CoreTech Blog

Phishing is one of the newest and most dangerous online threats that have pervaded businesses and private accounts in recent years. Reports show that phishing attacks this year are 70% higher than the total number of attacks reported last year.

A Brief Explanation of Phishing

What is phishing, anyway? How does it work, and why is it so dangerous for businesses? Phishing is a kind of cybercrime where a hacker essentially poses as a legitimate entity. They will send emails or forms to unsuspecting individuals, hoping to lure these potential victims into providing confidential information. The hackers usually aim to get credit card numbers, usernames and passwords, social security details, and banking info. Many will also create fake websites so that if someone clicks on their links, they will seem like genuine links. Phishing scams have improved considerably over the years, and today, most victims are not even aware that a virus has infiltrated them until the damage starts.

Different Styles of Phishing

In the beginning, phishing happened through emails, but recently, hackers have expanded their channels and are now attacking from more diverse angles. There are three main types of phishing used today. As a business owner, learn about these attacks to protect your company accordingly.

Spear Phishing

This threat is the most common type of phishing used today because it is very effective. Reports show that over 90% of phishing attacks are of this nature. The attack aims at specific targets, and the hackers have prepared for it beforehand by gathering information about the target to make their snare more convincing.

Clone Phishing

This type of phishing involves cloning or duplicating legitimate emails that the recipient has already received and turning them into system infiltration tools. The hackers copy the original emails, subtly replacing the valid URLs with malicious links. They also use a recipient's email address similar to the original so that the entire email looks legit. They will then send this fake email to the targets in the guise of being a resend or an updated version of the previous email.

Whaling

Hackers target these phishing scams at executives or high management of a company, not just any random employee. Hence, the term "whaling" as it targets the "big fish" of the business. The tone and content of these phishing emails are also very different. To blend in with other emails, they take the form of customer complaints, top-level office matters, or even subpoenas. They come with the illusion of urgency, so the executives who receive them feel compelled to click on the link as instructed, which is a malicious link.

Protect Your Business through Employee Training

Your protection against phishing threats depends on your employees' knowledge of these threats. If your employees are careless about clicking links, you might as well hand your data to hackers. The simple solution is to train your employees. Teach them how to identify a phishing scam. Equip them with the skills to handle an attack. If you don't know how to do it, don't worry because we can do it for you as part of the service we provide to you. Aside from in-depth employee training, we can also run a phishing test on your company to test your security. Start your new Employee Training today, and have everyone in your office watch our Free Cybersecurity Webinar. Don't leave your business unprotected in these times of rampant online threats. Call us today, and we will boost your defenses against phishing and other online threats!

Technology gets better and more efficient over time, and smartphones are one of today’s standout examples. Although their growth has stagnated a bit in recent years, it’s no small thing to say that smartphone innovation has really taken off, offering extremely fast processors, data storage in the cloud, and so much more. Let’s go over what you might look at when you purchase a new smartphone.

The cloud has helped countless organizations all over the world establish themselves as powerhouses of their industries through dynamic and flexible solutions. One of the biggest reasons why the cloud is so effective—particularly for growing companies—is because of how scalable it is. Let’s examine how this scalability can help your company succeed despite how much it grows.

Communications are critical for businesses of all sizes, including small businesses and their telephone systems. While the technology likely still plays some role in your office, other means of communication have likely come to the forefront. In some ways, the traditional telephone has been left behind…with Voice over Internet Protocol largely taking its place.

For business communication security, employee awareness is your first line of defense. The more your staff know about the risks, the better prepared they are to deal with potential attacks and the safer your business will be. Unfortunately, recent studies have shown that more than half of employees today lack training in online security. For a business owner like yourself, this can be a frightening idea. Such a lack of awareness and training poses a grave danger to your business should you become the target of an online attack.

Check Your Employees’ Level of Awareness

But don't fret just yet. Maybe your staff knows more about online safety than typical employees. To find out where their security knowledge is, have them take this Employee Readiness Check offered by us. This quiz that we have created will gauge how prepared employees are if a cyberattack happens. If they pass with flying colors, then good for you! Your business has a strong defense against online attacks!

Sadly, it is more likely that they will score lower than you expect. The statistics don't lie. The quiz will show that most employees cannot identify a phishing email if it hits them in the face!

Train Your Employees on Recognizing a Phishing Threat

Phishing is an online threat to communication security. Hackers attempt to steal data by posing as legitimate entities. The concept sounds too simplistic to work, but it would surprise you how effective it is at tricking unsuspecting employees. With a successful phishing attack, cybercriminals can gather sensitive information like your bank details, client databases, and passwords.

To help prevent phishing attacks from succeeding, you must train your employees to practice caution and take the following steps when using the company’s communication system.

Examine email addresses.

