Could Your Wearable Carry Viruses?

Recently, a type of vulnerability was discovered in Fitbits (a popular wearable device for fitness tracking) that could make them prey to hackers. Although Fitbit has stated that their devices are safe and that they will quickly fix the vulnerability issue, the news raises concerns about wearable technology in general. Some devices can be accessed without the user’s knowledge and infected with trojans and malware that can spread to personal computers and, from there, to business computers and networks.

Infecting a Fitbit via Bluetooth Is Possible

Hackers demonstrated that they could wirelessly upload malware onto a Fitbit via Bluetooth. Although the hacker needs to be near the targeted Fitbit in order to infect it, the Bluetooth connection can happen in a park, coffee shop, or any other public area. The entire process takes 10 seconds, and the user will not notice anything wrong with his or her Fitbit immediately. But once the user connects the infected wearable to a PC or laptop, the malware can spread to the computer and even the entire network.

How to Protect Your Devices From Malware

To prevent malware infection, it is important that all your personal and business devices be always protected from outside threats. Many devices, such as smartphones or PCs, allow you to secure their Bluetooth connection with a password to prevent unauthorized access. This way, you can make sure your Fitbit is only connecting with your phone. Finally, always exercise caution when plugging any device into your computer. Use an antivirus program to scan any connected device for viruses and malware. You’ll also need to ensure that your business network’s security is examined, tested and optimized by a managed services provider.

Although the Fitbit virus is merely hypothetical — it was only demonstrated one time at a conference, and no one has reported a Fitbit being infected — this story raises concerns about wearable technology in general. Wearables are still a developing technology, and hackers will probably be able to breech the devices and spread viruses to entire computer networks. To make sure your organization’s devices stay safe, partner with the right professional IT service firm and make sure your network is protected against both the current security threats as well as the vulnerabilities which malicious attacks will seek to exploit in the future.

Reach out to your Bay Area IT support team and get your network security road map started a with a free onsite network assessment today!

Stegoloader Malware Targeting Healthcare Providers Throughout California—Is Your Practice Safe?

There have been number of reports about how stegoloader malware is being used to target healthcare providers across North America, which is increasingly becoming a cause for concern for many practitioners.

Why? Stegoloader malware is the latest and most disastrous version of TROJ_GATAK, (the strain of trojans which use steganography to evade detection) and is sophisticated enough to conceal itself and often slips by undetected because of this ability.

Stegoloader Trojan Infection Count Per Industry

In order to avoid becoming an easy target many healtcare providers throughout the San Francisco Bay Area are choosing to partner up with seasoned IT support teams who have the security skills necessary to protect them against the latest generation of advanced malware.

Read on if you work in healthcare, deal with PHI, and want to learn more about how to keep your organization safe.

Just What Is Stegoloader Malware?

Stegoloader is advanced malware that utilizes digital steganography by hiding within a Portable Network Graphic (PNG) hosted on a valid website. Once this malware is accidentally accessed, it remains on the computer, lurking in the background, often evading detection.

It should be noted that the malware is so sophisticated that when it detects security or analysis tools running on the infected system, it will suspend its main program code, allowing it to stay hidden. Furthermore, it has been designed to ‘look’ for reverse engineering tools and terminate them, making it difficult for providers to regain control of their computer systems even when a security threat has been identified.

North American Healthcare Providers Targeted

A report carried out by Trend Micro found that North American healthcare providers were by far the greatest targets and experienced the heaviest impact as they became infected with the Stegoloader Trojan.

It increasingly appears that cyber criminals are becoming more interested in stealing healthcare information than even credit card information (PCI) since protected health (PHI) information has been fetching higher prices on the black market. This puts healthcare providers in a vulnerable position as their system security may have been breached without them even being aware of it.

Keeping Your Organization Safe

Stegoloader malware is impacting healthcare providers across North America. Up until they experienced a breach directly, many of these organizations remained complacent as business operations demanded full attention and the priority of planning IT security was set aside.

Don’t make the same mistake by assuming you have the adequate security measures in place. If you are concerned that your healthcare practice may have already been targeted, or want to prevent your system security from being infiltrated, get started with a free network assessment today.

Leverage the wealth of experience of our strategically-minded IT support services team, and implement the right technological solutions for your office to help prevent your organization from falling vicitm to a healthcare data security breach. 

