United States- DiscountMugs.com

United States- DiscountMugs.comhttps://www.thepaypers.com/digital-identity-security-online-fraud/credit-card-data-breach-at-discountmugs-com/776755-26

Exploit: Injection of card skimming code into website.DiscountMugs.com: E-commerce website for custom mugs and apparel.

Risk to Small Business: 1.666 = Severe: When hackers can extract credit card numbers from your customers for four months long undetected, the aftermath is never good. Although the company identified that orders between August 5 and November 16 of 2018 had been compromised, the number of shoppers affected has not been determined. Customers will think twice before purchasing from the website and will likely consider competitors with better online security.

Individual Risk: 2.428 = Severe: Given that the cyber attack occurred just before a busy holiday shopping season, you must wonder if the cyber criminals planned their timing strategically. They stole everything from credit card numbers, security codes, and expiration dates, to names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses and ZIP codes. With this information in hand, anyone is capable of orchestrating payment fraud.

Customers Impacted: To be determined.How it Could Affect Your Customers’ Business: Payment breaches are frightening for businesses and their customers. As American consumers begin to experience how cyber attacks affect them first-hand, they will put their digital dollars towards websites that can protect their financial information.ID Agent to the Rescue: Dark Web ID monitors the Dark Web and can help discover this form of breach before it hits the news cycle. We work with MSSPs to strengthen their security suite by offering industry-leading detection. Find out more here: https://www.idagent.com/dark-web/.

Risk Levels:1 - 1.5 = Extreme Risk1.51 - 2.49 = Severe Risk2.5 - 3 = Moderate Risk*The risk score is calculated using a formula that considers a wide range of factors related to the assessed breach.

In Other News:

Facebook, What Are You Doing? Facebook continues to let down its users this week… this time by providing user data to a wide variety of large companies for commercial purposes. Some of the companies that took advantage of Facebook’s fast and loose outlook on its customers’ data include Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, Spotify, and Netflix. The information even included private messages between users. When Amazon was asked about how it used the user data Facebook provided them, their official statement stated they used the data “appropriately,” which is not very comforting.

https://www.theverge.com/2018/12/18/18147616/facebook-user-data-giveaway-nyt-apple-amazon-spotify-netflix

How Work-From-Home Can Open Your Business Up to Breach

How Work-From-Home Can Open Your Business Up to Breach

As the historical debate surrounding work-from-home (WFH) policies continues to reach news headlines, an additional consideration has surfaced: IT security. Home networks in WFH environments can expose your company to security risks, as devices are connected to the internet and can serve as an entry point for hacks.

With the advent of remote working arrangements and rising adoption of smart devices, employees are accessing enterprise software such as cloud-based apps, video conferencing software, and file sharing regularly, resulting in vulnerabilities that black hats can tap into with little to no difficulty.

Of course, this doesn’t necessarily mean you should discontinue your WFH policy. Instead, consider how you can arm your employees with best practices for securing their devices and networks to avoid breach possibilities.
https://www.trendmicro.com/vinfo/us/security/research-and-analysis/predictions/2019 

Top 3 Benefits of Using IT Support in the Workplace

Technology continues to play a vital role in today's workplace and choosing to partner with an IT support company is an excellent investment that can take your business to even greater levels of success. Whether you have a new startup business or have been around for many years, an IT support company can significantly improve efficiency and enable employees to become much more productive. If you are still undecided, here are just three ways an IT support company can benefit your organization in today's work environment.

#1 Around the Clock IT Services

One of the greatest benefits of using a managed service provider is that it gives your company access to around the clock IT services. Instead of trying to resolve technical issues on your own, you can contact an IT provider to receive immediate assistance. Ultimately, this will significantly reduce downtime for your company and allow your employees to be much more productive. An IT provider is always available at any time to answer questions and can also provide additional training for employees on a wide range of topics, such as cybersecurity or understanding how to operate new technology.

#2 Minimize Expenses

Another advantage of using an IT support company in the workplace is that it is a fantastic way to keep costs to a minimum and improve the bottom line for your business. For example, instead of hiring your own IT department, a managed service provider is a much more affordable option that will give your business access to professional IT services at an affordable rate. On the other hand, hiring your own IT employees is much more expensive, and many companies are unable to afford the additional costs.

