What Should You Do When Your Network is Hacked?

Hackers, Hacking, malware, Ophtek, Password Security, PC Security, Security, , , ,
28
May 2019

A hacked network is a disaster for any organization, so keeping things secure is vital. However, sometimes things go wrong and you need to know what to do.

Your IT operations are supported by your IT network, so, if it gets hacked, there’s every chance that all those PCs you have lined up in your offices will be unable to operate. Naturally, this means that productivity will drop off almost immediately and affect not just you, but also your customers. With good IT practices in place, you significantly reduce the risk of this happening. Mistakes, be they caused by hardware or human error, are inevitable, though, and it’s rare that a business can claim to have defenses which are 100% secure.

Therefore, it’s important that you know what to do when your network is hacked. Rather than have you learn the hard way, through experience, we’re going to save you some of the pain with a quick guide on how to cope.

Steps to Take When You’re Hacked

Most importantly, you need to take the following steps when you discover your network has been hacked:

  • Put Everything On Lock Down: The stealthy nature of hackers means that it’s difficult and time consuming to determine exactly how much of your network the hackers have breached. So, in order to preserve as much as your network as possible, you have to assume the worst: they’ve gained access to everything. And that’s why you need to lock down and change passwords on everything be it folders on a shared drive or your social media accounts. This is the only way to minimize damage. 
  • Learn from the Experience: As we’ve stated, it’s likely that your network will, at some point, experience a security disaster. However, while in the short term this may feel like nothing but non-stop chaos, there’s an important set of learning to be absorbed for the long term. Mistakes are what allow us to evolve and make better decisions in the future, so make sure you take the opportunity to analyze exactly what went wrong and the steps you can take to prevent it happening again. 

Final Thoughts

A hacked network represents every IT professional’s worst nightmare, but it’s important that you understand the best steps to take in this situation. Not only does it prevent network hacks from escalating into more devastating hacks, but there’s also the chance to learn and strengthen for the next time hacker aims an attack at your network.

For more ways to secure and optimize your business technology, contact your local IT professionals.

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Fileless Malware: The Rise of a New Threat

malware, Phishing Email, Ransomware, Security, , ,
18
Dec 2018

We’re all aware of the dangers of opening suspicious files, but what happens when hackers develop the skills to unleash malware without infected files?

Due to the popularity of file-based attacks, most security software concentrates on combating this particular avenue of hacking. And it’s certainly an effective method of shutting down most malware attacks before they’re able to steal or, in the case of ransomware, encrypt your data. Due to the success of blocking these attacks, hackers have had to go back to the drawing board and evolve their methods of attack in order to become less detectable.

The end result of this evolution has seen a rise in sophisticated hacking methods and, in particular, fileless malware is now beginning to grab headlines. And, due to the lack of knowledge of this development in hacking, attacks have increased in frequency and their success rate has also flourished. As fileless malware could easily hit your organization at any given time, it’s a good idea to educate yourself on the threat.

What is Fileless Malware?

You don’t have to be a security expert to understand that fileless malware is a malware variant which forgoes the use of infected files. Instead, fileless malware takes advantage of trusted Windows components such as PowerShell that are rarely checked for infections. PowerShell is hardly ever used by the average PC user, but it’s an important component that can be used to execute system administration tasks and, therefore, taking control of this is a hacker’s dream.

As mentioned, fileless malware does not involve the use of any files to infect a PC. The most common technique to launch an attack is through spam email which contains a link to an infected website. If that link is clicked then the user is transported to a spoof website where Flash player loads and, at the same time, activates a malicious script that accesses PowerShell on the victim’s PC. Infected PowerShell scripts are then downloaded which allow the hackers to collect sensitive data and transmit it back to a remote location.

How Do You Combat Fileless Malware?

Data leaks can be highly damaging not just for your staff and customers, but also your organization’s reputation. Therefore, with the advent of fileless malware, it’s essential that you understand how to protect your business from its malicious activity. To help you keep one step ahead of fileless malware, make sure you action the following:

  • If you don’t use PowerShell in your IT operations then disable it. This nullifies the threat of any PowerShell exploit. Additionally, the same applies to Windows Management Instrumentation which has also been discovered to be vulnerable to fileless malware.
  • Monitor the amount of data leaving your network. If there’s a spike in data leaving your network then it’s possible that this is the result of malware transmitting sensitive data to a remote hacker.
  • Don’t rely on antivirus software alone as this is less effective when it comes to fileless malware. Instead, practice vigilance and monitor any unusual emails.
  • Disable macros at all costs, unless they’re company approved, as macros are another tool employed by hackers as part of a fileless malware attack.
  • As ever, regularly update your software to reduce the chance of known software vulnerabilities being exploited.

