Retails Sites Hit With Large-Scale Bot Attacks

Retails businesses that have established their online presence are in for another wave of attacks. As indicated in this year’s State of the Internet, attacks on retails sites have ramped up. According to the report, large-scale bot attacks are out targeting businesses, with retails sites being hit the hardest. This attacks are known as “credential stuffing” and is nothing new. However, due to the scale of the attacks, businesses should be on the defensive. It is suggested that businesses deploy reliable IT management protocols either in-house or through a reputable service provider.

In fact, the attacks made from May up until December of 2018, a total of 28 billion attempts at credential stuffing was made. One retail site reported to have been attacked by more than 115 million times in a single day. All of the attacks were bot-driven.

The report also indicated that the bots have the ability to target in excess of 120 retails in a single attack. With the use of certain techniques, the bots were able to evade detection and continue with the attacks.

What’s more problematic is that successful bot attacks could be undetected by the retailer. This means that retailers could see normal data but in the back end, they were already facing some serious attacks. This could deal a huge blow to customers’ information security entirely. Not only will it compromise the retailer, but it will ultimately have a bigger impact on its customers. Overall, impact of these attacks are limited compared to other schemes deployed by hackers.

Although damage dealt by such attacks are limited, it is still significant and can pose as threat to both retailer and consumer alike. With this in hand, retailers should always be vigilant in preserving their security, which would later entail to better relations with customers. With that being said, businesses must have a reliable IT management Wilmington team to aid in such situations and prevent issues from escalating.

Want to secure your business online? Call SpartanTec, Inc. today for reputable IT services.

SpartanTec, Inc.
Wilmington, NC 28412
(910) 218-9255

https://spartantec-wilmingtonnc.business.site/

Cities Served:
Wilmington, Silver Lake, Sea Breeze, Carolina Beach, Eagle Island, Leland, Wrightsboro

Hackers Steal User Credentials At Alarming Rates With Malware

It is a known fact that malware has infected more online users over the last few years. It’s also good to note the increasing complexity of malware code that hackers deploy over the internet. However, complex malware code isn’t the only thing that users need to worry about. Some malware are hiding in plain sight and are deceivingly simple. And it’s even simple enough that most users won’t be able to detect that it is a piece of malicious software. That’s where managed IT Services come into play. It’s just safer to do business online if you and your business’ information is protected.

For instance, Separ, the credential-siphoning malware that was detected more than a year ago. And unlike other malware that evolves into a more complex malicious code, Separ is the exact opposite. Simplicity in its code was part of its success.

Surprisingly, Separ was quite slick at avoiding detection. It utilized a bunch of code and executable files that are commonly used and are deemed safe. This allows it to simply blend in and avoid detection.

The most recent version of the malware was embedded in a PDF that triggers a chain of other apps when users clicked on them. The initial user interaction runs a simple script then escalates into a batch file that issues other commands into the computer that hijacks the protection protocol of the system. This is one of the many reasons why businesses should take advantage of managed IT Services Wilmington to secure the data of their business.  

According to experts, despite the simplicity of these malware, they can still wreak havoc and can equally be capable of stealing information. This is why experts insist that companies use at least one type of security protocol to increase their information security.

Keep your data protected with professional IT services. Call SpartanTec, Inc. today.

SpartanTec, Inc.
Wilmington, NC 28412
(910) 218-9255

https://spartantec-wilmingtonnc.business.site/

Cities Served:
Wilmington, Silver Lake, Sea Breeze, Carolina Beach, Eagle Island, Leland, Wrightsboro

500PX Recently Hit By Hackers

Are you a member of the online photography community 500PX? If you’ve signed up on the website somewhere in July 2018 or earlier, you are one of the many users who were affected by the data breach. The photography network was recently hit with a hacking incident that left its users with possible information security issues.

The company found traces of the data breach last month and is doing all it can to amend the problem.

They have promptly contacted authorities about the issue to catch the people responsible. 500PX is also working alongside a third-party security firm to address the issue. The company has also been prompt and straightforward about the data breach and informed users of the information security Wilmington issue. If you were included on the list of affected users, you should have already received some sort of communication from 500PX.

According to the company, the hackers were able to gather all sorts of user information. Account data such as username, passwords, and biographic info could well be stolen. The impacts could well undermine your information and computer security but it is still to be known.

The next time you login to their site you’ll be greeted with a reset password page. Don’t worry about this if you’re a fairly new user. The company took the privilege of resetting all passwords to force each user to user a new one.

One piece of advice from experts is to improve password habits. A lot of people use the same password over and over across different web platforms. This could lead to a major information security crisis if your passwords fell into the wrong hands. Prevent hackers from gaining access by using strong passwords for each web platform you use.

No further info about the data breach has been released yet. However, the company said it will update everyone regarding the investigation.

Need reliable IT services? Call SpartanTec, Inc. today to improve your information security.

