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Is Your Small Business Staff Trained in Security Awareness?

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The Ponemon Institute released a shocking statistic: about 80% of all corporate data leaks is due to human error. In other words, it only takes a single staff member to cause a huge issue. Here’s a scenario: Let’s say that you have an employee, Betty. Betty is lovely. We love Betty. But when Betty is checking her personal email during her lunch break and sees she has an offer that promises a 10-pound weight loss in only a week, she clicks the link. She wants to learn more about it, so she clicks the link in the email. What she doesn’t realize is that by clicking that link, she just installed a virus onto the computer. In addition, the virus now has access to your company’s network.

This was a very simple act, one that most of us do every day. However, this is why it is so important that your staff is up to date on security awareness. How can you do this? Here are some tips:

  • Present your staff with information about being aware of security, and then come up with a set up where you send them a link they want to click on. This is a process known as “phishing simulation.” If your staff members click on the links, and they probably will, it will take them to a safe page. However, on the page is a message telling them that they fell for a scam, and though they are safe this time, there could be great repercussions.
  • The staff members who click the link should be tested again. This way, you will know if the message got through.
  • Make sure when you give these tests that it isn’t predictable. Send the emails at different times of day and make sure they look different and have a different message. For instance, don’t send the “lose 10 pounds” email twice.
  • Think about hiring someone, a stranger, who will try to get your staff to give them sensitive information about your company over the phone, through email, or even in person. This is a valuable test, as it helps you to determine who the “weak links” are in your company.
  • Give your staff quizzes throughout the year to see who is paying attention to security.
  • You should focus on education, not discipline, when you are doing this. Don’t make them feel bad or punish them. Instead, make sure they know what they did wrong and work on not doing it again.
  • Ensure that your team knows that a data breach can also result in financial, legal, and criminal problems.
  • Schedule checks of workstations to see if any employee is doing something that might compromise your company’s sensitive data. This includes leaving information on a screen and walking away.
  • Explain the importance of security to your staff, and encourage them to report any activity that seems suspicious.
  • After training and testing your staff, make a list of all concepts that you want them to understand. Look at this list often, and then evaluate it time and time again to see if anything needs changed.
  • Don’t forget company officers. When company officers are omitted from this kind of training it poorly reflects on the organization. Some security personnel are afraid to put their Executives on the spot. That is a huge mistake. Security starts from the top.

Remember, there is nothing wrong with sharing tips with your staff. Post them around the office and keep reminding them to stay vigilant. This helps the information to remain fresh in their minds, and helps you to recognize those who are taking security, seriously.

Robert Siciliano personal security and identity theft expert and speaker is the author of 99 Things You Wish You Knew Before Your Identity Was Stolen. See him knock’em dead in this identity theft prevention video.

Black Hat 2017 was an Amazing Event

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In July, more than 15,000 security pros, hackers, hobbyists, and researchers met in Las Vegas for the Black Hat Conference 2017 at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. This was the 20th year that the security conference was held, and both black and white hat hackers joined together to discuss security.

For two decades, Black Hat has gained a reputation for demonstrations of some of the most cutting-edge research in information security as well as development and industry trends. The event has also had its share of controversy – sometimes enough to cause last-minute cancelations.

Launched in 1997 as a single conference in Las Vegas, Black Hat has gone international with annual events in the U.S., Europe and Asia.

Black Hat 2017 was almost a full week of everything having to do with IT security. There were hands-on training sessions, a full business hall where vendors gathered with swag and products, and of course, parties. I hit 5 parties in 3 nights. I’m totally spent.

This is a conference that attracted some of the brightest people in the world of security, and has a reputation for bringing together all types of professionals and amateurs interested in hacking, security, or the latest in encryption.

What’s interesting about Black Hat 2017 is that there is something for everyone. From hackers trying to hack hackers to remaining “off the grid,” you never know what you might find. In fact, most people who attended this conference decided to stay away from electronic communication all together. Let’s just say leaving devices in airplane mode, shutting off Wi-Fi, using VPNs, and always utilizing two-factor authentication for critical accounts is the norm during the conference for veteran attendees.

One of the most popular parts of Black Hat 2017 was the briefing on business protection. It’s important to note that many companies have employees that simply don’t comply with security policies. Additionally, these policies aren’t governed enough, and it is costing millions. In her presentation Governance, Compliance and Security: Three Keys to Protecting Your Business, the speaker from HP, Sr Security Advisor, Dr. Kimberlee Brannock, during her 16-year tenure at HP, Dr. Kimberlee Brannock has used her extensive education and experience in compliance and governance to shape HP’s security standards. shared why it’s not always enough to secure business networks and why governance and compliance really matters. With 25 billion connect devices by 2020, maintaining proper network and data security compliance is an important concern for any business, as noncompliance costs businesses an average $9.5 million annually through fines, lost business and lawsuits.

