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Month: February 2021

10 Alarming Cyber Security Facts 

Posted on by vijay

The prominence of well-instructed cyberattacks is growing almost on a daily basis. In some cases, they are being deployed to manipulate primary elections, while the others are employed to cripple a large business. Hence, the role of cyber warfare is, indeed, taking over our everyday lives, in one way or another.

To prevent cyberattacks, many small-scale organizations are using an identity and access management tool on their infrastructure. It, in turn, helps them in finding any suspicious behavior on their network right away.

Nonetheless, using only a single tool is not going to help you out in this aspect. Besides, you will also need to know about cyber-attack-related trends as well. Here, we are going to talk about ten such facts to keep you on the radar.

1) Cybercrime is Extremely Profitable

A cyberattack can affect an organization in several ways. It can affect the network, security system, and overall infrastructure of a company massively. Besides, if the attacker has stolen even a small amount of classified data, the corporation has to pay them.

According to an IBM report, the average cost of a data breach can be around USD 3.9 million. Moreover, in the case of stolen data, the business will also have to pay almost USD 150/data.

Thus, if you want to avoid such a calamity, then be sure to integrate an access management system in your infrastructure.

2) Phishing E-mails are More Common Than You Know

The usage of phishing e-mails became extremely popular during the year 2018, and it has been prominent in 2020 as well. According to a report, around one person out of three tends to open a phishing mail. However, most people usually avoid clicking on the malicious link in the email. Only 12% of individuals become the victim of an actual phishing attack.

3) Cyberattacks are More Common Among the Millennial

According to a report, the millennial are more commonly affected by the cyberattacks. As they are technologically savvier, they tend to be more casual regarding their smartphone or PC’s security system. As per reports, almost 53% of millennials have encountered the issue of cybercrime in 2019.

4) Cybercrime is More Common in Indonesia

Amongst others, the small country of Indonesia had experienced the highest number of cyberattacks in 2018. Around 59% of the nation’s population was affected by this global issue massively. Pasiekite viršūnes su SEO paslaugomis SeoPaslaugos.com

Hence, if you belong to Indonesia and want to keep your company’s data well-secured, employing UBA becomes imperative. Also known as User Behavior Analytics, this tool can help you monitor and evaluate your end-users’ profiles.

This way, it becomes easier for you to find out the culprit even before cybercrime gets committed.

5) The Prominence of Data Breach

According to Accenture, around 130 data breaches occur amongst the prominent organizations in the world annually. The number of the same also gets increased by almost 27%, which sounds even more alarming.

6) Financially Interested Attacks are More Prevalent

Almost 1 billion of data was exposed in the year 2019 through breaches. Among them, only 25% were constituted through spying on the network system of the organization. But, around 71% of attacks were done purely based on financial acquirement.

7) Hacking Issues Occur More Frequently than Other Forms of Cyberattacks

Among the data breaches that occurred in 2019, almost 52% of them were done by hacking. On the other hand, around 32%-33% of attacks were employed through social engineering and phishing. Lastly, the remaining ones were made through the deployment of malware.

8) The Malicious File Extensions Hide in the Plain Sight

The commonly-used applications, such as MS Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, consist of the most malicious extensions. Aside from this, the official website of WordPress, too, is vulnerable to these malware-based tools.

9) The Consumers Despise Data Breach

When getting connected with an organization, most consumers tend to provide their credentials. Thus, in case a data breach occurs, their private information will get hurt as well.

Thus, as per reports, around 71% of people have said that they will leave a company if a data breach occurs on the scene.

Due to this reason, it becomes imperative to integrate PAM (Privileged Access Management) into your system.

With it, you can control all of your privileged or crucial accounts and protect your management system proficiently.

10) Android Platforms are More Vulnerable to Cyberattacks

The android platform usually offers access to almost any program or app available out there. This, in turn, makes it susceptible to cyberattacks. Moreover, as smartphones generally do not feature any integrated security system, it becomes quite difficult for the user to prevent cyber assaults.

