For companies that need to bring in an employee with an IT background to offer IT support for specific projects. There are many ways to go about bringing in IT talent for your company. However, there are many other options that can save your company money and one of those is the Virtual CIO, or VCIO. A Virtual CIO is a great way to get things done while saving money. Issue With Using A Consulting Model Many companies turn to the IT consulting model where they contract a firm for their IT needs. The problem with this is that the IT consulting firm will only be around for that specific project and then they are gone. They are only contracted for that specific project which means that they will stay around to ensure the job is done. This means they may only stay a few months or a year, but when they are done with the job they will no longer be there. Managed Service Provider Options A Managed Service Provider for IT support works very differently. Usually they are hired full time to assist with existing IT staff in your company, or to act as the IT department for the company. Additionally, they also offer services where they provide Virtual Chief Information Officers, also known as VCIOs. These VCIOs serve to improve a company’s IT operations and assist with executing IT strategies. What Exactly is a VCIO? VCIOs are experienced IT advisors that are employed by the Managed Service Provider. The VCIO comes to other companies to serve as an advisor and collaborates with a company’s management team. As a virtual CIO, they serve the same purpose as an in-house CIO and do things such as plan IT budgets, execute IT strategies, improve overall efficiency by researching and implementing new technologies for the company, and managing the IT infrastructure of the company. The major difference is that the VCIO is not based in the office. However, they do visit regularly despite being based out of the Managed Service Provider’s office. What are the Major Benefits of Using a VCIO? There are two major benefits of using a VCIO: executive level support and access to a large knowledge bank. Not only do companies get executive level IT support, they get it without having to pay the cost of high level executive. Companies do not have to pay for the salary of an executive employee to get all of the benefits. A VCIO offers things like strategic planning, providing guidance for IT projects, budgeting, and essentially giving the company a competitive edge by way of the IT infrastructure. Instead of paying for the salary, the company only pays for the monthly service through their managed IT plan with the Managed Service Provider. The second major advantage is that the company can get well seasoned virtual “staff” with years of experience and a great range of expertise and skills. In addition to that, they also have access to a knowledge bank from the Managed Service Provider which can be helpful with getting even the most difficult of projects done. One employee may have a lot of experience in one area of IT but a problem can occur when they are faced with an issue they have not dealt with. With a VCIO, there is always someone that they can turn to in their team to get the job done. This allows a VCIO to provide the most well-rounded service to each of their clients. As you can see, there are many benefits of a VCIO, which makes it a viable option for many companies that want executive level IT support, a vast wealth of knowledge whenever needed, and to save money in the process.

A number of organizations are on track to review privileged online activity with reviews due for completion in the next two years. These reviews are expected to cut down on data theft and leakage by around one-third. In the meantime, there are a few things your IT department can do to manage privileged accounts and ensure data security within your organization. 1. Inventory Accounts and Account Holders This tip is simple and should already be done. Each account holder should be fully vetted when you bring them on board in your organization. However, sometimes daily operations become overwhelming and account information and user data can become outdated. Your organization should do a full audit of all privileged accounts and ensure that these accounts are only being accessed by the proper account holder. Accounts that are no longer used or those that are assigned to employees that are gone should be closed or reassigned as necessary. 2. Password Security When you brief new team members on their privileged accounts, you are likely careful to inform them that passwords should never be shared with other individuals, whether inside the company or outside vendors and service providers. However, in a time crunch or when one team member is out on vacation or home sick, employees may share passwords, so those in the office can access to information and accomplish tasks in the absence of the missing employee. Ensure that no passwords have been shared, and if they have, reset the password and offer re-education to employees on password security. 3. Minimize the Number of Accounts with Access to Privileged Information Clean up the list of users with access to privileged data. It’s likely that some users don’t need privileged access. This not only helps to ensure data security, it also makes life easier for your IT department. Your information security team will have less work to do when the amount of privileged accounts is reduced. Monitoring those that remain will take up less time during the workday and allow other tasks to be done that may have taken a backseat due to time constraints. 