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What Exactly Is Phishing? Remember those weekend fishing trips you spent as a kid, staring endlessly unsure which bait to use? The goal was for your bait to look as real as possible, ensuring you wouldn?t leave without a bite. Phishing has been appropriately named due to the similarities. Unfortunately for most businesses, your employees are the fish?s replacement and that wall-mounted trophy fish becomes an unaffordable amount of data loss.  Posing as a fraudulent website or persona with the intentions to steal data or access credentials yields a high reward for cybercriminals. Trial and error has revolutionized phishing into a much more effective means of theft. There are numerous different kinds of attacks, which can be split into two categories. The first category is general phishing. This makes use of an email that is written to apply to as many people as possible. The sheer volume of emails sent, typically rewards a cybercriminal with at least a few hits. The second is commonly known as spear phishing. This method of phishing is a much more personalized cyberattack. Cybercriminals typically do an uncomfortable amount of research to increase their odds of fooling a specific target. This method has proven to be extremely effective, especially since these messages typically appear to have been sent from an authoritative figure.  What reward does this yield? Phishing attacks can be used to steal credentials, infect a workstation or network with malware, or just fool a business user into making false orders with business funds.  Phishing 101 – Types of Bait There are many different baits cybercriminals are using. Most of them fall within the same outline, so learning what to look for applies to most cyberattack attempts.  The message?s content provides clues. Oh dear! The program I use was under an attack, so changing my password is recommended! How convenient though, the password-change link has been provided! If something is too convenient, especially password changes, chances are it?s phony. Phishing attacks are only successful if a user cooperates with the cybercriminal. If you are under the impression that an application has been a victim of a data breach, and you feel as though changing your password holds a value, then do so. However, navigate to the application?s website in order to do so. Convenient links are often spoofed links.  Observe the language within an email. If an email is sent to ?Customer? rather than you, chances are this is our first method of phishing we discussed — general phishing. Lack of personalization indicates lack of legitimacy.  Does the email make you feel threatened? If a supposed sender communicates a sense of urgency, potentially including a threat of serious consequence, ask yourself the following question. ?Does this seem like the best way for a legitimate business to communicate with a client?? If the answer is no, avoid exploring the email further.  Look before you click! As humans, we make mistakes. However, a typo in an email address is unacceptable. If a provided link says something like amzon.com or payal.com/secure, it is wise to avoid it. If there are any additional periods following a domain, but before the first forward slash, this also indicates phishy activity. Something like www.amazon.com.ru/passwords is an easily identified phony email address. If you aren?t able to see the full link provided […]

Modern times have gifted us with methods to defending ourselves from cyberattacks. There are solutions available to keep your business safe, and projections show that certain technologies will emerge that will much more effectively protect your business. Artificial Intelligence – Business? Best Friend One of the most effective ways in combating cyberthreats is introducing artificial intelligence where applicable. One of the weakest links in any business chain, are the employees. Now we aren?t recommending dismissing all of your employees and hiring robots as replacements, but by default humans are prone to making mistakes.  Whether an employee turns spiteful after not receiving a promotion, or a careless one clicks the wrong link, humans make mistakes that AI simply would not. Today?s security solutions need constant monitoring to ensure that they are operating as they should. In the near future, your business can integrate AI into your security processes. This can resolve some of the common issues. Say Carl skips work, and does not reassign someone to monitor business security systems. While some employees like Carl will play hooky from time to time, AI is able to monitor systems 24/7, once they are taught what to keep an eye out for and recognize. They also are able to monitor these systems much more effectively than any human could, including Carl.  AI can even go beyond defense, and delve deeper into prevention. As the world of artificial intelligence continues to be explored, new technology begins being implemented in business practices. AI may replace traditional access management processes, replacing passwords entirely. The idea is rather than trusting your employees are using strong password practices for every account, AI will be able to monitor the user?s behaviors, workplace roles, and common actions. If the system recognized any deviations, an additional form of authentication such as biometrics would grant or deny access.  Like the flat screen TV?s early days, this level of technology has one major obstacle – cost. However, as this technology is adopted and explored, the cost may become more feasible for small to medium sized businesses.  Why 5G Connectivity Needs to Remain on Your Mind Artificial intelligence promises to advance a wide variety of processes. The use of 5G and data-intensive tasks are amongst them.  With every new device that is connected to the internet, an additional opportunity arises for a cybercriminal to take advantage of poor security standards. The capabilities that 5G connections have need to be heavily considered. Think about this: you?re riding down the highway when suddenly your self-driving car loses all connection due to a cyberattack. Considering that on a daily basis, your self-driving vehicle will equal roughly 3,000 times your daily data output, data overload is a serious security concern.  While there?s still time before these concerns materialize, there are plenty of present-day cybersecurity concerns that your business needs to anticipate. White Mountain IT Services has the experts you need to protect your data. Give us a call at (603) 889-0800 today!