Conclusion

All-in-all, the issue of cyberattacks has become quite prominent in the last few years. Thus, it becomes crucial for you to use a proper security system to keep your infrastructure safe and secure.

High-Tech Spying: How to circumvent this threat?

Posted on by vijay

Overview

Cyber espionage is a nefarious act of engaging in a single or multiple attack on systems that allows any unauthorized user/ users to secretly view sensitive information without the knowledge of the owner. The major objective of such activities is to acquire intellectual property of corporates or sensitive data belonging to government organizations.

Typically, these attacks are subtle in nature as there is ‘no visible harm’ to the victim, though non-stop spying on the business secrets is a serious breach of conduct and the impact is very damaging. The consequences of cyber espionage can be grave with loss of competitive advantage as business-critical data, strategic blueprints or government secrets no longer remain ‘secret’ as they are supposed to be. The malefactors in this act are motivated by greed and make unexpected profit by misusing the information assets.

A couple of years ago, a 12-year cyber-espionage incident came into light where hackers from one suspected nation from Asia were eavesdropping on different Government agencies and firms of other nations to sabotage their regular IT operations for an indefinite period.

Who are the targets?

The information stolen is used by rival companies or nation states. Sometimes, it is even sold to some higher bidder or to the dark web. There are two conventional targets for cyber espionage:

  • Governments: Government organizations possess the most sensitive information of a country. Most of the Government organizations are increasingly getting digitized. With the incorporation of new technologies, the work processes have turned time-saving and most case-sensitive data are stored digitally. This has prompted cyber crooks to take unauthorized possession of the data.
  • Corporates: Global businesses are continuously at risk from cyber espionage. The spies are lurking in every sphere of possible data sources to covertly access information that can badly affect the victim – by damaging the brand reputation and business trust. Corporates from every possible industry have become more or less victims of espionage.

Forms of Cyber Espionage:

Two major or common forms of cyber espionage are –

  • Spear phishing/ Phishing: Among all, this is the most attempted form of this crime. Common phishing is quantitative in nature, whereas spear-phishing is more qualitative and target-oriented. This target can be geography, industry or even a specific piece of data. It requires lots of research about the potential victim.
  • Malvertising: Sometimes, cyber criminals use malicious advertising strategies to compromise data. They misuse the medium of online advertising to snag the target. These advertisements are too convincing to prevent any kind of malicious intention behind. Once clicked, the victim is immediately routed to the hostile server for the rest of the attack.

How to Prevent?

Threats like cyber espionage can remain undetected in a particular network for months. Eventually, when the criminal gang is busted, enterprises by then suffer huge losses. There are some easy and advisable precautionary IT security measures to stop cyber espionage at the roots.

  • Endpoint Security: Today most of the spying incidents happen due to unmanaged and unmonitored endpoints. A secured Endpoint Management helps mitigating targeted attacks including malware and ransomware threats.
  • Rule and Role-based access: With the help of advanced security tools like Privileged Access Management (PAM), User Behaviour Analytics (UBA), user restriction on the basis of authentication process can deter suspicious activities. As critical data assets are consistently under threats of misuse from malicious corporate elements, organizations need to strengthen security with a rule and role based access.
  • Robust Password Management: Breaking through a password is the only way to access every confidential data file. Hence, enterprises should always ensure randomization and rotation of passwords to put an end of unauthorized data access.
  • Segregation of database: There is a saying, “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket”. Similarly enterprises in IT security should ensure proper and multiple segregation of data that can minimize the risks to a large extent. A single database would simply make the job of a data spy easy.
  • Monitoring user behaviour: Lastly, seamless monitoring of every user behaviour is the ultra-modern way to assess IT risks. Any kind of unconventional behaviour from insiders, third-party users, partners, external auditors, MSPs or even ex-employees should be detected and flagged off to the administrators on time. AL/ ML based User Behaviour Analytics (UBA) tool has been in high demand today to deter cyber espionage.

