Articles of interest from the week of February 24, 2020

Why Ransomware Attacks on Municipalities Spiked in 2019

Ransomware spread to a number of city, state and local governments across the U.S. in 2019. Threat researchers weigh in on the increased attacks and what to expect in 2020. (By Arielle Waldman, Search Security) Ingalls: Ransomware has become a serious threat to businesses of all sizes and industries, and traditional security practices are no longer strong enough to protect your business: early detection and response is key. Are you prepared to defend against ransomware?

16 Best Practices for Improving Cybersecurity

Cisco's 2020 CISO Benchmark Study links a robust patch policy and collaboration to smaller data breaches. (By Veronica Combs, TechRepublic) Ingalls: Since 2010, Ingalls Information Security has been in the war rooms and board rooms of Global 2000 companies, investigating computer networks targeted and attacked by criminals and nation-state sponsored hackers. This experience gives us an edge in preventing and responding to cyberattacks, as well as developing risk management strategies for our clients for all new cybersecurity treats in 2020 and beyond.

Louisiana Cybersecurity Agency Reveals how Hackers Can Attack 2020 Presidential Election

An Alexandria-based cybersecurity agency has broken down how the 2020 Presidential election could be hacked in a report distributed to the National Association of Secretaries of State. While Louisiana appears to be secure, Ingalls Information Security CEO Jason Ingalls says in a recent intrusion response, the agency discovered vulnerabilities to ransomware. (WWL Newsroom, Radio.com) Ingalls: In our most recent Threat Intelligence Report, we break down how the 2020 presidential election could be hacked. This report was published in partnership with the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS). Click here to learn more.

MSPs Warned of Major Ransomware Threat to RMM Platforms

Integrated solutions are the common type of platforms used by MSPs. Asigra on Wednesday issued a warning to its global network of MSPs about a ransomware threat to remote monitoring and management (RMM) platforms that puts solution provider and end-customer applications and data at high risk. (By Edward Gately, Channel Futures) Ingalls: Even MSPs are at risk of exposing themselves and their clients to a disastrous data breach. Having proper security controls is vital to keeping data safe, such as enabling MFA, properly managing and preventing Powershell executions, and deploying next-generation anti-virus. Read more about how to properly secure your RMM usage here.

Lesser-Known Social Engineering Tricks

Penetration testers and chief information security officers (CISO) should find this article useful as it sheds light on a number of new social engineering hoaxes doing the rounds these days. These stratagems can be highly effective in targeted attack scenarios where a specific employee or organization is in cybercriminals’ spotlight. (By David Balabon, Security Boulevard) Ingalls: Your organization's security is only as strong as your employees' awareness. Strengthen your defenses against social engineering attacks with our specialized training and testing programs to provides effective awareness and prevention to your company.