Marin Technologies Blog

In many ways, explaining why sufficient cybersecurity is important for your business has become redundant - especially when it is much more important to understand how this cybersecurity needs to protect you. The threats to data and privacy are known, but no less potent. In order to counter them, you need to make sure you have what you need to protect your business - starting with a few key considerations.

If you have a bank account or a credit card, chances are you’ve been made aware of a hack or a data breach. Big organizations are more frequently being breached, forcing them to run damage control for the often millions of customers affected. News coverage often bashes these big organizations, but what about smaller ones? The truth is, smaller businesses are breached just as often, with the consequences being just as severe. 

The modern threat landscape is filled with horror stories of people that have been the victim of software vulnerabilities, hackers, and situations that could have been managed differently. Today, we will go over some of the best ways to keep your business from being a victim of a data breach, data theft, or malware attack.

Ransom: a sum of money is demanded in order for the release of goods.
Software: the programs and other operating information used by a computer.

What do you get when you combine the two? Ransomware. 

People’s exposure to cybercrime has been increasing for some time. Today, people with very little coding experience can infiltrate systems and steal data. There is demand for data, and now there is a supply of low-cost--or even free--hacking tools available on the dark web that allows people to get closer to that data. In fact, according to a report by Deloitte entitled Black Market Ecosystem: Estimating the Cost of “Pwnership”, there is a complete economy built around these readily-available hacking tools that are relatively easy to use.

The man in the middle has a lot of power and influence over the end result, and this is true even in the technological world. In fact, there are attacks dedicated to this vector, twisting and turning something that your organization needs into what amounts to a threat. We’ll discuss what a Man-in-the-Middle (MitM) attack is, as well as what you can do to combat these threats.

If your business hasn’t put protections in place for your technology infrastructure, that needs to be moved to the top of your to-do list, yesterday. It isn’t as though the increasing number of threats are going to avoid you until your network is prepared to deflect them. Therefore, you need to take action now. To help, we’ll review some of the most important security considerations to make for your organization.

There’s one major reason why email is the preferred method of spreading threats like ransomware and other types of malicious software. The sheer number of messages that can be sent through email on its own increases the odds that a user will click on the wrong link or download the wrong attachment. How can you know the legitimacy of any message you receive in your email inbox?

Here’s the thing about IT security: it requires a little more than a decent firewall and a reasonably-strong password. We talk a lot about how to ensure that your business’ network stays a top priority, and the best way to do that is to implement what we call a Unified Threat Management (UTM) solution. An enterprise security system like a UTM can provide a considerable improvement for the way you protect your organization, but even something as simple as a little bit of user error could bypass these protocols.

The Internal Revenue Service has declared to tax professionals that they must take extra steps toward protecting the information of taxpayers. Certified Public Accountant (CPA) firms, whether they are large organizations or small businesses, hold much information that could be used by hackers and identity thieves, which makes them major targets during tax season.

If you were considering increasing your investment into your information security in 2018, you certainly aren’t alone. Gartner released a report that indicated a considerable rise in plans to invest in key security considerations.

Your business might have a limited budget, but this shouldn’t hold you back from implementing the best and strongest security solutions. However, security is a complicated process for any business. This is problematic, especially since common threats and vulnerabilities show up frequently in the business environment. We’ll walk you through some security basics so that you can optimize your organization's protection.

After 143 million people had their personal information put at risk in the Equifax data breach, it comes as no surprise that data security is an even hotter topic than usual. As much as you’d like to think that a breach like that would never happen to your business, this is an unrealistic hope that won’t do you any good if the threat of a data breach does come around. It is much better to be prepared.

Network security is more than just a conscientious attempt by your staff to protect your organization’s digital assets. It’s making sure that your employees know how to handle dangerous situations, implementing preventative IT measures to eliminate potential issues entirely, and having the right technology experts on-hand to handle tough problems that can’t be solved by a few pieces of technology.

While it’s not particularly common for hackers to attack physical infrastructure, the few that have occurred have been known to be quite catastrophic. For example, the Ukrainian power infrastructure was taken out by hackers just last year, leaving hundreds of thousands of citizens without power for several hours. In fact, now western countries are believed to be threatened by similar attacks.

Ransomware is so common in the world of online threats that even the FBI has labeled it a massive threat to businesses of all kinds. Unlike other types of malware, ransomware has a unique return on investment that’s measurable and highly lucrative for hackers. A new variant of ransomware called Maktub Locker lures victims into a false sense of security by tailoring phishing emails to match their street address.

Security is a primary concern for businesses that take advantage of the cloud, but the industry often dictates to what extent a business is concerned about cloud security. Yet, despite the varying cloud needs of industries, there are several variables that should be addressed when thinking about cloud security, including data permissions, account compromisation, and, of course, malware and other common online threats.

Network security is more important today than it’s ever been before, especially in light of several concerning developments in targeted hacking attacks. Unfortunately, many employees (and even some employers) don’t know or understand how to follow various security best practices. By ensuring that every single one of your employees understands the importance of cybersecurity, you can exponentially increase your organization's network security.

Most devices that are being produced these days are aiming for the “connectivity” angle, be it simply connecting to the Internet, or allowing you to stay connected to something specific through the cloud. While this does wonders for productivity and online interaction, some users approach these devices without considering the state of online security. October is Cybersecurity Month, so there’s no time like the present to ask yourself how trends in Internet of Things security can affect your organization.