Virtual IT Security recovers company from Ransomware attack
$900,000 Ransomware attack thwarted by Virtual IT Security
Virtual IT Security's SWAT team had been working for two weeks to run down and clean up a $900,000 ransomware attack for a prominent award-winning, global professional services firm.
FBI Warns LinkedIn Fraudsters Are Now a Significant Threat
" CNBC reports. Sean Ragan, the FBI's special agent in charge of the San Fran and Sacramento field offices, told CNBC in an interview that cryptocurrency scams have been particularly widespread recently.
"This type of fraudulent activity is significant, and there are many potential victims, and there are many past and current victims," Ragan said. "So the criminals, that's how they make money, that's what they focus their time and attention on," Ragan said. "And they are always thinking about different ways to victimize people, victimize companies. And they spend their time doing their homework, defining their goals and their strategies, and their tools and tactics that they use."
LinkedIn stated in a blog post last week, "While our defenses catch the vast majority of abusive activity, our members can also help keep LinkedIn safe, trusted, and professional. If you do encounter any content on our platform you believe could be a scam, be sure to report it so that our team can take action quickly. "This includes anyone who asks you for any personal information, including your LinkedIn account credentials, financial account information, or other sensitive personal data. We also encourage you to only connect with people you know and trust. If you'd like to keep up with someone you don't know but that publishes content that is relevant to you, we encourage you to follow them instead." "WANT TO LEARN MORE"?
How Hackers Steal Your Passwords and How To Defend Yourself
Despite the world's best efforts to get everyone off passwords and onto something else (e.g., MFA, passwordless authentication, biometrics, zero trust, etc.) for decades, passwords have pervasively persisted.
Today, nearly everyone has multiple forms of MFA for different apps and websites AND many, many passwords. The average person has somewhere between three to seven unique passwords that they share among over 170 websites and services.
Here are some related statistics:
• The average person has 19 passwords - but 1 in 3 don't make them strong enough
• The average employee manages nearly 200 passwords
• The average business user has 191 passwords
Unfortunately, those passwords often get stolen or guessed. This is why I recommend the following password policy guide.
Most computer security experts agree with these policy recommendations, but more than a few readers might be shaking their heads, especially at the recommendations to use 20+ character passwords/passphrases.
Why in the world would anyone need a 20+ character password to protect against password hacking attacks? Major Categories of Password Attacks In general, password attacks fall into four different major categories:
• Password theft
• Password guessing
• Password hash theft and cracking
• Unauthorized password resetting or bypass