Another very popular briefing at Black Hat 2017 was Staying One Step Ahead of Evolving Threats demonstrated on average, an organization has more than 600 security alerts each week, and over 27,000 endpoints leading to 71% of data breaches starting from the endpoint.

Most put in thousands of hours, and dollars, for that matter, on securing servers, laptops, and data centers, but many companies are ignoring other areas of security vulnerability. One of the best things about this briefing was that the leader, Michael Howard from HP, Chief Security Advisor, as Worldwide Security Practice Lead, Mr Howard is responsible for evolving the strategy for security solutions and services in Managed Services. He gave a lot of information on printer security, something that most businesses fail to address. He used real-world examples of how some of the most secure organizations are still lagging in their print security and share how he uses a proven framework to secure the print infrastructure.

Overall, Black Hat 2017 was an eye-opening experience, and with the world of network security changing all of the time, all in attendance surely learned something new. I met a ton of very cool characters, partied hard, drank too much, ate too much, slept none and to keep my data secure, I’m considering moving off grid to a cave in the Outback of Australia.

Robert Siciliano personal security and identity theft expert and speaker is the author of 99 Things You Wish You Knew Before Your Identity Was Stolen. See him knock’em dead in this identity theft prevention video.

ISPs invading Subscriber’s Privacy

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It’s hard to keep track of the news of politics these days, and even if you can, how do you know it’s even real? The political landscape has greatly changed since January, and there have been a lot of laws passed that will affect us all, including the repeal of a law that protected your privacy on the internet. Basically, with this repeal, your internet service provider, or ISP, can sell your browsing history to anyone.

If you use the internet, you will be affected by this law. Not only will this change allow your ISP sell your browsing history to the highest bidder, it could also make it easier than ever before to access information about your family, your finances, and your health. Your ISP can now sell this information to companies, and they don’t need your permission to do so.

So, what does this mean for you? After all, you might not think it really matters that much. In simple terms, it means that your ISP can collect data about your browsing habits, create a record of this, and then sell it to advertisers. Think about your browsing history yesterday. If you want, open it up right now from your browser. One minute, you might have been buying dog food on Amazon, and then next, reading the latest news from the Kardashians. Regardless of if you want advertisers to know that you are a Kardashian fan, or not, to them, your data is a gold mine.

Now, think about your browsing history over the past few weeks or months, and then consider that your ISP knows each and everything you have searched for. It knows about that weird smell coming from your laundry room that you checked out online, and it knows that you have listened to that catchy new pop song a few times. It also knows your deepest worries, your sexual preferences, your political leanings, and what you are feeding your family. This information is invaluable to advertisers, but do you really want it getting out?

Luckily, you have options, one of which is called a VPN, or Virtual Private Network, which will encrypt data. Some of these, such as Hotspot Shield VPN, a client, is a good option. Also, start paying attention to those cookies and delete them.

Robert Siciliano personal security and identity theft expert and speaker is the author of 99 Things You Wish You Knew Before Your Identity Was Stolen. See him knock’em dead in this identity theft prevention video.

Are you Scam Aware or a Sitting Duck?

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You might have heard about all of the scams out there, and think that you are pretty scam savvy. But, the truth is, most of us aren’t, and even a simple phone call could get you caught up in a big scam.

One such scam occurs when criminals call random phone numbers and ask questions, such as “Can you hear me?” When you say “yes,” they record it. They then bill you for a service or product, and when you try to fight it, they say…but you said ‘Yes.’ Not only does this happen with private numbers, it also happens with businesses. So, you have to ask…are you aware of the possibility of scams, or are you a sitting duck just waiting to be targeted? HOWEVER, this scam is unproven. Meaning I don’t think it’s a scam at all. And the scam is that this is not a scam!

Do You and Your Staff Know What To Avoid?

Do you think your staff, or even yourself, knows what to avoid when it comes to scams?

  • It’s always a good idea to have some type of awareness program in place to teach your staff what they should avoid to avoid becoming a statistic. Phishing training and social engineering information should be a part of this.
  • Do you think you or your staff would know if they fell for a scam? To teach them, make sure to give them a general, broad view of various scams and avoid being too specific. Instead, broaden the perception they have of various attacks.
  • If someone on your team was the victim of an attack, would they even know what to do in that instance? It is important to have a “scam response plan” in place.

