Tag Archive for: passwords

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Uncovering the risks of password autofill

Convenience reigns supreme in the digital age, and password autofill is a major part of that. But what many people don’t realize is that using this feature can actually put their personal data at risk. By understanding why password autofill is so dangerous, you can take steps to safeguard your sensitive information from malicious hackers.

The risks of password autofill

Password autofill is a convenient feature found in most browsers and password managers. This feature allows users to automatically fill out login credentials on websites and applications. While it may seem like a time-saver, it’s crucial to be cautious when utilizing this feature.

Hackers can easily gain access to saved passwords and personal information stored in autofill, leaving users vulnerable to identity theft and other forms of cyberattacks. All they have to do is sneakily place an invisible form on a compromised webpage. When your browser or password manager automatically fills in your login details, then it’s game over for you and hackers win.

Autofill also tracks users

Did you know that the password autofill feature could be used to track your online activity? Irresponsible digital marketers can exploit this tool to keep tabs on your behavior. Similar to how hackers do it, they place hidden autofill forms on their websites and use them to collect your information without your consent, which they then sell to advertisers. While some may claim they’re not after your passwords, there’s still a chance that your sensitive data could be compromised.

How to protect yourself

When it comes to keeping your online accounts secure, you might want to turn off password autofill. This quick solution can help protect your personal information from prying eyes.

Here’s how you can disable this feature on different browsers:

  • Microsoft Edge: Go to Settings and click Profiles. From here, select Passwords and disable Offer to save passwords.
  • Google Chrome: Head to the Settings window and select Autofill. Disable Offer to save passwords and Auto Sign-in.
  • Firefox: Click Passwords from the browser’s menu. Click Options from the logins menu, which will lead you to the “Privacy & Security” panel. Under the “Logins and Passwords” section, uncheck Autofill logins and passwords.
  • Safari: Open Preferences and select the “Auto-fill” tab to turn off any autofill options related to usernames and passwords.

Being proactive and implementing more robust security strategies helps protect your personal data from malicious actors. Reach out to our cybersecurity experts for more information on staying safe online.

If you are looking for an expert to help you find the best solutions for your business talk to GCInfotech about a free technology assessment

Published with consideration from TechAdvisory.org SOURCE

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Everything you need to know about single sign-on

With every new system we use and online account we create, we need to add another password to our ever-growing list. However, memorizing all these passwords is challenging and can lead to password fatigue. Single sign-on can be the solution to this problem.

What is single sign on?

Single sign-on or SSO is an authentication method that lets users access several applications and websites with a single set of login credentials. For example, if you log in to Gmail, SSO will automatically sign you into other Google applications, such as Analytics and AdSense.

How does SSO work?

SSO is built on the concept of federated identity, which allows multiple systems to share identification information. When a user logs in to a service with their SSO credentials, an authentication token is generated and stored on their browser or in the SSO provider’s servers. Any app or website that the user visits afterward will verify the user’s identity with the SSO provider, which will then deliver the user’s token to confirm their identity and grant them access.

This forms the foundation for modern SSO solutions that use protocols such as OpenID Connect and SAML 2.0.

What are the benefits of SSO?

Apart from being more convenient and simpler to use, SSO offers these key benefits:

Better password management
SSO makes it easier for workers to manage their login information since they only need to remember one set of credentials instead of dozens. And users only need to remember one password, they can create more unique and use stronger passwords for individual accounts, making it harder for cybercriminals to access and steal their information.

Improved password policy enforcement
Because password entry is centralized, SSO makes it easy for IT teams to enforce password security policies. For example, many businesses require employees to change their passwords regularly. Rather than having to reset several passwords across various applications and services each time, IT teams only need to reset one for each user.

SSO also helps IT administrators implement the reentering of login information after a given period to ensure an employee is still active on the signed-in device. This is a critical security measure for businesses, as it can prevent dormant accounts from being used to access company data.

Less time wasted recovering forgotten passwords
By utilizing SSO, IT staff can reduce the number of password recovery or reset requests they receive, and users can spend less time waiting for password resets. This can help raise employees’ productivity levels and allow IT personnel to focus on more important issues.