Phishing addresses look like the real deal, but to be proactive with your employee awareness pay close attention. What should have been a ".com" might be a ".co".

Hover over the links to verify.

For better employee awareness, before clicking on any link sent through email, texts, or social messaging, hover over it to see the URL. If it is not something that looks familiar, it is better to not click than risk the danger.

Check for errors in spelling and grammar.

These are common telltale signs of a phishing email. Official correspondence from reputable entities gets proofread and spell-checked before being sent out. Messages rife with mistakes are most likely the work of hackers trying to get into your system.

Ignore emails that ask for passwords.

Be aware that a trusted company will not request your password or other personal information through email messages. If you get a message that asks for such, it is best to ignore or block it.

With the volume of emails that employees receive daily, plus all the other tasks they must do in the workplace. It is easy to become complacent with communication security which is why employee awareness plays a vital role in your company. Hence, you must train your employees regularly and give them pop quizzes from time to time by sending them harmless "phishing emails" to see if they can deal with these kinds of threats properly.

Our team provides top-quality employee training for communication security and online safety. Don't leave your company's safety to chance. Call us today! We will help build a strong line of defense to protect your business from losing data.

There is a free eBook available for download that covers many of the issues you could face while collaborating with a managed service provider. It's available for i

Digital technology has advanced dramatically over the years, and today we get to communicate in ways that were unheard of before. From simple emailing for work and chatting with friends across the globe to high-speed real-time videoconferencing and accessing massive amounts of information within seconds, we have come a long way. When was it time to consider worrying about communication security?

But together with these improvements, new communication risks have also emerged. Hackers have also used technology to hone their craft, and businesses need to find effective ways to thwart these risks and stay protected online.

Longer Online Time

The longer time spent online equates to more cybersecurity risks for all of us. Technology has rapidly become a major part of our lives. People are spending more and more time on technology and communications software. Hence, the risks posed to our security are naturally growing. A natural solution would be to reduce online time, but this is impossible because most of our lives are now online. What we can do instead is to practice efficient security measures so that no threats can penetrate our systems if we are online 24 hours a day.

Fake Messages

This trick is the most prevalent communication security risk facing the world today. This scam has become quite common, especially with the rise in the popularity of online shopping. A common trick by hackers is to send fake messages regarding deliveries that did not arrive, with a link that will supposedly let you 'reschedule' your order. Instead, these bogus links take you directly to malicious websites that can harm your computer system.

Some of these fake messages merely request that you pay a small amount of money, which seems nothing more than an inconvenience. However, an increasing number of scams collect your data and credit card details, leading to a substantial loss of money. That being the case, these fake delivery messages pose a risk and are huge threats.

Email Attachment Scams

Another rampant security risk that people know about that has to do with communication comes from emails. Hackers are getting more skillful and innovative with their phishing tactics. They send emails designed to trick the receiver into thinking they come from legitimate senders, encouraging them to click on the included link. But what looks like a harmless site might contain malware or phishing software that would inadvertently be downloaded onto your device, causing damage to your computer system.

Social Media

Hacked social accounts are also becoming a massive problem in the online world. If you receive a suspicious message from a social media contact, particularly one that contains links to external videos or websites, don't click on it. The chance is that it will lead to the infection of your device with dangerous security software.

Protective Measures against Communication Security Risks

As a business owner, it is your responsibility to keep the communication channels of your business secure. Fortunately, there are many ways to do this. It's best to start with evaluating your current communication system and checking if it is safe from online threats. You should also use a trusted encryption method to protect your messages and everything that makes up your communication system. Depending on your level of protection, you might need to overhaul your entire security infrastructure.

It is wise to entrust these steps to a managed services provider you can trust. In the meantime, you can train your employees on communication security. We can help with that as well. We can improve your cybersecurity, as you can read in our free eBook. To start boosting your communication security right away,  Call us today.
 

For business communication security, employee awareness is your first line of defense. The more your staff know about the risks, the better prepared they are to deal with potential attacks and the safer your business will be. Unfortunately, recent studies have shown that more than half of employees today lack training in online security. For a business owner like yourself, this can be a frightening idea. Such a lack of awareness and training poses a grave danger to your business should you become the target of an online attack.

Check Your Employees’ Level of Awareness

But don't fret just yet. Maybe your staff knows more about online safety than typical employees. To find out where their security knowledge is, have them take this Employee Readiness Check offered by us. This quiz that we have created will gauge how prepared employees are if a cyberattack happens. If they pass with flying colors, then good for you! Your business has a strong defense against online attacks!

Sadly, it is more likely that they will score lower than you expect. The statistics don't lie. The quiz will show that most employees cannot identify a phishing email if it hits them in the face!

