Articles of interest from the week of January 18, 2021

FBI Warns of Voice Phishing Attacks Targeting Employees at Large Companies

The FBI is cautioning companies to beware of a slew of voice phishing attacks aimed at capturing the login credentials of employees. In an advisory released last Thursday, the FBI revealed that as of December 2019, cybercriminals have been working together on social engineering campaigns targeting employees at large firms both in the US and abroad. The criminals are taking advantage of VoIP platforms to launch voice phishing, or vishing, attacks. (By Lance Whitney, TechRepublic) Ingalls: Our cybersecurity experts are highly skilled in Security Awareness training, Risk Management, and Endpoint Protection. Mastery in all of these areas is essential to prevent voice phishing attacks. Contact Ingalls today to find out how we can protect your organization.

Ransomware Provides the Perfect Cover

Look at any list of security challenges that CISOs are most concerned about and you’ll consistently find ransomware on them. It’s no wonder: ransomware attacks cripple organizations due to the costs of downtime, recovery, regulatory penalties, and lost revenue. Unfortunately, cybercriminals have added an extra sting to these attacks: they are using ransomware as a smokescreen to divert security teams from other clandestine activities behind the scenes. (By Matt Lock, Help Net Security) Ingalls: Remember, whether you’re facing a data exposure incident, a business email compromise, or a dreaded ransomware attack, there are steps that you can take to help your organization respond and, hopefully, recover from this incident. For more information please read our blog post, How To Respond When You’ve Been Breached.

Why Cybersecurity Audits Are Essential for Risk Management

Find out what your company could risk by not getting cybersecurity audits. TechRepublic contributing writer Lance Whitney reported in December 2020 that security firm McAfee estimated that cybercrime would cost the world $1 trillion last year. When it comes to cybersecurity, it's difficult to improve anything if what already exists is a mystery. Steven Wertheim, president of SonMax Consultants, in his CPA Journal article Auditing for Cybersecurity Risk makes a strong case that auditing should be a part of every cybersecurity defense program. Before Wertheim explains how auditing can help, he looks at the issues that could be caused when auditing is not in place. (By Michael Kassner, TechRepublic) Ingalls: Who is independently auditing the safety and security of the systems you installed and manage for us? This is one of the many questions you should be asking your IT company about cybersecurity. For the complete list, please visit our blog post on this topic.

Five Cyber Threats To Watch in 2021

Trends, challenges and priorities for building a strong cybersecurity posture. Throughout 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic created something of a new playground for hackers. In response, many institutions fortified cybersecurity systems and fast-tracked digital transformation initiatives. But what does the landscape for cybersecurity and the evolution of threats look like in 2021? We don’t have a crystal ball, but here are five cybersecurity trends to watch out for in the new year. (By Bob Thibodeaux, SecurityMagazine) Ingalls: Let our team of cybersecurity experts help you implement these cybersecurity practices in advance to help your institution gain strategic advantage, differentiate itself from the competition and shift from a reactive to a proactive cybersecurity approach.

Ransomware Is Now the Biggest Cybersecurity Concern for CISOs

Ransomware is the biggest cybersecurity concern facing businesses, according to those responsible for keeping organizations safe from hacking and cyberattacks. A survey of chief information security officers (CISOs) and chief security officers (CSOs) found that ransomware is now viewed as the main cybersecurity threat to their organization over the course of the next year. Almost half – 46% – of CSOs and CISOs surveyed said that ransomware or other forms of extortion by outsiders represents the biggest cybersecurity threat. (By Danny Palmer, ZDNet) Ingalls: Unfortunately, ransomware remains a serious threat to all industries and accounts for nearly a quarter of all malware based attacks. Ransomware has become so widespread and commonplace that a normal attack garners neither the shock of security professionals nor the attention of the media. Are You Prepared To Defend Against Ransomware?