Reporting Scam Attacks

It is essential that your team understands how to report a scam. Whether that scam is a physical security scam, such as someone wearing a fake badge and gaining access to the facility or a cybersecurity incident.

It’s also important for you to realize that some people might not even want to report these incidents. They might not feel as if it’s a legitimate concern, or they might even feel stupid that they fell for it, so they hold the information back. Others might feel as if they are being paranoid, or feel as if it’s not a valid concern. Make sure your team realizes that we all make mistakes and you want to hear about it, no matter what.

Robert Siciliano personal security and identity theft expert and speaker is the author of 99 Things You Wish You Knew Before Your Identity Was Stolen. See him knock’em dead in this identity theft prevention video.

Smart and Easy Ways to Protect Your Digital Life

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Even if you don’t realize it, your identity is all over the internet. Whether you posted to an internet forum in 1996 or you ever had a MySpace page, this information is still out there, and you have to protect it. Here are some simple and easy ways that you can protect your digital life:

  1. Change Passwords – The first thing you should do is make sure you are regularly changing passwords. Make your passwords difficult to guess, and a mixture of letters, numbers, and symbols. Also, make sure that you are protecting your account when resetting passwords. For instance, you should have to answer “knowledge based authentication questions” before making a change.
  2. Take a Look at Account Activity – Many companies allow users to check out their recent activity. Google, Facebook, and Twitter are three examples. If something seems out of place, report it, immediately.
  3. Close Accounts You Don’t Use – Do you have an old MySpace page? Did you start a Blogger and never use it? If so, go and delete those accounts before they get hacked.
  4. Don’t Share Too Much – What do you share online? Are you getting too personal? Hackers can use personal information, such as your birthday, or even favorite sports team, to get into your accounts. This is especially the case if you choose to use this information in your passwords or in your password reset or knowledge based authentication questions.
  5. Use a VPN – With all of the talk about internet security making headlines, the safest way to access public Wi-Fi is through a VPN. A VPN, or virtual private network, encrypts your information.
  6. Don’t share account passwords – STOP THE MADNESS! Though you might think it’s cute to share a social media account with your spouse, it’s also dangerous. The more people who have access to your accounts, the higher the chances of getting hacked.
  7. Choose Trusted Contacts – Make sure to choose a couple of friends or family members as trusted contacts. That way, if you get kicked out of your social media accounts, they (meaning their email or mobile#) can help you get back in.
  8. Update All of Your Software – Finally, make sure that you are updating all of your software such as your OS, apps, or even Office docs when prompted. Don’t let those updates wait. Many of them contain important security updates, too.

Robert Siciliano personal security and identity theft expert and speaker is the author of 99 Things You Wish You Knew Before Your Identity Was Stolen. See him knock’em dead in this identity theft prevention video.

How to Digitally Secure The Remote Teleworker

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If you employ remote workers, your IT staff has a unique challenge keeping your organization safe. Fortunately, using a combination of best practices for cybersecurity, user awareness campaigns, and a strong policy will help to keep data safe.

New advances in mobile technology and networking have given remote workforces a boost, and while policies for most remote workers generally depend on manager or company preferences, most businesses must accommodate a mobile workforce on some level…and here’s where the challenge lies.

Things such as emails, vulnerable software programs and work documents are all tools that cybercriminals can use to infiltrate your company’s network. These remote workers, no matter how convenient they might be, are the weak link in any company’s security plan. Cybercriminals know this, which is why they often focus on these workers. So, what do you do to find a balance between the convenience of remote workers and the importance of network security? Here are eight way that you can secure your remote workforce:

  1. Use Cloud-Based Storage – One way to make your remote workers safer is to use cloud services that use two factor authentication. These often have a higher level of encryption, so any data that your workforce uses is not only accessible, but also protected.
  2. Encrypt Devices When You Can – When giving mobile devices, including laptops, to your remove workforce, make sure that the hard drives are encrypted to protect the data on the machine. However, not all security programs will work with devices that are encrypted, so make sure that you double check all the tech specs before loading them up.
  3. Set Up Automatic Updates – You can also take the steps to automate any software updates, which means as soon as an update is released, your remote workforce will get the software on their devices. This can also be done via Mobile Device Management software.
  4. Use Best Practices for Passwords – You should also make sure that you are implementing good practices with passwords. You should, for instance, safeguard against stolen or lost devices by requiring that all employees use strong, complex passwords. You should also request that your team puts a password on their phones and laptops, since these items are easily stolen.
  5. Create Secure Network Connections – Also, ensure that your remote employees are connecting to your network by using a VPN connection. Encourage your IT staff to only allow your remote workers to connect to the VPN if their system is set up and patched correctly. Also, make sure that they are not connecting if their security software is not updated.
  6. Increase Awareness – Instead of attempting to restrict personal use of the internet, you should instead encourage education about internet use. Create and enact a cybersecurity policy, ensuring that it covers concepts such as phishing, scams, and social engineering tactics.
  7. Use Encrypted Email Software – Checking business email offsite is quite common, even among those who work on-site. Thus, it is extremely important to use a secure program for email.
  8. Use an Endpoint Security Program – Finally, if you haven’t already, implement an endpoint security program. These programs can be remotely launched and managed from one location. This software should also include components to keep unpatched programs, safe.

