Cybercriminals never stop changing their techniques to evade defenses. Ransomware remains a favored form of attack, with variants that target Windows, Linux and virtual machines. Increasingly, ransomware gangs are attacking endpoints and using remote encryption to compromise the entire IT environment.
The “digital transformation” concept has been around for years, but AI has made it even more compelling. Generative AI promises to enable new levels of efficiency, productivity, customer service and innovation, but legacy technologies and business processes hold many organizations back.
K-12 schools and libraries have a new weapon in the war against cyberattacks — funding through a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) pilot program.
On June 6, 2024, the FCC approved the Schools and Libraries Cybersecurity Pilot Program, earmarking $200 million for security solutions and services over the three-year pilot.
Data governance is the key to realizing the full business benefits of generative AI applications.
Generative AI burst on the scene in 2022 with the introduction of ChatGPT. In less than two years, it has entered the mainstream, with organizations scrambling to take advantage of it.
The unsanctioned use of generative AI services creates new security and compliance risks.
Cloud applications and services make it easy for users to explore new ways to do their jobs with improved speed, flexibility and efficiency. Unfortunately, they also make it easy to circumvent IT authorization, significantly increasing the risk of data loss and compliance violations.
What holds organizations back from achieving their objectives? What prevents them from developing innovative products, services or business models?
In many cases, employees are too plugged in to innovate. Always-on communication and a never-ending deluge of information leave them struggling to keep up with the pace of work.
The FBI has announced that it now has more than 7,000 decryption keys for the LockBit ransomware. Victims of a LockBit ransomware attack are encouraged to visit the Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov to obtain a decryption key for free. It could enable those organizations to recover their data, but sadly, it won’t make a dent in the ransomware scourge.
As of June 15, 2024, smaller reporting companies must comply with new Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) breach disclosure rules. Under the rules, publicly traded companies must report a security incident within four days after determining it is “material.
Phishing is by far the most common type of cybercrime. According to Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) data, individual users reported almost 300,000 phishing and spoofing attacks in 2023, compared to fewer than 56,000 personal data breaches. Researchers with Zscaler ThreatLabz found that phishing attacks increased more than 58 percent in 2023.
A 2024 report by Egress found that 94 percent of organizations fell victim to phishing attacks in the preceding 12 months, and 96 percent were “negatively impacted” by those attacks.
A qualified MSP can provide an economical way to get the expertise of an experienced CIO.
Technology advances come with both opportunities and risks for small to midsize enterprises (SMEs). Artificial intelligence (AI) is a prime example. AI can enable unprecedented levels of efficiency, transforming operations and enabling the development of new products, services and business models.
