Gmail strengthens anti-phishing features
Phishing is a social engineering attack that never grows old. In fact, cybercriminals know that it’s still easier to trick people into giving away their personal information or clicking a malicious link than to break through several layers of protection. To help in the continuing fight against phishing, Google has improved Gmail’s anti-phishing security features. Machine learning Google uses machine learning technology to further enhance their email security. Phishing scams usually follow a predictable pattern, so Google experts developed an algorithm that analyzes such patterns and updates Gmail’s security database in real time. When the same phishing attempt is made, Gmail flags and quarantines potentially dangerous messages. According to Google, around 50% of emails sent to Gmail accounts are spam and phishing emails, but with the new detection algorithm, Gmail has achieved 99% accuracy in detecting them. Click-time warnings Google has also added precautions for suspicious links. When Gmail detects an incoming email from untrusted senders containing either encrypted attachments or attachments with scripts, Gmail automatically flashes a warning message. Gmail also identifies and scans links to external images, and prompts a warning if the links come from untrusted domains. Although Gmail does not completely block access to the link (in case of false positives), it advises you to be extremely careful if you do decide to proceed. Or you can choose to quarantine the message or send it to your spam folder. External reply warnings Another enhancement focuses on securing reply messages to prevent employees from falling prey to email spoofing. Spoofing is when a cybercriminal impersonates someone’s email address. Gmail warns users when they are about to send a reply to an address that is not in their contact list or company domain, from an unauthenticated domain, or one that’s similar to an authenticated domain. This improvement prevents users from being fooled into giving away sensitive information to third parties. Every Gmail user can take advantage of these new security controls today, but keep in mind that these can’t replace security awareness. Even Google has emphasized that these Gmail features are complements to existing security systems and best practices. Being able to identify what is or isn’t a scam goes a long way in protecting your business. To find out more about the latest from Google, get in touch with our experts or watch out for more Google-related posts. Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.
Ransomware part I
Ransomware part I The daily reports of cybercrime are important reminders about the need to protect your business from malicious behavior that could threaten the success of your business. There are so many different things that can attack your computer, steal your data, and wreck your day. One of the most troublesome has been the development of ransomware. (FYI. Ransomware isn’t actually all that new– some version has been around for decades) Ransomware is a type of computer virus that takes your data hostage and like any kidnapping scheme, demands money for the release of your data. Why is ransomware so nasty? Because it steals the most important thing your business possesses. Data. Worse, once infected there isn’t generally a way out. No one can “disinfect” your machine. You aren’t going to be able to call in IT support to solve the problem. Basically, you have three options. Pay the ransom. This payment is usually via credit card or bitcoin (a digital currency). Some ransomware viruses even provide help lines if you’re having trouble. Of course there are no guarantees your will get access to your data–these are thieves you’re dealing with. Don’t pay and lose your data – This has its obvious downsides, unless… You have a safe, clean backup. In that case, you are stuck with the nuisance of restoring your data with the backup, but you aren’t out any money. However, this comes with a caveat: your backups have to be clean. The problem with ransomware viruses is that just making backups may not be sufficient to protect your data, as the backups can be infected also. In the next blog, we will address your need to add an additional layer of protection to handle ransomware attacks.