SpartanTec, Inc.
Wilmington, NC 28412
(910) 218-9255

https://spartantec-wilmingtonnc.business.site/

Cities Served:
Wilmington, Silver Lake, Sea Breeze, Carolina Beach, Eagle Island, Leland, Wrightsboro

Voice Over IP Features That Can Benefit Businesses

Several small businesses are switching over to voip business phone systems. However, a lot of businesses overlook the many benefits that voice over IP has to offer. Apart from call waiting, voicemail, toll free numbers, remote operation, and call forwarding, there is a host of other important features that will definitely help your business move forward. Listed below is a list that you need to check to make perfectly sure that you are not missing out on anything.

Door Phone Entry Buzzer Integration

This feature lets you use an analog door phone for you to have a two way call with your visitors as well as unlock the door using your phone. This is one good feature that can help you boost your building security.

Follow me/Find Me Call Routing

This feature will be loved by your mobile workers. It lets you come up with a list of numbers where you can be located before the call gets forwarded to voicemail. So, for instance, you may hear your phone ring two times. The next ring will go to your cell phone. On the fifth ring, it will be on your home phone. Once the list has been exhausted, the call will then be sent to voicemail.

Voicemail to Email Transcription

As the name suggests, this feature will transcribe your voicemail messages to text, which will then be sent to your preferred email address. There is no need to worry about scribbling names, addresses, and numbers. Plus, you can simply take your time and read the email whenever you want. This lets you file, search, organize, and delete all of your voicemail in such a way that used to be impossible.

Music When On Hold

In case your firm place callers on hold all the time, then you definitely need this feature. Never subject your callers to a terrible music or even nothing at all when you put them on hold. With the music on hold feature, your callers will have something pleasant to listen to while they wait.

Call Screening

Among the most commonly forgotten feature of voice over IP is call screening. This feature lets you check the number on the caller ID and helps you decide what to do with the call. For instance, if you get a call from your husband or wife, you can have the call redirected to your cell phone. If it is a persistent sales agent who is trying to sell you things you don’t need, then you have the option to disconnect them.

Coaching Tools

Rather than coaching your workers after they put down the phone, you can give them the advice they need while they are on the actual call. Voice over IP offers two important features that can help you train and track the on phone performance of your employees. The first one is being able to barge in and listen to the conversation between the client and your worker over the phone without interrupting any of them. Next is you can whisper to your employee and give them some tips and information while they are on the phone but without the client knowing.

Conferencing

A lot of people know that voice over IP services include conferencing. However, not all of them make the most out of this feature. Generally, you can start a conference floor monitor. This will let you mute individuals, manage invitations, and more. You need to manage this correctly so you can avoid having a messy and confusing online conferences.

For more information about voice over IP, call SpartanTec, Inc. now.

SpartanTec, Inc.
Wilmington, NC 28412
(910) 218-9255

https://spartantec-wilmingtonnc.business.site/

Cities Served:
Wilmington, Silver Lake, Sea Breeze, Carolina Beach, Eagle Island, Leland, Wrightsboro

Survey Shows Bad Password Security Habits Still Linger

Password security has been a major concern stressed out by industry experts. For years, experts have warned about the bad habits people have when it comes to their passwords. It’s been a known fact that the weakest link in information security is bad employee password habits. Having weak passwords make systems vulnerable. Regardless of how strong the defenses of a system may be, weak passwords become a loophole that a lot of hackers take advantage of. There have been seminars held to highlight the perils of using one password across different websites.

Quite a number of training were setup to push the idea of eliminating old bad password habits.

How did it fair? Not so good. Google had recently conducted a survey and showed concerning results. Two thirds of the survey respondents said that they still had the same bad password habits even after campaigns have been made to highlight the securitythreats. The problem remains.

And it doesn’t stop there. Things continue to go downhill. Around 69% of the survey respondents said that they would rate their ability to protect themselves online an A or a B. Meanwhile, 59% said that their skill were beyond that of an average person when it comes to protecting accounts online.

The survey also highlighted other results. Here they are:

·         Less than 25% of the respondents said that they were using an application or service that would manage their passwords for them.

·         Only around 70% said that they frequently update their operating systems and applications, despite the fact that 80% claimed to have understood the importance of regular updates.

·         As for familiarity with the terms 2FA, phishing, and password manager, only 32% of survey respondents said they were able to identify all key terms.

With the results in mind, it’s clear to see that there remains a huge chunk of the population that needs constant persuasion in terms of ridding themselves of their bad password habits. And before things change for the better, there’s nothing preventing hackers worldwide to have a go at vulnerable systems. IT professionals Wilmington has lot of work to do. It’s safe to say that there will be more data breaches this year.

Want to improve your online security? Give SpartanTec, Inc. a call today!

SpartanTec, Inc.
Wilmington, NC 28412
(910) 218-9255

https://spartantec-wilmingtonnc.business.site/

Cities Served:
Wilmington, Silver Lake, Sea Breeze, Carolina Beach, Eagle Island, Leland, Wrightsboro