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Category: Virus Infection

Is Your Inbox a Gateway for Cybercrime? Protecting Your SMB from Phishing and BEC

Email is the backbone of communication for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). You use it for everything from sending invoices to internal memos, making your business heavily reliant on this tool. However, this reliance also makes you vulnerable to cyber threats, especially Business Email Compromise (BEC) attacks, which are increasingly targeting SMBs. These attacks can have devastating consequences, but with the right email security measures, you can protect your business from falling victim.

Understanding the Threat: Phishing and BEC

Phishing is a cybercrime that uses deceptive emails to trick individuals into revealing sensitive information or taking harmful actions. These emails often look like they come from legitimate sources, such as banks or well-known companies, but they are actually designed to steal your data.

Business Email Compromise (BEC) is a sophisticated type of phishing attack where cybercriminals impersonate trusted individuals within a company to trick employees into transferring money, sharing sensitive data, or granting access to critical systems. BEC scams often target individuals in finance, human resources, or operations, with the goal of initiating fraudulent transactions or stealing confidential information. According to the FBI, there are five primary types of BEC attacks.

BEC attacks are particularly effective because they exploit human psychology. Attackers rely on impersonating authority figures, creating a sense of urgency, or crafting highly convincing emails to make employees act without questioning.

Email is the number one attack vector, responsible for 90% of phishing incidents. In 2023, BEC attacks led to $3 billion in losses.

Why SMBs are Prime Targets

While large corporations invest heavily in cybersecurity, SMBs are often more vulnerable. Cybercriminals view smaller businesses as easier targets due to their typically less robust security measures and lower awareness of emerging threats.

Here’s why SMBs are at greater risk:

  • Limited Cybersecurity Resources: Many SMBs have limited budgets for cybersecurity and often lack dedicated IT teams to monitor email systems for suspicious activity.
  • Employee Vulnerability: Employees in SMBs may not be as well-trained in spotting phishing attempts or recognizing the signs of a BEC scam.
  • Lack of Email Security Awareness: Small businesses may overlook the importance of securing business email accounts with multi-factor authentication (MFA) and other safeguards, leaving them exposed to attacks.

Simple Steps to Bolster Your Email Security

  • Employee Training: Regularly train employees to recognize and respond to threats. Run security awareness training to help your team spot phishing attempts and other common threats. Use simulated phishing exercises to test their readiness, uncover weak spots, and highlight potential weaknesses.
  • Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): Add an extra layer of security to your email accounts with multi-factor authentication (MFA).
  • Advanced Email Filters: Use advanced spam filters to detect and block phishing emails before they reach your employees’ inboxes. Scan links automatically to spot anything suspicious.
  • Email Encryption: Encrypt emails, both in transit and at rest, to prevent unauthorized access4.
  • Regular Security Audits: Schedule regular audits to spot vulnerabilities and keep an eye out for unauthorized access. Take time to review your email system’s settings, permissions, and logs for anything unusual.
  • Incident Response Plan: Prepare for email threats with a clear, actionable response plan. Outline the steps to contain, investigate, and recover from incidents, so your team knows exactly what to do

Cybercrime is a business, not a hobby, and incredibly lucrative. Taking a proactive approach to email security is essential for protecting sensitive information, preventing data breaches, and maintaining trust with your team and clients.

Is your business protected? Contact Farmhouse Networking today for a comprehensive email security solution tailored to your SMB’s unique needs. Don’t let your inbox be a gateway for cybercrime!

The Single Most Important Protection from Ransomware

For those that missed us this week, our CEO Scott Carr was one of the guest speaking panel and the event pictured above. During our discussion, the question was asked – “What is the one thing business owners can do to protect themselves from ransomware?” Scott’s answer was – “If you do nothing else, at the very least have a backup of your data. If anything goes wrong you will be able to go back to your previous data and skip paying the ransom.”

Why Backup?