Is Your Point of Sale Software At Risk of Being Infected by Malware?

What Is Point of Sale Malware?

How to Protect Your Business

Cloud computing is a revolution, especially in the field of business-related IT. Like most revolutions, there’s a bit of confusion about what it all means, and some people are not sure whether they’re on the right side. As the head of a growing company, you may not have time to study Cloud computing in detail, but there are some key details you need to know.

1. Cloud Systems Can Help Your Business Save Money

The most attractive thing about Cloud systems is that they tend to have low costs. This is especially true for SMBs. Rather than spending outside their budget on servers, licenses and engineers for a new system, managers can simply pay a regular subscription cost for Software as a Service (SaaS), the way software is delivered over the Cloud.

2. The Cloud Can Facilitate Remote Collaboration.

Because everything is hosted remotely, it’s easier for all users to log into systems remotely. This is good news if you have people on the road or team members who regularly work from other locations. It can also save on office space costs, if you choose to allow your staff to telecommute.

3. Cloud-Based Systems May Have Tighter Security Than In-House Solutions Due to Compliance Regulations

Some businesses are wary of Cloud-based systems due to concerns about the security of their data. Data security is of paramount importance to every business, which is why most Cloud-based service providers use the most advanced encryption techniques to protect their clients. Also, because the Cloud allows you to work remotely, it helps to prevent one of the most common breaches: when an employee takes information home on a laptop or pen drive and loses it.

4. There is No Upgrade Cycle for SaaS.

One of the drawbacks of in-house software is the constant need to upgrade to the latest version. Sometimes this requires the purchase of new software, but usually it requires support from IT engineers. With a Cloud-based system, each time you log in you’ll be using the most recent version of the software,instead of worrying about scheduling out your next system upgrade.

5. Switching to the Cloud Can Enable Next-Generation Analytics.

The other buzzwords you may have heard recently are around Big Data and data-driven analytics. For the first time, businesses can capture extraordinarily detailed information about their customers, perform complex real-time analysis and use Data-Driven Decision Making (DDDM) to drive success. This is resource-intensive, however, and often requires the immense power of a Cloud host.

Cloud computing can help your SMB grow, so it’s worth exploring the options that are available to you. You never know what opportunities you may be missing out on.

http://www.economist.com/news/business/21648685-cloud-computing-prices-keep-falling-whole-it-business-will-change-cheap-convenient

Worried About Malware? Protect Your Business Proactively With Managed IT Services- Before Disaster Strikes

Malware is software that has been developed to attack and inflict harm on computers and their networks.

Malicious attacks can be especially damaging to businesses because once malware infects computers, it can be used to disable your business, hold your data hostage or even steal crucial account details to ensure mayhem and bend your organization to your attacker’s will.

What Is Malware?

Malware is a type of software that is designed to cause disruption and damage to computer systems.

While there are many different types of malware, such as adware, viruses, spyware and browser hijacking programs, it should be noted that much like a virus in biology, a computer virus has the capacity to replicate itself and infect other computers on the network.

With that in mind, hackers are constantly looking for for security vulnerabilities in websites so they can use them to their advantage by infusing malware into the software and systems that are already present, even on trusted websites.

(Sidenote: Studies have shown an estimated 82% of malicious sites are actually legitimate websites which have been compromised)

The United States has the highest number of malware-infected web pages in the world and the effects of malware can vary from nusicances such as simply being inconvenienced by recurring pop-up windows to more sinister and damaging effect such as identity theft and financial failure (based on extortion or fines incurred).

Just How Do Malware Attacks Work?

 While the inner-workings of each malware exploit will vary, from a business decision making and Office IT related perspective, most have this in common:

• They are extremely effective at infecting and exploiting their victims

• Malware attacks can often force operations to grind to a halt as business is brought to a stop for triage and quarantine to be fully conducted 

• Without the right safeguards and recovery solutions in place, your business can face days (possibly even weeks) of downtime and/or have to deal with massive data loss

• Malware exploits place your clients’ sensitive data in harm’s way (if your business network is compromised, data stored and transmitted also is at risk)

• Businesses held to data security standards (such as PCI-DSS, the SEC OCIE Cybersecurity Initiative Guidelines or HIPAA Security Rule requirements) will often incur fines if they are found to have insufficient safeguards in place.

What Is the Financial Cost of an Attack?