Yes, remote workers can be a challenge for your IT staff to manage, but when you use a strong policy, good practices in response to cybersecurity, and a comprehensive campaign for user awareness, you and your staff can keep all of your data safe.

Robert Siciliano personal security and identity theft expert and speaker is the author of 99 Things You Wish You Knew Before Your Identity Was Stolen. See him knock’em dead in this identity theft prevention video.

Remember This: Hackers Like Strong Passwords, Too

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In late 2016, a huge data breach occurred. More than 412 million accounts were affected when hackers got into FriendFinder Networks.

5DAccording to sources, approximately a million of those accounts had the password ‘123456,’ and approximately 100,000 has the password that was simply, ‘password.’ This, of course, is despite the efforts from pros about password management and the importance of a strong password.

Complex Passwords are Inconvenient

This data breach is just one of many, and it shows that using passwords alone are risky and have consequences. Additionally, complex passwords are inconvenient, and this means that people often avoid using them, or they write them down, or use them across multiple accounts, meaning there is a great chance that they can be stolen.

Keeping in mind, still, that passwords are flawed. This is not because they are often so easy to guess and easy to hack, it’s because they are quite expensive to maintain. Approximately 20 to 50 percent of calls to the help desk are due to password resets because people forget them.

All of this means that things have only gotten worse when it comes to the usability of passwords over the past few years. So, to keep the control that is necessary to ensure the data is safe in an organization, the IT team must use tools that will address these major security concerns. When you consider all of this, it is truly shocking that so many people are still using passwords such as ‘password’ and ‘123456.’

If you look at all of the data-breaches that have occurred in 2016 and consider the millions of people who have been caught up in these breaches, it’s absurd that people are picking passwords that are so easy to guess.

However, you also should keep in mind that it doesn’t matter what your password is, security experts and IT professionals keep hammering in the importance of changing passwords. Even if you are choosing passwords that are a bit more advanced than ‘123456,’ you should still change your password, often.

You also must consider this: it doesn’t matter how good your password is and how complex you make it; passwords are still vulnerable. What we need is a change in our thoughts about security and a revision of our concept of what a password is and does.

In some form or another, passwords have existed as a way to secure information for centuries. For most of this time, they have worked well. However, with technology changing the world, this old form of security needs to be refreshed to meet the needs of the time.

More Security is Necessary

To overcome all of the issues that are associated with passwords, companies should take time to look at different forms of security. All you are doing now is wasting time and money by changing passwords and making them stronger. On top of this, when your business experiences a data breach, you could be facing a fine and of course, embarrassing questions. Instead, it’s time to drop this concept of using passwords as the only means of security.

We need an approach that eliminates passwords altogether. Using, for instance, two factor or multi factor authentication or better, un-hackable security tokens is one way to ensure that no passwords are stored, created, or transmitted. This will help us all to remain safe.

Robert Siciliano personal security and identity theft expert and speaker is the author of 99 Things You Wish You Knew Before Your Identity Was Stolen. See him knock’em dead in this identity theft prevention video.

Consumers Have Given Up on Security

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According to a recent study, online security for most people is too bothersome. The US National Institute of Standards and Technology published the study, which shows that most people who use the internet have just given up and don’t follow the advice given to them about online security.

The result of this is that consumers are engaging in risky online behavior, and according to one survey participant, if “something happens, it is going to happen” and “it is not the end of the world.”

This is concerning to many, including security experts and survey authors. During this survey, approximately 40 people were interviewed in order to understand how those without a technical background feel about computer security. Though this isn’t a total significant sample size, it is a surprising look at how people feel about the information that experts are giving them. Each interview ran from 45 minutes to an hour, and the goal of the researchers was to find out where the average person stands on online security.

The authors of the report were surprised by the resignation of the interviewees during the survey. Essentially, they saw that people just can’t keep up with security changes. The survey participants, overall, believe that online security is too complex, and these people don’t see the benefits of making any efforts.

