How Ransomware is Delivered to a Computer or a Network

 

Understanding ransomware attacks

Ransomware attacks are on the rise and are becoming increasingly dangerous in recent years. An attack on corporate networks that encrypts sensitive information can cost businesses hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars. In 2020, the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center received 2,474 ransomware complaints. Mobile Computer Services, a managed it services company, shares the attack vectors through which ransomware enters and threatens a system.

Ransomware is a type of malicious software designed to block access to a computer system until a sum of money is paid. As attacks evolve and attack methods get more sophisticated over time, understanding and preventing ransomware from affecting the system is of utmost importance. 

How does ransomware gain access to the workplace and computer? 

The methods with which ransomware gains access to systems are known as attack vectors, which can be divided into two types: human attack vectors and machine attack vectors.

1. Human Attack Vectors

Social engineering is the use of deception to manipulate individuals into divulging confidential or personal information that may be used for fraudulent purposes. This is one of the tactics that cybercriminals use to fool people into giving up information that they otherwise would not divulge.  

Common human attack vectors include: 

a. Phishing

Phishing is a type of social engineering attack wherein a victim is duped into sharing confidential data, including login credentials, banking details, and other personal or business information with a hacker. It uses fake emails to trick people into clicking on a link or opening an attachment that carries a malware payload. Often, the attackers research the person or organization in question before curating emails that seem legitimate. The attackers may also send mails to the target in the name of a known person to create credibility - this personalized attack is called spear phishing.

b. SMSishing

The use of text messages to dupe recipients to navigate to a site or enter personal information on their device is called SMSishing. The usual methods include authentication messages or messages that seem to originate from a financial or another service provider. The worst scenario is when some of the SMSishing ransomware is created to propagate itself by sending the threat to all contacts in the affected device’s contacts list.

c. Vishing

When a scammer uses phone calls and voicemail to extract personal information and financial details, such as account numbers and passwords from a victim, it is called vishing. The usual scam is creating a sense of urgency by claiming that the victim’s account has been compromised, representing the victim’s bank or law enforcement, or offering to help the victim install the software. Cybercriminals can appear professional and employ sound effects and other means to appear legitimate.

d. Social Media phishing

When cybercriminals use social media as the platform to convince a victim to open a downloaded image from a social media site or take some other compromising action, it is called social media phishing. The ransomware carrier could be music, video, or other active content that once opened infects the user’s system. The scammer can extract social media account login credentials, credit card information, and personal information about the victim that can be used to launch further scams and attacks.

2. Machine Attack Vectors

Unlike the human attack vectors, the machine attack is automated and does not require any concrete human cooperation to infiltrate a computer or a network. 

a. Drive-by

Drive-by-download attacks are malicious programs that are installed on a victim’s device without consent. This may also include unintentional downloads of any files or bundled software onto a computer device. The moniker drive-by originated from the method this attack takes wherein the victim has to only open a webpage with malicious code in an image or active content to download, unintentionally, the ransomware on the device.

b. System vulnerabilities

Cybercriminals research their targets to understand the vulnerabilities of specific systems and exploit these weak points to break in and install ransomware on the machine. Systems that have not been patched with the latest security releases often fall prey to these attacks. 

c. Malvertising

Malvertising is like a drive-by, except that it utilizes ads to deliver malware. Popular social media sites or search engines may be used to infiltrate the computer or network. A common host for malvertising is adults-only sites.

d. Propagation through the network and shared services

Once ransomware enters a system, it can scan for file shares and accessible computers and propagate itself across the network or shared system. Companies with inadequate security might have their company file server and other network shares corrupted as well. File sharing or syncing activities may become the perfect means for ransomware to spread across a vast network and shared services within milliseconds.  

Users must be vigilant about the settings they use for systems that automatically sync, and be aware of the source of a file before sharing them.  

Why Mobile Computer Services?

Mobile Computer Services is a professional IT services company that works with small and medium-sized businesses in Raleigh NC. The services include:

1. Managed IT services - 24x7 proactive monitoring and management of the company's IT infrastructure.
2. Network services: Comprehensive care for the network systems provided by certified technicians.
3. Business continuity planning: Get the business back on its feet swiftly during and after disasters.
4. IT consulting: High-caliber advice from professional consultants to help achieve business goals.
5. Security: Safeguard business from malicious hackers and cyber attacks.
6. On-demand services: Day or night, the dedicated support staff is always available to assist.
7. Office move: Professional office relocation and network cabling services.
8. VoIP: Reduce telecom expenses and improve communications with powerful phone systems.
9. Email protection: Protect mail systems from spam and malware.

Contact Mobile Computer Services, Inc. in Raleigh, NC today at (919) 830-9448 to find out about its Managed IT services.  