Train Your Employees on Recognizing a Phishing Threat

Phishing is an online threat to communication security. Hackers attempt to steal data by posing as legitimate entities. The concept sounds too simplistic to work, but it would surprise you how effective it is at tricking unsuspecting employees. With a successful phishing attack, cybercriminals can gather sensitive information like your bank details, client databases, and passwords.

To help prevent phishing attacks from succeeding, you must train your employees to practice caution and take the following steps when using the company’s communication system.

Examine email addresses.

Phishing addresses look like the real deal, but to be proactive with your employee awareness pay close attention. What should have been a ".com" might be a ".co".

Hover over the links to verify.

For better employee awareness, before clicking on any link sent through email, texts, or social messaging, hover over it to see the URL. If it is not something that looks familiar, it is better to not click than risk the danger.

Check for errors in spelling and grammar.

These are common telltale signs of a phishing email. Official correspondence from reputable entities gets proofread and spell-checked before being sent out. Messages rife with mistakes are most likely the work of hackers trying to get into your system.

Ignore emails that ask for passwords.

Be aware that a trusted company will not request your password or other personal information through email messages. If you get a message that asks for such, it is best to ignore or block it.

With the volume of emails that employees receive daily, plus all the other tasks they must do in the workplace. It is easy to become complacent with communication security which is why employee awareness plays a vital role in your company. Hence, you must train your employees regularly and give them pop quizzes from time to time by sending them harmless "phishing emails" to see if they can deal with these kinds of threats properly.

Our team provides top-quality employee training for communication security and online safety. Don't leave your company's safety to chance. Call us today! We will help build a strong line of defense to protect your business from losing data.

There is a free eBook available for download that covers many of the issues you could face while collaborating with a managed service provider. It's available for immediate download.

Even if mobile malware doesn’t have nearly as much of a presence in the cyber threat landscape as other major threats like ransomware variants, it is still just as dangerous under the right circumstances. An Android banking malware called Sova, for example, has returned with a vengeance with additional features to make users’ lives miserable.

Look, we get it: remote work has become a bit of a topic of contention lately. While employees have been relishing the benefits that remote work offers them, many employers have been doing everything they can to bring their workforce back into the workplace.

Now, it wouldn’t be unfair for you to assume that we would push remote work as a managed service provider because we just so happen to assist businesses in managing it as a part of our services. This is true enough…but we aren’t the only ones with an opinion on the topic.

Let’s face it: when you look at the back of your computer, where the motherboard’s many, many ports are accessible, there’s a substantial variety of connection types available to do a variety of things—some of which may overlap with one another. One prime example: the shared capability between USB and HDMI as a means of connecting your PC to many of its peripherals. Let’s consider which is likely to outlast the other.

Quiet quitting…it’s a buzzword that many might misunderstand that has seen increasing virality on social media. Let’s take a few moments to honestly evaluate what quiet quitting really means, and what it means for your business.

It’s back-to-school season! Soon, our kids will return to the classroom, where they will relearn the information from the prior school year to ensure that they were able to retain that knowledge. There’s nothing wrong with needing a refresher, and this is true for both students and your employees.

Business technology is a useful tool, there’s no way around it. Unfortunately for businesses, technology has to be replaced every so often. Even if the technology doesn’t break, there are innovations made that can help your organization do what you do better. The thing is: Technology does break, so you need to understand how to get the most value out of it when it is working. 

Downtime is a killer for any business. When a business is forced into confronting its technology support deficits, it usually means that they’ve been dealing with too much broken technology and downtime, and the costs associated with it. One way your business can avoid losing huge chunks of time to broken technology is to add a professional help desk to support your IT administrator. 

Ransomware attacks happen every 11 seconds, according to cybersecurity experts. This statistic is very alarming and continues to worsen. Users of all types are being targeted, from individuals to multinational corporations. The severity of the attacks and the ransom vary considerably, but there is one common factor. Practically all cyberattacks begin with a breach in communication security.

Despite the disturbing trends, many businesses are still not fully realizing the importance of security in business communication. Less than half of small companies have protective measures against ransomware attacks, and more than a quarter of employees lack proper training in online security. These are urgent issues that need to be investigated if you want to have a chance of surviving a severe cyberattack.

Why Communication Security is Important in the Workplace

Once a company's communication system gets breached, the hacker will already have broken through the perimeter defense of the company, and it won't be long before they get their hands on all kinds of sensitive and confidential information. This fear brings us to the three reasons a business should maintain security in all communications.

Customer Data Protection

In industries like healthcare, banking, and many more, companies collect customer data that must remain confidential. When this information gets out, it can cause problems for both the client and the company.

Intellectual Property Protection

Industrial espionage is a real thing. Many big corporations would pay to see information from their rivals to find out what new products or trends the competition is working on. This practice is quite common in the automotive and pharmaceutical industries.

Internal Communication Protection

Internal communication involves massive amounts of information meant only for those in your office. This confidential information is what a ransomware attacker would love to control because they can get large sums of money by holding the data hostage.