Ransomware attacks have become an increasingly prevalent threat to businesses of all sizes. As cybercriminals continue to evolve their tactics, it’s crucial for organizations to implement robust defense strategies. One of the most effective ways to protect your business from the devastating effects of ransomware is through a comprehensive backup strategy.

The Rising Threat of Ransomware

Ransomware attacks have surged dramatically in recent years, with 2024 seeing unprecedented levels of both frequency and sophistication. In the first half of 2024 alone, the average extortion demand per ransomware attack exceeded $5.2 million, with a record-breaking payment of $75 million in March. These staggering figures underscore the critical need for businesses to fortify their defenses against such attacks.


The Role of Backups in Ransomware Protection

Data backups serve as a crucial line of defense against ransomware threats. They provide a safety net that can help your company prevent irreparable damage in the event of an attack. Here’s why backups are so important:

  • Added Data Security: By maintaining backups of your critical data, you remove one of the primary vectors for ransomware attacks. If you can still access your data from a backup, hackers lose their leverage in demanding a ransom
  • Recovery Options: Reliable and well-tested backups give ransomware victims more options. Without backups, organizations have limited choices for recovery. However, with confidence in their ability to restore from backups, businesses can make more nuanced decisions during ransomware recovery and negotiations.

Best Practices for Ransomware-Resilient Backups

To ensure your backups provide effective protection against ransomware, consider implementing these best practices:

  1. Implement the 3-2-1 Backup Strategy: This strategy involves maintaining at least three copies of your data on two different storage types, with one copy kept offsite. This approach significantly reduces the risk of losing all your data in a single attack
  2. Use Immutable Storage: Immutable backups cannot be modified, altered, or deleted for a specified period. This ensures that your backup data remains intact and tamper-proof, protecting against both accidental and malicious changes
  3. Maintain Offline Backups: Keep a secondary offline backup copy that ransomware cannot reach. Network attached storage devices can be an effective method for this purpose.
  4. Increase Backup Frequency: Consider backing up mission-critical data at least once per hour. This reduces the amount of data that could potentially be lost in a ransomware attack.
  5. Employ Endpoint Protection: Use modern endpoint protection platforms that can detect ransomware processes as they begin, even if the type of ransomware is new and unknown.

The Business Impact of Ransomware

The consequences of a ransomware attack extend far beyond the immediate financial loss. Businesses may experience:

  • Extensive downtime, leading to significant revenue loss
  • Damaged reputation among customers and partners
  • Delayed project timelines
  • Potential loss of sensitive customer data

These impacts underscore the importance of a robust backup strategy as part of your overall cybersecurity plan.

Don’t wait until it’s too late to protect your business from the devastating effects of ransomware. Contact Farmhouse Networking today to develop a comprehensive backup and cybersecurity strategy tailored to your organization’s needs. Our expert team can help you implement robust protection measures, ensuring your business remains resilient in the face of evolving cyber threats. Secure your data, protect your reputation, and safeguard your bottom line—reach out to Farmhouse Networking now.

Our Go-To Cyber Security Product for Business

Businesses of all sizes face unprecedented cybersecurity challenges. Blackpoint Cyber emerges as a leader in providing comprehensive, cutting-edge solutions to protect organizations from cyber threats. Let’s explore why Blackpoint Cyber stands out as the premier choice for business cybersecurity.

Comprehensive Ecosystem of Security Solutions

Blackpoint Cyber offers a fully managed, integrated ecosystem of services centered around their powerful nation-state-grade Managed Detection and Response (MDR) technology. This ecosystem is designed to keep businesses ahead of potential threats by proactively understanding the threat landscape and actively neutralizing adversaries before they can cause harm.

Managed Detection & Response (MDR)

At the core of Blackpoint’s offerings is their purpose-built MDR technology. This solution combines network oversite, malicious activity detection, and endpoint security to rapidly identify and neutralize hacker and virus activities in their earliest stages. By harnessing data around suspicious events, hacker tradecraft, and endpoint activity, Blackpoint’s MDR can stop advanced attacks faster than any other solution on the market.