Professional IT Services Images - 10/25/2021

 

Managed IT Services Images - 10/25/2021

 

Mobile Computer Services Explains The Benefits of Network Security Monitoring

 Network security monitoring and its benefits

A network failure can prove to be a huge setback to an organization. Considering the security threats and increasing network vulnerabilities, network monitoring has become an indispensable process for organizations. Mobile Computer Services, a managed IT services company, discusses why network security monitoring is so critical today.  

What is network security monitoring?

It is a service offered by managed IT service providers to keep a watchful eye over an organization’s network (both traffic and devices). The network security monitoring service will look for any security threats, network vulnerabilities, suspicious activity, and so on. This is a preemptive action that protects the network from any potential disasters by keeping a constant watch.

This proactive monitoring ensures that a business has an extra security defense and reduces the chances of disruption in business operations. A reactive measure after the security has been breached can lead to massive leakage of time, money, and productivity. 

Benefits of network monitoring

Here are some of the main advantages of network security monitoring:

1. Creates a performance benchmark

IT outages can be caused by human error, incompatible network changes, or the ever-growing complexity of technology. However, constant network monitoring offers foresight to the team by benchmarking daily performance and allowing them to capture any anomalies preemptively. 

With the help of effective monitoring, early warning signs can be identified and potential faults rectified before they escalate into major issues causing downtime and losses. 

2. Effective resource allocation

In the absence of network monitoring, an IT outage can lead to the diversion of resources from one critical business project to another, without any preparation. Considering that the usually short-staffed IT teams are always under duress with complex tasks and volume of work, the outages can strain the team’s capacity with tedious troubleshooting tasks. Network monitoring allows the team to foresee such outages and prevent themselves from investing all their energy in solely managing catastrophic network events.  

3. Manage the evolving IT environment

With technological innovations such as internet-enabled sensors, wireless devices, and cloud technologies, IT teams now have an array of technologies to monitor for any suspicious activity. With the current trend of increasing wireless devices connecting to the network as people continue working from home or bring their devices, there is a huge number and variety of devices that access a company’s infrastructure.

A network security monitoring will provide the IT teams with a comprehensive inventory of wired and wireless devices, help analyze long-term trends, facilitate optimum use of assets, and decrease expenses.

4. Arrest security threats

As cybercrime continues to become more sophisticated and common, network monitoring can provide network insights that can help IT teams detect and mitigate threats in time. By continually updating security patches and standardizing security settings on all individual workloads, IT teams can effectively maintain network security. This proactive arrest of security threats not only protects the company data and systems but also saves precious time that would otherwise be spent on addressing daily security threats.

5. New technology and ROI

Organizations that aspire to grow need to make financial investments in new technologies. However, it becomes impossible to determine the ROI on these projects without the monitoring and management of the network. Network monitoring allows historic insight into an equipment’s performance over time. This enables the analysis of trends to deduce the success of the new technology and its scalability. Moreover, the monitoring helps mitigate any associated risks of using new technology. 

Why Mobile Computer Services?

Mobile Computer Services is a professional IT services company that works with small and medium-sized businesses in Wake Forest. The services include:

1. Managed IT services - 24x7 proactive monitoring and management of the company's IT infrastructure.
2. Network services: Comprehensive care for the network systems provided by certified technicians.
3. Business continuity planning: Get the business back on its feet swiftly during and after disasters.
4. IT consulting: High-caliber advice from professional consultants to help achieve business goals.
5. Security: Safeguard business from malicious hackers and cyber attacks.
6. On-demand services: Day or night, the dedicated support staff is always available to assist.
7. Office move: Professional office relocation and network cabling services.
8. VoIP: Reduce telecom expenses and improve communications with powerful phone systems.
9. Email protection: Protect mail systems from spam and malware.

Contact Mobile Computer Services, Inc. at Wake Forest today at (919) 230-2900 for IT support, services and solutions.  

Managed IT Services Wake Forest Images - 9/27/2021

 

Managed IT Services Images Raleigh - 9/27/2021

 

Managed IT Services Images - 9/8/2021

 

IT Security Images - 9/8/2021

 

Mobile Computer Services, Inc. Shares 10 Ways to Protect Data in an Organization

 10 Simple Ways to Secure Data 

Data and web threats are a stark and unavoidable reality of the world today. Whether it’s a large-scale enterprise or a start-up, any manner of data breach can lead to massive disruptions in the daily operations of a business. Mobile Computer Services, Inc. - a managed IT service company - shares 10 effective ways that small businesses can follow to safeguard their data and network:  

1. An IT strategy

An incident-response strategy will not only ensure the right steps are taken but will also prevent any further errors. A formal IT security strategy must be exhaustive and accessible to all relevant personnel. It not only presents how to protect data and resources but also shares what steps to take in case of an emergency. 

