August Tech Talk Newsletter

Databranch Monthly Tech Talk

IT Solutions for the Workplace

August | 2021

What's Inside?

01 - Monthly Update from David

02 - Employee Shout-Out

03 - The Three Ways Criminals Infect You with Ransomware

04 - Does Your Organization Need Extra Security?

05 - Friend or Fraud?

Did you know?

The most popular language on the internet by far is English. More than 25.3% of the internet is in English, 19.8% is in Chinese, and 8% is in Spanish.

Employee Shout-Out: Matt Hillman

At the end of July, Matt achieved his Amazon Web Services Cloud Practitioner Certification! By attaining this certification, he also renewed his CompTIA Cloud+ certification for another three years.

Congratulations Matt on this latest achievement!

MONTHLY UPDATE

FROM DAVID

Are you afraid of ransomware? You have a good reason to be.

Ransomware occurs when a criminal gets access to your data, and then encrypts it. The data is still there, but you cannot read it or use it.

You then must pay a large ransom fee, most commonly in Bitcoin, to get your data back. It can devastate and even bankrupt a business all thanks to one click on one bad link.

Here are three scary stats that show how bad ransomware has become:

Scary Stat #1: About 1 in 3,000 emails that get through filters contain malware. Think about how many emails you receive in a day; how long will it take for a dangerous email to reach your inbox?

Scary Stat #2: This year, a ransomware attack on a business can be carried out every 11 seconds. Of the businesses hit, many pay the ransom. However, many of them still may not get their data back.

Scary Stat #3: If your organization is hit with ransomware, it can lead to a long downtime period, as well as a high cost of cleaning your network and retrieving data.

It’s vital that you take this threat to your business seriously. Thanks to the pandemic, ransomware is on the rise, and if your business is unprepared, sooner or later you will lose data to an attack.

Always make sure:

You have the latest versions of security software and all updates installed

Your backup is working every day

Your people have been trained on how to identify the most popular ransomware attack vectors like phishing emails.

Our team can help keep your organization protected and help prevent ransomware from infiltrating your network. If you would like to start the conversation on how to prevent ransomware, as always you can reach me at dprince@databranch.com or

716-373-4467 x 12, to learn more!

Databranch is Hiring!

Sales and Marketing Administrative Assistant

Responsibilities include:

Assist Sales Team with Quote Creation & Client Meeting Preparation

Perform Market Research to Identify Prospective Clients & Update Current Marketing Lists

Utilize Vendor Marketing Programs to Enhance Marketing Activities

Assist with Updating Databranch Marketing Material

And more!

If you know someone who may be interested in joining our team, apply here !

The Three Ways Criminals Infect You with Ransomware

There has been a lot in the news over the last few weeks about ransomware attacks and we want to help clarify some things.

First, what is a ransomware attack?

During a ransomware attack, a criminal gains access to your data and then encrypts it. The data is still there, but you can no longer read it or use it.

If you don’t have secured, unaffected backups in place, the most common way to get your data back is to pay a large ransom fee, typically in Bitcoin.

(Do you know how much downtime costs your business? Check out our calculator to help determine what your potential recovery costs could be!)

Second, what effect can ransomware have on your business? It can be devastating. It can cost your business thousands of dollars to reinstate your data and secure your network even without paying the ransom. It can also cause days of downtime.

Third, how do criminals get in? There are typically three ransomware attack methods:

Exploit kits: These are used to compromise a website with hidden code in advertisements (known as malvertizing). They secretly redirect you to an unsecure page and download a malicious payload which infects your system.

Malicious attachments in email: Often, malicious emails look genuine and appear to be sent by someone you know and trust within your business, a supplier, or even your bank. When you open the attachment, the ransomware is triggered and infects your device.

Malicious links in email: You receive a link via email, which infects your device when you click it. These emails also seem to be from a believable source which is why so many people are tricked into clicking them.

The more prepared and protected you are, the better off you will be.

Give us a call at 716-373-4467 x 15 or email info@databranch.com to learn more about how our team can help prevent malicious attacks and keep your organization safe!

Give us a call at 716-373-4467 x 15, email alasky@databranch.com, or click here to get started!

Does Your Organization Need Extra Security?

Just Combine Your RDP with a VPN, MFA, and ACL!

Don't worry though, we will not get too technical or complicated.

RDP stands for Remote Desktop Protocol, and it’s how you and your team connect to your business network using your laptops when you’re away from the office.

In the past year and a half, this has become an essential piece of technology.

However, anyone can reach an RDP through the internet which presents a security risk.

In 2020, attacks on RDPs surged and many ransomware attacks begin with the RDP being compromised.

What can you do to protect your organizations from becoming a victim?

1. MFA

Set up Multi-Factor Authentication across your devices. This is where you have to generate a code on a separate device to prove it’s really you logging in.

2. ACL

Limit who can access your network by setting up Access Control Links. This is like a security guard at the door deciding who can get in and who can not.

3. VPN

Set up a Virtual Private Network. This is an encrypted 'tunnel' for your connection into your organization. No one can see what information you are sending or receiving.

The Databranch team has the ability to make your environment more secure when accessing your information from anywhere. Give us a call at 716-373-4467 x 15, email info@databranch.com, or click here to learn more about us and how we can help!

Friend or Fraud?

Hopefully you’re aware of the risks of fake accounts on social media. Accounts are created to catfish, con people out of money, and for other kinds of exploitation.

Did you know that fake accounts can be created for other services, as well?

Most of the businesses we interact with now need you to create an account, like food ordering, online shopping, maybe even for businesses like yours.

What's the harm in this?

These fake accounts most likely will not trick you into anything or access your products for free. Aside from creating spam in your CRM, what is the problem?

Unfortunately, these fake accounts can result in a large amount of fraud.

Recently the U.S. Secret Service announced that it had recovered $2 billion in fraudulent COVID-19 Relief Funds.

Also, with fake accounts on the rise, there are now software tools that can automate account creation and mask real identities.

In the world of technology, bots exist to buy up limited edition or highly desired items with the intention of reselling the items for a higher price.

The lengths that the bots go to make the fake accounts look like actual humans is unbelievable.

They sign up for mailing lists, send emails, and watch YouTube videos to build up normal email account activity before creating the fake accounts with the desired business.

When the item is released, these bots are all logged in and checking out at the same time making it next to impossible for real consumers to make a purchase.

While this may not directly affect your business in this way, it’s making it very difficult for many people to be recognized as real individuals online. It may be only a matter of time before this is recognized as a form of fraud.

Have you considered how fake account fraud could affect your business?

Perhaps it’s time to take a look at the way accounts for your organization are set up. Give us a call at 716-373-4467 x 15, email info@databranch.com, or click here for more information!

WE LOVE REFERRALS

The greatest gift anyone can give us is a referral to your friends. Referrals help us keep costs down so we can pass the savings to our clients.

If your friend ends up becoming a client - we’ll gift them a free first month of service (for being a friend of yours) AND we’ll gift you a $100 Amazon Gift Voucher.

Simply introduce me via email (dprince@databranch.com) and I’ll take it from there. I personally promise we’ll look after your friend’s business with a high level of care and attention (just like we do with all our clients).

Technology Trivia

Which phone giant owns Cartoon Network, CNN and HBO?

The first person to email us at info@databranch.com and give a correct answer gets a $25 Visa Gift Card

NEED A LAUGH?

How do you choose a strong password?

Go to the gym and

find the one lifting

the heaviest weights!

If you were forwarded this email from one of our great Databranch clients and would like to receive future updates, click here to sign up for our newsletter/weekly tech news!