What are steps that you can take to protect yourself?

It is essential to keep your organization’s patch management up-to-date. Vulnerabilities such as CVE-2019-11510 exploit networks that do not have the latest patches on their devices. By keeping your devices patched, you ensure that you are protected from all the known vulnerabilities that have already been repaired by software developers.

Constantly monitor your devices for suspicious activity and logins. In the event that a device is compromised, time is a critical element in minimizing the damage that the attack can cause. If an incident is identified early, damage can be mitigated segmenting off your network and then identifying the extent of the breach. This can reduce the effectiveness of worm-capable malware, which can quickly spread over a company’s network after initial infection without any input from the victim.

Enable multifactor authentication on your devices. With the increase in VPNs and Remote access, it is essential that you keep your company accounts safe from unauthorized actors. By enabling MFA, you ensure that even if a cyberattacker has your credentials, they cannot access your account without access to your secondary device or your email.

Don’t fall victim to network cybersecurity attacks during this time. Contact us today at +1 888 366 4443 or email us at info@gige.ca to get started with GIGE’s network experts today.

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The data breach was the result of unauthorized access to Cathay Pacific’s servers that dated back to October of 2018.  In a statement on the breach, Cathay Pacific stated that it would like to “sincerely apologize for this incident”.

The UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office discovered that the  data breach had resulted in the records between October 2014 and May 2018 to be leaked.

This incident illustrates the importance of applying security patches to protect organization server. Cathay stated that it suspects the data breach occurred due to a known security vulnerability being exploited by cyberattackers. In its investigation, the UK Information Commissioner discovered that the company did not apply the security update fixing the patch, which was released over a decade prior to the attack. The vulnerability, which was not publically named, was in fact discovered in February 2007. It is known that attackers exploiting this vulnerability does not need technical skills and is able to get administrative access to a victim’s computer. Cathay pacific admitted that its regular vulnerability scans, which are used to detect potential security flaws in the company’s network, was not able to detect the vulnerability for over 10 years. It was discovered that one of the systems that was compromised had 16 security updates that were pending.

Another reason that the Cathay Pacific data breach occurred was that one if its servers was running an operating system that was no longer supported by its developer. Operating systems (O.S.), like many other software, requires constant updates to repair new security vulnerabilities that are discovered. After an operating system becomes end-of-life, however, the developer no longer releases software updates for it, leaving computers still running the operating system vulnerable to cyberattack. The most recent instance of this occurring is the Windows 7 End of life, which occurred on January 14^th of 2020. You can read more about operating system patches in our article here.

It is clear from the Cathay Pacific data breach that proper patch management is an important facet of keeping your organization’s IT safe from cyberattack. GIGE IT solutions’ network experts help you organization identify vulnerabilities in your organizations’ network. We audit and provide consultation and remediation strategies to help you stay protected from data leaks and cyberattacks.

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Information that was leaked to the public included customer addresses, phone numbers, birthdays, and email addresses. The information was posted publicly on a hacking forum.

In the post-leak security audit, MGM discovered that the breach was caused by an unauthorized individual gaining access to one of the company’s cloud servers in the summer of 2019.

In a statement, MGM assured the public that credit card information or password data was leaked in the incident.

Best practices if your personal data has been leaked

In today’s information environment, it is almost impossible to avoid becoming the victim of data leaks such as the above incident. However, what are some damage mitigations steps that you can take if you are notified that your data has been exposed?

Monitor your accounts diligently

Constantly monitor your inboxes, as companies will often notify account holders of suspicious logins from unfamiliar locations. If you receive an email that your account has been accessed from an unfamiliar location or device, change your credentials and log out of all other locations immediately.

Using 2 factor authentication

If your password was among information that was leaked, it is important to update any other accounts that share the same password. As an additional security measure, it is also best practice to enable 2 factor authentication on your accounts, as they will prevent a cyberattacker from entering your account even if they are in possession of your login credentials. To read more about 2 factor authentication and password management, read our article here.

Don’t let your business fall victim to data leaks. Call GIGE IT Solutions at +1 888 366 4443 for a consultation on weak points in your organization’s network infrastructure. Get started with us today.

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While government-targeted ransomware attacks are not new, this is the first incident of this scale and level of coordination. According to the Texas DIR, a single attacker was behind all of the attacks.

The city of Keene was one of the 22 cities that were affected. Mayor Gary Heinrich stated that the cyberattacker demanded a total ransom amount of $2.5 million. According to Heinrich, many of the compromised cities had IT software that was externally managed by a third party organization.

What is a ransomware attack?

Ransomware is a type of malicious software cyberattack where sensitive data on a victim’s computer is encrypted by an attacker, who demands a ransom to be paid for decryption.