 

2. Malware protection

Malicious software can sneak into PCs and network systems and wreak havoc on an organization’s data. Data threats can be prevented by securing PCs and network systems against malware in the following ways:

• Firewall: The router’s onboard firewall is the first line of defense against data breaches. Although by no means is this sufficient.
• Protection software: Sophisticated security software can deal with identity theft, suspect websites, and hacking without impacting the performance of the computer or network. 
• Anti-spam: Keep the emails clean with Anti-spam software. It is important to take precautions and stop these spams from creating risks and distracting employees. 

3. Wireless setting

A wireless network without a fort of encryption is a sitting duck for hackers. An encryption key may be unable to deflect hackers and therefore a stronger defense is required. An organization can strengthen its router by applying the strongest encryption setting, and turning off the broadcasting function to hide the company network. What can’t be seen cannot be tampered with.

4. Safeguard passwords

A password may seem too simple a suggestion but is one of the best ways to fortify data. The more complex the passwords, the better the protection.

A password must ideally be at least eight characters long and include numbers and non-standard characters within it. A regular change of password is also an important step to follow to optimize data security.

5. Personal device security plan

Certain small to medium organizations that encourage or allow a “Use your own device” policy at the workplace or homes must be aware of the associated security risks. They must have a plan to provide some protection against legal repercussions and mobile system costs. A clear, comprehensive policy must cover pertinent data deletion, location tracking, and Internet monitoring issues.

6. Automatic software updates

An older version of the software makes the device easy prey for hackers. Regular updates of device security settings, operating systems, and other software to their latest versions can safeguard the system against potential threats. Setting any patches and improvements to automatically update in the background can offer an extra layer of protection against hacking.

7. Background checks

Due vigilance while hiring a new employee is crucial to protect the organization from internal threats. A background check is necessary to know one’s employee well. Even sudden changes in employee behavior may indicate other issues that need redressal.

8. Data disposal

Disposing of redundant data is not as simple as deleting it. There must be a sound data destruction policy to ensure there is minimal risk of a security breach. This policy must advise the step-by-step procedures to safely dispose of data for all devices. 

Confidential company data must be properly removed from retired and reused devices and storage media so it wouldn’t fall into the wrong hands. The data must be overwritten multiple times by the IT disposal partner to ensure it cannot be accessed by freely available tools.

9. Data backup

Besides cybercrime, there are a host of technical problems such as power outages or infrastructure damage that can lead to corruption or loss of data. Even a minor delay can escalate into a huge financial and reputational damage situation. Backing up data is an essential practice that will always keep the organization prepared for the worst and maintain continuity of work.

A cloud service for instance is a good option for storage of data, maintenance of software patches, and implementation of security for small businesses.  

10. Employee education

During onboarding or bi-annual refresher courses, the company security policy must be reiterated to employees to ensure everyone follows it. Additionally, employees must be educated about phishing practices and how to identify scams and precautions they can take.  

Why Mobile Computer Services?

Mobile Computer Services is a professional IT services company that works with small and medium-sized businesses in Wake Forest. The services include:

1. Managed IT services - 24x7 proactive monitoring and management of the company's IT infrastructure.
2. Network services: Comprehensive care for the network systems provided by certified technicians.
3. Business continuity planning: Get the business back on its feet swiftly during and after disasters.
4. IT consulting: High-caliber advice from professional consultants to help achieve business goals.
5. Security: Safeguard business from malicious hackers and cyber attacks.
6. On-demand services: Day or night, the dedicated support staff is always available to assist.
7. Office move: Professional office relocation and network cabling services.
8. VoIP: Reduce telecom expenses and improve communications with powerful phone systems.
9. Email Protection: Protect mail systems from spam and malware.

Contact Mobile Computer Services, Inc. at Wake Forest today at (919) 230-2900 for IT support, services and solutions. 

 

Contact Information:

Mobile Computer Services, Inc.

3650 Rogers Rd Ste 213
Wake Forest, NC 27587
United States

How to Recognize Phishing Attacks and Prevent Them

 How to identify phishing scams and prevent them?  

Statistics have revealed that 90% of all data breaches can be traced back to phishing attacks. The average cost of a successful phishing attack to a medium-sized business is estimated at $1.6million. Mobile Computer Services, Inc. - a managed IT company - shares how to identify phishing scams and reduce the risk they pose.

What is a phishing scam?

Phishing is a type of social engineering attack wherein a victim is duped into sharing confidential data, including login credentials, banking details, and other personal or business information with a hacker. Phishing can not only lead to significant financial loss but also cause loss of sensitive company information, such as revenue figures.

