Jon Brown

Business Email Compromise Incidents up 133%

Business email compromises (BEC) scams made a big statement in 2018, seeing a 133% increase over 2017, according to a recent report by Beazley Breach Response Services. The Beazley Breach Briefing looked at information gathered from investigations into more than 3,300 data incidents that were reported to Beazley in 2018. The investigations revealed that nearly half (47%) of the data incidents investigated were the result of a hack or malware. Diving deeper, the investigations revealed that half of those hacking or malware incidents were BEC scams. What is a BEC scam? BEC...

Apr 28, 2019

Jon Brown

The State of Compliance

We are all aware of federal compliance regulations when it comes to the privacy and security of our information.  For example, you’d be hard pressed to find someone who hasn’t heard of HIPAA.  Yet are you aware that regulations have been put in place at the state level that have the same goal – to protect our security and privacy? This month (March 2019), the state of New York reached the end date for the Cybersecurity Regulation of the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) regulations.  These required third-party...

Apr 13, 2019

Jon Brown

Tax Refund Scams – Know What to Look For

Tis the season!  You’re making mental plans with what is hopefully a generous tax refund and deciding what to do with the surplus of cash you’ll soon have on hand. Along the way from starting to submitting the paperwork, there are quite a few roadblocks to be aware of.  Even if you aren’t getting a refund, your personal information is as valuable as the money you’re hoping for to scammers, so be on high alert.  A compromise of this nature can expose so much personal information from social security number...

Apr 7, 2019

Jon Brown

Security Awareness Training: Time to Jump on the Bandwagon

Human-error; we talk about it all the time, but what exactly do we mean? Human-error occurs when an individual performs a task or does something with an unintended outcome. It’s easy to point the finger at employee’s as being an organization’s weakest link, but without appropriate security awareness training provided by the employer, how can employees truly know what to watch out for? An IBM study found that human-error accounts for 95% of security incidents, yet security awareness training for employees often ends up on the back burner. In a...

Mar 1, 2019

Jon Brown

How Will Your Employees Get You Hacked

Breaches are becoming increasingly common as cybercriminals continue to advance their skills and tactics to trick their victims into falling for their scams. While cybercriminals are remaining diligent in their efforts to carry out their attacks, small business owners continue to underspend on cybersecurity. An article on Entrepreneur looks at 5 things your employees are doing that put your business at risk. The 2016 State of SMB Cybersecurity Report revealed that half (14 million) of the 28 million small businesses in the U.S. had been hacked by cybercriminals, but why? According to...

Feb 24, 2019

Jon Brown

What is Your Personal Information Worth on the Dark Web

The dark web is often known for the illegal activities conducted there, and while not everything on the dark web is illegal, it’s most appealing factor is its anonymity. The dark web is often a place where stolen data and personal information is bought and sold following a data breach or hacking incident. An article on Experian takes a look at what your personal information is worth on the dark web and how you can help protect yourself from being exposed. How much is your information worth to an identity thief on...

Feb 16, 2019

Jon Brown

How Does the Dark Web Impact Small Businesses?

Identity theft is an unfortunate occurrence that is all too familiar with most business owners, but do those individuals know where the compromised data will end up? Often, these business owners are unaware of the virtual marketplace where stolen data is purchased and sold by cybercriminals; a place known as the “Dark Web”.  An article on Lexology explores what the Dark Web is, what information is available for purchase there and how it impacts small businesses. What is the Dark Web? The Dark Web, which is not accessible through traditional search engines...

Feb 14, 2019