If you think SSO is ideal for your business, give us a call. Our experts are ready to help you.

If you are looking for an expert to help you find the best solutions for your business talk to GCInfotech about a free technology assessment

Published with consideration from TechAdvisory.org SOURCE

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Linking Strong Cybersecurity to the Growth and Survival of SMBs

When it comes to protecting small businesses from cyberattacks, there is a constant balance between managing risk and applying limited resources between security, operational budgets, and convenience. Small businesses face critical resource decisions every day. Can my business afford to deploy optimal, strong cybersecurity solutions? And will my cybersecurity policies be a burden for my employees, trading partners, and customers?

Small business owners face significant challenges, and their most important daily responsibility is ensuring their businesses grow and thrive. As an industry, we have not done enough to connect the benefits of strong cybersecurity practices and policies to business expansion, resiliency, and long-term survival.

There is no area of cybersecurity more indicative of the challenges we face in threading the needle between security and business-friendly policies than usernames and passwords. We still overwhelmingly rely on an insecure means of account and network access that has proven inefficient and insecure for more than 30 years.

Multi-factor authentication (MFA)

We know there are more secure methods that can be deployed. Multi-factor authentication (MFA) bolsters security by requiring users to present more than one piece of evidence (credential) whenever the user logs in to a business account (ex. company email, payroll, human resources, etc.). MFA usually falls into three categories: something the user knows (a 15-character password), something the user has (fingerprint), or something the user receives (a code sent to the user’s phone or email account).

MFA works, but companies remain extremely reticent to deploy. The Global Small Business Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) Study released by the Cyber Readiness Institute (CRI) found that only 46% of small business owners claim to have implemented MFA methods recommended by leading security experts, with just 13% requiring its use by employees for most account or application access.

Most companies implementing some form of MFA have not made it a requirement for all.

Only 39% of those who offer MFA have a process for prioritizing critical hardware, software, and data, with 49% merely “encouraging the use of MFA when it is available.”

According to Microsoft, 99.9% of account compromise attacks can be blocked simply using MFA. Yet, 47% of small business owners surveyed said they either didn’t understand MFA or didn’t see its value. In addition, nearly 60% have not discussed MFA with their employees.

Implementation of MFAs

Implementing MFA does not require hardware changes to company computers, mobile devices, or printers. Instead, there are numerous free and low-cost software-based tools users can download to their company and personal devices. For example, email providers usually offer (and encourage) MFA. Therefore, it can be as easy as clicking an option in email settings to turn on MFA.

There are several easy steps companies can take to implement MFA. First, organizations should update their policies and procedures with specific expectations. For example, all employees should implement MFA on their company email accounts. Next, hold workforce information sessions to communicate MFA policies and expectations. Employees need to know that it is easy to activate MFA on their accounts. Finally, designate someone in the organization who accepts the responsibility for cyber readiness to help employees troubleshoot as they begin using MFA.

Final Thoughts

At CRI, we fully believe strong cybersecurity is a business imperative, not an operational challenge. This requires a change in mindset from small business leaders, new questions must be asked, and behaviors need to change:

  • Can my business afford to suffer a cyberattack?
  • Will a cyberattack irreparably damage my brand?
  • Will a cyberattack burden my employees, customers, and trading partners?

Honestly answering these questions will change the importance of cybersecurity in a small business’s growth strategy.

If you are looking for an expert to help you find the best solutions for your business talk to GCInfotech about a free technology assessment

Published with consideration from SmallBiz Technology SOURCE

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What is single sign-on and what are its benefits?

Secure logins are a necessity in business, but managing so many user credentials can get tedious. The good news is that you can simplify your organization’s login processes without compromising security by deploying single sign-on.

What is single sign-on (SSO)?

Single sign-on allows you to use one username and one password to provide secure access to multiple websites. If you’ve ever clicked “Continue with Google” on a non-Google website, you’ve already enjoyed the benefits of SSO. It’s faster, simpler, and more secure. With SSO, small businesses can accomplish the same level of efficiency between their employees and cloud platforms.

Instead of requiring in-office and remote workers to track separate accounts for Office 365, Slack, Trello, and other cloud apps your company uses, you can give them a single set of credentials and manage what they have access to remotely. All employees have to do is come enter their designated username and password, and they’re all set for the day.

