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Fileless malware is back, are you at risk?

How many times have you read a shocking headline, only to find the attached article incredibly underwhelming? Over the last several weeks headlines decrying the threat of “fileless malware” have been everywhere, but the truth is a little less scary.

The post Fileless malware is back, are you at risk? appeared first on Complete Technology Resources, Inc..

Fileless malware is back, are you at risk?

How many times have you read a shocking headline, only to find the attached article incredibly underwhelming? Over the last several weeks headlines decrying the threat of “fileless malware” have been everywhere, but the truth is a little less scary. Let’s take a look at what’s really going on and who's actually at risk.

What is this new threat?

To oversimplify the matter, fileless malware is stored somewhere other than a hard drive. For example, with some incredibly talented programming, a piece of malware could be stored in your Random Access Memory (RAM).

RAM is a type of temporary memory used only by applications that are running, which means antivirus software never scans it on account of its temporary nature. This makes fileless malware incredibly hard to detect.

This isn’t the first time it’s been detected

Industry-leading cyber security firm Kaspersky Lab first discovered a type of fileless malware on its very own network almost two years ago. The final verdict was that it originated from the Stuxnet strain of state-sponsored cyber warfare. The high level of sophistication and government funding meant fileless malware was virtually nonexistent until the beginning of 2017.

Where is it now?

Apparently being infected by this strain of malware makes you an expert because Kaspersky Lab was the group that uncovered over 140 infections across 40 different countries. Almost every instance of the fileless malware was found in financial institutions and worked towards obtaining login credentials. In the worst cases, infections had already gleaned enough information to allow cyber attackers to withdraw undisclosed sums of cash from ATMs.

Am I at risk?

It is extremely unlikely your business would have been targeted in the earliest stages of this particular strain of malware. Whoever created this program is after cold hard cash. Not ransoms, not valuable data, and not destruction. Unless your network directly handles the transfer of cash assets, you’re fine.

If you want to be extra careful, employ solutions that analyze trends in behavior. When hackers acquire login information, they usually test it out at odd hours and any intrusion prevention system should be able to recognize the attempt as dubious.

Should I worry about the future?

The answer is a bit of a mixed bag. Cybersecurity requires constant attention and education, but it’s not something you can just jump into. What you should do is hire a managed services provider that promises 24/7 network monitoring and up-to-the-minute patches and software updates -- like us. Call today to get started.

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.

The post Fileless malware is back, are you at risk? appeared first on Complete Technology Resources, Inc..

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WordPress websites under attack

It’s no surprise that millions of websites are on WordPress -- it’s easy to manage, operates on an open source framework, and covers most webmasters’ Content Management Solutions (CMS) needs. What’s also no surprise? That it’s prone to attacks.

The post WordPress websites under attack appeared first on Complete Technology Resources, Inc..

WordPress websites under attack

It’s no surprise that millions of websites are on WordPress -- it’s easy to manage, operates on an open source framework, and covers most webmasters’ Content Management Solutions (CMS) needs. What’s also no surprise? That it’s prone to attacks. Recently, some 20 attackers defaced thousands of WordPress websites. If you think 20 attackers is frightening, wait ‘til you read more.

WordPress attacks by the numbers

In 4 separate attacks, an estimated 40,000 websites were compromised, defacing 67,000 web pages, which has quickly gone up to 1.5 million. A security release update, WordPress 4.7.2, was immediately launched to mitigate the flaw, but not everyone was able to deploy it on time, thus inflating the number of corrupted web pages.

Although WordPress took measures to ensure that the vulnerability would go unnoticed, hackers found a way to get around the initial fixes and exploited the sites that remained unpatched. Those who haven’t applied WordPress’s latest security release were the ones most harmed by the defacement campaigns, and it soon became highly publicized.

Steps taken

Fixes have been deployed and stronger patches are in the works, but hackers do not just sit around and wait to be taken down. In fact, more attacks are being launched concurrently with security developers’ attempts to strengthen blocking rules.

In preparation for further exploits, WordPress liaised with cybersecurity firms to implement protective measures. Google did their part by announcing via Google Search Console the critical security updates that webmasters must install to protect against the WordPress-specific attacks. Meanwhile, web application vendors and web hosting companies are poised to protect their customers from attacks by installing web filters on their customers’ web servers.

Despite these measures, the attacks are expected to continue and the masterminds behind them will come up with strategies more insidious than merely modifying several web pages. Updating security patches that can effectively alleviate the vulnerabilities’ impact will also take time to develop and launch.

The importance of patches

Some attacks may cause a blip on your business’s networks, while others might cause its demise. From all these attacks, one lesson is worth emphasizing: Applying the most up-to-date patches is critical to your systems’ security and business’s survival.

Unpatched systems are the easiest targets for hackers who are always on the lookout for vulnerabilities to exploit. If your organization lacks the capacity to manually update security patches, consider deploying patch management software. Keeping all your software updated with the latest patches may seem like an insurmountable task, but the price of neglecting it can cost you dearly.

WordPress remains the most widely used CMS and its popularity is not going to wane anytime soon. If your website runs on WordPress and you’re considering security options that will ensure your company is poised to handle breaches, contact us for advice.

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.

The post WordPress websites under attack appeared first on Complete Technology Resources, Inc..

