Cloud Security Archives

Ignore Windows 10 End of Support and Pay the Price Later

Windows 10 End of Support is Coming Microsoft is officially ending support for Windows 10 in October 2025. That may sound like a while from now...but in IT time, it’s tomorrow. Waiting until the last minute to replace outdated systems could leave your business exposed, scrambling for hardware, or stuck in backorder hell. Let’s be blunt: if your organization is still running Windows 10, your window to act is closing fast. Why This Isn't "Just Another Update" Unlike regular patch cycles or minor upgrades, End of Support (EOS) means no more security updates, bug fixes, or tech support. The risks aren’t hypothetical: Cyberattacks will target unsupported systems (and yes, the bad actors know when EOS happens). Compliance penalties could hit regulated industries hard. Outdated hardware may not support Windows 11 leaving you with slow, incompatible machines or forced, last-minute purchases. What Happens If You Wait? Here’s the real talk: You’ll ...

Kristy Mossoian2025-05-21T20:02:14+00:00

Mother of All Breaches: Unprecedented Data Breach Alert

Data breaches are becoming alarmingly common. The recent "Mother of All Breaches" highlights the critical need for robust data breach protection. Over 26 billion records from platforms like X, LinkedIn, and Dropbox were compromised, exposing the vulnerabilities in our digital security frameworks. This breach serves as a wake-up call for both individuals and organizations. Understanding the Breach This massive data leak affected millions worldwide. It underscores the urgent need for effective cybersecurity measures. Personal information, sensitive data, and confidential communications were exposed, putting countless users at risk of identity theft, fraud, and severe privacy violations. As a result, the importance of data breach protection has never been clearer. Immediate Steps to Take If you suspect your data was compromised, take immediate steps to protect yourself: Change your passwords now. Ensure they are strong and unique. Enable two-factor authentication on all accounts. Monitor your accounts closely for any unusual activity. These ...

Kristy Mossoian2024-08-30T14:05:12+00:00

6 Cybersecurity Habits You Need to Break Today

What you do on autopilot can hurt you – especially online. Here are the habits you should track from month to month until cybersecurity becomes automatic. Is your computer locked? Bad Habit 1: Leaving your computer unlocked and unattended. With the slip of a USB stick, bad actors can corrupt files or steal information. This applies at coffee shops and even the office. Anytime you leave it, lock it! Avoid unknown USB charging ports, too. They’re easy for hackers to compromise and can physically damage your device. Are you actually creating strong passwords? Bad Habit 2: Using weak passwords Short, common, old, default, and guessable passwords can have serious consequences. Consider utilizing a password manager to help you create, change out, and remember your unique logins. And don’t forget to turn on multi-factor authentication (MFA) options! Are your systems up-to-date? Bad Habit 3: Letting security updates slide Every device, app, ...

Red Level2023-10-17T14:36:28+00:00

Cyber Security : Be Prepared and Prevent Disaster

The threat landscape is becoming more incessant, dangerous, and high stakes for businesses. The sheer quantity of attacks has been increasing at an alarming rate. The complexity and ingenuity of these attacks are frightening. Almost all these attacks are identity-based; they start as phishing emails or password spray attacks. Once they gain access to a user account in your environment, you have officially been owned. If you are lucky, they will use the compromised account(s) to send out more phishing emails to your global address list and contacts from the owned account. This will result in a lot of embarrassment, organizational risk, potential blacklisting of your domain, and untold negative business impacts. If you are unlucky, they will encrypt your sensitive data with ransomware, exploit you for money with a socially engineered scheme, or exfiltrate sensitive data such as employee tax forms or proprietary intellectual property. This can potentially result in your company or organization ceasing to exist. To mitigate attacks of this nature, there are several critical items you need to address: Globally enforce multi-factor authentication Globally block legacy authentication Leverage device and application trust to limit your attack surface ...

Red Level2023-02-16T16:01:18+00:00

15 ways to protect your company from Ransomware attacks

Recent ransomware attacks and security breaches are detrimental to an organization's business data, and reputation. Ransomware attacks are not new, but the rate at which they are occurring in the United States is radically increasing. Ransomware attacks are up 365% according to TechRepublic. What are ransomware attacks? Ransomware is a type of cyberattack wherein an organization or individual is threatened for money. The attacker threatens to publish the victim's personal or corporate data or permanently block access to it until a ransom is paid—usually via a cryptocurrency like Bitcoin. Other recent variants include cutting off access to utilities, internet access, oil pipelines, and corporate intranets. Can you refuse to pay ransomware? The US government prefers you to refuse to pay cybercriminals. The more we see companies pay these criminals, the more they are encouraged to continue. Ransomware isn't just some guy calling you up and threatening you. The attack happens ...

Red Level2024-06-27T03:37:32+00:00

Cloud Security, Part II: BYOD, and Remote Workers

In the first part of this series, we talked about many of the areas where cloud computing can be affected by employees and some of the major security issues. In this part, we will explore two overlapping areas of concern in cloud security: Remote working Bring your own devices to work (BYOD) Remote Workers After the first pandemic lockdowns, many organizations invested in secure equipment for their employees; others did not and put the onus on their employees. Those organizations did themselves a disservice. Employees should not be expected to be security experts 80% of IT business leaders believe employees need mobile devices to do their jobs —TechRepublic The pandemic may have forced most office workers into becoming remote workers, but that does not mean employees are suddenly reliable IT departments. The average employee’s home security is inferior to what their company provides. There are many pros to having remote ...

Red Level2023-02-16T16:01:19+00:00

Cloud Security, Part I: Employee Risk

While the COVID-19 pandemic closed down much of society and work environments, one area that was blown wide open was security—in particular, cloud security. In this two-part series, we will examine risks to (and solutions for) businesses. This first part covers employee risk; because it can be the largest and most sensitive topic related to cloud security. Malware delivery continues to shift into the cloud, with 61% of all malware delivered via a cloud app. 36% of phishing campaigns target cloud app passwords and 13% of campaigns use phishing methods hosted in the cloud. Malicious Office documents increased by 58% in 2020 and now comprise 27% of all malware downloads, using cloud app delivery to avoid email and web security. 83% of users in the enterprise use personal apps, increasing the risk of unintentional or unapproved data movement. —Skopje Malware delivered over cloud apps increased from 48% to 61% in ...

Red Level2023-02-16T16:01:19+00:00