Cloud Response

With the shift to hybrid and cloud environments, Blackpoint’s Cloud Response extends the power of their MDR service to these critical areas. Their 24/7 Security Operations Center (SOC) actively monitors cloud environments and provides fast responses to threats on platforms like Office 365.

LogIC

LogIC enhances the value of security logs and data collected from networks, turning them into real-time threat hunting and response capabilities. With push-button setup, LogIC allows for quick addition of log sources, generation of compliance reports, and automatic mapping against hundreds of compliance requirements.

Unmatched Threat Awareness and Response Times

Blackpoint Cyber’s proprietary security operations and incident response platform, SNAP-Defense, enables continuous monitoring and response to modern threats. Their SOC, established by former US government cybersecurity operators, leverages deep knowledge of hacker tradecraft to provide 24/7 unified detection and response services.

The company boasts impressive response times, with an average of 7 minutes for cloud incidents and an overall average of 27 minutes. This rapid response capability is crucial in minimizing potential damage from cyber attacks.

Tailored Solutions for Businesses of All Sizes

While Blackpoint Cyber’s technology is enterprise-grade, they specialize in bringing these advanced solutions to small and medium-sized businesses through partnerships with Managed Service Providers (MSPs) like Farmhouse Networking. This approach allows businesses of all sizes to benefit from top-tier cybersecurity protection.

Continuous Innovation and Growth

Blackpoint Cyber continues to invest in growth and innovation. With a recent $190 million investment round and the appointment of industry veteran Manoj Srivastava as Chief Technology and Product Officer, the company is poised for further advancements in their product strategy and technology.

Blackpoint Cyber’s suite of solutions offers businesses a robust, proactive approach to cybersecurity. Their technology, combined with human expertise, provides a level of protection that’s essential in today’s threat landscape.

Ready to elevate your business’s cybersecurity with Blackpoint Cyber’s cutting-edge solutions? Contact Farmhouse Networking today to manage your cyber security needs and implement these powerful tools. Don’t wait for a breach to happen – take proactive steps to protect your business now.

Safeguard Your Business: The Importance of Security Risk Assessments

Businesses face a growing number of cybersecurity threats. Cybercriminals are constantly evolving their tactics, making it imperative to prioritize their organization’s security. One crucial step in fortifying your business against potential breaches is conducting a comprehensive security risk assessment. Let’s look at the significance of security risk assessments and how they can shield your valuable data from falling into the hands of malicious actors on the dark web. 

Understanding Security Risk Assessments:

A security risk assessment is an in-depth evaluation of your organization’s digital infrastructure, systems, and processes. It aims to identify vulnerabilities and potential threats that could compromise the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of your sensitive data. By analyzing your current security measures, a risk assessment helps you gauge your organization’s resilience to cyber threats, enabling you to implement targeted mitigation strategies. 

Why Security Risk Assessments Matter:

  • Proactive Threat Identification: Hackers often exploit vulnerabilities that go unnoticed until it’s too late. A security risk assessment enables you to proactively identify and address potential weak points in your network, applications, and data storage. By uncovering vulnerabilities before cybercriminals do, you can take preventive measures to mitigate risks and prevent unauthorized access.
  • Compliance and Regulatory Requirements: Depending on your industry, you may be subject to various compliance regulations that mandate data protection measures. Conducting a security risk assessment ensures that your business aligns with these requirements, helping you avoid costly penalties and reputational damage.
  • Data Protection and Client Trust: Data breaches can have severe consequences, including financial loss, legal ramifications, and damage to your brand’s reputation. By investing in security risk assessments, you demonstrate your commitment to protecting your clients’ sensitive information, fostering trust and long-term relationships.
  • Dark Web Threat Mitigation: The dark web has become a thriving marketplace for stolen data, offering cybercriminals a platform to sell and exploit compromised information. By conducting regular security risk assessments, you can identify vulnerabilities that may expose your data to the dark web. This knowledge empowers you to implement robust security measures, reducing the likelihood of your data being discovered and abused in illicit activities.

