ID Agent Speaks with The Cyber Wire Podcast

This week, The Cyber Wire Podcast replayed my conversation in which I discussed the role of monitoring initiatives in helping victims recover from the 2015 data breach at the US Office of Personnel Management, which compromised 4.2 million government employees. 

The data breach is one of the most significant data breaches in history, and it serves as a harbinger for our current data landscape. Hackers effectively obtained a dossier on millions of Americans and monitoring the Dark Web for this information was an enormous, sprawling effort that provided security and peace-of-mind to those impacted by the breach.

Listen to the Cyber Wire Podcast to learn more about the team responsible for restoring and protecting the identities of more than four million government employees in the Office of Personnel Management. Today, this type of data disaster is much more common, and the risk of both companies and consumers has never been higher. At ID Agent, we provide the tools to help protect your customer and company data from falling into the wrong hands.
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/id-agent_the-cyberwire-special-edition-kevin-lancaster-activity-6620354728314363904-Tbmf

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

Payment Skimming is on the Rise!

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

877.860.5831

UK Businesses Endured an Attack Every Minute in 2019

For companies around the world, 2019 was a terrible year for data security. This is especially true for UK businesses, which endured a deluge of cybersecurity episodes equal to an attack every minute. Individually, it’s estimated that each business experienced 576,575 attempts to compromise company data in 2019, a 152% year-over-year increase. 

The report, compiled by Beaming, a Hastings-based ISP, identified China as the origin for nearly ⅕ of the attacks. Hackers commonly pursued domain admin tools and IoT endpoints to gain access to company networks. In total, the report concluded that 2019 was the worst year on record for UK data breaches. Moreover, the report cautioned SMBs to take cybersecurity issues more seriously by recognizing the profound risk and implementing basic protection plans, including adopting two-factor authentication to secure web platforms. 

https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/cyberattacks-uk-firms-once-per/

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

If you do not already have privacy regulations, they are coming. .

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

In Other News: New Ransomware Strain Targets Healthcare Sector

Each week, our newsletter has examples of companies devastated by ransomware attacks that carry an incredible cost and inflict reputational damage. Unfortunately, these attacks have become more pervasive this year, and hackers are not content to rest on their laurels. 

Instead, a new variant of ransomware called Zeppelin is being deployed throughout the US, Canada, and Europe to target healthcare companies and IT organizations. In addition, the ransomware is using MSPs to further infect companies via their management software. Notably, the ransomware is being deployed through remote desktop servers that are publicly exposed to the internet. 

The incident is a reminder that SMBs can’t afford to leave cybersecurity up to chance. These attacks can have devastating financial consequences for any organizations, which means that a robust defensive posture is a bottom line issue that will continue to become more critical in the year ahead.

https://cyware.com/news/new-vegalocker-ransomware-variant-targets-healthcare-and-it-sectors-57131ade

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

Healthcare is a leading target for Cyber Attacks

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

Be Aware. Be Vigilant. Be Safe. - UPS provides great safety advise to its clients.

This applies to all th big name companies out there Apple, Microsoft, Fidelity etc..  Each has a fraud reporting address..  We want to help you avoid being a victim of fraud Fraudulent communications adopt many different forms and are the unauthorized actions of third parties. These messages, sometimes referred to as "phishing" or "spoofing", are becoming more common and may appear legitimate by incorporating company brands, colors, or other legal disclaimers. We take fraud and the protection of our customers' information seriously. We want to help make sure you don’t fall victim to phishing or other types of fraudulent activity whether it’s through email, text, phone, or social media. Here are some tips to keep in mind: • UPS will not request personal information, financial information, account numbers, IDs, passwords or copies of invoices in an unsolicited manner through email, mail, text, phone or fax, especially in exchange for the transportation of goods and services. • If you receive a message that appears to be from UPS that you believe is fraudulent, send a screenshot of the message or forward it to fraud@ups.com for investigation. • Learn more about how to avoid phishing scams in this article from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission: https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/how-recognize-and-avoid-phishing-scams

© 2020 United Parcel Service of America, Inc. UPS, the UPS brandmark and the color brown are trademarks of United Parcel Service of America, Inc. All rights reserved. For information on UPS's privacy practices, refer to the UPS Privacy Notice. UPS, 55 Glenlake Parkway, NE, Atlanta, GA 30328; ATTN: Customer Communications Dept.

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