Why is SSO more secure?

There are a number of ways to set up a small-business SSO solution, but most of them focus on removing login information from your servers. Usually, you’ll provide your employees’ logins to an SSO provider (sometimes referred to as an Identity-as-a-Service provider) and each employee will receive a single login paired with a secondary authentication — like a biometric scan like iOS’s FaceID, or a one-time PIN (OTP) code sent to a personal device.

Every time one of your employees visits a cloud platform, such as Office 365 or Google Workspace, the SSO provider will verify the user’s identity and the connection’s security. If anything goes wrong, your IT provider will be notified.

Should your network or any of the devices connected to it gets compromised, hackers would find nothing but logins to your SSO accounts, which are meaningless without fingerprints or mobile devices.

How to get started with SSO

The first step is making sure you have a healthy and responsive IT support system. You need a team that’s constantly available to review suspicious alerts and troubleshoot employee issues. If you don’t currently have that capacity, contact us today and we’ll help you out!

To learn more about how to safeguard your business, or if you are looking for an expert to help you find the best solutions for your business talk to GCInfotech about a free technology assessment.

Published with consideration from TechAdvisory.org SOURCE

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Is Your Business At Risk Of Cyber-Attack?

Breaking Bad Habits

4 Ways Your Employees Are Putting Your Business At Risk Of Cyber-Attack

A couple years ago, TechRepublic ran a story with the following headline: “Employees Are Almost As Dangerous To Business As Hackers And Cybercriminals.” From the perspective of the business, you might think that’s simply inaccurate. Your company strives to hire the best people it can find – people who are good at their jobs and would never dream of putting their own employer at risk.

Your employees are instrumental when it comes to protecting your business from cyberthreats. But they can also become targets for hackers and cybercriminals, and they might not know it. Here are four ways your employees might be endangering your business and themselves — and what you can do about it.

1. They’re Not Practicing Safe And Secure Web Browsing. One of the most basic rules of the Internet is to not click on anything that looks suspicious. These days, however, it can be harder to tell what’s safe and what isn’t.

A good rule of thumb is to avoid websites that do not have “https” in front of their web address. The “s” tells you it’s secure – https stands for Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure. If all you see is “http” – no “s” – then you should not trust putting your data on that website, as you don’t know where your data might end up.

Another way to practice safe web browsing is to avoid clicking on ads or by using an ad blocker, such as uBlock Origin (a popular ad blocker for Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox). Hackers can use ad networks to install malware on a user’s computer and network.

2. They’re Not Using Strong Passwords. This is one of the worst IT security habits out there. It’s too easy for employees to use simple passwords or to reuse the same password over and over again or to use one password for everything. Or, worse yet, all of the above.

Cybercriminals love it when people get lazy with their passwords. If you use the same password over and over, and that password is stolen in a data breach (unbeknownst to you), it becomes super easy for cybercriminals to access virtually any app or account tied to that password. No hacking needed!

To avoid this, your employees must use strong passwords, change passwords every 60 to 90 days, and not reuse old passwords. It might sound tedious, especially if they rely on multiple passwords, but when it comes to the IT security of your business, it’s worth it. One more thing: the “tedious” argument really doesn’t hold much water either, thanks to password managers like 1Password and LastPass that make it easy to create new passwords and manage them across all apps and accounts.

3. They’re Not Using Secure Connections. This is especially relevant for remote workers, but it’s something every employee should be aware of. You can find WiFi virtually everywhere, and it makes connecting to the Internet very easy. A little too easy. When you can connect to an unverified network at the click of a button, it should raise eyebrows.

And unless your employee is using company-issued hardware, you have no idea what their endpoint security situation is. It’s one risk after another, and it’s all unnecessary. The best policy is to prohibit employees from connecting to unsecured networks (like public WiFi) with company property.

Instead, they should stick to secure networks that then connect via VPN. This is on top of the endpoint security that should be installed on every device that connects to your company’s network: malware protection, antivirus, anti-spyware, anti-ransomware, firewalls, you name it! You want to put up as many gates between your business interests and the outside digital world as you can.