Securing your organization’s digital assets is of paramount importance.  By conducting regular security risk assessments, you gain crucial insights into potential threats and vulnerabilities, which allows you to implement targeted security measures. 

Protect your data from ending up on the dark web with a proactive and comprehensive approach.  We can help!

Understanding the Dark Web

The Dark Web is a part of the internet that requires special software to access. Often used by individuals who are looking to conceal their identities and activities, it has become the ideal environment for cybercriminals seeking to carry out illicit activities. They can move anonymously in this part of the internet often engaging in criminal activities such as the sale of stolen data, hacking tools, illegal drugs, counterfeit documents, and even illicit services.
 
Why Should You Be Aware of It?
 
While the Dark Web may seem distant and irrelevant to your everyday business operations, it poses serious risks that can have far-reaching consequences. Here’s why you need to be aware of it:

  1. Stolen Data Trade: The Dark Web serves as a marketplace for cybercriminals to sell stolen data, including usernames, passwords, financial information, and sensitive business data. By purchasing this data, hackers can launch targeted attacks against organizations like yours, leading to data breaches, financial loss, and reputational damage.
  2. Credential Stuffing and Account Takeovers: Cybercriminals often utilize compromised login credentials from data breaches to carry out credential stuffing attacks. By leveraging automated tools, they attempt to gain unauthorized access to your business accounts. Once inside, they can exploit your resources, compromise customer data, and cause significant disruption.
  3. Sale of Exploit Kits and Malware: The Dark Web provides a platform for the sale of malicious software, exploit kits, and hacking tools. These tools can empower cybercriminals to launch sophisticated attacks against your business, including ransomware, phishing campaigns, and network infiltration.
  4. Insider Threats and Employee Monitoring: Employees with malicious intent may leverage the Dark Web to collaborate with external criminals or sell sensitive company information. Awareness of the Dark Web can help you implement appropriate security measures to detect and mitigate insider threats.
  5. Reputational Damage: In the event of a data breach or cyberattack, information about your business may end up on the Dark Web. This can severely damage your reputation, erode customer trust, and lead to potential legal and financial repercussions.

What Can You Do?
To protect your business from the risks associated with the Dark Web, we recommend the following actions:

  1. Strengthen Your Security: Implement robust cybersecurity measures, such as multi-factor authentication, strong password policies, regular software updates, and network monitoring. Conduct security awareness training for your employees to educate them about the dangers of the Dark Web and how to identify potential threats.
  2. Dark Web Monitoring: Engage with Farmhouse Networking to incorporate Dark Web monitoring solutions. These services scan the Dark Web for mentions of your business’s critical information and alert you if any compromised data is discovered.
  3. Incident Response Planning: Develop an incident response plan that includes protocols for handling potential Dark Web-related incidents. This plan should outline steps for containing, investigating, and recovering from a data breach or cyberattack.
  4. Regular Vulnerability Assessments: Perform periodic vulnerability assessments and penetration testing to identify and address potential weaknesses in your network infrastructure and applications.

The Dark Web is a part of the internet that requires special software to access. Often used by individuals who are looking to conceal their identities and activities, it has become the ideal environment for cybercriminals seeking to carry out illicit activities. They can move anonymously in this part of the internet often engaging in criminal activities such as the sale of stolen data, hacking tools, illegal drugs, counterfeit documents, and even illicit services.
 
Why Should You Be Aware of It?
 
