InTegriLogic Blog
InTegriLogic has been serving the Tucson area since 1999, providing IT Support such as technical helpdesk support, computer support, and consulting to small and medium-sized businesses.
RR Donnelly
https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/marketing-giant-rrd-confirms-data-theft-in-conti-ransomware-attack/Exploit: Ransomware
RR Donnelly: Marketing & Communications Firm
Risk to Business: 1.227= Severe
Major marketing company RR Donnelly has disclosed that they had data stolen in a December cyberattack attributed to ransomware. The Conti ransomware group is suspected to be to blame. In the attack on December 27, 2021, the company experienced a systems intrusion that led it to shut down its network to prevent the attack’s spread. That led to disruptions for customers, with some unable to receive printed documents required for vendor payments, disbursement checks and motor vehicle documentation. The Conti ransomware gang claimed responsibility on January 15 and began leaking 2.5GB of the stolen data that has since been removed.
Customers Impacted: Unknown
How It Could Affect Your Business: A recent rash of ransomware attacks against media and communications organizations should have everyone in that sector on notice.
Strategic Benefits Advisors, Inc
https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/data-breach-alert-strategic-benefits-8267696/
Exploit: HackingStrategic Benefits Advisors: Human Resources Consulting Firm
Risk to Business: 2.223 =Severe
In a recent legal filing, Strategic Benefits Advisors disclosed that an unauthorized third party had gained access to its data and may have removed several files containing consumer information. The Georgia-based company provides full-service employee benefits consulting for companies in many industries.
Individual Risk: 2.419=Severe
Strategic Benefits Advisors sent breach notification letters to more than 58,000 people to inform them of the exposure which the company says was limited to full names and Social Security numbers.
How It Could Affect Your Business: Hackers have been especially interested in breaching companies that maintain large stores of data for other companies lately.
City of Tenino, Washington
https://www.govtech.com/security/washington-city-loses-280-309-to-successful-phishing-scamExploit: Phishing/BEC
City of Tenino, Washington: Municipality
Risk to Business: 1.717= Severe
The City of Tenino, Washington is down $280,309 in public funds according to the Washington State Auditor’s Office after a city employee fell for a phishing message that launched a business email compromise scam. Reports say that former Clerk Treasurer John Millard fell victim to a phishing message and paid cybercriminals a boatload of money, some without city council approval. The official reportedly initiated 20 automated clearing house payments from the city’s bank account to multiple out-of-state bank accounts. News outlets are also reporting that a warning was sent out to clerks about the phishing scam immediately but that didn’t stop this disaster from happening.
Customers Impacted: Unknown
How It Could Affect Your Business: BEC is the most expensive cybercrime according to the FBI, 64X more expensive than ransomware – and it usually starts with phishing.
Switzerland – The International Red Cross
https://www.npr.org/2022/01/20/1074405423/red-cross-cyberattackExploit: Third Party/Supply Chain
The International Red Cross: Humanitarian Aid Organization
Risk to Business: 1.719 = Severe
The International Committee of the Red Cross has revealed that hackers have stolen data from a Swiss contractor that stores it for them. The stolen data includes information about over 515,000 highly vulnerable people that it has served, recipients of aid and services from at least 60 affiliates of the organization worldwide. The Red Cross says it typically reunites 12 missing people with their families every day through that program. As a result of this cyberattack, The International Red Cross has been forced to temporarily halt a program that reunites families torn apart by violence, migration or other tragedies. A spokesperson for the ICRC told news outlets that there have been no demands from the hackers in exchange for stolen data and that they were working with specialized firms to recover.
Customers Impacted: Unknown
How it Could Affect Your Business: Once again, a service provider that maintains a large array of records full of PII was hit, gaining cybercriminals a data bonanza.
Italy – Montcler
https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/fashion-giant-moncler-confirms-data-breach-after-ransomware-attack/Exploit: Ransomware
Montcler: Luxury Fashion & Outerwear
Risk to Business: 1.727= Severe
Luxury retailer Montcler has disclosed that it suffered a data breach in December 2021 after data began appearing on a cybercriminal leak site. The company confirmed that some data related to its employees, former employees, suppliers, consultants, business partners, and customers was stolen and subsequently leaked after they refused to pay the demanded $3 million ransom. The AlphaV (BlackCat) ransomware operation has claimed responsibility. The stolen data is said to include earning statements, spreadsheets with what appears to be customer information, invoices and other documents, but no specifics were provided.