For more ways to secure and optimize your business technology, contact your local IT professionals.

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Emotet: A Clever and Dangerous Brand of Malware

Emotet, malicious code, malware, Security, Security Threats, Trojans, , , , ,
11
Dec 2018

There’s no such thing as good malware, but some is certainly less trouble than others. And, when it comes to the Emotet malware, some are very dangerous.

First discovered in Europe in 2014, Emotet soon began to spread around the world and, before long, was infecting PCs in the US. Comprising several different functions and methods of attack, Emotet is a type of malware which has persisted in the digital landscape due to its constant evolution. Taking advantage of user errors and vulnerable systems, the hackers behind Emotet have managed to infect huge numbers of systems over the last four years. And it would appear that those who are coding Emotet are getting even cleverer.

Due to the severity of Emotet, and the lessons you can learn from it, I’m going to take you through the basics of Emotet.

What is Emotet?

Emotet is known as a banking Trojan due to the way it specializes in stealing user credentials including banking data as well as numerous other credentials. This is achieved by the injection of malicious code into infected computers which allows Emotet to transmit sensitive information.

As with numerous other brands of malware, Emotet delivers its payload through a combination of malicious URLs and infected attachments. Key to spreading the Emotet malware throughout a network is the way that Emotet takes advantage of the EternalBlue vulnerability, an exploit which affects unpatched versions of Windows XP through to Windows 7.

There is, however, more to Emotet than just stealing sensitive data. Adding another string to its bow, Emotet is also responsible for downloading other types of malware to infected PCs. These can include further banking Trojans such as TrickBot or modules as diverse as Outlook address book grabbers and spambots.

Why is Emotet So Clever?

The hackers behind Emotet are highly talented and this is why Emotet is so difficult to detect. Dedicated to their software, the hackers regularly update the code behind Emotet and this is then communicated to compromised systems. This change in Emotet’s DNA allows it, therefore, to remain undetected. Just as security experts believe they had identified the key signature of Emotet, they’re faced with a new variant which renders their work redundant.

New research has also revealed that Emotet’s Command and Control (C&C) server is split into two separate clusters. By designing their C&C server in this manner, the hackers can ensure that the source of Emotet is harder to track down. Additionally, this split of the C&C server allows Emotet to keep functioning if either of the clusters suffers a technical issue. For authorities, disabling this setup is highly difficult and underlines why Emotet has been so successful.

How Do You Protect Your PC from Emotet?

It’s important to protect your organization from malware at all times and variants such as Emotet are the perfect demonstration of why it’s crucial. So, if you want to maximize your defenses, make sure you follow these best practices:

For more ways to secure and optimize your business technology, contact your local IT professionals.

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High Profile Organizations that Have Been Phished

Cyber Attack, Hacking, malware, Phishing, Phishing Email, Ransomware, Security, Security Threats, , , , , ,
02
Oct 2018

Phishing is now so prevalent and sophisticated that even the biggest organizations on the planet are likely to be duped by phishing scams.

Immunity from such attacks is a difficult privilege to secure, so any organization that wants to remain productive needs to understand the threats out there. While you would expect most phishing attacks to target smaller, less secure organizations, this couldn’t be further from the truth. Instead, many hackers are taking on high profile organizations due to the challenge on offer and the publicity that such attacks bring.

Understanding how these businesses have been phished is crucial as it helps you to understand exactly why you need good security. To provide you with a foundation of knowledge, we’re going to look at some high profile organizations that have been phished.

Facebook and Google

Two of the biggest names in business on the planet, Facebook and Google found themselves at the center of the same phishing scam a couple of years ago.

Evaldas Rimasauskas, from Lithuania, used a simple phishing campaign whereby he posed as the head of a Taiwanese parts manufacturer called Quanta. Key to this scam was that Facebook and Google both used the genuine Quanta company to conduct business with. Through a combination of compromised emails, forged invoices and a lack of suspicion on the two tech giants’ behalf, around $100 million was paid out to Rimasauskas between 2013 – 2015.

