend is especially important in an era of burgeoning risk and shrinking budgets. In the same survey, researchers reported that choosing solutions that employ security automation can save more than 80% of the cost of solutions that rely on manual security, welcome news after a year of pandemic-related expense.  

Most solutions that include security automation also include other powerful protections against cybercrime. From automated password resets that accompany multifactor authentication and single sign-on in a solution like Passly to automatically delivered security awareness training from a solution like BullPhish ID, today’s strong solutions pack a punch that knocks out cybercrime making security automation a smart choice for every business.  


Bit by bit helps client networks run smooth and secure.. visit our website at www.bitxbit.com/texas 877.860.5831

A Strong Security Culture is Your Secret Weapon

A Strong Security Culture is Your Secret Weapon 


In a volatile risk landscape, businesses are looking for new ways to improve their security and avoid becoming victims of cybercrime like 2 in 5 SMBs did in 2020. But as businesses continue to grapple with the challenges of the continuing pandemic, and no one has the time or the budget to vet and purchase a bunch of new solutions.

Good news – you don’t really need to. One resource that you already have at your disposal is a more powerful defense against cybercrime than any software you can buy: your employees. By building and maintaining a strong security culture you can harness and direct the power of this asset, putting it to work to bolster your company’s security.

Making cybersecurity a priority starts with security-forward leadership at the top. If security is a priority for the boss, employees will make it a priority too. Establishing clear policies and procedures around cyber security that are enforced for everyone helps that focus carry weight for employees, and that makes them more likely to encourage compliance among their peers.

It’s also essential that everyone know that there is no penalty for reporting security concerns or mistakes to anyone. A third of employees in an IBM survey say they don’t report incidents for fear of getting in trouble, losing their jobs, being ridiculed or being forced to take security awareness training (which should never be used as a punishment). Every IT team would rather deal with a problem right away, before it becomes a nightmare, so making it easy for employees to report problems is just good business.

Provide your employees with support that they need to help out, and you’ll be pleasantly surprised at the result, Rely on a robust security awareness training program using a solution like BullPhish ID to teaches them about phishing and a host of other of cyber threats like ransomware and credential compromise. Empowered employees will feel like they’re part of the security team too, and that gets everyone on the same page to defend your business from cybercrime.


Bit by bit helps client networks run smooth and secure.. visit our website at www.bitxbit.com/texas 877.860.5831

Monday, August 16, 2021

Why You Need to Consider Virtual CIO (vCIO) Services


Small business owners are often short on time while trying to manage a variety of tasks each day. A lack of focus on certain areas of your company often results in many missed opportunities. One way to overcome these issues is to invest in virtual CIO services for your small business. A virtual CIO can assist you with a wide range of tasks, which takes a lot off your plate and creates a less stressful work environment.

 

Here are a few of the top reasons why you need to consider virtual CIO services. 

 

Cost-Effective Strategy

Many businesses aren't large enough to hire a full-time CIO or even in-house IT employees. All of these salaries and different benefits can quickly add up and make it impossible for your company to stay within budget. However, using a vCIO is a great way to take advantage of these IT services without the high costs. You will only pay a fixed fee without paying overhead expenses or worrying about the costs of training new employees.

 

Greater Cybersecurity Protection

An added benefit of using vCIO services for your company is that it provides you with more cybersecurity protection. These IT professionals are responsible for maintaining network security infrastructure while also keeping your system up to date with the latest patches. Taking these additional precautions can make a big difference in giving your business an extra layer of security against the ever-evolving number of cyber schemes.

 

Future Tech Planning

Preparing for the future is an essential strategy for any small business owner. Using a vCIO adds a strategic element to your business, as they help develop long-term strategies to maximize your chance for success. One of the main objectives of a vCIO is to help you leverage technology to fuel business growth while keeping your costs to a minimum.

 

Disaster Planning

A cybersecurity incident can impact your business even if you take all of the necessary precautions. Developing an incident response plan to these situations is critical in limiting these damages. A vCIO can play a key role in helping you with disaster planning by creating a mitigation strategy for handling a wide range of scenarios.