Customers Impacted: Unknown
How it Could Affect Your Business: retailers have been steadily climbing the cybercriminal’s target hit list, especially luxury brands and specialty retailers.
New Zealand- Kings Plant Barn
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/kings-plant-barn-the-latest-retailer-hit-by-click-and-collect-data-breach/HJ45OFWAJ7NGGICU4THWBEZYOI/Exploit: Third Party/Supply Chain
Kings Plant Barn: Garden Retailer
Risk to Business: 1.677 = Severe
Kings Plant Barn is notifying customers that it has experienced a data breach after a data security incident at FlexBooker. The garden chain says that client names, email addresses and collection times were exposed but not passwords or other sensitive data. FlexBooker experienced an attack before the holidays that resulted in the theft of more than three million user records. The platform is used for scheduling and employee calendar management by small businesses like doctor’s offices, real estate companies, service sector businesses and similar companies.
Customers Impacted: Unknown
How it Could Affect Your Business: In an increasingly interconnected world, SMBs need to be prepared for the security risks that they may face from a service provider’s security incident.
Singapore – Crypto.com
https://www.vice.com/en/article/epxb8m/crypto-protocol-publicly-announces-flaw-users-relentlessly-owned-by-hackersExploit: Hacking
Crypto.com: Cryptocurrency Trading Platform
Risk to Business: 1.806 = Severe
Crypto.com, a platform that allows users to swap tokens between blockchains, publicly announced an incident in which a flaw in the platform’s security allowed cybercriminals to snatch an estimated $31 million in cryptocurrency. The company disclosed that 483 users were impacted by unauthorized cryptocurrency withdrawals on their accounts amounting to 4,836.26 ETH, 443.93 BTC, and approximately US$66,200 in other cryptocurrencies. In response to this incident, the company is adjusting its protocols to include safeguards like requiring all customers to re-login and set up their 2FA token to ensure only authorized activity would occur and a new policy where the first withdrawal to a whitelisted address must wait 24 hours among other measures.
Customers Impacted: 483
How it Could Affect Your Business: The financial industry has been besieged by cybercriminals and nothing si taking more of a beating than cryptocurrency and DeFi.
Indonesia – Bank Indonesia
https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/indonesias-central-bank-confirms-ransomware-attack-conti-leaks-data/Exploit: Ransomware
Bank Indonesia: Financial Institution
Risk to Business: 2.721 = Moderate
Bank Indonesia (BI), the central bank of the Republic of Indonesia, confirmed that a ransomware attack hit its networks last month. In a statement, BI said that their operational activities were not disrupted. CNN reported that the hackers made off with non-critical data belonging to Bank Indonesia employees before deploying ransomware payloads on over a dozen systems on the bank’s network. Conti has claimed responsibility. It claims to have 13.88 GB worth of documents and leaked a sample of files allegedly stolen from Bank Indonesia’s network as proof.
Customers Impacted: Unknown
How it Could Affect Your Business: Personal data is always a winner for cybercriminals who are looking to make a quick profit in the booming dark web data markets.
How to Prioritize Your Technology Gaps
Today's technology-based businesses must deal with multiple issues, including cyberthreats, head-to-head competition and regulatory compliance. Hence, keeping your technology infrastructure up to date is critical, and a technology audit is the best place to start.
A technology audit can assist you in better understanding and identifying gaps in your organization's security, compliance and backup. A thorough technology audit can assist you in answering the following key questions:
- Is your current IT infrastructure vulnerable or lacking in any areas?
- Are there any unnecessary tools or processes that do not align with your goals and vision?
- Are you in compliance with applicable regulations, prepared to defend against security threats and capable of restoring business capabilities in the event of a system outage or data breach?
- What steps can you take to address the discovered vulnerabilities?
If you don't have an IT background, the results of a technology audit can be perplexing. You might be overwhelmed by the number of items that need to be refreshed or replaced, and you might be unsure where to begin. Prioritization and the stoplight approach are particularly useful in this situation. Having a managed service provider (MSP) on your side will allow you to seamlessly audit and remediate IT issues.
The stoplight approach
The stoplight method is a simple way of categorizing gaps or vulnerabilities into red, yellow and green groupings based on their severity.
RED: Address the highest risks and vulnerabilities first
Always have a clear idea of what to prioritize in order to prevent and deal with mishaps. Since most organizations cannot address all problems at once, it is critical to focus the most attention and resources on the most pressing issues first.