4. They’re Not Aware Of Current Threats. How educated is your team about today’s cyber security threats? If you don’t know, or you know the answer isn’t a good one, it’s time for a change. One of the biggest threats to your business is a workforce that doesn’t know what a phishing e-mail looks like or doesn’t know who to call when something goes wrong on the IT side of things.

If an employee opens an e-mail they shouldn’t or clicks a “bad” link, it can compromise your entire business. You could end up the victim of data breach. Or a hacker might decide to hold your data hostage until you pay up. This happens every day to businesses around the world – and hackers are relentless. They will use your own employees against you, if given the chance.

Your best move is to get your team trained up and educated about current threats facing your business. Working with a managed service provider or partnering with an IT services firm is an excellent way to accomplish this and to avoid everything we’ve talked about in this article. Education is a powerful tool and, when used right, it can protect your business and your employees.

To learn more about how to safeguard your business, or if you are looking for an expert to help you find the best solutions for your business talk to GCInfotech about a free technology assessment.

Published with consideration from TechAdvisory.org SOURCE

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Surefire ways to protect your email account

If you think your email is safe from hackers, think again. A lack of sufficient email security protocols can lead to data theft, unauthorized access to sensitive information, and successful malware attacks. Here are some tips to secure your email account from unwanted intruders and the many troubles that come with them.

Use separate email accounts

Most people use a single email account for all their needs. As a result, information from websites, newsletters, shopping deals, and messages from work gets sent to one inbox. But what happens when someone breaks into it? There’s a good chance they could gain access to all the stored information and use them in fraudulent dealings.
Having at least two separate email accounts will not only boost your security, but it will also increase your productivity. You can have a personal account to communicate with your friends and family, and a professional email account solely for work-related tasks.

Set strong passwords

Some email users often overlook the importance of having strong email account passwords. You might be surprised to learn that email passwords like “123456,” “qwerty,” and “password” are still the most common around. For the sake of security, set longer passwords or passphrases that contain a good mix of upper- and lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters. Make sure these passwords are unique to that account to keep all your other password-protected accounts safe.
You should also consider enabling multifactor authentication (MFA). This creates an extra layer of security by requesting for another method to verify your identity, like a fingerprint scan or a temporary activation code sent to your mobile phone.

Beware of email scams

When you see a link in an email, don’t click on it unless you’ve assessed its authenticity. You never know where those links might lead you. Sometimes they are safe, but other times they can infect your computer with malware or send you to a compromised website.
It’s always good to know who the email message is coming from. If you’re expecting a file from your friend or family, then go ahead and open the attachment. However, emails coming from unknown sources or those that have strange account names such as “@amazon6753.com” are most likely to be email scams.
These types of attacks are known as phishing, and they can be remarkably clever. For example, cybercriminals may masquerade as high-profile companies like Amazon, Facebook, or Bank of America to catch their victims off guard. They create emails with a sense of urgency by claiming that there’s an issue with your account and that you should send them information or click on a link to “confirm” your personal details. This link will either install malware on your device or lead you to a fraudulent site.
Even if there was a genuine issue with your account, legitimate companies would never ask something so suspicious over email. If you get these messages, contact the company directly through a verified website or phone number — not the contact details on the email.

Monitor account activity

Periodically watch over your account activity. Make sure to limit access privileges to apps if you want to ensure maximum privacy and security. Also, check for any suspicious activities in your logs, such as unusual devices and IP addresses that have accessed your account. This indicates that hackers may have successfully broken into your account. If this is the case, sign out of all web sessions and change your password as soon as possible.

Encrypt emails and update your software

Email encryption ensures that any message you send won’t be intercepted and viewed by unauthorized users. Meanwhile, installing the latest updates for your anti-malware, firewalls, and email security software filters potential email scams and fixes any vulnerabilities hackers can exploit.
Protecting your email accounts from various threats can be a daunting process, but with the right support, it should be effortless. Talk to us today for all your cybersecurity needs.

To learn more about how to safeguard your business, or if you are looking for an expert to help you find the best solutions for your business talk to GCInfotech about a free technology assessment.

Published with consideration from smallbiztechnology.com  SOURCE

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