While the Dark Web may seem distant and irrelevant to your everyday business operations, it poses serious risks that can have far-reaching consequences. Here’s why you need to be aware of it:

  1. Stolen Data Trade: The Dark Web serves as a marketplace for cybercriminals to sell stolen data, including usernames, passwords, financial information, and sensitive business data. By purchasing this data, hackers can launch targeted attacks against organizations like yours, leading to data breaches, financial loss, and reputational damage.
  2. Credential Stuffing and Account Takeovers: Cybercriminals often utilize compromised login credentials from data breaches to carry out credential stuffing attacks. By leveraging automated tools, they attempt to gain unauthorized access to your business accounts. Once inside, they can exploit your resources, compromise customer data, and cause significant disruption.
  3. Sale of Exploit Kits and Malware: The Dark Web provides a platform for the sale of malicious software, exploit kits, and hacking tools. These tools can empower cybercriminals to launch sophisticated attacks against your business, including ransomware, phishing campaigns, and network infiltration.
  4. Insider Threats and Employee Monitoring: Employees with malicious intent may leverage the Dark Web to collaborate with external criminals or sell sensitive company information. Awareness of the Dark Web can help you implement appropriate security measures to detect and mitigate insider threats.
  5. Reputational Damage: In the event of a data breach or cyberattack, information about your business may end up on the Dark Web. This can severely damage your reputation, erode customer trust, and lead to potential legal and financial repercussions.

What Can You Do?
To protect your business from the risks associated with the Dark Web, we recommend the following actions:

  1. Strengthen Your Security: Implement robust cybersecurity measures, such as multi-factor authentication, strong password policies, regular software updates, and network monitoring. Conduct security awareness training for your employees to educate them about the dangers of the Dark Web and how to identify potential threats.
  2. Dark Web Monitoring: Engage with Farmhouse Networking to incorporate Dark Web monitoring solutions. These services scan the Dark Web for mentions of your business’s critical information and alert you if any compromised data is discovered.
  3. Incident Response Planning: Develop an incident response plan that includes protocols for handling potential Dark Web-related incidents. This plan should outline steps for containing, investigating, and recovering from a data breach or cyberattack.
  4. Regular Vulnerability Assessments: Perform periodic vulnerability assessments and penetration testing to identify and address potential weaknesses in your network infrastructure and applications.

Zero Trust – Application Whitelisting

This is the eighth in a series about the concept of Zero Trust, which means in the IT sense that you trust nothing and always verify everything surrounding and connected to your network. Today’s discussion will be on Application Whitelisting. 

Application Whitelisting

Application Whitelisting is a process of determining which software programs the company absolutely needs to do business, marking them as safe, and blocking any other program that tries to run on company computers. This methodology has the distinct advantage of blocking almost all forms of malware on computers. Pairing this with a good next-gen antivirus creates an impenetrable wall against malware threats. It also prevents users from accidentally or intentionally running something that should not be on company computers. Here are some questions to ask:

  • Do you know all software on your computers?
  • Do your users spend time on company computers listening to music?
  • Have any of your users ever downloaded software without asking?
  • Do you have a computer use policy? How is that enforced?

If your company is wanting to lock down what is running on company computers, then contact us for assistance.

Hackers Penetrate 93% of Company Networks

Hacked - Grants Pass, OR

Security researchers performed penetration testing on the networks of 45 various mid-sized companies and found that in real life scenarios 93% of those networks were able to be compromised to the point of business disruption. Here are the details:

The Target

The 45 companies were polled to determine what would be an unacceptable business interruption. They decided that the following met that criteria:

  • Disruption of production processes
  • Disruption of service delivery processes
  • Compromise of the digital identity of top management
  • Theft of funds
  • Theft of sensitive information
  • Fraud against users

These became the target for the penetration testers. 


The Process

In order for the penetration tester to achieve their target, they followed the following process:

  • Breach the network perimeter – This was done by the use of compromised passwords found on the Dark Web and know vulnerabilities on devices that were directly connected to the internet
  • Obtain maximum privileges – In 100% of the networks, once an attacker was inside the network
  •  Gaining access to key systems – With maximum privileges, the testers are able to gain access to other areas of the network including databases, executives computers, and production servers
  • Develop attacks on target systems – Once key systems are compromised the testers then figured out how to create the unacceptable business interruption. Although they could have created these interruptions, they only gathered proof that they could to present the data to the companies. 