Some of the people who took the survey seemed to be under the impression that they didn’t have any information that a hacker would want. For example, one person claimed that they don’t work in a government agency and they don’t send sensitive information over email, so if a hacker wants to take their blueberry muffin recipe, they can go ahead and take it.

What’s interesting is what the study’s authors found when comparing those who had experienced identity theft with those who hadn’t. Those who have had an incident with the theft of their identity were much more focused on their online security.

To help the survey participants better understand their risks and to change their minds about internet security, study authors advise that those involved in technology and security must work diligently to help the people using the internet understand the dangers of lax security. They also must work to make it easy for internet users to do the best they can when keeping their accounts safe. It’s important for people who use the internet to make it a habit to remain more secure.

Robert Siciliano personal security and identity theft expert and speaker is the author of 99 Things You Wish You Knew Before Your Identity Was Stolen. See him knock’em dead in this identity theft prevention video.

How to erase Yourself from your Job

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You shouldn’t leave any digital trace of yourself after you leave a job. Hopefully, you’ll be leaving voluntarily and thus have the time to first make backups before you delete anything. This may seem easy, but you need to take inventory to make sure you get EVERYTHING.

3DNote: make sure that every suggestion below is allowed via a company’s internal policies.

An article at wired.com gives these recommendations:

  • Use a flash drive for smaller amounts of data.
  • An alternative is a personal account with Dropbox or Google Drive.
  • For more data use an external hard drive.
  • Don’t include company information in your backups.
  • Forward e-mails you want to save to your personal e-mail.
  • Delete all e-mail files, then close down your e-mail account.
  • Check USB slots.

Your Computer

  • Clear out your personal data if you don’t have authority to wipe the device.
  • Delete all your passwords, usernames, etc., that are stored in the computer.
  • Browsers like Chrome and Firefox will save passwords and tie them to Google ID or Firefox Sync. Don’t just close out of the browser; log out so that nobody sees your passwords. Do what you can to make the browser forget your passwords.
  • In Chrome is “Manage Saved Passwords” in the settings. Use this to delete passwords from any Google account you’ve used. Warning: Hopefully you don’t use the same password and username for workplace Chrome as you do for home, but if you do, deleting this information at workplace Chrome will also clip them at your home computer.
  • In Safari, go to “Preferences,” then “Passwords” and delete.
  • For Microsoft Edge, click the three dots in the upper right; go to “Settings” and then “View Advanced Settings.” Click “Manage Saved Passwords” and delete.
  • If you’re allowed to, wipe the computer.
  • The wired.com article recommends KillDisk and DP Wipe.

Your Phone

  • Wipe your mobile device that’s provided by the company, assuming you have permission.
  • If you don’t have permission, ask the IT team to do this. Just make sure you’re logged out of all applications.
  • Shut your company voicemail down—after you delete remaining messages.

Robert Siciliano CEO of IDTheftSecurity.com, personal security and identity theft expert and speaker is the author of 99 Things You Wish You Knew Before Your Identity Was Stolen. See him knock’em dead in this identity theft prevention video.

Jihadis using easy to get Privacy Software

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Over the past two years, the media has tended to sensationalize jihadists’ rapid adoption and strategic use of social media. Despite perpetual news coverage on the issue, the public, by and large, continues to be relatively in the dark about the intricate ways in which many jihadists maintain robust yet secretive online presences.

To accomplish their goals — ranging from propaganda dissemination and recruitment to launching attacks — jihadists must skillfully leverage various digital technologies that are widely advertised and freely accessible online.

Just as smartphones and portable devices have transformed the way much of the world communicates and interacts, jihadists, too, have rapidly adopted and availed themselves of these technologies.

Their grasp of technology, which is quite savvy, yields one of the most frequently asked questions about the jihadists today: What is in their digital toolbox and how do they exploit these technologies to benefit their activities? This report explores these questions.

ISIS is no exception to the many entities out there, good and evil, who want a strong grasp on technical savvy, particularly software that can oppose surveillance. The Dark Web is abuzz with jihadist threads about how to beat surveillance systems. And they’re learning a lot, says a report from Flashpoint, a cybersecurity firm.

For instance, ISIS knows how to use Tor and Opera to scavenge the Web undetected. That’s just the beginning of their software knowledge. Jihadists also use:

In short, ISIS is very well keeping up with communications technology. Evil can be technologically savvy, too. Do not underestimate the technical prowess of jihadists, even though it seems as though some of them live rather primitively.

Robert Siciliano personal security and identity theft expert and speaker is the author of 99 Things You Wish You Knew Before Your Identity Was Stolen. See him knock’em dead in this identity theft prevention video.