Insights

Don’t judge a book by its cover. Not all that glitters is gold. If it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is. These are critical phrases to keep in mind when hearing pitches from Managed Service Providers (MSPs), since many of them will make claims to get your business but then deliver the minimal amount of support and security possible. With the upsurge in the general public’s awareness regarding cybersecurity, the number of blatantly unethical claims regarding service provider ability to protect your environment has undergone a similar surge. Phrases like “#1 cybersecurity firm in <insert city name here>”, “Secure your systems with our advanced compliance package”, “Go beyond regular support and talk to us about our Security and Compliance offerings!” are prominently plastered on the home page of thousands of managed IT providers. This dangerous, but legal, misrepresentation of ability and skill sets hurts not only…

We live in the age of large-scale data breaches. Equifax, Target, Home Depot, LinkedIn - take your pick. Users have become jaded to such phenomena since they seemingly occur on a daily basis. This fact only exacerbates the problem even further. We are all guilty of hearing about a breach and simply looking the other way in the hope that our data wasn’t affected. After all, who am I that a criminal on the other side of the world would want MY personal information? Well, you may not see yourself as being important, but that doesn’t mean that your data is equally unimportant. Identity theft is a festering wound that we would rather ignore than acknowledge and treat. If we have learned anything from the 24 hour news cycle it should be that we can no longer simply rely on companies to protect our personal information. Due to this fact, it…

That person uses online chat groups and other social media to reach out and recruit Uber and Lyft drivers for the scheme. Uber says that part is key, because if there are no drivers willing to participate – there is no scheme. Once on board, the drivers can say where and when they want to take a ride, allowing them to make money on everyday errands or even long distance trips they were already planning to take for personal reasons. Ensign says the ringleader overseas initiates the ride by hacking into existing Uber accounts. Uber says credit card and personal information are encrypted, so there’s no concern about identity theft, but weak and leaked passwords are allowing crooks to manipulate the service. People usually never even know their account has been hacked because their credit card information gets swapped out with a stolen card to pay for the ride. The…