To understand and peel back the layers of the IT security onion, we must start with education. The more you know, the more you can protect your network and business.
Understanding the Password Vault
Let’s look inside the “Password Vault.” Like the vault we envision in a bank, the password vault protects the goods. The difference is that you can’t physically walk into a password vault on foot, but you can digitally access it. While there aren’t loads of cash and gold bars like in the movies, the data stored in a password vault is worth a lot.
The Cost of a Data Breach
A data breach can cost your business a pretty penny. The U.S. has the highest data breach cost for the 12th year. It’s not something to brag about, especially with numbers like 5.09 million more than the global average, according to the report, “Cost of a data breach 2022:A million-dollar race to detect and respond,” commissioned by IBM. That is terrifying.
Why Use a Password Vault
Do we have your attention? The software program of your choice that creates your password vault will store and protect all the passwords your employees use while encrypting the data. There is one single master password to then access multiple passwords, which means no one else knows that password, not even the company hosting you.
The Danger of Weak Passwords
We’ve all been taught not to use the same passwords across various websites or create something too simple like 12345, but people continue to do so. The reasoning may be the ease of remembering one password across multiple platforms, but that’s what’s helpful about password vaults. Weak passwords, or those not well thought out, allow hackers to enter your system.
The Benefits of Using a Password Vault
Password vaults, (which some call password managers), are the best method of protecting your passwords. There is no method that is 100% foolproof. That’s different from what you want to hear, but using a password vault paired with added security steps significantly decreases your risk of a data breach.
Look out for our next article, naming some added security steps, coming your way soon.
Sandra Network Delivers Peace of Mind with Dark Web Monitoring
What is Dark Web?
The Dark Web is the part of the internet that is not visible to search engines. It requires users to use a special browser called Tor. This browser allows users to browse anonymously creating an environment where it’s easy for the unsavoury to lurk but also unsafe for those who aren’t aware of its dangers.
A lot of information found on the Dark Web is hidden and although some of it is safe, much of it is not. If you don’t understand the Dark Web or how it works you may not be aware of how harmful it can be to you and your business. Precautions must be taken to protect your confidential information from being found on the Dark Web.
How is Dark Web different from the Web?
The Web is a vast network of interconnected computers all around the world. Through the Web, people can share information and communicate with other people across the globe using the internet. Information on the web is indexed by search engines making it easily accessible to anyone with an internet connection irrespective of geography. On the other hand, Information on the Dark Web is not indexed and stays hidden requiring special privileges to see and access. This part of the web, the Dark Web is the unchartered part of the web that’s existed since March of 2000.
The Dark Web is a hotbed of dark things!
As you can imagine, many cybercriminals love to prowl this space, looking for easy prey.
How can this parallel space exist? It exists because online content can be encrypted and hidden online. Because the information is hidden, it never gets indexed and therefore does not appear on search engine result pages like Google or Bing. And cyber criminals love the Dark Web because they can be anonymous while using it!
You do not want your business or employees associated with this unsafe environment. If they are, there is the potential for your company’s (or client’s) information to find its way into any of the many “darknets.” Once it is found on the Dark Web, there is no telling how much damage you, your employees, or your clients may experience. Fortunately, we can find if your information is on the dark web, and work with you to remediate it.
On the dark web, anything and everything can be found. This includes illegal drugs, bank account and Social Security numbers, passwords and all sorts of your PII: sensitive and confidential information. Hackers are out there trolling for any vulnerabilities they can find and are constantly collecting this data off unsecured websites and using the information for their own financial and illegal gains.
Cybercriminals go there because they know breached data eventually finds its way to the Dark Web. It comes from compromised credentials, third party leaks or ransomware dump listings. Once this breached data is discovered, it becomes an invaluable source of revenue. All kinds of illegal activity and discussions happen here including threat intelligence to pre-plan attacks and look for other vulnerabilities and ways to exploit information.
Sandra Network will work with you and your organization to give you unparalleled visibility into dark web risks within your organization. We will help you become aware of threats to your organization and enable your team to take actions on these threats before they become incidents.
What are the risks?
Those who dive into the Dark Web will find a veritable eCommerce market for things that are not available via regular methods. For instance, you can’t buy a database filled with usable credit card or debit card numbers on Amazon; you can’t head to Etsy and purchase thousands or even millions of user’s credentials for bank accounts; you can’t point your browser to Walmart.com and click to add a list of valid social security numbers into your shopping cart. Unfortunately, you can buy these things on the Dark Web. And because you can buy this type of information on the Dark Web, including your sensitive information, precautions must be taken. We can help train your employees on how to securely navigate websites to mitigate the following types of threats found on the Dark Web such as:
Malicious software
Cyberattacks
Ransomware
Phishing malware
Trolling
You need to ensure your employees’ credentials are not on the dark web, exposing your company data.