4. Tighten Controls on Privileged Account Use The activity and access of all privileged accounts should be monitored, no matter the level of the user in the organization. Upper-level executives and lower-level team members should all be monitored the same way, to ensure the greatest information security. Establish processes to monitor accounts that are currently in use. Review the process for assigning privileged access to account holders, and tighten up the process, if necessary. You should also review the records you keep on privileged account holders and ensure these records are complete and up to date, so you know exactly what information is being shared and who is sharing it with whom. 5. Use Temporary Privileges Instead of Allowing Unfettered Access When a user needs to access privileged information the easiest way to do this is to apply permanent access privileges to the account. This takes less time for the IT department and keeps the user from constantly requesting access to data. However, this is a great way to cause a data breach or mishap that can damage your company’s reputation. Consider allowing temporary access to privileged information for some employees to help tighten down on the potential for data compromise. Remember to keep records on which employees have been given temporary access to privileged information, and when access was granted and removed. Data management is important for several reasons. Establishing proper controls and procedures to maintain limited access to this sensitive information protects your employees and clients. Ensuring the security of your company’s data will also save money and time, and keep your reputation intact while other companies are being blasted in the media for allowing data to be leaked outside secure servers. Conducting regular audits and keeping a tight rein on your data takes surprisingly little investment of time and money, and ensures the security of information both within your company walls and outside your organization.

Nowadays both at home and at work, everyone is pretty much joined at the hip with an email account. Marketers, junk mailers, and spammers clog our in boxes to where, according to one USA Today article, people can spend nearly 30 percent of each work week just managing and triaging their email. With so much of it flying around, email continues to be a convenient vector for crooks to transmit Trojans and other insidious malware targeting our personal and company’s data. Just when we thought that experts like Norton and McAfee were holding the line against those attacks, up pops a particularly nasty variety known called ransomware. Clicking on an email attachment isn’t the only way you can unknowingly download ransomware. Following a link to a hacked web site will also do the dirty trick. In any case, once the ransomware enters your system, you must remove it to regain access to your computer or smartphone. Or you can pay what the culprits’ demand, with no guarantee they will send you the decryption key. Weird emails are showing up According to a piece by Brett M. Christensen at Hoax Slayer.com, emails with no body text and subject lines that have a group of letters, numbers and a .jpg file extension have hit some in boxes. At the bottom of the aforementioned email is an attachment, which has the same labeling as the subject line. If you click on the attachment, you will open a JavaScript (.js) file, which does the rest: The rest is called Locky ransomware, which scrambles all your computer files. The JavaScript connects our computer to a remote server, which downloads and installs the Locky ransomware. Once it’s there, you get a heart-stopping popup window demanding payment, typically in Bitcoin. Note: Data files will not carry a virus, since the virus must have executable code. File extensions .txt, .csv, .gif. jpg, .mp3, and .wav, do not have executable code. If you receive a Microsoft Word document with a .doc extension, and you are asked to enable Word macros, don’t do it. It’s a ruse to get the document to load the ransomware. An ounce of prevention avoids a ton of headaches Once your system is locked, you cannot access it. There is no quick way to cleanse your system from ransomware, but you can protect your system in a number of ways: 1. Keep an entire system backup either off-site or on a device disconnected from your computer when you are not actually backing up. Ransomware looks for all connected drives and encrypts everything. You can use your full, uninfected backup for a complete system restore, but you will lose any data you entered from the time of the last backup. 2. Invest in anti-virus/malware software products, which keep up with the threat and protect your system. According to one recentTechTarget piece, ransomware creators are constantly on the alert to circumvent detection. how to 3. Watch what you open, and never click on suspicious URLs or file attachments. If you set your file viewing system to show all file extensions, the innocent looking image file (.jpg, etc.) will have an additional extension like .zip or .rar. More emails to watch out for Finally, be on the lookout for emails in the following categories, which have been known to carry Locky ransomware: “Payment Declined” — A bogus sales manager asks you to click on and double check an “invoice,” which is an attached booby-trapped file. “Payment Accepted” — A fake financial manager asks you to check a “payment confirmation” by opening a file. You know the rest. “Order Status” — You receive a thank-you for your recent order and an invitation to review the details by opening an attached .zip file that explodes in your face. “Received Documents From Your Bank” — Who wouldn’t be tempted to open an attachment like this? Well, don’t do it. Call your bank instead.