Any technological refresh should prioritize addressing the most severe infrastructure vulnerabilities. For example, if your company is dealing with a ransomware attack, updating or upgrading Microsoft 365 is a lower priority.
High-priority vulnerabilities that must be classified as RED include:
- Backups that do not work
- Unauthorized network users, including ex-employees and third parties
- Login attempts and successful logins by users identified as former employees or third parties
- Unsecured remote connectivity
- A lack of documented operating procedures
Yellow: Then focus on gaps that are not urgent
There will be gaps that must be kept under watch but can wait until the most crucial issues get resolved. Although these medium-priority gaps may be acceptable in the short term, consider them when planning and budgeting for future technology updates.
The following vulnerabilities fall into the YELLOW category and are of medium severity:
- Insufficient multifactor authentication
- Automated patching system failure
- Outdated antivirus software
- Failure to enable account lockout for some computers
Green: If your budget allows, address these non-critical suggestions
These are the lowest-priority vulnerabilities. Implement measures to close them gradually after fixing the high- and medium-priority issues first.
The following are some of the gaps that fall into the GREEN category:
- Accounts with passwords set to "never expire"
- Computers with operating systems that are nearing the end of their extended support period
- Persistent issues with on-premises syncing
- More administrative access than is required to perform essential duties
Importance of prioritizing gaps
You won't have to deal with a situation where money is spent unnecessarily on a less critical issue if you prioritize gaps and close them systematically based on severity. Simply put, prioritization is advantageous for budgets.
Furthermore, you can maintain uptime by prioritizing gaps before refreshing your IT infrastructure because not all components will be down at the same time. This also prevents productivity and customer service from being jeopardized.
Not sure where to begin? A managed service provider (MSP) like us can help you prioritize technology gaps so you can get the most out of your technology investment while also ensuring uptime and productivity. Contact us for a free consultation.
How to Prioritize Your Technology Gaps
Today's technology-based businesses must deal with multiple issues, including cyberthreats, head-to-head competition and regulatory compliance. Hence, keeping your technology infrastructure up to date is critical, and a technology audit is the best place to start.
A technology audit can assist you in better understanding and identifying gaps in your organization's security, compliance and backup. A thorough technology audit can assist you in answering the following key questions:
- Is your current IT infrastructure vulnerable or lacking in any areas?
- Are there any unnecessary tools or processes that do not align with your goals and vision?
- Are you in compliance with applicable regulations, prepared to defend against security threats and capable of restoring business capabilities in the event of a system outage or data breach?
- What steps can you take to address the discovered vulnerabilities?
The stoplight approach
The stoplight method is a simple way of categorizing gaps or vulnerabilities into red, yellow and green groupings based on their severity.
RED: Address the highest risks and vulnerabilities first
Always have a clear idea of what to prioritize in order to prevent and deal with mishaps. Since most organizations cannot address all problems at once, it is critical to focus the most attention and resources on the most pressing issues first.
Any technological refresh should prioritize addressing the most severe infrastructure vulnerabilities. For example, if your company is dealing with a ransomware attack, updating or upgrading Microsoft 365 is a lower priority.
High-priority vulnerabilities that must be classified as RED include:
- Backups that do not work
- Unauthorized network users, including ex-employees and third parties
- Login attempts and successful logins by users identified as former employees or third parties
- Unsecured remote connectivity
- A lack of documented operating procedures
Yellow: Then focus on gaps that are not urgent
There will be gaps that must be kept under watch but can wait until the most crucial issues get resolved. Although these medium-priority gaps may be acceptable in the short term, consider them when planning and budgeting for future technology updates.
The following vulnerabilities fall into the YELLOW category and are of medium severity:
- Insufficient multifactor authentication
- Automated patching system failure
- Outdated antivirus software
- Failure to enable account lockout for some computers
Green: If your budget allows, address these non-critical suggestions
These are the lowest-priority vulnerabilities. Implement measures to close them gradually after fixing the high- and medium-priority issues first.
The following are some of the gaps that fall into the GREEN category:
- Accounts with passwords set to "never expire"
- Computers with operating systems that are nearing the end of their extended support period
- Persistent issues with on-premises syncing
- More administrative access than is required to perform essential duties
Importance of prioritizing gaps
You won't have to deal with a situation where money is spent unnecessarily on a less critical issue if you prioritize gaps and close them systematically based on severity. Simply put, prioritization is advantageous for budgets.