What is AR? Augmented reality, for those who don?t already know, is the act of adding information to reality through the use of cameras and displays in real-time. Some of the most popular use of AR thus far has been the mobile game Pokemon Go, and Snapchat and Instagram filters. There are also several businesses using AR in their marketing applications. Advances in AR The advances in AR to this point have been mostly limited by the devices in which the technology?s applications run on. While it is possible to use a stand-up AR display on a smartphone, the limitations of the screen (under 7? for most devices) leaves users wanting a bit.  That?s not to say that there aren?t a profusion of companies looking for a way to incorporate AR in some way. Here are some reasons AR is improving rapidly: Faster Connectivity AR has begun to find its footing on 4G LTE connections, but as 5G begins to be more prevalent the immense amount of information that AR needs to function properly will be available. The higher bandwidth that is available, the better AR systems will perform.  Better Hardware With each new year that passes, hardware gets better and better. Better processing, improved sensors, and efficient designs of face-up products have, and will be, a driving force in AR for years to come.  Applications A lot of different organizations are looking to AR to fill needs. Marketing agencies are starting to use AR in their marketing initiatives as it significantly enhances customer engagement. AR is also seeing a large jump in the training and development sector as it provides information students and workers need to know, when they need to know it. It allows for hands-on training in several different industries.  Lower Costs AR is becoming more commonplace. As a result, the cost of deploying AR systems is shrinking significantly. As the technology continues to get more applications and more devices that work with it, costs will continue to plummet.  Augmented reality is the future of training and education, marketing, and information distribution. What do you think of AR? Leave your comments below and be sure to subscribe to our blog.

However, do you know what else is in the palm of your hand? Passwords, credit card information and personal information. Being sure your smartphone is protected is entirely dependent on how you are using it. Today, we will go over tips to ensure you, your friends, and your business are not going to fall victim to a mobile device threat. Lock Your Device While this might seem like an obvious statement, you need to lock your device. A large amount of smartphone users don?t have password protection, which makes them an easy target. Sure, your friends might take ridiculous pictures if you leave it unlocked; but what would a cybercriminal do? Passcodes are an excellent first step to securing your device. Modern devices now let you skip the task of entering a passcode, utilizing fingerprint scanners as well as facial recognition technology.  Wireless Connection Susceptibility  Everything is going or has gone wireless. If there is currently a cord attached to it, you better believe someone is working towards removing it yet maintaining device functionality. Wireless headsets, internet, chargers, mice, keyboards — all without a cord. While it may be more convenient for you, it is also much more convenient for criminals. You wouldn?t leave your removable hard drive laying around with a USB cord in it, waiting to be plugged in somewhere unbeknownst to you. So, why leave your smartphone able to be connected via Bluetooth, NFC communications, or even Wi-Fi? Deactivating these device capabilities greatly reduces your chance of being targeted.  Update Required Notice when there is an update for your device — it says update required. Not update advised, or optional? but required. The main reason these updates or patches are released is to stay ahead of cybercriminal activity. By the time a cybercriminal is able to scheme a way to infiltrate your device, phone providers already have negated their progress with an update.  Neglecting to update your device in a timely manner greatly increases vulnerability.  Limit Application Permissions There has probably been a time when you have downloaded an application, and granted that application permissions. While some of us might not even look at what we are agreeing to, others can?t help but notice the vast amount of access an application such as a flashlight or a game requires. Why does a flashlight app need my contact list, or access to my microphone? Applications tend to request further permissions than they actually need to target you. They often sell this information to advertisers, and target you with your favorite brands. Learning who you are is important for these advertisers. So, unless you enjoy being spammed with ads, sometimes it is best to delete that old app you don?t use anymore.  Use Caution When Opening Attachments Messaging applications are no different than email. If something looks suspicious, don?t open it! Attachments are often used to deliver mischievous programs to a victim. Keeping the same best practice mindset when using your smartphone as you normally would when navigating emails will greatly reduce your risk of falling victim. Following these simple tips will help keep your smartphone secure. If you would like more information on how to defend yourself and in turn, your business; reach out to the experts at White Mountain IT Services. Give us a call at (603) 889-0800 today.