Ransomware attacks have become more prevalent in recent years. Just last month, Florida’s Lake City and Riviera Beach City were both hit by ransomware attacks costing the cities $500 000 each. In September of last year, the town of Midland Canada suffered a similar attack. Laredo, another city in Texas, had in fact been hit by a ransomware attack in May 2019 that heavily impacted their email systems and computers. Their IT has since recovered.

The US Conference of Mayors estimates that at least 170 government bodies have been affected by ransomware since 2013.

What are the strategies to protect yourself from Coordinated Ransomware attacks?

This latest attack illustrates the immediacy of ransomware protection. While the victim in this case was a government, organizations and personal computers are also in constant danger of this type of cyberattack.

Ransomware causes major damage to day-to-day company functions. By ensuring that your most sensitive data is backed up, you can restore data in case of cyberattack. Don’t fall victim to ransomware. Managed Service Providers like GIGE Corporation can help you design and maintain network security and backup solutions. Call us at +1 888 366 4443 or email us at sales@gige.ca to learn more.

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Following the leak, the legal obligation on the company to notify the 7 million affected by the data breach cost it $3.8 million. Another $400 000 was also spent on external IT consultants to determine the extent of the damage.

3 independent IT firms determined that the compromise had occurred as early as August of 2018. However they could not determine the magnitude of the damage, forcing countermeasures to assume that all company data was compromised.

Russell Fuchs, founder and CEO of the firm, stated that the company keeps highly personal information of its clients due to its work of collecting bills for clinical labs. Therefore, information that was stored and leaked by their servers included the names, home addresses, SSNs, credit card and bank account information, birth dates, and personal medical information of its clients.

The breach was discovered March of this year when the company received an alarming amount of credit card activity on its web portal. Following the discovery, Retrieval-Masters Creditors Bureau immediately shut down its web access to mitigate the damages. The company had shifted to storing its data on the web in 2015 due to market pressure for increased connectivity and client convenience.

This event illustrates the immediacy of cyberthreat to companies that store sensitive information. As demonstrated, a compromise can remain undetected for months, and a single attack could lead to devastating financial and legal consequences.

How can you stay protected?

Here are some best practices to help you protect your sensitive data from cyberattack:

Update your Operating System:

With the end of security support to Windows 7 coming soon, it is absolutely essential for any company running Windows 7 to upgrade to Windows 10. Remaining on an unsupported O.S. instantly makes you vulnerable to backdoor exploits, ransomware attacks, data theft, and more. GIGE IT Solutions can help make your transition as smooth and affordable as possible. Learn more about the Windows 7 End of Life here

Network Segmentation:

Network segmentation is the security practice of “splitting” your company’s network into disconnected sections. If a cyberattacker is able to gain access to one section, they will be unable to infect your entire network. This is particularly effective against viruses with the worm capability, which allows it to spread from one device to the next without any input from the victim.

Multifactor Authentication:

Many cyberattacks are now automated. Brute-force hacks gain access to your accounts by ‘guessing’ your credentials through trial-and-error. This can be prevented by activating multifactor authentication, which requires a second ‘temporary’ password to be input every time you log in from an unfamiliar device. This password is sent to a second destination such as a phone or a secondary email, preventing an attacker to easily hack into your account with only the username and password.

Don’t fall victim to cyberattack. Managed IT service providers such as GIGE IT Solutions help keep your company safe by maintaining healthy backup protocols, monitoring your systems 24/7 and designing customized security solutions. Call us at +1 888 366 4443 for an immediate consult.

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HCL, a multibillion dollar company with over 100 000 employees, has suffered a data leak of sensitive customer and employee information. The leak was discovered on May 1^st 2019 by a research team in UpGuard.

Information that was leaked included employee information, customer information, and company project details. For employees of the company, names, IDs, and contact information dating back to 2013 were leaked.

HCL has not been the only victim this year of data leaks. In April, UpGuard researchers also discovered that a configuration error by Facebook-partner Cultura Colectiva allowed 500 million user records to be publicly available for download. Leaked information included Facebook comments, account names and IDs.

In a 2019 report by Verizon, it was found that around 34% of data breaches were caused by individuals within the companies. A large part of this was caused by human error, such as CC’ing incorrect people in e-mails, accidentally publishing sensitive information online, or mistakes in network configurations.

The HCL data leak incident illustrates the importance of damage mitigation in the event of data leaks. The risk of data leaks will always be present, as there will always be the risk of human error. Therefore, it is equally as important to ensure that the protocols to minimize exposure are well-defined. UpGuard reported that within 48 hours, HCL was able to recover from the data leak and make the information private again. This was largely due to the fact that the contact information of the data protection officer was easily located.

GIGE Solutions helps design and manage your data privacy and IT infrastructure. Contact us at +1 888 366 4443 to get started with us today.

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