 

Around the Clock Support

Sometimes tech problems can arise and lead to hours of downtime. Trying to figure out these issues on your own creates a lot of stress. On the other hand, using a vCIO is a great way to receive immediate assistance for tech issues, big or small. Around the clock, support will keep downtime to a minimum and boost the productivity levels of your employees.

 

Closing Thoughts

Choosing to partner with a vCIO is a great choice for many small to mid-size businesses. Using these services is more affordable than hiring your own IT team while also giving you access to state-of-the-art cybersecurity protection. These IT professionals will also offer guidance for implementing future tech strategies for your business. All of these different benefits make selecting a vCIO an excellent investment for business owners.

 

by

Robert Blake



Bit by bit helps client networks run smooth and secure.. visit our website at www.bitxbit.com/texas 877.860.5831

Friday, June 25, 2021

One Little Email Carries Big Risks

One Little Email Carries Big Risks


The biggest danger to your company’s cybersecurity isn’t someone hacking into your systems. It’s one phishing email. Phishing is the primary delivery system for all of today’s nastiest cyberattacks, from ransomware to business email compromise, and every organization is at risk for falling victim to an attack. In a record-breaking year for cybercrime, phishing risk ballooned by more than 600% in Q2 2020 and stayed elevated for the rest of the year.

What facilitates more phishing? More email. As businesses went remote last year (and many remain hybrid this year) an enormous increase in email volume led the way for equally enormous increases in every type of phishing attack. Cybercriminals did not hesitate to capitalize on that opportunity. Industry reporting notes that business email compromise attacks were up by 14%, while cloud-based attacks shot up by more than 40%. Experts estimate that one out of every 99 messages a business receives contains a phishing attack. 

Reduce your company’s risk of phishing disaster through security awareness and phishing resistance training with BullPhish ID. Results come quickly. Companies \that run phishing simulators for the first time learn that 40% to 60% of their employees are likely to open malicious links or attachments. But after about 6 months of training, that percentage drops 20% to 25% and after 3 to 6 months more training, that number can drop to only 10% to 18%. 

An estimated  97% of employees in a wide array of industries are unable to recognize a sophisticated phishing email. With phishing as the primary threat vector for most damaging cyberattacks, that’s bad new for businesses. Reduce your chance of getting caught by phishing by keeping your employees’ phishing resistance training up to date, because phishing attacks are definitely coming your way, with potentially devastating consequences.


Bit by bit helps client networks run smooth and secure.. visit our website at www.bitxbit.com/texas 877.860.5831

Wednesday, June 23, 2021

Now More Than Ever, Getting the Right Advice on Cybersecurity is Critical

Now More Than Ever, Getting the Right Advice on Cybersecurity is Critical


These days, stories of devastating cyberattacks are in the news every day. From frightening attacks on infrastructure targets by nation-state threat actors to ransomware threats from small-time operators looking to make a quick buck, cybersecurity threats are around every corner for businesses in 2021. Last year, more than 80% of businesses saw an increase in cyber threats in a record-breaking year for cybercrime – and damaging attacks like ransomware are already up by more than 40% in 2021. How can your business stay safe from cyberattacks in this volatile atmosphere?

An assortment of variables can impact your company’s safety, from the industry that you’re in to the desirability of your data. Even the location of your company can play a part in your likelihood of experiencing cybercrime. Your employees’ habits and your staff makeup can also impact your security calculus in good and bad ways. Don’t forget to consider the conditions of the world economy and the dark web economy as factors. Plus, the way that technology is changing and potentially providing cybercriminals with new avenues of attack.

The size of your business won’t keep you safe from cybercrime either. Many small and medium-sized businesses (SMB) have value as strategic targets that enable cybercriminals to gain access to larger operations. Even without that aspect, SMBs aren’t a potential profit center that cybercriminals are going to overlook. Not only can they provide valuable data and other assets, but they can also be profitable sources for making a quick profit from ransoms. Two in five SMBs were the victims of a ransomware attack in 2020.