Anthem

Anthem is one of the largest health insurance companies in the US and, as you can imagine, they hold a substantial amount of private and confidential data. However, in 2014 they lost nearly 78.8 million consumer records due to a phishing attack.

It’s believed that a foreign government was behind the attack, but the method employed was still ridiculously straightforward. An employee at an Anthem subsidiary opened a phishing email which allowed malicious content to be downloaded to the employee’s PC. Once these files were executed, hackers were able to take control of the PC by remote access and start making their way deep into the Anthem network. One of the sections that were of most interest was Anthem’s data warehouse where the hackers had access to customers’ medical histories, social security numbers and address details.

Snapchat

The popular social media app Snapchat found one of its employees being targeted by a spear phishing scam in 2016 which compromised confidential data.

A seemingly innocuous email was sent to Snapchat’s payroll department in February 2016 which claimed to have been written by the company’s CEO. The email requested that employee payroll information was forwarded on for internal reference. Unfortunately, one of the payroll employees did not realize this was a less than genuine request. A significant amount of personal information about former and current employees was then emailed to an external party. Due to the nature of the data obtained, hackers then had the potential to use it to engineer identity theft.

RSA Security

Even IT security companies aren’t safe from the threat of phishing emails as RSA security discovered back in 2011.

Hackers designed two separate emails which were sent to four employees at RSA’s parent company EMC. The emails, which appeared to be from a recruitment website, contained an attachment referred to as ‘2011 Recruitment plan.xls” in the email’s subject line. However, this was a malicious attachment and, upon clicking it, a zero-day vulnerability in Adobe Flash would be exploited and lead to the download of a backdoor virus onto the user’s PC. The hackers were then able to access RSA’s network where they had access to 44 million employee records.

For more ways to secure and optimize your business technology, contact your local IT professionals.

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4 Ways to Tell If You’re Being Phished

Cyber Attack, Hacking, malware, Password Security, Phishing, Phishing Email, Ransomware, Security, Security Threats, , , , ,
25
Sep 2018

Phishing is big business for hackers and you can rest assured that it’s a niche they’re keen to exploit, but how do you know when you’re being phished?

Kaspersky Lab reported around 246 million phishing attempts being executed in 2017, so it’s fairly clear that phishing is taking place on a monumental scale. And, to provide a little perspective, those 246 million phishing attempts are only the ones that were picked up by Kaspersky’s software. If you factor in all the other security providers’ data then you’re left with a staggering amount.

Phishing, therefore, is something that you’re likely to encounter and, the truth is, your organization is likely to receive a significant number of phishing emails every day. Thankfully, protecting your business from the dangers of phishing emails is relatively easy. And, to help boost your defenses, we’re going to show you four ways to tell if you’re being phished.

1.  Analyze the Email Address

While it’s straightforward to mask an email address with a false one, many hackers simply don’t bother. And that’s why you’re likely to find that most phishing emails are sent from unusual email addresses. Say, for example, you receive an email from your bank asking you to provide sensitive information regarding your account, it’s not going to come from a Hotmail address, is it? However, many people fail to check the sender’s email address and, instead, become distracted by the seemingly genuine contents.

2.  How’s the Grammar?

A tell-tale sign of a phishing email is poor grammar and even worse spelling. Hackers, after all, aren’t too bothered about honing their command of the written word. All they want to do is hack and hack big. Accordingly, their emails will fail to contain the type of language you would expect to receive from a work colleague or another organization. So, remember: if they can’t spell your name in their opening introduction then you should be highly suspicious.

3.  Did You Ask For Those Attachments?

Hackers love to catch their victims out with attachments that contain a nasty payload, so any attachments should always be treated with caution. Sometimes these attachments can be easily identified as malicious, but it’s not always simple. First of all, ask yourself whether the attachment is relevant to your job. If you work in the service department and you’ve been sent a spreadsheet relating to company finances then there’s no need for you to open it. Secondly, keep an eye out for file extensions you don’t recognize as opening these could easily lead to executing malware.

4.  Deceptive Links

One of the main objectives of a phishing email is to take the recipient away from the security of their PC and onto dangerous websites which are riddled with malware. And the best way they can do this is through the use of a deceptive link. While a link may look genuine on the surface, it can easily direct you somewhere else altogether. The best way to verify a link’s true destination is by hovering your mouse cursor over the link to reveal the true URL address.

For more ways to secure and optimize your business technology, contact your local IT professionals.

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