Hardware-as-a-Service is an innovative new business model that takes the pain and expense of purchasing hardware and turns it into a fully managed solution. Essential HaaS is a rental agreement with additional services such as support and maintenance to make it a complete service offering. Every aspect of your hardware is covered under a pre-determined agreement, ensuring you benefit from the best on the market for the stated period of time. Because the service is outsourced to a service provider you never have to worry if things aren’t working properly, as it is the responsibility of the provider and they will make sure your concerns are resolved quickly and easily  with minimal involvement on your end. There are a wide range of benefits to using HaaS for all of your equipment needs, including: No Initial Investment – when you decide to go with Hardware as a Service there is no initial investment required. You will be provided with all new, industry-leading equipment without any of the expense typically associated with such an upgrade. Makes Hardware Expenses a Tax Deduction – no one doesn’t appreciate a little extra kick back from the taxman. HaaS effectively turns your hardware expenses into a tax deduction, making it even more appealing from a financial standpoint. Reduced Overhead – while we are on the topic of spending less money, HaaS is very effective at reducing overhead and lowering operating costs. The service is an excellent way to budget accordingly and always know what to expect where your hardware costs are concerned. A Flexible Solution – scalability is no worry at all when it comes to the flexibility of a Hardware as a Service agreement. Easily grow your business and have access to the hardware and equipment you need, or downsize and have your provider remove what is no longer needed. Always Have the Latest and Greatest – staying current with the ever-evolving technology industry is no small feat. At least, with HaaS you know you will always have the newest and most innovative technology at your disposal, without any of the expense. Complete Maintenance and Support – the best part of working with a hardware provider is the ongoing maintenance and support that is provided. When things aren’t working correctly, or you need to be educated on how to use your equipment properly we are there to help. Improve Operations – processes are streamlined, downtime is minimized, and operations are enhanced when you are working with updated and effective equipment. Don’t be held back by outdated, ineffective tools to do the important work you do. Enhanced Security – not only is the hardware you need provided under your service contract, as well as maintenance and support but so is your security. Gain peace of mind knowing that your operations are protected by adequate security with no need for oversight from yourself. A Fully Managed Service – HaaS is a fully managed service offering which not only puts the equipment in your office but takes care of all the monitoring, maintenance, and support associated with it as well, tying your hardware up in a neat little package. A Simply, Worry-Free Solution – the best part about Hardware as a Service is convenience and simplicity. There is no need to ever worry about your hardware and equipment because someone is doing that for you, allowing you to focus your energy on the important work you do. To learn more about the many benefits of Hardware as a Service, and how it can benefit the work you do reach out to the experts at {company} to learn more. Call us at {phone} or send an email to {email} to get started.