An estimated 47% of small businesses aren’t adequately prepared for a cyberattack. Are you? Make sure that you’re ready for trouble by making the right cybersecurity moves with expert guidance from a trusted partner like an MSP. to give your business an edge against cybercrime as the threat level continues to rise.


Bit by bit helps client networks run smooth and secure.. visit our website at www.bitxbit.com/texas 877.860.5831

Friday, May 28, 2021

Is Your Business in Danger from an Infrastructure Attack?

Is Your Business in Danger from an Infrastructure Attack?


Infrastructure targeted cyberattacks aren’t just the problem of big business, government and military targets these days. Increasingly, cybercriminals including nation-state actors, are setting their sights on smaller companies that may have weaker security. One in four attacks that IBM Security X-Force Incident Response remediated in 2020 were caused by ransomware. But by taking a few sensible precautions, you can bolster your defenses against this threat. 

Experts estimate that 51% of businesses were victims of ransomware in 2020. These included companies in data handling, cloud computing, medical information processing and storage, transportation, manufacturing, education and many other sectors that may not at first glance seem like infrastructure targets. By attacking companies that do business with big fish, cybercriminals can gain information about them, or even gain access to the systems of major targets, like recently happened with Solarwinds.

Cybercrime gangs overwhelmingly favor ransomware as their weapon of choice in these attacks. This multifunctional tool can be used to shut down production lines, steal data, lock down servers and cripple services. The number one delivery system for ransomware is phishing – 94 % of ransomware arrives at businesses via email. By preventing phishing attacks from finding success at your business, you can protect your business from ransomware.

BullPhish ID is the perfect solution for training staffers to resist phishing attacks. Customization capability means that your employees can be trained in simulations that mimic real threats that they face every day, no matter what your industry – including URLs, attachments and content. Plus, increased security awareness training that includes phishing resistance can reduce your risk of suffering a cybersecurity incident by up to 70%!

Take action now to protect your business from this growing threat by implementing sensible precautions like a security assessment to find vulnerabilities and increased security awareness training to ensure that you’re ready for trouble.


Bit by bit helps client networks run smooth and secure.. visit our website at www.bitxbit.com/texas 877.860.5831

Is Cybercrime a Public Health Menace?



Healthcare organizations worldwide have seen an onslaught of cyberattacks in the last 12 months as cybercriminals seek to profit from an overburdened yet essential resource. In the midst of the global pandemic, heartless cybercriminals chose to slam healthcare and healthcare-related organizations with ransomware, phishing, hacking and other dangerous and disruptive cyberattacks. That means that cybercrime isn’t just an expensive inconvenience – it’s a public health menace. 

Ransomware incidents had a huge impact on the healthcare sector in 2020 – attacks against healthcare organizations have jumped about 45% since early November. Many of those attacks didn’t just snatch data from hospitals. Some ransomware attacks caused significant patient care disruptions, forcing staffers to rely on old-fashioned pencil and paper records in the midst of the world’s worst health crisis in generations. 

Data breaches at healthcare organizations have also soared by an estimated 55% in 2020, with huge spikes in Q4. These breaches affected more than 26 million people. That’s a big contributor to the flood of personally identifiable information that made its way to the dark web last year, increasing every company’s risk for dangers like a credential compromise. 

Protect your business from the increased risk of ransomware and credential compromise that healthcare and even healthcare-adjacent businesses are facing today. You’ll get the most value for your money by adding secure identity and access management using a dynamic solution like Passly. It includes multifactor authentication, one tool that provides strong protection against 99% of password-based cybercrime, like a phished password. You’ll have peace of mind knowing that you’ve made a strong move for your business.

If you only do one thing to improve your company’s cybersecurity posture this year, make it adding powerful protection against cybercrime with secure identity and access management with Passly.