Research analysts estimate that businesses around the world will spend approximately $500 billion dollars repairing computer systems from malware damage and other security breaches.

Furthermore, when you take into account the number of hours or days spent trying to retrieve lost data (depending on what business continuity and backup technologies you have in place), that figure easily climbs higher.

Another tactic which has been growing rapidly is the use of malicious injections into businesses’ payment processing systems, which allows cybercriminals to steal customers’ credit card information.

Data loss can set a business back weeks, if not months. Malware attacks are continuously on the rise, and industry trends are showing that hackers are now adjusting their aim to going after small to midsize businesses. Why? With smaller operational staff, or a lack of a fully-fledged IT department, these cyber raiders know they’ve identified a soft target… 

Keeping in mind that a data breach can result in multiple punitative fines, potential lawsuits and most importantly, a loss in consumer confidence as  credit card payment information and personal data are exposed (as seen even with big-name players such as Target).

How to Protect Your Business From Malware

It’s time to take a stand and make sure your business is protected. Take action to know your organization is prepared. Rest assured with the knowledge that your business will be be back up and running, able to rapidly move forward if and when you are attacked.

The financial cost to affected businesses can be staggering, but by choosing to work with with seasoned Bay Area IT services veterans, disaster can be avoided by  partnering with the right IT firm. 

When you combine a proactive approach to business IT with dedicated and ongoing strategic technology planning, regular monitoring and ongoing updates supported by best-in-class business continuity and recovery solutions, you drastically decrease the likelihood of your organization becoming a malware target and enable your business to stay one step ahead of the hackers.

Curious where your network stands? Find out today with a free onsite network assessment with one of our technology experts.

Intitially, the term “IT security” may seem out of reach for many small business owners, or possibly even like a luxury, but as ransomware, BYOD-policies and compliance requirements become incraesingly common in the workplace, a lack of security can actively hamper growth, even and particularly with. At worst, it can sink the entire enterprise.

Many small- and medium-business owners know that IT security is something they should care about, but they have no idea how to manage it. One study by the National Cyber Security Alliance found that a whopping 59 percent of small business owners have no plan in place to prevent data breaches.

Even industries that revolve around preparing for the worst can be affected. IT help desk services can often be the first the line of defense for insurance companies, financial services firms, and healthcare providers in San Francisco, Oakland, or elsewhere throughout the greater Bay Area.

In fact, insurance companies are one example where a lack of network support services might have an outsized impact. Insurance companies regularly deal with highly sensitive data, including names, Social Security numbers, birthdays and addresses. Having the right IT support is essential.

What’s at Stake

The cost of data breaches can be enormous for small business owners. Research from Atlanta-based payment technology firm First Data shows that as many as 90 percent of data breaches can be traced back to small businesses, and the average cost of a breach to small businesses can be as high as $50,000 or more. That would be devastating for most small businesses and doesn’t even begin to account for the loss of trust from your customers. IT service continuity is critical.

What Companies Can Do

Experts say that, at the very least, small businesses can enact the following controls:

No one wants to think about a worst-case scenario, but threats to business data aren’t likely to go away any time soon. Unfortunately, employees are often at unwittingly at the center of them. Data from TrendMicro found that nearly 60 percent of employees surveyed “very frequently or frequently stored sensitive data on their laptops, smartphones, tablets, and other mobile devices.” This may mean that more sophisticated IT support is needed to prevent a worst-case scenario in the era of Bring Your Own Device (BYOD). Rather than relying on stop-gap measures, having your IT services provider regularly work on prevention may secure your business now and in the future.

Understanding OCIE’s 2015 Cybersecurity Examination Initiative

Following a string of high-profile cybersecurity incidents in recent years, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) released a Risk Alert in April of 2014 for relevant industries. The OCIE announced its intention to conduct examinations throughout the year to assess cybersecurity procedures and preparation in the securities industry.

In its summary report of those examinations, released in February of 2015, the OCIE stated that of those organizations it examined, 88 percent of the broker-dealers and 74 percent of the RIAs had experienced a cybersecurity incident recently.

The OCIE further announced that it planned to focus on cybersecurity compliance in its 2015 Examination Priorities. In September, the office released the 2015 Risk Alert providing compliance guidance for industry entities that might be subject to examination.