Vital Elements of Secure Business Communication

Establishing secure communication systems is crucial for all businesses, regardless of the size of their enterprise. The best way is to partner with a cybersecurity expert with the knowledge and technology to protect your communication channels.

Keep in mind that not all providers are equal. There have been cases where a supposed provider of a secure communications platform has been infected with malware. While the clients thought they were safe against online threats, they may have inadvertently placed themselves at an even greater risk.

When selecting a managed service provider to manage your cybersecurity requirements, you need to verify that they can provide the basic protective measures, at the very least.

Clear and Comprehensive Policies

A provider should be able to tell you what communication security procedures they can implement for your business. Will they manage your system and network, digital assets, physical security, and the vulnerability of your business? They should also address human fallibility, which is to blame for some business communication breaches.

Methods for Reliable Encryption

Hackers can now easily break through basic encryption methods, so you should only work with a provider that offers high-level and dependable encryption. This protection is key if your business involves a lot of remote work, and your employees frequently use their laptops and mobile devices for work.

Final Thoughts

These are just the fundamentals of why communication security is vital in running a business. You can learn more about the benefits of using a managed service provider by reading our eBook, where we discuss how an MSP can help you overcome the challenge of business communication.

Call us when you are ready to increase the security of your business communications. We can help you keep your business, your data, and your employees protected.

Mobile devices have become a key part of our daily lives, to the point that many of us openly feel undressed without our phones. As a result, our phones go everywhere with us. However, it’s important to remember that some applications have requested access to our location information. Do all of these apps need to know precisely where we are?

User authentication is a critical security feature for a business, specifically because it helps to minimize a significant threat to your business. This is why we’re so adamant that you should require multi-factor authentication wherever it is available… but is a better way to authenticate your users on the horizon?

We are major advocates for multi-factor authentication, but it’s also important to understand that it’s not a catch-all solution. In fact, it has forced cybercriminals to be even more innovative to find alternative methods of attack. One method hackers use to gain access to your systems is to use what’s called MFA fatigue to their advantage.

Cyberattacks on businesses can happen, but most hackers choose to target various online communication systems. The primary reason is that it's easy to breach. Anyone can send a fraudulent link via text message, email, messaging apps, or even social media. If a single employee makes the mistake of clicking bogus links, it will be a big payday for the hackers. This is why you should consider bolstering your communication security.
 
What You Can Do to Stay Protected
 
Running a dependable antivirus program and a firewall will help keep online threats at bay. But if your employees are the ones who allow threats in, then all your precautionary software and systems become useless. Everyone in the organization should learn to practice caution and prudence, especially when using the company's communication system. Here are a couple of tips that could help.
 
Check Links Before Clicking
 
First, look at the hyperlink in the anchor text and verify its legitimacy by checking for signs of bogus links. Before clicking on the hyperlink, you should also see where it points by right-clicking it before opening it. Real websites will usually end with ".com," but a fraudulent link will change this to a different ending like ".co,” “.uk,” “.xyz,”.
 
Check Email Addresses before Opening Messages
 
It's easy to search for email addresses or phone numbers online. If no results show up, you can contact the company directly. Ask whether the contact number you have is accurate. Most companies are glad to lend a hand!
 
Invest in Online Security Training for Employees
 
No matter how safe and advanced your cybersecurity strategies are, they can't protect you completely if your employees don't know how to stay safe online. A lot of cyberattacks on businesses today can be traced back to one employee who accidentally clicked on a malicious link or let malware into the system.
 
Lack of Awareness
 
It's easy to blame employees, but what can you do if they can't tell between fake and valid links? You'd be surprised at the lack of awareness concerning online threats. Try it for yourself by taking our Employee Readiness Check. Have your employees take the test and see how much they know about online and communication security.
 
A Comprehensive Training Program
 
As a business owner, you must invest in online security and training for your staff. We offer a comprehensive training program that will equip your employees with all the knowledge and skills needed to improve your online security. We will train them on how to check URLs before clicking, how to verify the validity of an email address before opening it, and much more. By the time the training is over, we will have turned your staff into a robust first line of defense for your company.
 
In addition, we can run a phishing test in your office to identify the weak security areas that need to be corrected. We can then make changes and boost your communication security so that you won't have to worry about threats making their way into your system.
 
For more tips on how a managed service provider can help you, download our free eBook on The Ultimate Guide to Hiring a Superstar IT Provider today!
 
Your security is important to us. Call us so we can talk about a customized solution that meets your specific needs!

There are countless moving parts to any successful business, and smaller companies often have the issue of their employees juggling multiple different tasks and wearing all kinds of different hats in addition to their outlined job duties and responsibilities. You might encounter situations where you don’t know what to do, and it can be overwhelming when so much needs to get done in so little time.