data security Archives

Mother of All Breaches: Unprecedented Data Breach Alert

Data breaches have become all too common, and the recent "Mother of All Breaches" serves as a stark reminder of the vulnerabilities that exist within our digital security frameworks. With over 26 billion records compromised from platforms like X, LinkedIn, and Dropbox, the magnitude of this breach is a wake-up call for individuals and organizations alike. Understanding the Breach This massive data leak, affecting millions globally, underscores the critical need for robust cybersecurity measures. Personal information, sensitive data, and confidential communications have been exposed, putting countless users at risk of identity theft, fraud, and unprecedented privacy violations. Immediate Steps to Take If you suspect your data might be compromised: Change your passwords immediately, ensuring they are strong and unique. Enable two-factor authentication wherever possible. Monitor your accounts for any unusual activity. For Organizations: A Call to Action Businesses must prioritize cybersecurity like never before. Investing in advanced security protocols, conducting ...

Kristy Mossoian2024-02-05T21:51:49+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

What is spear phishing and how can my company avoid it?

The average person receives 16 malicious emails per month. A 2018 study of 500,000,000 emails found one out of every 101 emails received were malicious. Are your employees properly educated about this? Or will they click a link that could cost the company millions? Most of the time, the greatest risk to your company’s internet security are the people who work for it (including you). One click on a malicious email—even one that looks like it comes from a friend—could seriously damage your company. New employees are the most at risk for being duped. [1] What is Spear Phishing? Spear phishing is an attack in which hackers trick targeted users into sharing confidential information. It can also involve tricking the recipient into installing malware on their computer or network. Here is how it works: 1. You receive an email with an attachment from what looks like it originated from a ...

Red Level2023-02-16T16:01:31+00:00

Red Letter IT Newsletter – June 2018

There's nothing like jumping right into a summer heat wave! With sunblock, beaches, parks, and vacations, let's take a look at these 5 quick but important IT stories you should know about: MICROSOFT 365 BUSINESS - BETTER WORKFLOWS & PROCESSES: Detroit Wallpaper Engaged with Red Level to Implement Powerful Tools to Consolidate and Simplify Everything from Finanical Data to Sales Presentations "I would say that we have probably reclaimed at least 10–15 percent of our budget by preventing waste through timely collaboration." (Andi Kubacki, Co-Founder, Detroit Wallpaper) TECH NEWS: Save Money & Time in Your Journey to The Cloud Learn how reserve instances, automation, auto shut down features, and more can give you smart strategies for better security, performance, and cost savings. BLOG: Red Level Expands Datacenter Presence = More Flexibility, Choices, Power, & Protection Datacenter capacity doubled in Grand Rapids for expanded services and advanced solutions like added redundancy and data security. ...

Red Level2023-02-16T16:01:37+00:00

Red Level’s Ed Baustert Attains Two Advanced Security Certifications = Better Security For You

“The threat landscape is always changing, and changing at a very rapid rate” For most companies, information security is a significant area of concern these days – and it ought to be. Hardly a week goes by without news of a new high-profile hack, data theft or intrusion striking a major enterprise, causing incredible damage to reputations and bottom lines. Meanwhile, the countless smaller companies being compromised, often with devastating results, seldom come to broader attention. The era of complacency about a network and data security is well beyond over: The abundance of sophisticated malware and the seeming freedom of powerful hacking groups has seen to that. Red Level believes that being anything less than high alert concerning security threats effectively invites intrusion; we strive for continuous improvement where security is concerned, adding new tools, tactics, and knowledge to help our clients mount an ideal defense. Recently, Red Level Help ...

Red Level2023-02-16T16:01:40+00:00

Six Big Challenges – or Opportunities – for CIOs and CEOs

A CIO’s work, it seems, is never done. For that matter, neither is the worry associated with most of it. It’s a big job, and one that seems to get bigger just about every day: New technologies, new security threats, new business challenges, and new opportunities alike conspire to consume more of our attention and more hours of our waking lives (and at worst, keeping us up at night and intruding on sleep time as well). …

David King2023-02-16T16:01:49+00:00

STEAK AND SECURITY: Make Sure That Security Is Always “Well Done”

Whatever you happen to be doing, it is usually a good idea to be doing it right. That involves following the basic steps needed to successfully get from the starting line to success – steps that have usually been discovered and developed by the legions who have gone before you who have tried things out, learned from their mistakes, tried again and succeeded. Take cooking a steak as an example. There are some things you always do, and some things you definitely don’t do – say, put frosting on it, or let the dog play with it. And there are some things you MAY do – if you really know what you’re doing. The things you MAY do usually don’t take much extra effort or time, just a little more knowledge – but usually, it’s those discretionary steps that make the difference between “pretty good” and “fantastic.” So how do ...

Robert Tessanne2023-02-16T16:01:51+00:00