Conclusion

Cyber espionage is rising. This threat, if not taken seriously on time, can put business processes and progress at ransom. Training the employees and spreading awareness about cautious IT behaviour can largely reduce the risks associated with cyber espionage.

Digital Identity Theft? The Importance of Addressing the Issue

Posted on by vijay

While technology has made our lives easier, it has also made it complicated for a lot of us, especially in terms of security. Gone are those days when our concept of a crime was pick-pocketing. Today, crime has taken a digital turn. Technology-based crimes are engulfing many of us, and there isn’t any foolproof solution to address the issues.

Digital identity theft, in particular, has taken an evil shape where IT fraudsters targeting both businesses and individuals for cyber-attacks. Fraudsters can target an individual for any personal gain like accessing one’s financials and other records. They can also target businesses for stealing confidential information and other business data. Thus, it has become vital for us to address digital identity theft.

But for many, it is still a nascent subject as many don’t know what digital identity theft is, how it works, and how it can affect them. To elucidate the importance of addressing the issues related to digital identity theft, we have created this post where we will discuss everything you need to know about it so that you can protect yourself and your business in our increasingly exposed and connected environment.

 

What is Digital Identity Theft?

The sudden rise of the internet and e-commerce has taken online identity theft to new levels. Identity theft is all about accessing your personal details online. Now, a fraudster can access your personal information for any purpose. Using the widely available tools on the internet, hackers can trick unsuspecting internet users into providing personal information, which they later use for illicit purposes. The potential for identity theft is a major hurdle in the growth and evolution of the digital world. Digital identity theft can happen in a number of ways but in the majority of cases, the fraudster steals an individual’s personally identifiable information (PII) using scams or activities like planting malicious viruses and software on their system. Personally identifiable information could be anything from bank account number to driving license, social security number, or any other information that can distinguish digital identity.

What is risky about digital identity theft is that fraudsters can make a digital clone of the owner for personal gain. The following are some of the ways how fraudsters can manipulate personal information:

  • Rent an apartment or pass an employment background check, using your financial and personal information
  • Get medical care using your health insurance
  • File income tax return using your social security number and claim your refund
  • Make unauthorized purchases using your debit or credit card
  • Open a bank account or avail new credit cards or loan using your details

Thus, it is important that you are fully aware of the situation and immediately report any instance where you may feel like your digital identity has been stolen.

 

Problems Posed by Digital Identity Theft

Fraudsters can profit from your information in a variety of ways. For starters, they can steal your money and other benefits. How fraudsters use your information depends on what information they have. In case the cyber crook has credit card number, address, and name, they can misuse. Moreover, if they get their hands on sensitive information like your social security information, they can file a tax return and steal all your refund, apply for government benefits, receive medical treatment using your health insurance, steal your airline miles, or company data and sell it to the highest bidder.

Identity thieves are most active on the dark web where they expose the stolen information for a price. A dark web is that part of the internet, which isn’t regulated, centralized, or indexed by the search engine. For example, a US passport can sell for up to $2000 on the dark web. The fraudster can sell your credit card number for up to $110, and your social security number for $1 or more.

Last but not the least, digital identity theft can lead to the creation of multiple social media accounts of an individual. The thief, in disguise of the owner, talks to different people and retrieve information. They can also use your fake account to pass a job background check and even rent an apartment. Individuals with no criminal background and a good credit card history are often the targets of the fraudsters.

 

  • Who are the victims?

Cybersecurity experts suggest that the likelihood of experiencing identity theft appears to be higher in women, younger consumers, and people with higher income. Moreover, an individual’s risk of being a victim of digital identity theft depends on how many noncash accounts he/ she has and how often (intensity) they are used. Moreover, it may also depend on where an individual conducts most of his/ her business and the precautionary measures he/ she follows. Since data that directly measure these factors is not available, it can be hard to tell the risks faced by the demographic groups.