Bit by bit helps client networks run smooth and secure.. visit our website at www.bitxbit.com/texas 877.860.5831

The Healthcare Sector is Still Under Siege by Cybercriminals

The Healthcare Sector is Still Under Siege by Cybercriminals


Although every industry has been impacted by cyberattacks during the unprecedented wave of cybercrime in 2020, the healthcare sector really experienced a disproportionate share. That wasn’t good news in the middle of a global pandemic that was driving already challenged healthcare organizations to the brink and beyond in the worst health crisis in generations. Cybercriminals saw an opportunity and they took it – confirmed data breaches in the healthcare industry increased by 58% in 2020. Now industry experts are wrestling with a thorny question: are healthcare cyberattacks a legitimate public health crisis?





 No one disputes that cyberattacks against hospitals, health systems, research facilities, pharmaceutical manufacturers and even temperature-controlled transportation were incredibly disruptive to the COVID-19 pandemic response around the world. Experts estimate that the healthcare sector alone lost $25 billion alone last year and an estimated 27% of all cyberattacks in 2020 targeted healthcare organizations. That’s not including pharmaceutical companies, research facilities, testing laboratories, equipment manufacturers, technology providers, insurance companies and myriad other healthcare-related businesses.

This onslaught led to huge problems exactly when hospitals and clinics couldn’t stand to have anything else go wrong. Unfortunately, according to researchers at Blackberry, healthcare sector businesses are the most likely to pay ransoms, making them extremely attractive targets. The information gained in healthcare data breaches is also exceptionally desirable and valuable. During the race to develop a COVID-19 vaccine, the pressure was on pharmaceutical companies, with three major contenders breached in one week at the peak of the pressure. Two specific outcomes for healthcare-related cyberattacks have made an especially strong case for healthcare cybercrime constituting a public health crisis. 


top phishing scams of 2020

Ransomware

Ransomware attacks against every target soared in 2020, and healthcare was no exception. Attacks against healthcare organizations dramatically increased in Q4 2020, with a month-over-month increase of about 45%in early November. That followed an alarming 71% spike in October. Researchers noted that on average, businesses and organizations faced an average of 440 ransomware attacks per week in October 2020 – and by the end of November 2020 that number climbed to 626 — nearly 90 attacks every single day.

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) didn’t wait to make a pronouncement about the status of ransomware attacks on healthcare targets. CISA, FBI and HHS joined together in a rare joint warningthe healthcare sector on October 28, 2020, to be on high alert for a new flood of attacks and continuing pressure, including potential activity by nation-state threat actors. Private security experts agree that it was the right call. At the time, the alert specifically called out TrickBot ransomware, but the suggested precautions would offer healthcare organizations strong protection against most other types of ransomware as well.





Care Continuum Impacts

The most feared result of potential cyberattacks against healthcare targets is a disruption in care. Many hospital systems experienced IT outages as a result of cyberattacks that caused serious problems. In some cases, hospitals were forced to resort to old-fashioned written records during these outages, or they experienced an inability to access important test results, scans, x-rays and other important patient information. Universal Health Services (UHS), a nationwide hospital and health facility operator in the US, experienced a massive IT network outage in late September 2020. The company was forced to disconnected its IT system after identifying a malware attack. The outage lasted for eight days in the middle of a pandemic wave, creating more stress for already overburdened medical; staffers in its facilities. In hundreds of UHS healthcare facilities across the US, healthcare workers were forced to resort to cumbersome downtime protocols and paper records during the outage.

It wasn’t just hospitals who have felt the pinch. Just last week, scores of US hospitals were impacted by a security breach at a specialist provider of equipment for cancer treatments.  Supply chain and third-party riskhas been a nightmare for every industry in the last 12 months. Swedish oncology and radiology system provider Elekta’s announcement of a data security incident, purported to be ransomware, was a heavy blow to 42 hospitals that were reliant on its first-generation cloud-based storage system. This led to an inability for providers to access the precise notes and details of radiotherapy treatments for patients. Yale New Haven Health in Connecticut was forced to take its radiation equipment offline for over a week, resulting in many of the hospital’s cancer patients being transferred to other providers with little notice.  Care disruptions are an unfortunate reality for many hospitals, and that makes cybercrime like this a public health emergency.



Bit by bit helps client networks run smooth and secure.. visit our website at www.bitxbit.com/texas 877.860.5831