OCIE 2015 Cybersecurity Examination Initiative Priorities

OCIE examiners will pursue investigations into any area they deem necessary, but the 2015 Risk Alert highlights examination priorities in the following six primary areas:

1. Governance and Risk Assessment

The OCIE may examine whether companies have existing processes and procedures for cybersecurity and risk assessment. Examiners may also seek to determine whether a firm regularly reviews those procedures for efficacy and suitability to its own industry, along with how effectively high-level leadership is informed of, and participates in, those efforts.

The OCIE further highlights its intention to scrutinize compliance in areas regarding the following:

• Information security when dealing with third parties
• Software patching, especially regarding critical security updates
• Board minutes and briefing documents containing or related to sensitive information and cybersecurity
• A firm’s chief information security officer (CISO) or equivalent position
• The firm’s organizational structure as related to cybersecurity
• The firm’s procedures for risk assessment, proactive threat identification, penetration tests, and vulnerability scans

2. Access Rights and Controls

The examiners will emphasize cybersecurity risks stemming from access to systems and information, especially related to basic safeguards like multifactor authentication and prompt access adjustments following personnel changes.

The OCIE notes its intention to highlight concerns related to the following:

• Controls and safeguards for network segmentation and access levels across different security clearances
• Perimeter-facing procedures such as failed logins, password retrieval, dormant accounts, and unauthorized logins
• Network access from outside devices
• The firm’s documentation and dissemination of its cybersecurity procedures to all relevant users

3. Data Loss and Prevention

OCIE examiners will assess a firm’s procedures for data transferred outside of the network through emails or other data uploads.

Examiners may highlight procedures for the following:

• Identifying and preventing unauthorized data transfers
• Verifying the authenticity of requests to transfer funds
• Mapping data to verify information ownership and privileges
• Data classification and security levels

4. Vendor Management

As third-party vendors are a prominent source of cybersecurity incidents, examiners may focus on vendor management, including how vendors are chosen, vetted and monitored. Examiners may also ascertain whether a firm considers vendor security to be an integral component of its overall cybersecurity procedures.

The OCIE additionally highlights the importance of clear vendor contracts regarding security responsibilities, along with documentation for all related areas, and a firm’s contingency plans for dealing with vendor-related breaches.

5. Training

Security procedures are only as effective as the training received by relevant personnel, including third-party partners. Therefore, examiners may verify that such training is thorough, widespread, and well documented.

6. Incident Response

The OCIE will examine a firm’s policies and procedures for responding to incidents, including documentation of the same, along with how policies are adjusted (when appropriate) following those incidents.

Examiners may further highlight procedures related to the following:

• How cybersecurity fits into a firm’s business continuity plan
• A firm’s testing and drilling procedures for cybersecurity incidents and all data disasters
• System-generated alerts to automatically notify key personnel of potential incidents
• Actual customer losses related to cybersecurity incidents

Recommended Actions

Ultimately, the OCIE’s examination priorities reveal that it considers the cybersecurity status quo to be ill-suited to modern realities. Instead of a reactive, incident-based response, the OCIE wants firms to demonstrate that they have adopted a proactive, holistic stance regarding cybersecurity.

A firm’s default mindset should be that it is under threat from cyber-intrusions, and it should be able to demonstrate through robust documentation and actual practice that it is actively on alert for cybersecurity incidents.

To achieve this goal, a firm needs to ensure that it is working with an IT services provider that can serve as a full partner in security initiatives and procedures. Financial technology support partners can work with firms to establish, demonstrate and document its procedures in these four key areas:

1. Data Protection

A firm must be able to rank all data according to a risk hierarchy (low, medium, high) and operational priority. Cybersecurity procedures should be strengthened accordingly, with the highest risk and highest operational priority data being subject to robust, multi-layered safeguards.

2. Proactive Security

A firm should implement, document and demonstrate a clear commitment to vigilant, proactive monitoring of security risks. Relevant procedures should be a top priority for all related personnel, and the firm should have a clearly understood process for how cybersecurity incidents will be identified, addressed and mitigated at all levels of the organization.

3. Cyber-Perimeter

A firm should be able to demonstrate a clear understanding that its cyber-perimeter extends into the world of third parties, including vendors, partners and customers. Its procedures and practices for that outlying perimeter should be just as robust (if not more so) as its procedures for in-house data sites.