The business expo held by the Dundalk chamber last year was so successful it has been decided another one will be held this year. The event is to take place on June 22nd starting at 7:30 AM at the Sparrows Point Country Club. The event is proud to announce the Featured Breakfast Speaker is Aris Melissaratos – Former Secretary of Business & Economic Development. {company} is a committed supporter of the Dundalk Chamber of Commerce, and all of their endeavors, dedicated to giving back to the community whenever possible, and owner, Charles Hammett stated “When given the opportunity for Hammett Technologies to sponsor and support our local chamber we jumped onboard. It is important local businesses give back to the communities we live in and support each other. We look forward to not only sponsoring but also occupying a booth this year. Last year’s expo provided multiple opportunities to meet other local business owners. ” Organizers are striving to have 45 booths participating in the event, and so far visitors can look forward to the following businesses presenting booths at the event: Bay-Vanguard FSB Hammett Technologies, LLC Dundalk Chamber of Commerce Wells Fargo Dundalk Renaissance Corp Coldwell Bankers Residential Brokerage Nania Energy partners of Constellation of Energy Choice One Team Cope – Get Healthy M&T Bank MECU Historical Society First National Bank of PA If you are interested In making your business the next one on the list you can do so by contacting Cathy@dundalkchamberofcommerce.org to obtain an application and reserve your booth. Visitors to the expo can look forward to meeting and interacting with these businesses as well as two available workshops focused on Lending, and Starting a Business, making it an interesting and informative event for all. To learn more about attending or participating in the Annual Dundalk Chamber Business Expo reach out to {company} at {phone} or {email}.

Tax season is upon us, and of course, with that comes fraud season. Tax season has only been underway for about a month, beginning on January 19th, 2016, and already the IRS is reporting surges in phishing and malware. Reports indicate as rise by as much as 400% from last tax year. Considering the tax season does not officially end until April 18th, 2016, it is concerning to think what could still be ahead in the almost 2 months remaining. While it is commonplace for tax filers to drag their heels, filing late in the season, fraudsters are much more ambitious. They have wasted no time getting started in their attempts to get their hands on our financial information. Phishing The IRS warns the public of the dramatic increase in phishing emails making their way into inboxes, some quite official looking and convincing in their wording. These phishing emails ask taxpayers a plethora of sensitive questions, including requesting information related to funds, PIN verifications, confirmation of personal information, and dates pertaining to your filing.  The messages are misleading because they look official, and seemingly are received from trusted sources such as the IRS or tax preparer companies or software brands. The entire country is vulnerable to these phishing attempts, as they are not isolated to one geographic area. Attackers are attempting to gain information to be used to file fraudulent income tax returns, and lure recipients into clicking fraudulent links that lead to official-looking websites, just to obtain your information. Malware In addition to phishing for your sensitive information, some of these websites contain malware. Many of these sites contain such booby-traps as key loggers, which records every keystroke the victim makes on the site, including information such as login details. All of this is then reported back to the attacker. Some of the statistics surrounding recent phishing and malware activities are staggering. For phishing and malware combined: Over 1000 incidents were reported in January 2016. This is up from only about 250 last January. February followed pace, doubling the number reported from last year. In the first 2 weeks of February 2016 alone there were 363 incidents reported. Last year only 254 were reported in the entire month. This year’s total incident count is somewhere around 1400. That already exceeds the yearly number of incidents reported in 2014 and is over half way to beating the 2015 yearly total.   According to the IRS, there are many variations on the scheme, and several have been reported by tax preparers, state revenue departments, and software companies. Many of the variations include trying to obtain people’s online credentials to various IRS services. There have also been multiple versions of refund fraud seen in recent years, including automated attacks that are executed by cyber criminals who go out of their way to gain access to unsuspecting individuals online tax submission accounts. In spring of 2015 criminals used an online IRS system called Get Transcript to get their hands on personal information that could be used to file falsified tax returns. Their system had no actual connection to the IRS system that is used to file returns and get refunds, it was a reference portal for retrieving tax returns filed in years past, which was the key criminals needed in order to file false returns for this tax year. Cyber criminals struck again a few short weeks ago when they executed a PIN stealing attack that affected over 100, 000 taxpayers. During this attack, they used a list of known SSNs to attempt to gain access to the IRS’s Get My Electronic Filing Pin portal. Spotting Phishers Should you receive an unsolicited message from the IRS, or some other associated organization be immediately suspicious. The IRS does not initiate contact with taxpayers via email, text, social media, or any other channel, especially when sensitive information is requested. While the email communications may look official, asking recipients to update personal information by following a link, don’t be fooled. Those links are likely made to appear like official pages, but you are headed down a slippery slope. Some subject lines of phishing emails you should be on the lookout for include: Confirm your personal information. Get my IP PIN. Get my E-file PIN. Order a transcript. Complete your tax return information. Variations about people’s tax refunds. Update your filing details, which can include references to W-2. Recipients of these email scam attempts can report them to  phishing@irs.gov. Keep your personal information safe and secure by knowing what to look for. For more information on this and other security related concerns contact {company} at {phone} or {email}.