How to Defend 

There are a couple main ways to defend against these kinds of attacks:

  • Security Controls / Segmentation – Creating least privileged access to key systems and segmenting the network will keep hackers from traversing the network once inside
  • Enhanced Network Monitoring – Modern cyber security tools watch activity and traffic on the network to find indicators of compromise. They pool this information into an attack history that can be used to remediate and further protect. 


Your company is not as safe as you think, so contact us for free initial cybersecurity evaluation and risk report.  .

Never Negotiate with Terrorists

Hacked - Grants Pass, OR

There has been a recent trend for companies to “negotiate” with the criminal terrorists behind wave of ransomware attacks across the world by paying the ransom. In a recent study some alarming statistics have been released:

Current Ransomware Stats

If Ransom is Paid: The global findings also show that only 8% of organizations manage to get back all of their data after paying a ransom, with 29% getting back no more than half of their data.

Cost of Ransom: The average ransom paid was $170,404. While $3.2 million was the highest payment out of those surveyed, the most common payment was $10,000. Ten organizations paid ransoms of $1 million or more.

Who is Paying the Ransom: The number of organizations that paid the ransom increased from 26% in 2020 to 32% in 2021.

The Brighter Side: While the number of organizations that experienced a ransomware attack fell from 51% of respondents surveyed in 2020 to 37% in 2021, and fewer organizations suffered data encryption as the result of a significant attack (54% in 2021 compared to 73% in 2020).

What is Being Done

There are now organizations trying to create a common framework to address this threat. The Institute for Security and Technology has created a Ransomware Task Force. This task force has been working to develop this framework and has published some guidance. Even though this is just the foundation work, it is good to see that efforts are being made. 

If your company is worried about the threat of ransomware, then contact us for assistance setting up a multiple layer approach to security.

How is Malware Delivered?

Malware

Read a recent study on the origins of malicious software aka malware. Here are the highlights:

Current Malware Statistics

29% – Malware is previously unknown to security vendors due to the continued efforts of malware creators to hide the software or make it undetectable.

88% – Malware is delivered to people’s inboxes and some of it bypassing normal SPAM filters.

8.8 Days – Time before regular antivirus vendors have discovered the malware and added it to their lists for detection.

$50 – The cost of a pre-fabricated malware kit that can be bought currently on the dark web.

“The most common type of malicious attachments were: documents (Word – 31%), archive files (ZIP & RAR – 28%), spreadsheets (Excel – 19%) and executable files (EXE – 17%).”

What can be done?

A multi-tiered approach to security remains the best solution:

  • Moving from traditional antivirus to Enhanced Detection & Response (EDR) software to go beyond lists of know infections to behavior tracking of software
  • Moving from traditional SPAM filters to Email Advanced Threat Protection which scans each email and opens each attachment to see if there is any malicious activity cause by them
  • Moving from traditional router to a business class firewall with Intrusion Prevention System to monitor traffic for suspicious activity
  • Employee training is also key to keep your staff aware of immerging trends and threats 


If your company is looking to enhance your network security posture, then contact us for assistance.

Number of Credentials Exposed Increased by 429%

Hacked - Grants Pass, OR

A company named Arctic Wolf, a leader in enterprise security operation centers, published a report that states that the number of corporate credentials with plaintext passwords on the dark web has increased by 429% since March.

There are also startling statistics on the increase in email phishing attempts and the use of unsecure public wireless connections. These numbers are like due to the Work From Home employees using their own insecure computers and cyber criminals trying to take advantage of the trend. It appears that security measures that are used in the office need to be extended to the Work From Home network as well. 

If your company is currently or is going to have Work From Home users, then contact us for assistance.

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“They share freely and give generously to the poor. Their good deeds will be remembered forever.”
For God is the one who provides seed for the farmer and then bread to eat. In the same way, he will provide and increase your resources and then produce a great harvest of generosity in you. - 2 Corinthians 9:8-10