#3 Increase Cybersecurity

New cybersecurity threats continue to emerge all of the time in the workplace, and it is important to partner with a managed service provider that focuses on offering the ultimate cybersecurity protection. Of course, these cyber threats are constantly evolving, whether it is ransomware, malware, viruses, phishing scams, or even social engineering attacks.

However, an IT provider can keep your company well-protected with around the clock monitoring services and access to the latest security updates. An IT provider also specializes in data backup and recovery services to ensure that your data is always protected and that you will never have to give in to the demands of a ransomware attack.

Technology will only continue to grow in the business world, and the use of a managed service provider offers a wide variety of benefits for companies of any size. An IT support company is one of the best investments for any business and can give you a competitive advantage over other companies by reducing expenses, increasing cybersecurity, and giving your employees access to around the clock support. Technology is continually changing, but an IT provider will ensure that your business remains on the cutting-edge of technology and can help your company reach its full potential in today's work environment. 

Robert Blake 

www.bitxbit.com

877.860.5831

Dark Web ID Trends:

Dark Web ID Trends:Top Source Hits: ID Theft Forums (55%)Top Compromise Type: DomainsTop Industry: High- Tech & ITTop Employee Count: 11-50 employees (32%)

United Kingdom - Steelite

United Kingdom - Steelite

https://cyware.com/news/pottery-giant-steelite-international-hit-by-a-massive-cyber-attack-0b640be8

Exploit: Ransomware.
Steelite: A Middleport-based company that manufactures tableware for the hospitality industry.

	Risk to Small Business: 1.888= Severe: The risk to small business in this scenario is very high. Ransomware is becoming more and more prevalent in the cyber-crime scene as it is a low-risk/ high reward attack vector.
	Individual Risk: 2.571= Moderate: It is unclear if payroll information was accessed, but due to the sensitive nature of the encrypted files, it would be best to be cautious.

Customers Impacted: The employees who work at the organization are the ones at risk.

How it Could Affect Your Customers’ Business: Payroll information is vital for operating a business, which makes this attack particularly damaging. Many organizations would not have the resources available to rebuild their payroll servers so quickly, which would leave them in a precarious situation.

ID Agent to the Rescue: ID Agent offers Dark Web ID™ which discovers compromised credentials that could be used to implement a crypto jacking script. Make sure your credentials are safe; for more information go to https://www.idagent.com/dark-web/.
Risk Levels:1 - 1.5 = Extreme Risk1.51 - 2.49 = Severe Risk2.5 - 3 = Moderate Risk*The risk score is calculated using a formula that takes into account a wide range of factors related to the assessed breach.

Caribou Coffee gets roasted, and memes are being used as code.

Dark Web ID Trends:Top Source Hits: ID Theft Forums (100%)Top Compromise Type: Domains
Top Industry: Legal
Top Employee Count: 251 - 500 employees (50%)

---

United States - Caribou Coffee 

https://www.zdnet.com/article/caribou-coffee-chain-announces-card-breach-impacting-239-stores/

Below is a link to the notification published by Caribou regarding the affected locations: https://assets.coffeeandbagels-static.com/cariboucoffee/Data-Security-Notice.pdf

Exploit: Compromise of POS systems.
Caribou Coffee: A large coffee chain in the United States.

	Risk to Small Business: 1.777 = Severe: A breach of this magnitude would have a negative impact on any organization for a long time. Around 40% of the company’s locations were affected by the breach, with all cards used during the breach being considered accessed.
	Individual Risk: 2.428 = Severe: Those affected by this breach are at an increased risk of identity theft. Those who used a credit or debit card at the organization between August 28, 2018, and December 3, 2018.

Customers Impacted: 239 of the organization’s stores were affected by the breach.

How it Could Affect Your Customers’ Business: Credit card information being accessed is never good for business. Customers tend not to forget the company whose breach resulted in them losing money.

ID Agent to the Rescue: Spotlight ID™ by ID Agent offers comprehensive identity monitoring that can help minimize the fallout from a breach of this type.
Learn more:Learn more: https://www.idagent.com/identity-monitoring-programs

Risk Levels:1 - 1.5 = Extreme Risk1.51 - 2.49 = Severe Risk2.5 - 3 = Moderate Risk*The risk score is calculated using a formula that takes into account a wide range of factors related to the assessed breach.