The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) is a set of data protection mandates developed by the major payment card companies and imposed on businesses that store, process, or transmit payment card data. As part of their contracts with the card companies, merchants and other businesses that handle card data may be subject to fines if they fail to meet the requirements of PCI DSS compliance. These requirements are extremely complex, and often require a high-level PCI compliance checklist to help organizations in providing an initial introduction to the PCI DSS. Some organizations may even benefit from developing a detailed PCI compliance checklist to guide their implementation of these standards. {Company} specializes in compliance consulting for business. Contact us today at {phone} or send us an email at {email} to discuss how we can enhance your operations while staying compliant. The Consequences of not being PCI Compliant The purpose of you becoming compliant with PCI security standards is to help in protecting cardholder’s sensitive data from thieves.  If you fail to become PCI compliant, you run the risk of your business experiencing payment card data breaches and theft, which may result in considerable penalties and consequences such as: Fines from Banks Fines from Regulatory Agencies Fines from Card Organizations Fraud Chargebacks Lost Clients Legal Costs Also, if you fail to become PCI DSS compliant or to report your PCI DSS-compliant status via a third-party vendor to your merchant services provider, you may also be charged a monthly fee until these reports are made. In addition, organizations that experience a data breach may also lose their ability to process credit card payments, which can result in a damaged reputation, or worse, loss of clients. In fact, recent research shows that more than 40% of clients who have been victims of fraud stop doing business with the merchant or vendor where the fraud occurred. The 12 High-Level Requirements on the PCI Compliance Checklist At a summary level, the PCI compliance checklist for merchants and other organizations that handle payment card data consists of 12 requirements mandated by the PCI DSS, here is a list of these requirements: Install and maintain a firewall configuration to protect cardholder data. Do not use vendor-supplied defaults for system passwords and other security parameters. Protect stored cardholder data. Encrypt transmission of cardholder data across open, public networks. Use and regularly update anti-virus software. Develop and maintain secure systems and applications. Restrict access to cardholder data by business need-to-know. Assign a unique ID to each person with computer access. Restrict physical access to cardholder data. Track and monitor all access to network resources and cardholder data. Regularly test security systems and processes. Maintain a policy that addresses information security. Organizations must assess their current compliance with these operational and cyber security requirements, remediate any vulnerabilities, and report their compliance status to the payment card companies that they work with. Medium to large-sized merchants are also subject to a yearly audit by an independent assessor. {company} is currently accepting new clients for their comprehensive IT solutions and compliance consulting services. Contact us today at {phone} or send us an email at {email} to discover how we can enhance your operations and ensure that you stay compliant. How Hammett Technologies Can Help You Cross Items Off Your PCI Compliance Checklist Our solutions effectively meet the needs of small businesses like yours. You get the benefit of years of distilled experience from PCI compliance and security expertise in an easy-to-use package that is cost-effective for you. Our PCI solution includes Enterprise-level security made easy, such as: File Integrity Monitoring (FIM) Remote Access Security Point of Sale Device Monitoring Mobile Security Anti-Virus And much more The best part, you don’t have to be an IT expert to install and maintain the tools. Our team of experts will take care of it all for you, this includes: Standing by your business through the entire process, answering questions and attending meetings on your behalf as your technology partner. Simplify PCI compliance efforts with our industry vetted security policies, an automated workflow that reduces time spent responding to audits and questions. Save money by using our proven, integrated security solutions that we bundled into one affordable package. Contact {company} at {phone} or send us an email at {email} to learn more about how our comprehensive IT solutions and compliance consulting can increase your productivity while keeping you compliant.

