security awareness 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

Scams Target Travelers and Hotels

Every summer it seems that there is another scam targeting travelers. Check out this blog from one of our partners, KnowBe4, on the latest fake hotel website scam. "Cybercriminals will take advantage of any situation that separates people from their money. And what better way than to purport to be a reputable hotel and take reservations? The recent example in Turkey covered below demonstrates how far cybercriminals are willing to go to setup their scam. In this newest scam, fake hotel websites are setup (in some cases even copying a hotels entire website!) using as many as 50 domain names similar to the hotel’s brand name. These scammers are so good at what they do, in many cases, their fake websites ranked higher in natural search listings than the real hotel’s website. Travelers book and pay for their travel, and only find out when they show up at the hotel, who has no idea ...

Red Level2023-02-16T16:01:36+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