4. Documentation

Stegoloader Malware Targeting Healthcare Providers Throughout North America—Is Your Practice Safe?

There have been number of reports about how stegoloader malware is being used to target healthcare providers across North America, which is cause for concern because the malware is sophisticated enough to go undetected. To avoid being targeted, partner up with experienced IT security experts who have the skills to detect this complex malware. Read on if you live in the San Francisco Bay area to find out how we can help your organization.

What Is Stegoloader Malware?

Stegoloader is advanced malware that utilizes digital steganography by hiding within a Portable Network Graphic (PNG) hosted on a valid website. Once this malware is accidentally accessed, it remains on the computer, lurking in the background, often evading detection. It is so sophisticated that when it detects security or analysis tools running on the infected system, it will suspend its main program code, allowing it to stay hidden. Furthermore, it has been designed to ‘look’ for reverse engineering tools and terminate them, making it difficult for providers to regain control of their computer systems even when a security threat has been identified.

North American Healthcare Providers Targeted

A report carried out by Trend Micro found that North American healthcare providers were major targets, as many of their machines were infected with stegoloader Trojan malware. It appears that cyber criminals are interested in stealing healthcare information because it can be worth much more on the black market than credit card details. This puts healthcare providers in a vulnerable position as their system security may have been breached without them even being aware of it.

Keeping Your Organization Safe

Stegoloader malware is impacting healthcare providers across North America. Many of these organizations would have been initially complacent because they thought they had adequate security measures in place. If you are concerned that your healthcare practice may have already been targeted, or want to prevent your system security from being infiltrated, we can help! Bay Computing has a wealth of experience and technological solutions that can prevent your organization from having its security compromised.

Zero-Day, the Longest Day?

 Ever since childhood, you learn that things go “Boom!” when you count down to zero…

Sometimes that’s a good thing: The engines ignite and a rocket lifts off

Sometimes that’s a bad thing: A bomb detonates

The question for software development and IT support teams is what does zero-day mean in terms of impact on end-users and what, if anything, they can and should do about it.

Zero-Day Defined

 Despite software vendors’ best (or sometimes not) efforts, all software has bugs in it. Some of these bugs present opportunities that malicious users can take advantage of to gain access to a network, functionality, or data that they aren’t authorized to use.

 Zero-day vulnerabilities are the bugs the vendor doesn’t know about. When hackers exploit them, this is called a zero-day exploit. Once vendors learn of a vulnerability, they work to create a patch to close it. Microsoft regularly issues patches on one or two Tuesdays per month, with occasional patches issued at other times.

Patches Close Zero-Day Vulnerabilities

 Once a patch is issued, you can close the vulnerability by installing the patch. Yet it must be noted- If you don’t install it, your vulnerability to the zero-day exploit continues indefinitely. This is one reason it’s important to remain on supported versions of operating systems and application software, as well as pay for maintenance support. When you’re on an unsupported version, patches are no longer created — even if a security hole is later identified. Because code is commonly shared between versions, a hole found in the latest, supported version of the OS might exist in your older, unsupported version. But the vendor will only issue a patch for the supported version, meaning the zero-day vulnerability can’t be closed on an older system.

 Because of the risk of these exploits, many companies require their computers to be maintained at current patch levels. In some ways, this is the “safe” decision. It’s important to realize, though, that there are risks associated with patching systems as well.

Patches Have Risks

 The biggest risk is that installing a patch will somehow break an application. Patches are software, and as likely to contain bugs as any other software. There’s also the cost of downtime involved with deploying a patch, plus the potential of a failed deployment leaving a computer unusable until it can be restored. If the patch isn’t simply “under the hood” but makes a change that end-users can see, they may need some time to become familiar with the new way things work.

Create a Patch Management Strategy

 Rather than automatically deploying all patches to every computer, companies should evaluate the risks involved. If a PC isn’t connected to the network, there may be very little risk of leaving it unpatched. When patches do need to be deployed, companies should think through how they can complete the deployment while minimizing the risk to their operations. Deploying to a few machines at a time and keeping some machines unpatched as a fallback are two options to consider.

 The best way to develop a patch management strategy is to speak with an IT services provider like Bay Computing. We can help you evaluate the threat of vulnerabilities and plan a safe approach to deploying patches. Contact us, your San Francisco IT Services Provider to hit “stop” on the countdown to zero.