If there is one thing to be said about ransomware attacks it is that recovering your data encrypted by the attack is next to impossible, so it is best to just properly protect yourself in the first place. A ransomware attack is when an online attacker, or cybercriminal steals and encrypts a victim’s data, then demands a ransom for its safe return. Originally, ransomware was more of a consumer problem, but in recent years, there has been a drastic rise in the number of businesses and government entities being attacked as well. Security experts all seem to be in agreement that it is all but impossible to recover stolen data without access to the decryption key or having a backup copy of the unaffected data. Because of this, in an attempt to block threats and mitigate potential damage the need for organizations to have security measures in place is considerably heightened. It is critical the focus is on prevention, as this is the best way to protect yourself against the potentially devastating damage of ransomware attacks. The key difference between ransomware and other types of more traditional malware, is that you typically become aware of the problem upon infection where ransomware is concerned. Ransomware Prevention A robust backup process is the most effective tool to defend you against ransomware attacks. Often, that backup is the only way to recover data aside from paying the demanded ransom. But backups are not the only weapons in your arsenal against cybercriminals, other measures of precaution that can, and should, be taken include: Authenticating Inbound Email – Ransomware is commonly distributed through email, with attackers targeting victims by using cleverly disguised false emails that appear to be from a legitimate source. These emails contain malicious attachments that download the ransomware onto the victim’s system when they are opened. Organizations are able to minimize this risk by validating the origin of the email before it is even delivered to the intended recipient. There are many sender technologies available, such as Domain Message Authentication Reporting and Conformance, SPF or Sender Policy Framework, and DomainKeys Identified Mail. These tools can be easily implemented and provide protection against business email being compromised, spear phishing, and other threats commonly found in these deceiving emails. These solutions work by validating the domain and IP address of the server the email originates from. Unfortunately, at this time many companies are failing to implement proper email authentication protocols, and even when they do, the policies are not strict enough. Contaminated emails still make their way into the junk folders or are simply quarantined. These threats need to be rejected from the system altogether to be effective. Properly Protecting Email Servers – While sender authentication minimizes the likelihood of ransomware being delivered via email, it is not a complete enough solution to keep you adequately protected. It is crucial to protect email servers by scanning all incoming, outgoing, and stored email. Scanning can be beneficial in detecting any potential threats that may have evaded perimeter defenses or managed to infiltrate the network through internal email or compromised systems. There are a wide variety of available tools to scan email servers for security threats, and every business owner should be taking advantage of them. Email authentication is great, but what about the off chance that a legitimate server is sending out spam emails and malware? Those tools will not be effective when that is the case. Incorporate Ad Blocking – Ransomware is not only distributed through emails, often times it is serviced up through advertisements when users visit certain sites. “Malvertisements” as they are called, allow cybercriminals to target victims based on several factors, including, browsing habits, location, device characteristics, demographic information, and other things. Ransomware, when served up via these watering-hole style attacks can be considerably more dangerous than random attacks because attackers are better able to target victims that they know have the means to pay up. Blocking ads on user systems, or preventing users from accessing certain sites on the Internet, even implementing a secondary network for them to access the Internet, will all help reduce the risks associated with this type of ransomware. Monitoring File Activity – When an individual falls victim to a ransomware attack, the situation can quickly escalate into a full-scale attack against the entire enterprise. There are wide ranges of sophisticated ransomware tools that allow the attacker the ability to encrypt not only the hard drive of your system, but also any shared files. The rapid overwriting of files is a major indication of ransomware on a network. This can be monitored by using a tool that monitors activity, and is strongly recommended as a measure of precaution. Such early detection allows organizations to more easily contain the damage that could be caused by the ransomware, and provides the opportunity to go into quarantine mode, preventing the infected machine from connecting to any other file servers. Have Your Response