Traditionally carried out only via email, phishing scams are now being carried out via text message (smishing) and phone calls (vishing) as well. Moreover, spear-phishing – personalized phishing attacks on a particular target – has become rampant.

Ransomware - the Trojan horse

Besides gaining precious confidential information from the target, phishing scams can also be used to plant ransomware on a device. It is a form of malware that encrypts the data on the victim’s device disabling any access to all files and information. This is followed by a payment demand or a “ransom” by the cybercriminals to decrypt the data and provide access.

Ransomware is a dangerous malware that is capable of bringing even the largest organization to a standstill.

How to identify a phishing email?

1. Language errors

A careful read of a message can reveal its authenticity. For instance, an email from the bank asking for personal information updates is unlikely to have grammatical and spelling mistakes. Or an untimely mail from a colleague with an unusual amount of language errors must be viewed with caution. 

Phishing emails can seem very genuine until a closer look reveals complex subdomains that mask the actual identity of the sender. One must refrain from clicking on the attachments on such links.

2. A sense of urgency

A sense of urgency in a message takes away the attention from the telltale signs of inauthenticity. Hackers often use a sense of urgency by suggesting a hacked account that needs to be reset or by offering a time-specific promotion or reward. More often than not, this sense of urgency lures the victim into providing information without confirming the genuineness of the sender.

3. Threats

Phishing victims may often receive messages threatening to reveal some information to others. This threatening message may demand personal information or simply carry an attachment that once opened will install ransomware on the device, locking all access to data. 

4. Odd attachments

A simple rule to follow online - do not open an attachment contained in a mail from an unknown person or entity. An attachment with an unusual name or a URL that doesn’t begin with HTTPS and has no SSL certificate is not worth the click. 

6 steps to reduce the phishing risks 

Despite the awareness, some phishing messages may not have any tell-tale signs of being dangerous and fake. But there are certain steps businesses can take to protect themselves and their employees from phishing scams.

1. Install email filters

Researching for an email provider that has effective spam and junk mail filters is worth the effort before making a choice. However, just an email filter is insufficient protection from malicious emails. 

In case of serious phishing concerns, the hyperlinks can be disabled on email settings but this will also block links from authentic senders. 

2. Employ antivirus software

An up-to-date antivirus software protects a business from phishing attacks as well as other types of dangerous threats. Businesses can install antivirus software that is equipped with anti-phishing capabilities that will check links for authenticity and safety. However, it is important to regularly scan the devices as phishing scams may go unnoticed.  

3. Utilize VPNs

If a business utilizes public WiFi connections to access sensitive information, an effective Virtual Private Network (VPN) can decrypt the data during the online activity and provide the much-needed security.

However, one must not access bank accounts or sensitive company information on an unsecured network as it heightens the risk of phishing attacks. 

4. Educate employees

Lack of awareness leads to successful phishing scams. Educating employees is the first step to protecting the business. Simulated phishing tests are a great way to ensure that employees understand and recognize phishing scams. 

5. Encrypt all sensitive data

Encryption of all sensitive information and files is another layer of defense against phishing. This information can only be decoded and accessed by personnel who have the sender’s cipher/key. Encryption can be carried out on a small or large scale depending upon the company's needs. Additionally, some modern operating systems (OS) have built-in encryption programs (such as OS X, Windows, Linux).

6. Update company password

A policy of regular password change is advised to protect the company's information. But this must be enforced without fail when there has been a security breach or an equally compromising situation. Ideally, passwords should be strong, long, and use two-step or multi-factor verification. 

Why Mobile Computer Services?

Mobile Computer Services is a professional IT services company that works with small and medium-sized businesses in Raleigh NC. The services include:

1. Managed IT services - 24x7 proactive monitoring and management of the company's IT infrastructure.
2. Network services: Comprehensive care for the network systems provided by certified technicians.
3. Business continuity planning: Get the business back on its feet swiftly during and after disasters.
4. IT consulting: High-caliber advice from professional consultants to help achieve business goals.
5. Security: Safeguard business from malicious hackers and cyber attacks.
6. On-demand services: Day or night, the dedicated support staff is always available to assist.
7. Office move: Professional office relocation and network cabling services.
8. VoIP: Reduce telecom expenses and improve communications with powerful phone systems.
9. Email protection: Protect mail systems from spam and malware.

Contact Mobile Computer Services, Inc. at Raleigh NC today at (919) 830-9448 to find out about its Managed IT services.  

 

Contact Information:

Mobile Computer Services, Inc. (Raleigh)

8009 CREEDMOOR RD Ste 200
RALEIGH, NC 27613
United States

Kara Mason
(919) 830-9448