Furthermore, you can maintain uptime by prioritizing gaps before refreshing your IT infrastructure because not all components will be down at the same time. This also prevents productivity and customer service from being jeopardized.
Not sure where to begin? A managed service provider (MSP) like us can help you prioritize technology gaps so you can get the most out of your technology investment while also ensuring uptime and productivity. Contact us for a free consultation.
Top 4 Tech Trend Predictions for 2022
Over the last few decades, technology has been a driving force in business transformation and doesn't show any signs of slowing down. The fact that direct digital transformation investments are projected to total $7 trillion between 2020 and 2023 demonstrates this.1 If you want your firm to succeed, you must have the appropriate technologies to help you keep up with the changing business world.
In the present scenario, your technology must enable you to overcome three recent pandemic-induced issues:
- Supply chain disruptions
- The great resignation
- A rise in ransomware attacks
Businesses must keep up with the demands of the evolving technology landscape if they wish to achieve their goals and remain competitive despite the changes brought about by the pandemic.
Track the latest technological trends to know if you are moving in the right direction. Having a managed service provider (MSP) on your side allows your business to stay up to date without you having to do much heavy lifting.
Top 4 tech trend predictions for 20225
- Third-party risks will increase
Proactive businesses will include risk assessment, supply chain mapping, real-time risk intelligence and business continuity management in their IT stack (rather than a single application like Excel).
- One-third of companies will fail at implementing “work from anywhere”
- A precisely designed digital workplace that allows for seamless working from anywhere
- A leadership team capable of leading a virtual team
- An organization with high levels of digital literacy across all departments
- A thorough mastery of work-from-anywhere concepts
However, a third of the companies still lag in these areas.
- Cloud-native takes center stage in enterprise cloud
Also, cloud-native adoption is predicted to reach 50% of enterprise organizations by 2022, spanning all major technology domains such as big data, artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things.
- Tech execs leap from digital to human-centered technology transformations
Collaborate for success
If you want to get your technology infrastructure ready for a successful year, you'll need the help of a dependable managed service provider (MSP).
Feel free to send us an email or give us a call to set up a free consultation. Our expertise and skillsets may be precisely what your company needs to help remote workers thrive.
Sources:
- Statista (worldwide-digital-transformation-market-size)
- Statista (cost-supply-chain-disruption-country)
- Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, 2021
- Statista (businesses-ransomware-attack-rate)
- Predictions 2022, Forrester
Top 4 Tech Trend Predictions for 2022
Over the last few decades, technology has been a driving force in business transformation and doesn't show any signs of slowing down. The fact that direct digital transformation investments are projected to total $7 trillion between 2020 and 2023 demonstrates this.1 If you want your firm to succeed, you must have the appropriate technologies to help you keep up with the changing business world.
In the present scenario, your technology must enable you to overcome three recent pandemic-induced issues:
- Supply chain disruptions
- The great resignation
- A rise in ransomware attacks
Track the latest technological trends to know if you are moving in the right direction. Having a managed service provider (MSP) on your side allows your business to stay up to date without you having to do much heavy lifting.
Top 4 tech trend predictions for 20225
- Third-party risks will increase
Proactive businesses will include risk assessment, supply chain mapping, real-time risk intelligence and business continuity management in their IT stack (rather than a single application like Excel).
- One-third of companies will fail at implementing “work from anywhere”
- A precisely designed digital workplace that allows for seamless working from anywhere
- A leadership team capable of leading a virtual team
- An organization with high levels of digital literacy across all departments
- A thorough mastery of work-from-anywhere concepts
- Cloud-native takes center stage in enterprise cloud
Also, cloud-native adoption is predicted to reach 50% of enterprise organizations by 2022, spanning all major technology domains such as big data, artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things.
- Tech execs leap from digital to human-centered technology transformations
Collaborate for success
If you want to get your technology infrastructure ready for a successful year, you'll need the help of a dependable managed service provider (MSP).
Feel free to send us an email or give us a call to set up a free consultation. Our expertise and skillsets may be precisely what your company needs to help remote workers thrive.
Sources:
- Statista (worldwide-digital-transformation-market-size)
- Statista (cost-supply-chain-disruption-country)
- Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, 2021
- Statista (businesses-ransomware-attack-rate)
- Predictions 2022, Forrester