Plan Prepared and Close By – Time is of the essence when staring down the barrel of a ransomware attack. Attackers generally provide very specific demands that are time-sensitive, or the ransom amount may be increased. Cybercriminals have a knack for determining when the best time to strike is, and just how much organizations can afford to pay. They also intentionally don’t give you enough time to respond to the situation and properly determine whether or not the data can be unlocked without paying the ransom. Because of this, having a response plan is critical. The plan should include details on how to best respond in the event of a ransomware attack. It is important to take inventory of your critical assets, know where these assets are located, and evaluate the potential impact if these assets were to become lost, stolen, or compromised in some way, making that data unavailable to you. The chaos that ensues after a ransomware attack is one of the worst components of the whole ordeal, and having a well-thought-out response plan

Has your business data been backed up recently? World Backup day is not only a day that promotes backing up all your valuable data, but it’s also a day to talk about the enormous task of preserving our increasingly digital heritage for future generations. {company} recommends though that every day should be world backup day, as one backup per year isn’t enough to combat against the leading causes of data loss, which are, in order of percentage: Hardware or System Malfunctions = 44% Human Error = 32% Software Corruption = 14% Computer Viruses = 7% Natural Disasters = 3% If you don’t backup your data, the risk of losing your most valuable information will become a constant threat.  Ensure this doesn’t happen with an automatic daily backup in place.  Don’t have an automatic daily backup in place?  Not to worry, {company} will show you how! By implementing a backup strategy that uses a 3-2-1 rule, you can feel rest assured that even if one backup fails, you still have two left.  Need assistance setting up a 3-2-1 rule in your backup strategy plan?  Contact {company} today at {phone} or send us an email to {email}.  The 3-2-1 rule creates triple redundancy for your files by creating a: Primary and Secondary Copy – stores your copies in at least two types of storage media (local drive, network drive, etc.) Cloud Copy – stores one copy off-site through the use of an online backup file system ensuring you have everything you need to continue working from anywhere. Need assistance in finding that right backup provider?  With the managed business continuity plans and affordable backup services offered by {company}, you can rest easy knowing everything’s in place to protect your information and technology from anything the future might throw at you. Contact us today by giving our team of experts a call at {phone} or send us an email to {email} and get the protection your business needs to keep your business operations running no matter what type of disaster hits.

There is a growing epidemic in today’s business environment. Distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks are becoming increasingly common among business and personal servers. As these attacks become more frequent, the criminals behind them grow more and more effective. Compared to this time last year, the number of reported occurrences of DDoS attacks has risen by 150%. The attacks are happening in as little as 15 hours, which is just less than half of the time it took in the previous year. Hackers are also using multiple vector-based attacks, making them even more difficult to spot. What is a DDoS Attack? A DDoS attack is when a hacker infiltrates and overloads or shuts down your servers so that users cannot access them. They do this by bombarding the servers with more requests and traffic than it can process. Cybercriminals traditionally target web servers in hopes of making a company or individual’s website unavailable. DDoS attacks are more than just acts of vandalism. Although the hackers don’t steal or compromise any data, the operational disruption from the attacks can be costly to the hosting organization, as well as to a business that suffers from a loss of customers during the time its website is down. Where are These Attacks Coming From? Most DDoS attacks come from within certain countries, including: China Turkey United States United Kingdom The vast majority of these malicious attacks target your company’s infrastructure, where they can do the most damage. These attacks tend to target the same victims repeatedly; the average victim will experience anywhere from 24 upwards to 200 attacks. This causes major strain on your server and causes repeated operational disruptions. The industries attacked most often include: Gaming companies Software and technology firms Media and entertainment companies Financial institutions and services Internet and telecommunications firms Combat DDoS and other malicious attacks by creating a robust security system and a strong business continuity plan. For more information on DDoS attacks, call {company} at {phone} or send an email to {email} to speak with a member of our team about what we can do to help safeguard your company.