  • Tools of the trade

If you think that your personal data is safe online, you are wrong. You knowingly share your personal details, including your location via social media and other digital platforms. When you do this, you are putting your information into the wrong hands. Just like us, fraudsters are equipped with state-of-the-art technology and tools that they use to steal one’s personal information. It is vital that you understand what these tools of the trade are so that you can protect yourself.

  • Phishing – It is a fraudulent activity where cybercriminals send fake emails posing to be from a legitimate company. The email contains links that lures to click on it and collect personal information. Those are malicious links and are easy access to the personal details.
  • Malware – A malware attacks your system to steal your personal information. Cybercriminals can use malware for your system through various means. It includes key loggers, Trojans, spyware, and viruses.
  • Poor Passwords – This is one of the common vulnerabilities that people make while creating passwords for banking accounts, social media accounts and other online platforms. Poor passwords are the gateways for cybercriminals to access private information.
  • Pharming – Pharming is a cyber-attack where your internet browser is compromised by a virus. In other words, your browser gets hijacked by the hacker, and they can access any saved passwords and account information.

Addressing Digital Identity Theft

This is a growing concern worldwide. Some popular cybersecurity practices can keep yourself and your family’s digital identities safe from hackers.

  • How to prevent Digital Identity Theft?
    • Use antivirus software and firewall
    • Avoid using public Wi-Fi
    • Always update your OS and other critical applications
    • Always download from trustworthy sources
    • Avoid emails from unknown senders
    • Avoid visiting suspicious websites
    • Refrain from sharing of personal information digitally

 

Conclusion

Keeping yourself protected from the cyber goons is not an easy job. However, some best possible IT security practices can minimize the risks to some extent. From business perspective too, securing critical digital assets is the key to business continuity and prosperity.

Essential IT security tools for the ‘New Normal’

Posted on by vijay

In the previous blog, we discussed how the on-going pandemic situation has changed the global cybersecurity landscape. We will continue the discussion with how ARCON is helping organizations to stay secure in this ‘new normal’.

A] ARCON | Privileged Access Management (PAM)

Almost two-thirds of global data breach incidents happen due to compromise of privileged accounts. The typical challenges that organizations face while managing privileged accounts in both on-prem and remote work conditions are inadequate monitoring of privileged sessions, no rotation or randomization of passwords, no password vaulting, no multi-factor authentication (MFA) of users, and no report on logs for IT audits.

 ARCON | Privileged Access Management (PAM) is a comprehensive solution that seamlessly manages, monitors and controls the activities of privileged users in an enterprise network. If we consider the general use cases of PAM today, especially in remote work conditions, most of the organizations are prioritizing password-less access on the target devices where the users can seamlessly connect with the VPNs (extensiveness of RDPs). But VPN-led approach is risky. It is prone to hacking, does not provide granular access control and Multi-factor authentication. On the other hand, ARCON | PAM has a complete set of Identity Governance tools that includes MFA, Session monitoring, command restrictions (granular control) capabilities, password vaulting including an application streaming server that streams only required data to end-user machines from target devices in an encrypted manner.

Moreover, organizations are getting extra-cautious over time management and manpower management. No organization would like to spend an army of employees to manage PAM solutions. ARCON | PAM, in this context, is user-friendly and safeguards enterprise OS, security devices, routing devices, telecom equipment, business applications, cloud applications, IT operational technologies, robotics, and IoT. It secures and automates password rotation policies of the privileged accounts of critical systems by offering a strong password vault and managing the overall PAM lifecycle with minimum manpower.

