Courtney Pachucki, IT Specialist at MePush, wrote this amazing Internet hygiene presentation for users on the Web to stay safe and avoid being hacked, phished, or infected with malware. This is a basic set of guidelines to help you identify your risks on the web.
3. Fast Facts
The average cost of a malware attack on a company is 2.4 million dollars.
Microsoft Office formats make up the most prevalent group of malicious file
extensions at 38% of the total.
21% of all files are not protected at all.
Ransomware attacks are growing more than 350% annually.
4. Small Businesses as a Target
43% of cyber attacks target small
businesses
Small businesses are easy prey for
international hacking
Small businesses are very vulnerable to
generalized phishing and malware
Small businesses are easy accidental
targets for script kiddies
5. Small Businesses as a Target
Small business owners pay ransoms
Small businesses have valuable data
Small businesses are easy for hackers to
get in and stay in undetected
Lack of budget for adequate
security
Lack of staff and training
6. Malware
Malware is any form of programming or code that can be used to expose a
vulnerability or open a door to your internal network.
Types of malware:
Trojan: Malware that pretends to be other software
Spyware: Used to spy on network operations or users
Rootkit: Installed to gain hidden unauthorized control
Backdoor: Opening in the network for further exploitation
7. Phishing
Phishing is the practice of sending emails
claiming to be from reputable companies
in order to get individuals to reveal
personal information.
8. Email Links
Do not click suspicious email links.
If you are unsure about a link, do not click on the link.
Use https://safeweb.Norton.com by copying the link’s URL and pastig it into
the URL checker at Norton.
Any link can be disguised to redirect you to somewhere else
To circumvent this, just Google it.
9. Email Attachments
The same best practices followed with the clicking links should also be
applied to email attachments.
There are resources you can use if you believe you have a file that might be
malicious. You can upload the suspected file to the website
https://www.virustotal.com/#/home/upload
This site will analyze the file and brief you with results if it is malicious.
10. Protected View
Do not use the “Enable Editing” setting if
not necessary.
This can potentially allow malware to run
background processes on your computer.
This can lead to ransomware and
backdoors on the machine for identity
theft.
11.
12. Social Engineering
Social engineering is the manipulation of
people into performing actions or
divulging confidential information
Types of social engineering include:
Phishing
Tailgaiting
Quid pro quo
13. Antivirus
Antivirus tools are used to remove infections from computers using previously
known hash values. Hash values are the “DNA” of the virus.
Antivirus monitoring are systems that are implemented to monitor normal
user use and network behavior to alert a system administrator of a potential
threat. Alerts could be too many failed login attempts to DNS spoofing and
other network changes.
14. Web Content and Media Filtering
These tools are used to limit the risk of malware exposed to host machines
and servers. Without proper web filtering, users may access sites that could
put potential rootkits and backdoors on user machines, therefore allowing
unauthorized access to the machine from a remote hacker.
Sites that should be blocked include sites that allow file transferring, for
example torrents and The Onion Router traffic. Furthermore, blocking not
suitable for work sites is needed to prevent users from accessing crude or
time-wasting sites that are not suitable for company operations.
15. Virtual Private Network (VPN)
VPNs allow safe remote access to your company’s internal network to access
documents and work remotely.
They work off individual access and encrypt traffic coming into your network
to prevent attackers from stalking and watching the network traffic.
With a VPN, a user is able to remotely connect from a public network into a
private network safely and securely.
16. Data
Data is information. It is the documents,
spreadsheets, and images stored on the
computer.
Data is also more than just files. Data is
the configuration files, services, and
programs that make your computer run.
Without these files, your computer may
not be able to run.
17. Backups
A full backup is the simplest but most data intensive and timely type of
backup. This type of backup will completely record your entire computer or
server to external media.
An incremental backup results in a copy of only the new data that has been
created since the last backup of any type. It can be run as often as desired
and is not usually time intensive or data intensive if managed properly.
A differential backup copies all of the data that has been created since the
previous backup. However, each time the differential backup is run it will
continue to copy all data changed since the previous file backup.
18. Single Point of Failure
A single point of failure is putting all your
eggs in one basket. This means securing
all your backups in one place such as only
on a single external backup media.
19. Patching
Patches are fixes to a piece of software that either fix bugs, fix security
vulnerabilities, or add features.
More than 70% of cyber attacks exploit patchable vulnerabilities.
Have a policy to patch your machines regularly.
Test patches on one machine before deploying to all of them.
20. Wireless Security
There are various forms of encryption
used for wireless.
The most common is unhidden WPA2 with
a pre-shared-key.
As a business, you want a strong
password, pre-shared-key, for your WiFi
because it has become increasingly easier
to decrypt these WiFi passwords.
21. Compliance
Compliance means meeting all of the controls required by the governing
agency
Payment Card Industry (PCI) depends on your business type
HIPAA compliance is universal and applies to any organization that store ePHI.
These regulations help protect your business from threats.
In theory if you are fully compliant, an attacker will have a difficult time
compromising your data.
22. Dangers of Non-Compliance
General
Lawsuits for data loss
PCI
Fines from credit card companies
Increase in transaction fees
HIPAA
Fines from HIPAA regulatory bodies
Legal Fees
23. CyberSecurity Insurance
General Liability insurance WILL NOT cover:
Identity theft or fraud resulting from either a malicious or inadvertent security
breach
Lawsuits or fines resulting from data leaked through a breach
Theft or destruction of such valuable digital assets as intellectual property or
customer lists
Interruption of your business or loss of business due to a hacker or malware
24. CyberSecurity Insurance
Insurance companies offer cyber policies and data breach policies for covering
your business in the event of an attack. They may cover:
Forensic investigation of the breach
Legal advice to determine your notification and regulatory obligations
Offering credit monitoring to customers as a result
Settlements, damages, and judgments related to the breach
Regulatory fines and penalties (including Payment Card Industry fines)
25. Mange Your Risks
IT Management (managing users,
passwords, firewalls, PCs, servers,
networks, change management, logging
and monitoring)
Regular training and awareness for all
users
Regular lifecycle and replacing old
equipment and software
26. What is QuickWatch?
QuickWatch protects your email, servers, network, website, and workstations.
QuickWatch allows us to remotely access your machines to deal with certain
issues that you may have.
QuickWatch automatically backs up your data.
QuickWatch has automatic cloud-driven patch management.
27. Top Tips
Never believe that you are not a
target to hackers.
Keep your software and operating
system up-to-date
Beware of suspicious emails and
phone calls
Practice good password
management
Never leave devices unlocked and
unattended
Back up your data
Use two-factor authentication
Use secure internet connections
Install an enterprise anti-virus and
keep it up-to-date
Protect sensitive data