Archives for February 2019

Trakt: Media service for “scrobbling,” or tracking movies and shows watched online

Risk to Small Business: Severe: The California-based media platform emailed its customers notifying them of a breach that took place over 4 years ago, in December of 2014. In their statement, they claimed that they only recently discovered the breach, and took steps to mitigate it since. Payment information was not disclosed, but usernames, emails, passwords, names, and locations were. The investigation is ongoing, but the only risk at this point seems to be that of customer attrition.

Individual Risk: Moderate: The company seems to have inadvertently mitigated the breach, migrating to a more secure version of its website in January 2015. However, users that have recycled passwords between accounts should be wary.

How it Could Affect Your Customers’ Business: Even without involving payment data, breaches that trace back multiple years can unnerve end-users into deleting their accounts forever. When they receive an email notifying them that a breach from 2014 was just now discovered, they are likely to weigh other options or stop using the service entirely. In a world where competition is cutthroat and the customer has more information and choices at their fingertips than ever before, businesses must do everything in their power to retain and build trust.

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In Other News:

How to save your IT system from its own users: Zero Trust Browsing

2017: The Year of Cryptojacking. 2018: The Year of Ransomware. 2019? It’s shaping up to be the Year of Phishing.

Historically, we’ve labeled phishing as a nuisance that only a select few fall for. However, the increasing sophistication of social engineering, along with a gradual evolution of phishing techniques, have leveled the game. For example, hackers have realized the importance we place on SSL certification, and have found ways to exploit it in order to give us a false sense of reassurance. Browsers such as Edge, Chrome, and Firefox have created advanced filtering techniques, but they are still unable to identify 10-25% of phishing sites…

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The bad guys always use holidays to their advantage, and Valentine’s Day is no exception. They’re now sending malware to your inbox with love.

Cybercriminals are sending Valentine-themed spam emails containing malicious attachments. They’re attempting to trick you and steal your attention with subject lines like: “My love letter for you” and “Always thinking about you”.

Within the email, they’ve included a zipped file that has a title beginning with “Love_you_” and when you open or double click on the file, multiple types of malware will be downloaded to your system.

Remember the following to avoid falling victim to these types of scams:

• Check the sender of the email. Even if it is coming from someone you know, their email address could be spoofed.
• Before opening any attachments that appear to be coming from someone you know, give that person a phone call and make sure they intended to share it with you.

Stop, Look, and Think. Don’t be fooled.

Houzz: Home improvement and interior decorating startup.

Risk to Small Business: Severe: On Friday, the company issued a notice to customers stating that an “unauthorized third party” had accessed user data including usernames, passwords, and IP addresses. Although financial information was not exposed, Houzz became aware of the breach in in late December of 2018, yet the investigation is still ongoing and it is still not clear how many users were impacted.

Individual Risk: Severe: When combined with the internal data that was compromised, public information such as first and last name, city, state, country, profile description, can be packaged together to sell on the Dark Web and commit cyber fraud. Additionally, users who logged into the app via Facebook would have their IDs exposed as well.

Customers Impacted:To be determined

How it Could Affect You: In the event that an organization has to disclose a breach to its users, it is essential to be clear on “who, what, when, and where”. Even though Houzz discovered the leak in late December of 2018 and was compelled to disclose in a timely manner in accordance with new GDPR laws, they are still unsure on the number of users impacted or the origin of the cyberattack. Aside from dispelling vigilant customers who want to protect their data going forward, the incident may trigger fines to be levied.

Read more about this and other breaches

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In Other News:

The long-term consequences of data breaches on consumer trust

Most news coverage surrounding data breaches will hint at the erosion of customer loyalty, but what does it truly look like? With industries being disrupted at unprecedented rates, companies that are caught in the cross-hairs of highly publicized breaches must face the reality of losing customers to their competitors.

Additionally, an emphasis on post-breach damage control can impede an organization’s marketing and communication efforts to regain trust with their customers. The involvement of legal teams usually results in radio silence that can span months or years, causing brands to gradually diminish from the minds of their audiences.

As cyber-attacks continue to become more commonplace, marketers will begin to assume a role in shaping security efforts. Third-party marketing technologies are rife with vulnerabilities that hackers are waiting to explore, and everyone will be responsible for prioritizing privacy over data management.

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Imagine you’re casually scrolling through your LinkedIn newsfeed when you come across an ad for a position that you’re perfect for, at a company you’d love to be a part of. Considering you are on a website that knows your job title, industry sector, location, etc., you likely wouldn’t think much of it and proceed to find out more information, right? This is what the bad guys are betting on.

Once you respond to the ad and apply for your dream job, they’ll have your “would-be employer” respond and schedule a call, sometimes over Skype.
Once the bad guys have you where they want you–in your hopeful bliss of acquiring a new position–they’ll ask you to install a program (ApplicationPDF.exe) to “generate your online application”. What the program actually does is install malware on your computer.

