Ransomware is ‘biggest immediate cyber threat’

A recent report from the security firm Kaspersky Lab has claimed that so called ‘Ransomware’ is now the biggest and most persistent threat to internet security.

Their report, which you can read here, acknowledges that there were as many as 2,900 incidents of Ransomware attacks during the first three months of 2016, a 14% increase on the previous quarter.

Chrome scraps support for Windows XP, Vista and more

Along with the release of Google Chrome version 50 has come the news that support has ended for a number of older operating systems including Windows XP and Vista.

Google has been promising since November that they would end support for older operating systems such as Windows XP, Windows Vista, OS X 10.6, OS X 10.7 and OS X 10.8 and this month they followed through with that promise.

Microsoft strengthen Office 365 security

Responding to the ever growing threat of cyber crime, Microsoft has ramped up their security efforts for their Office 365 platform. Users will now benefit from better visibility, control and security of data when using the cloud based services.

In a blog posted on the Microsoft website, Bret Arsenault, Chief Information Security Officer for Microsoft, explained that their new approach “empowers customers to accelerate their adoption of a ‘protect, detect, respond’ security posture”.

Whaling – a dangerous new cyber threat

One of the most recent cyber security threats to come to our attention is the ‘whaling’ scam. This is a highly personalised form of phishing used to trick victims into giving away sensitive information and access to networks.

What is it?

Most phishing scams target a wide range of people and hackers will send their scam emails to a large number of recipients. However ‘whaling’ is different in that cyber criminals approach one ‘high value’ target with a highly personalised message instead.

Ubiquiti Networks, a provider of high-end wireless networking products, recently fell victim to a whaling attack which resulted in losses of $47m (£30m) for the company.

Ransomware: could you be blackmailed by hackers?

Ransomware is one of the most recent threats to your online security. We look at what it is, how it works and how you can protect your business effectively.

What is it?
Ransomware, as the name suggests, is a form of malware which locks away a victim’s files and then requests payment from them to have them returned.

In 2013, Cryptolocker attacked around 250,000 computers worldwide stealing personal files and refusing to return them unless a ransom was paid immediately, which a high amount of victims went ahead and did.

Ransoms are paid through a digital currency such as Bit coin, which allows transactions to be made anonymously.

Hackers are taking over LinkedIn profiles – what can you do?

A recent investigation by the security firm Symnatec has uncovered that hackers are creating fake profiles on the social networking site LinkedIn in an effort to scam users.

LinkedIn was established in 2003 and is a social networking site used by over 400 million professionals worldwide as an online form of business networking.

As well as allowing businesses to connect with each other, it is also provides a reliable way for recruiters to headhunt potential employees by sending them ‘connection requests’ which allow them to be able to send each other messages – a feature which hackers are now believed to be exploiting.

Dell computers admit to security flaw

Computer giant Dell has acknowledged a “profound security flaw” in computers sold to customers that could leave them open to attacks from hackers, allowing them to harvest important personal data such as bank details.

Dell has released a statement which explains that a security certificate ‘eDellRoot’ pre-installed on some Dell laptops has “unintentionally introduced a security vulnerability”.