End-user protection against exploitation in the dark web
Regardless of being a business, parent, or any other user of the web, you will want to take precautions to keep your information and private life off the dark web.
Identity theft monitoring is critical if you want to keep your confidential information from being misused. All types of personal data can be distributed online for a profit. Passwords, physical addresses, bank account numbers, and social security numbers circulate on the dark web all the time.
The dark web is home not only to hackers looking to steal our info but also to criminals who sell-off this illegally obtained data that includes sensitive personal records. Ensure your employees do not fall victim to phishing schemes where passwords, credit card numbers, social security numbers, etc. are acquired and sold. Malicious actors will use this type of information to engage in financial theft, breach your online accounts and even to harm your credit. Plus, leaks of personal data may damage your business’s reputation once discovered or be used for “social” fraud.
Antimalware and antivirus protections are equally crucial to prevent malicious actors from exploiting you. The dark web is filled with information theft from malware-infected users. Attackers can use tools like keyloggers to gather your data, and they can infiltrate your system on any part of the web.
Secure your business with Sandra Network. We uncover your compromised credentials in Dark Web markets, data dumps, and other sources. We can quickly alert you to trouble, allowing you to mitigate the problem and giving you the advantage to act before cybercriminals have a chance to act.
Contact Us today for a free, one time, Dark Web scan to see if your organization has exposed information.
Where would we be today without technology? While the pandemic has kept us apart, cloud computing, the Internet of Things (IoT) and other types of tech have made it possible for us to stay connected with colleagues and customers, facilitated medical treatment from a distance and so much more.
Information TECHNOLOGY drives innovation and innovation is the path to business success. Innovation in business has the same impact that steam had on the industrial revolution. Subsequently, it’s no surprise that many organizations plan to invest more in IT this year despite the economic downturn caused by COVID-19. According to a press release by Gartner,
IT spending worldwide in 2021 is expected to reach $3.9 trillion. This is a 6.2% increase compared to 2020.
This increase is likely due to the continuing need to accommodate remote workers, enable virtual learning and the advancement of additional digital transformation initiatives. In a recent technology survey of 1000 companies in North America & Europe,
44% of businesses planned to increase their IT spending budget in 2020. In North America, the most common factors for this increase as reported by respondents was their need to upgrade outdated infrastructure (71%) and increased security concerns (50%) – Spiceworks
Many small and medium size businesses operate on a strict budget and do not have the luxury or resources necessary to meet all these operational IT demands. Servers and the staff to maintain them is expensive. A managed service provider maintains and manages all needs of your IT infrastructure for only a fraction of the cost of servicing and maintaining it. If you do choose an in-house IT employee they may not have the resources necessary and the outcome is often a compromise to the quality of support or a disaster resulting in downtime, security issues, limited support, and reduced productivity. Outsourcing these activities to a reputable Managed Service Provider (MSP) helps business owners avoid these and other IT related issues, some they may never even have considered.
With IT spending among small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) predicted to enjoy a significant increase, the role of managed service providers (MSPs) is becoming increasingly important as these businesses seek to adopt managed services. The answer to the question Why your business needs Managed Service Provider?, can come in the form of an explanation of work that is done by a MSP.
A managed service provider is simply your network administrator, security consultant and disaster recovery expert, all rolled into one. They are there to manage your IT infrastructure and user interface within your systems. Your savings can then be used on better revenue producing activities. Your business also benefits as you can now focus on your core competencies and business goals while your MSP manages your IT infrastructure.
Services offered by Managed Service Provider
Most MSPs offer a wide variety of IT services in multiple configurations. They work with your company to plan, implement and manage various IT functionalities such as User and Workstation Management, Web Servers, Email, Server Monitoring and more.
If you choose to work with Sandra Network, we will review every corner of your company’s current IT infrastructure. Once reviewed, we will put together a working plan of action to ensure you are always up to date, secure, and supported. Our goal is to make sure your technology infrastructure is running smoothly and efficiently in order to support your business goals. Our proposal will include the specific IT components we recommend and the steps necessary to set them up. Once our proposal is accepted, we will on-board your company, implement the steps and begin managing your IT services giving you the full support of an IT Helpdesk without the costs of a full-time IT department.
