Tag Archive for: Data Management

The Fort of Cyber Security – What is Phishing?

in ,

What exactly is Phishing?

Phishing is the attempt and procedure of trying to gather private information using fraudulent emails and websites.

It’s more so known as a cyberattack that uses disguised emails as a weapon. The aim of the cybercriminals is to trick the email recipient into believing that the message is something of high importance — a message from the bank, for instance, or a note from someone in their company. All in hope of getting them to click into the email and open up the attachments or worse, hit reply and send over there identity.

 

What are the different types of Phishing?

Phishing comes in all different shapes and sizes, with a mixture of attacks that all link together in the hope and goal to steal your information.

 

Deceptive Phishing – The most common type of attack, usually an email from a recognised sender, hoping to steal your information via the means of imitating a legitimate provider

Spear Phishing – More prominent on social media platforms, an email from a recognised sender with personalised information to gain your trust and hopefully your private information

CEO Fraud – Phishing aimed primarily at the big fish companies; specifically targeting executives. Used to authorise fraudulent financial transfers as well as key information all of the employees.

Pharming – The method in tricking the user onto a malicious website, by changing the IP address to a trusted name and gaining information via login forms that farm your details.

 

How do you prevent being targeted by phishing attacks?

Phishing attacks are easy to spot once you understand what they want from you and what they look like, whether they plan on stealing your identity, your money or just personal information, there are a few ways to tell if it’s real or attempted theft:

  • Always check the spelling of the URLs in email links before you click or enter sensitive information
  • Watch out for URL redirects, where you’re subtly sent to a different website with identical design
  • If you receive an email from a source you know but it seems suspicious, contact that source with a new email, rather than just hitting reply
  • Don’t post personal data, like your birthday, vacation plans, or your address or phone number, publicly on social media

 

** Get your FREE pinpoint guide on Phishing below **

>Download the guide here<

We’re Cloudscape.

We believe you should have the best backup solutions for your business.

We’ll get to know your business and determine the most appropriate solution to meet your technical requirements while being commercially sensible in cost and productive with time.

If you feel that your data isn’t being backed up correctly, please get in touch.

The Fort of Cyber Security – What is a VPN?

in ,

But what exactly is a VPN?

A Virtual Private Network gives you online privacy & anonymity by creating a private network from a public internet connection.

VPNs hide your IP address so your online actions are untraceable. Most importantly, VPN services establish secure and encrypted connections to provide greater privacy than even a secured Wi-Fi hotspot.

 

Why do you need to use a VPN you ask?

Browsing the web or transacting on an unsecured Wi-Fi network means you could be potentially exposing your personal information and browsing endeavours. Which is why a virtual private network, more commonly known as a VPN, should be a must for anyone concerned about their online security and privacy. Especially from a business point of view.

 

How do you go about choosing a VPN?

What’s the best way to choose a virtual private network you’re probably thinking? Here are some questions to ask when you’re choosing a VPN provider:

– Do they respect your privacy?  (You’ll be surprised that not all providers will have a no-log policy…)

– Do they run the most current protocol?

– Do they set data limits?

– Where are the servers located?

– Will you be able to set up VPN access on multiple devices?

– How much will it cost?

 

** Get your FREE pinpoint guide on Virtual Private Networks below **

>Download the guide here<

We’re Cloudscape.

We believe you should have the best backup solutions for your business.

We’ll get to know your business and determine the most appropriate solution to meet your technical requirements while being commercially sensible in cost and productive with time.

If you feel that your data isn’t being backed up correctly, please get in touch.

The Fort of Cyber Security

in ,

Let us guide your business to the Fort of Cyber Security!

Cyber threats are everywhere…

It’s important to understand the current patterns in security threats, which enable you to identify your vulnerabilities and ultimately take steps to better protect your sensitive data.

 

Cyber Security on the most part is about being aware and alert of potential threats – with knowledge and insight you can work to ensure your team know what to look out for and, should a potential threat arise, do the right thing as your ‘human firewall’ to common threats.

 

In this guide, we will take you through 14 key cybersecurity awareness topics to be aware of. There are many very cost-effective, (some even free!), steps you can put in place to begin protecting your business more effectively. Alongside best practice procedures is a range of cybersecurity tools, which will considerably step-up your defensive barriers by design.

 

Cyber threats come in many different & unique forms

 

We all think of viruses as the age-old problem that impacts the health of our computer systems, however, in this digital age, we’re open to a whole host of threats each with their own name and set of problems as showcased in this educational series of content we are releasing.

 

** Discover our top 14 recommendations for your Cyber Security **

>Download the guide here<

We’re Cloudscape.

We believe you should have the best backup solutions for your business.

We’ll get to know your business and determine the most appropriate solution to meet your technical requirements while being commercially sensible in cost and productive with time.

If you feel that your data isn’t being backed up correctly, please get in touch.

Top IT Mistakes

in ,

Four IT Mistakes that Many Companies Make.

There are some constants that hold true for nearly every company, and one of those is that technology plays a key role in their success or failure. It used to be that only companies like Facebook or Apple were considered “tech” companies, but that definition is changing as technology becomes as core a part of businesses as the employees who work there.

Common IT  mistakes and  IT errors to avoid

This doesn’t mean that all companies are performing well when it comes to implementation of technology. There are many mistakes companies make, including four common IT traps people fall into:

:

  1. Not Listening to Users: Your users are perhaps your most important resource for building a better technological infrastructure. Employees use your system every day, and you would be a fool to ignore the feedback you receive from them. If you built an app and released it for sale to the public, you would happily take the feedback and use it to improve your product, so you should do the same with the employee feedback you receive.
  2. Failing to Future Proof IT Systems: Lack of foresight or long-term thinking is a common setback for companies. They only think in terms of the present needs and fail anticipate what is necessary for success in the future. By making sure all the technological systems in place are compatible with future technology, massive amounts of downtime and costs can be saved.
  3. Not Investing Enough in IT: Technology can make your company an efficiency juggernaut, and has the power to propel your business forward if you use it correctly. Sometimes CEO’s start to look at technology as an expense rather than an investment, because there isn’t always a clearly demonstrable and measurable ROI available. This is a short-sighted mistake that can cost the company significantly.
    If you are smart about your IT investments, you can create a firm where efficiency and experience are constantly improving, and the initial investment will be recovered in full through increased profits across the company’s different business lines.
  4. Not Properly Securing Systems: Security is a growing concern, and in line with the point above about treating your IT like an investment, you need to manage the downside risk. By establishing strong protocols that can weather any external attacks, you will protect your resources and reputation in full. There is no such thing as a 100% secure system, but you can take many steps to make it safer and mitigate risks along the way.

On examining these points, it is clear that that are mistakes of omission. Companies fail to commit a certain action and it can cost lots of time and money to put right further down the line. Avoid these common IT mistakes and your company will continue to grow and thrive over the long-term.