B] ARCON | User Behaviour Analytics (UBA)

The preamble of modern IT security has changed a lot in the last few months after remote work culture became the ‘new normal’. The global IT community now believes in ‘predicting risks’ rather than ‘preventing risks’. ARCON | User Behaviour Analytics (UBA) has transformed the way Information Security is analyzed today. It is a highly effective risk predictive & user behaviour analytics tool built for daily enterprise use cases in WFH conditions. The AI-ML component of ARCON | UBA understands the behavior pattern of the end-users round the clock and in case of any deviation from the baseline activities, flags to the administrator about a probable anomaly. For instance, if a user downloads approx. 10MB of data files every day but suddenly downloads gigabytes of files, UBA tool would consider it as an anomaly and alert the admin immediately.

Demand of ARCON | UBA solutions from SMEs are soaring every day and will keep on rising. Not just helping to implement secured access control, this tool ensures that the IT security team can monitor remote users in WFH conditions where chances of data misuse are high.

C] Secure Remote Access

IT security in remote work conditions has been a huge challenge altogether. Organizations from every industry worldwide are striving hard to ensure every remote access is seamlessly monitored in WFH conditions to ensure security. It necessitates the organizations’ IT security team to stay alert and aware of how the confidential information is handled by the users while working remotely. Otherwise, cybercriminals might exploit the situational (pandemic) vulnerabilities to cause data breach, data exfiltration, unauthorized access, password abuse etc.

 ARCON | Secure Remote Access provides Single-sign-on (SSO) to securely access applications and data from remote work conditions. It supports several Identity protocols. SSO ensures that all important privileged credentials are not shared and compromised. Moreover, the tool offers privilege session management that monitors and records all the activities. Just-in-time privileges approach ensures that users are granted access strictly on a ‘need-to-know’ and ‘need-to-do’ basis.

D] Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA)

“To be or not to be” – the age-old soliloquy from William Shakespeare’s Hamlet comes in our mind while discussing ‘Trust’ of IT users. This is a never-ending dilemma and its seriousness has increased too much in the post pandemic times. Global organizations are shifting their focus from typical perimeter-centric security towards advanced IDS (Intrusion Detection System) models. Hence Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) security model has been so discussed, desired and accepted as the whole world has cocooned itself at home.

ARCON | PAM solution helps organizations to build the foundation of ZTNA. Since assessment of trust is a continuous process and it is going to be never-ending in the WFH circumstances, ARCON sticks to the credo “we trust you, but we will continuously assess the trust”. As the ZTNA security model suggests, it is mandatory to have a unified data security policy for all applications and databases that are accessed by privileged accounts. ARCON | PAM solution seamlessly inspects all the tasks happening around privileged identities and ensures trustworthiness. Moreover, ARCON Zero Trust architecture ensures continuous adaptive risk assessment (establishing trust over IP address, devices, facial recognition, bio-metrics, geo-location, etc), secure segmentation of identities, and robust detection and incident response. All these components enable the IT security team to have a comprehensive visibility over segmented and dispersed Identities.

E] Endpoint Security

Compromise of the endpoint privileges has been proved to be one of the biggest sources of data theft worldwide. Almost 60% of the organizations fail to monitor their endpoints. Poor endpoint management not only leads to data theft but also creates ambiguity over access to business-critical applications. The situation in remote working conditions has turned worse.

In WFH scenarios, it is hardly feasible for the administrators to track whether the users are using unauthorized and unrecognized endpoints in the enterprise network. ARCON | Endpoint Privilege Management (EPM) bridges the security gap between unmanaged endpoints and IT administrators in an enterprise network. It grants endpoint access to the privileged users by segmenting them strictly on their roles, responsibilities and duration (granular  control). The access right is revoked immediately after the task is accomplished and thus helps organizations to avoid unnecessary standing privileges. It is highly recommended in WFH conditions, especially during flexible working hours.

Conclusion

In a genre where inadequate cybersecurity measures have become a burning topic among the IT community, the recent ‘new normal’ conditions have accelerated the necessity for secure remote access. ARCON offers a stack of robust technologies to overcome these challenges.