Can Cyber Criminals Break the Bank?

By Catherine Powell

Image courtesy Microsoft Image Creator

If you're a Rat Pack fan like I am, you'll never forget the 1960 caper flick Oceans 11, where Frank, Dean, Sammie, Peter & Joey take down five Las Vegas casinos on New Year's Eve.  While a work of fiction, it proved to be more a case of life imitating art when several hacking collectives pooled their resources to take down a pair of Vegas casinos last year.  While the hack didn't break the bank at either the MGM or Caesars, it did cost the two companies more than $100 million collectively.  What's worse is that even though the FBI knows the groups responsible for the ransomware attacks, the odds are low that the feds will be able to prosecute many of those involved, since the perpetrators are scattered around the globe.  The repercussions of this brazen cyberattack and the lackluster law enforcement response has not only gotten many corporate CEO's to start quaking in their boots, it's also caused the insurance industry to take a long hard look at whether if can cover the bets of businesses who are likely to be targeted by hacking collectives that can operate with impunity.

Fraud-as-a-Service + AI = Bad News

 By Catherine Powell

Cyber crime by Nick Youngson CC BY-SA 3.0 Pix4free

As scary as the wild weather has been this summer, there's another storm brewing on the horizon that's even more terrifying: Fraud-as-a-Service.  This kind of crime ran rampant during the pandemic.  International cyber gangs made billions at taxpayer expense by submitting fraudulent unemployment applications using stolen identities.  Just like drug cartels, these gangs would use local affiliates to cash in before paying them a percentage of the take.  Even if caught, the local mule wouldn't be able to implicate those higher up on the food chain, since all their instructions were delivered electronically.  The FBI determined that the hierarchy of the biggest cyber gangs originated in places they had no jurisdiction, like Russia, China, and Nigeria. What's worse is that these illegal enterprises proved so lucrative that the organized criminals running them decided to up the ante by using artificial intelligence to amp up both the scope and range of their shenanigans.  If you don't want to get roped into these cyber frauds, there are a few things you need to know.

Can Small Businesses Defend Themselves from Cyber Attacks?

 By Catherine Powell

Image courtesy pxhere

You read about big businesses being hacked every day.  Either their data has been stolen, their servers have been hit with a denial of service attack, or their computers have been locked down due to ransomware. In 2022 some of the companies that were hit included Twitter, Uber, WhatsApp, MailChimp, and Toyota.  Hacking in the US last year also included targets in the banking, healthcare, government, cryptocurrency, and law enforcement sectors.  While many of these high-profile targets made the news, what most people fail to realize is that more than 80% of hacks were not targeted at large companies but small businesses that had less than 100 employees.  This should come as no surprise.  I mean, if hackers can crack the biggest companies with the most advanced cyber security systems in the world, why wouldn't they target small businesses that are much easier to breach?  While I've covered such things as the 10 Signs of a Cyber Attack and Does Your Business Need Cyber Insurance?, what I"d like to show you today are 10 ways small businesses can defend themselves from cyber attacks.

10 Signs of a Cyberattack

By Catherine Powell

Image courtesy Pixabay

Cyber crime has become a massive problem in this country.  Did you know that there were more than 623 million cyberattacks in 2021 alone?  What's even scarier is not only are those numbers expected to rise in 2022, but all too many consumers and small business owners don't realize their devices are under attack until it's too late.  To help you keep hackers at bay, I thought I'd give you the top-10 warning signs that your device is under attack by hackers.  That's because the earlier you can mitigate an attack, the less damage hackers can do to your system and your life.  

How to Prevent Identity Theft

By Catherine Powell

Image courtesy Pixabay

If you're like most people, you value your privacy.  The problem is in this wired world of ours, privacy is hard to come by.  Cameras using facial recognition monitor your movements. Corporations mine the data you produce when you surf the web or send a text.  Government agencies monitor your phone calls.  Even your boss might be snooping on you when you use a company computer.  As bad as all that sounds, there's one invasion of privacy that trumps all of these by far.  That's when a cybercriminal steals your identity for financial gain.  Not only can this kind of crime result in a financial loss, it can also come to haunt you for years to come.  Below are ten ways you can help prevent identity theft.

Is Paying Cyber Ransom a Crime?

 By Catherine Powell

As scary as having hackers demand you pay a cyber ransom or have your data destroyed, what's even scarier is the act of paying up could put you in Dutch with federal law.  As of October 2020, the US Department of Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) made it illegal to pay hackers a ransom. That's right, if you're found in violation of either the Trading With the Enemy Act or the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, you could face stiff penalties including fines and/or jail.  What's even more alarming is that the very banks you do business with are required to file a Suspicious Activity Report should an individual or company be suspected of attempting to move funds of $5,000 or more that could be potentially used to pay hackers a ransom.  

Does Your Business Need Cyber Insurance?

By Catherine Powell

Image courtesy Pixabay

You can't watch the news, read a business magazine or peruse a newsfeed without learning about a new cyber-attack.  You'll either find that another form of malware has reared its ugly head or you'll learn that another Fortune 500 Company has been hacked.  Sorry to say it, but cyber liability has not only reached epidemic proportions,  it doesn't just effect big businesses.  In 2020, the average cost to small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) whose computers were infected with viruses and malware was $68,000 per incident.  Targeted attacks cost the average business $188,000 to mitigate.  What's even worse is that 70% of all cyber attacks in 2020 targeted SMBs.  That's because they're easier to breach with off-the-shelf hacking tools.  (That's right, hackers can buy sophisticated hacking software on the Dark Web.) If you own a business and are tired of losing sleep over the possibility of being hacked, here's what you need to know. 

Is There a Digital Data Disaster in Your Future?

By Catherine Powell

Image courtesy of Pixabay

A few weeks ago. I wrote a blog that explained a number of ways to fortify your home and office against thieves.  Like it or not, there are people out there who will be glad to relinquish you of your cash and other valuables.  Whether we’re talking about a burglar breaking into your home or a mugger pulling a pistol on the street to demand your wallet, theft is something that most people take for granted until they become a victim.  As I pointed out in an “HomeSecurity is Nothing to Sneeze At,” the best way to avoid becoming a victim is not to look like easy prey.  By that, I mean the more secure your home is, the less likely it is to be targeted by burglars.  The more cognizant of what’s going on around you, the less likely you are to get mugged.