What?s the Status of Today?s Cybersecurity Industry? At the time of this writing, cybercrime certainly does pay? it takes in at least $1.5 trillion in profits per year, and that number is still growing. Some projections anticipate it causing $6 trillion in yearly damages by the time 2021 rolls around. The cybercrime industry is worth $200 billion per year, and there?s been a 67 percent increase in security breaches over the span of the last five years. Phishing has grown in popularity to reach the top spot, targeting approximately 76 percent of all businesses. Phishing is a multi-purpose attack vector for cybercriminals, delivering ransomware or other types of malware, tricking the target into handing over sensitive data, or stealing credentials that allow them to access your data at their leisure. Making it an even worse threat, many who have been phished successfully don?t realize it until the ramifications set in. These attacks are responsible for the exposure, theft, or corruption of billions of records annually. It should be pretty clear at this point why businesses need to be concerned about cybercrime. However, cybercrime wasn?t always as huge of an issue as it is now. Cybercrime?s Origins Believe it or not, the global threat that costs economies trillions each year was once a simple research project. An individual named Bob Thomas realized that a computer program could potentially be able to travel across a computer network, leaving a trail behind. He designed a computer code that he nicknamed ?Creeper.? The aptly named Creeper was meant to traverse the ARPANET, moving from Tenex terminal to Tenex terminal, carrying its message: ?I?M THE CREEPER : CATCH ME IF YOU CAN? When Ray Tomlinson – the inventor of email – took notice of it, he created what was effectively the first-ever computer worm. He then wrote another code, named ?Reaper,? which hunted down Creeper and deleted it – effectively inventing antivirus. Leveraged By Criminals Cybercrime was once much different than what can be observed today. In the 1980s, Soviet hackers considered the benign applications that academics had designed, and speculated the same concept could be used to infiltrate other networks. By 1986, a German hacker named Marcus Hess successfully hacked into an Internet gateway that the University of California at Berkeley hosted. With this connection, he had reached the ARPANET. He ended up hacking a total of 400 computers, including some Pentagon mainframes, and planned to sell the secrets he had absconded with to the Soviet Committee for State Security, which translates to Komitet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosti… otherwise known as the KGB. Through cooperation between the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the government of West Germany, Hess was caught, and became the first to be convicted of a cybercrime. He was handed down a 20-month suspended sentence. This just so happened to coincide with an increase in both connectivity and the severity of viruses, making the threat that a virus could pose much more considerable. Cybersecurity Software?s Development In 1988, software engineer Robert Morris tried to measure the Internet, but it didn?t exactly work out that way. His plan was to write a program that would spread to different networks, infiltrating Unix terminals, and replicate itself. The problem is, the ?replication? aspect was so efficient, it slowed down the entire Internet and had serious ramifications. […]