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Shopping around for a managed IT services provider is tough. You’re looking for a business to manage extremely complex and delicate technology, so they can’t be expected to get into the nitty gritty details of DNS-layer security, intrusion prevention systems, and encryption in their marketing content. But one thing does need clarification: What exactly are […]

2017February15_Security_BShopping around for a managed IT services provider is tough. You’re looking for a business to manage extremely complex and delicate technology, so they can’t be expected to get into the nitty gritty details of DNS-layer security, intrusion prevention systems, and encryption in their marketing content. But one thing does need clarification: What exactly are “proactive cyber-security” measures?

Understand the threats you’re facing

Before any small- or medium-sized business can work toward preventing cyber-attacks, everyone involved needs to know exactly what they’re fighting against. Whether you’re working with in-house IT staff or an outsourced provider, you should review what types of attack vectors are most common in your industry. Ideally, your team would do this a few times a year.

Reevaluate what it is you’re protecting

Now that you have a list of the biggest threats to your organization, you need to take stock of how each one threatens the various cogs of your network. Map out every device that connects to the internet, what services are currently protecting those devices, and what type of data they have access to (regulated, mission-critical, low-importance, etc.).

Create a baseline of protection

By reviewing current trends in the cyber-security field, alongside an audit of your current technology framework, you can begin to get a clearer picture of how you want to prioritize your preventative measure versus your reactive measures.

Before you can start improving your cyber-security approach, you need to know where the baseline is. Create a handful of real-life scenarios and simulate them on your network. Network penetration testing from trustworthy IT professionals will help pinpoint strengths and weaknesses in your current framework.

Finalize a plan

All these pieces will complete the puzzle of what your new strategies need to be. With an experienced technology consultant onboard for the entire process, you can easily parse the results of your simulation into a multi-pronged approach to becoming more proactive:
  • Security awareness seminars that coach everyone -- from receptionists to CEOs -- about password management and mobile device usage.
  • “Front-line” defenses like intrusion prevention systems and hardware firewalls that scrutinize everything trying to sneak its way in through the front door or your network.
  • Routine checkups for software updates, licenses, and patches to minimize the chance of leaving a backdoor to your network open.
  • Web-filtering services that blacklist dangerous and inappropriate sites for anyone on your network.
  • Antivirus software that specializes in the threats most common to your industry.
As soon as you focus on preventing downtime events instead of reacting to them, your technology will begin to increase your productivity and efficiency to levels you’ve never dreamed of. Start enhancing your cyber-security by giving us a call for a demonstration.
Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.

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How can you go from reactive to preventive IT?

Shopping around for a managed IT services provider is tough. You’re looking for a business to manage extremely complex and delicate technology, so they can’t be expected to get into the nitty gritty details of DNS-layer security, intrusion prevention systems, and encryption in their marketing content.

The post How can you go from reactive to preventive IT? appeared first on Complete Technology Resources, Inc..

How can you go from reactive to preventive IT?

Shopping around for a managed IT services provider is tough. You’re looking for a business to manage extremely complex and delicate technology, so they can’t be expected to get into the nitty gritty details of DNS-layer security, intrusion prevention systems, and encryption in their marketing content. But one thing does need clarification: What exactly are “proactive cyber-security” measures?

Understand the threats you’re facing

Before any small- or medium-sized business can work toward preventing cyber-attacks, everyone involved needs to know exactly what they’re fighting against. Whether you’re working with in-house IT staff or an outsourced provider, you should review what types of attack vectors are most common in your industry. Ideally, your team would do this a few times a year.

Reevaluate what it is you’re protecting

Now that you have a list of the biggest threats to your organization, you need to take stock of how each one threatens the various cogs of your network. Map out every device that connects to the internet, what services are currently protecting those devices, and what type of data they have access to (regulated, mission-critical, low-importance, etc.).

Create a baseline of protection

By reviewing current trends in the cyber-security field, alongside an audit of your current technology framework, you can begin to get a clearer picture of how you want to prioritize your preventative measure versus your reactive measures.

Before you can start improving your cyber-security approach, you need to know where the baseline is. Create a handful of real-life scenarios and simulate them on your network. Network penetration testing from trustworthy IT professionals will help pinpoint strengths and weaknesses in your current framework.

Finalize a plan

All these pieces will complete the puzzle of what your new strategies need to be. With an experienced technology consultant onboard for the entire process, you can easily parse the results of your simulation into a multi-pronged approach to becoming more proactive:

  • Security awareness seminars that coach everyone -- from receptionists to CEOs -- about password management and mobile device usage.
  • “Front-line” defenses like intrusion prevention systems and hardware firewalls that scrutinize everything trying to sneak its way in through the front door or your network.
  • Routine checkups for software updates, licenses, and patches to minimize the chance of leaving a backdoor to your network open.
  • Web-filtering services that blacklist dangerous and inappropriate sites for anyone on your network.
  • Antivirus software that specializes in the threats most common to your industry.

As soon as you focus on preventing downtime events instead of reacting to them, your technology will begin to increase your productivity and efficiency to levels you’ve never dreamed of. Start enhancing your cyber-security by giving us a call for a demonstration.

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.

The post How can you go from reactive to preventive IT? appeared first on Complete Technology Resources, Inc..

Read More