LinkedIn’s reputation for being a professional networking platform inherently causes many of its users to lower their guard when it comes to cybersecurity. Just because an ad is on LinkedIn doesn’t mean you can trust it. Remember: Never download any questionable files (in this case ApplcationPDF.exe). If you’re interested in a position you find on LinkedIn, navigate to the company’s website to see if you can find it listed and apply for the position there.

Stop, Look, and Think. Don’t be fooled.

At some point, every business experiences stalled growth. This is a difficult period to manage, but it is also a great opportunity to jumpstart your growth. Fortunately, in today’s technology-driven era, businesses have quick access to resources that will help them develop their business plan. The key is learning how to utilize these resources efficiently so you can move ahead of your competitors. I.T. Consulting Services are one such resource, and the right team can ensure you receive quality support as your business transitions.

Need For IT Consulting Services

No matter your industry or the size of your business, technology is necessary if you want better business performance. Hiring professional I.T. Consulting Services can help you to maximum your IT resources and address problems in a professional and efficient manner.

The other option you have is to hire a full-time I.T. department. Whether you are a large or small business, creating a separate department for your I.T. can take time and money, especially because you want to make certain you are hiring only the best. Be sure to always check for the required competencies as you search for an I.T. partner who can help take your business to the next level.

ORAM Corporate Advisors has a combined experience of over 30 years. They provide I.T. Support and can help your business with their expert I.T. Consulting Services. From asset tracking and maintaining network security to real time monitoring, we can help you with your business’ IT infrastructure. Looking for I.T. Support in Boston? Fill in this form to contact us right now!

How I.T. Consulting Services Can Benefit Your Business

There are many ways your business can benefit from IT Consulting Services:

Efficiency

Hiring the right IT Consulting Services can make your business operations more efficient. They can provide a cost-efficient solution, reducing downtime and ensuring better utilization of your I.T. infrastructure. I.T. Consulting Services can help you save time and focus on the more important business operations.

Security

By hiring the right I.T. Consulting Services, you’ll ensure that your network is protected from any security breaches. This will help you maintain the integrity of your data and block unwanted access to your network. You’ll significantly minimize your risk of data loss.

Experience

It can be difficult, especially for small businesses, to assemble an I.T. department from scratch. Hiring I.T. Consulting Services gives your business the advantage of experience. The best providers of I.T. Consulting Services will have a team of highly experienced professionals who will partner with your business.

Looking for IT Support in Boston? Contact ORAM Corporate Advisors by filling this form right now!

One can never emphasize enough on the importance of information technology in the business world. New technology allows businesses to access, process and consume information at a much faster pace and deliver services accordingly. Therefore, it is essential that you understand that the term “I.T.” extends beyond just the hardware used to conduct business, like computers. It is an umbrella term which includes radio equipment, VoIP services, 3D printers, devices necessary to configure and maintain an IT system, and others.

From a business perspective, information technology streamlines functions across various departments. Businesses have incorporated I.T. in a manner that allows them to efficiently manage day-to-day operations and enhance overall productivity.

Just like any other system, however, there are various challenges associated with I.T. that require the expertise of a competent business management consultant. These challenges include:

Data Backup and Recovery:

If you’ve ever had your data lost or deleted, you understand the importance of a reliable backup and recovery solution. Data loss is costly and causes downtime, both of which can be detrimental to the growth of a business.

Network Security:

No company can confidently say, “yes we are 100% safe from getting hacked. “ As technology develops, so do methods of hacking into networks. Only a proficient IT expert can help mitigate your cyber risk and vulnerability, and divert potential attacks by cybercriminals.

Integration Issues:

Technology evolves every day. The software that you might have used to enter data might not easily integrate with new systems. This can hamper the efficiency of the organization, an issue that can be easily avoided with thorough planning by an IT expert.

While almost every organization faces these I.T. challenges at one time or another, which ultimately hampers their business’s overall productivity, but instead of learning from their mistakes, they make several excuses not to hire a business management consultant. They give reasons like the following:

Had a terrible experience:

Bad experiences may cause you to become more cautious. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing; you should always be careful when selecting your next business strategy consultant agency. We at ORAM Corporate Advisors Boston promise to provide the best in class I.T. solutions to fit all of your business challenges from data backup to end-user support and network management. We provide strategies tailored to your organization at a reasonable rate.

Too expensive:

Business strategy consultants customize their services to meet the needs of their clients. Take, for instance, ORAM Corporate Advisors , which offers different solutions for different business challenges and provides these tailored services at a reasonable rate

We already have an I.T. team:

Having an I.T. team to help resolve the organization’s I.T. issues in-house is a good practice, but if it’s not feasible, you can always hire a business strategy consultant like ORAM Corporate Advisors Boston. We have a dedicated team of experts that have extensive experience providing prompt and effective solutions for all business problems. We serve organizations of all sizes! ORAM I.T. experts guarantee to find and implement the best solutions for all your unique business challenges at an affordable price.

So, instead of making excuses or cutting corners, hire a proficient business management consultant like ORAM Corporate Advisors Boston. We will make sure all your business challenges are solved in a timely manner, enhancing your business’s overall productivity and growth.

Get in touch to request a meeting with ORAM Corporate Advisors today!