5 Quick Ways to Secure Your PC

Cyber Security, Data Security, email security, modem security, Online Security, Ophtek, PC Security, Security, , , , , , ,
09
Nov 2021

IT security can be a complex series of procedures and this can be intimidating to many people. Luckily, there are some easy ways to secure your PC.

Installing and configuring a firewall isn’t something that your average PC user will feel comfortable with. After all, how do you know exactly which services you should be allowing/denying access to? Security tasks such as this should be left to the professionals. But there are lots of quick and easy tips you can put in to place to protect your PC. All you need to do is know how to get started securing your PC. And today we’re going to share 5 quick ways to secure your PC.

How to Secure Your PC

If you want to secure your PC with the minimum amount of fuss, then make sure you:

  • Verify All Downloads: It’s very easy to fall victim to a malicious email or website. These threats appear to be genuine methods of communication in order to encourage you clicking on their malicious payload. These payloads can take the form of malicious downloads disguised as links or ‘helpful’ apps. A quick way to avoid falling victim in these scenarios is to verify the true destination of links by hovering your mouse cursor over them. You can also perform a Google search to verify the legitimacy of any website.
  • Do Not Write Your Passwords Down: The single biggest mistake that a PC user can make is to write their passwords down. Sure, it’s difficult to remember every single password, but there are options to overcome this such as using Google’s Password Checkup. These password managers are far superior to writing your password credentials on a Post-It note and keeping it on your desk. Revealing your login credentials publicly should be avoided at all costs.
  • Only Use USB Devices That You Own: It’s not worth the risk of damaging your PC, so avoid connecting USB devices you aren’t familiar with. In fact, in a workplace, it’s recommended to disable USB access to individual workstations. If USB access is required then this should only be granted to IT professionals.

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

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New Form of Malware is Sneakily Avoiding Detection

anti malware, Cyber Security, malware, OpenSUpdater, Ophtek, PC Security, Phishing, , , , , ,
28
Sep 2021

Anti-malware tools provide a firm level of defense against hackers, but what happens when the malware can bypass detection tools?

Around 300,000 new pieces of malware are created daily, so it’s important that we can protect ourselves against this constant threat. Anti-malware tools such as Kaspersky and even in-built Windows security systems are crucial for providing this protection. Accordingly, you should find that your systems remain protected for most of the time. However, hackers are industrious individuals and are constantly looking to evolve their techniques. As a result of this ongoing adaptation, it appears that hackers have found a way around current detection methods.

The threat comes in the form of the OpenSUpdater and is one that you need to take seriously.

What is OpenSUpdater?

Digital signatures are used online to demonstrate that code is legitimate and accepted by Windows security checks. They are an important part of online security, but this has made them a viable target for hackers. In the case of OpenSUpdater, their online code samples are carrying manipulated security certificates which, despite these manipulations, are passed as authentic by Windows. More importantly, security tools which use OpenSSL decoding are unable to detect these malicious changes.

OpenSUpdater is free to bypass security measures and avoid being labelled as malware which is quarantined and deleted. The malware’s main method of attack is through riskware campaigns. This involves injecting malicious ads into the browsers of those infected and downloading further malware. The majority of targets so far have been found in the US and the malware typically bundled in with illegal downloads such as cracked software.

How Can You Protect Against OpenSUpdater?

This latest malware threat was detected by Google’s security researchers and has since been reported to Microsoft. A specific fix has not been announced yet, but hopefully something will be implemented shortly. In the meantime, however, it’s vital that you take steps to protect yourself. In particular, make sure you focus on the following:

  • Educate on Phishing Techniques: Phishing is a dangerous hacking technique which uses email to push social engineering attacks. By instilling a threat of urgency to act upon an email’s call to action – such as ‘click here to download a vital security tool’ – hackers are able to deceive victims into downloading all kinds of malware. Thankfully, through continued training, your employees should be able to recognize phishing emails quickly and hit the delete button even quicker.

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

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Sidewalk Malware Linked to Chinese Hacking Group Grayfly

Cyber Security, Grayfly, Ophtek, Secure Socket Layer, Sidewalk Malware, strong passwords, upgrade software, , , , , , ,
21
Sep 2021

A new strain of backdoor malware has been discovered and named as Sidewalk. And the hacking group behind it – Grayfly – mean business.

Believed to have major links to China, Grayfly has been launching global cyber-attacks since 2017 and has also operated under the names of Wicked Panda and GREF. With a keen interest in espionage, Grayfly favors attacking public facing web servers. Once they have their foot in the door, the hackers being installing backdoors across the network to maximize their access. The Grayfly group represent a sophisticated threat and show few signs of letting up in their endeavors.

The Sidewalk malware, which appears to be Grayfly’s latest weapon, has been attacking servers in the US, Mexico and Asia. Accordingly, you need to be on your guard.

How Does the Sidewalk Malware Work?

Sidewalk was first discovered in August 2021 when a new piece of malware was detected by Slovakian researchers. Sidewalk, it was revealed, operates by loading plugins into breached systems to search out and log running processes. This information is then transmitted back to a remote server where hackers can analyze the infected servers in forensic detail. The researchers were keen to note that the Sidewalk malware shared many similarities to Grayfly’s previous hacking tool Crosswalk.

Sidewalk has been concentrating its efforts on a number of targets in the US, Vietnam, Mexico and Taiwan. Given the espionage nature of Grayfly’s operation, it comes as no surprise that a large proportion of the victims are involved in the telecoms industry. Grayfly start these attacks by identifying Microsoft Exchange servers which can be accessed through the public internet. With this in their sights, the hackers install a web shell which grants them the opportunity to run administrative commands on the server. From here they can dig deeper into the server and begin harvesting confidential data such as login credentials.

How Can You Protect Your Public Facing Server?

Public facing servers are crucial for any businesses which need to allow the public to access their services are online. However, as the Sidewalk malware has shown, they’re at the risk of cyber-attacks. Nonetheless, you can protect your public facing servers by practicing the following:

  • Only Allow Strong Passwords: Servers need to use strong passwords to thwart the efforts of hackers. Avoid making common password mistakes and always change any default passwords as soon as possible.

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

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What are Initial Access Brokers?

Cyber Security, Hackers, IAB, Initial access brokers, Ophtek, Ransomware, , , , ,
30
Aug 2021

Gaining access to an unauthorized network is every hacker’s dream. And, now, this is easier than ever thanks to the rise of initial access brokers.

Initial access brokers (IABs) are a relatively new trend in the world of hacking. These threats have been tracked for several years now, but they have yet to create major headlines. Nonetheless, they represent a major threat to your organization’s security. And the number of IABs operating online is rising. Therefore, it’s important that you understand what IABs are and the threat they represent. So, to help keep your organization safe, we’re going to look at IABs.

What is an IAB?

We’ve discussed ransomware in depth on numerous occasions, but we’re yet to touch upon the role of IABs when it comes to ransomware. The hard work, for a hacker, is breaking into a network. Most networks will have some level of security, so significant time needs to be invested to beat this. But what if there was someone you could go to for ready-made access? It would be a dream scenario for a hacker and it’s one which is provided by IABs.

Acting as a literal broker, IABs carry out extensive research on organizations to identify those that are considered vulnerable. Slowly, these IABs will build up a portfolio of vulnerable targets and details on how to gain access to their networks. This takes the hard work out of hacking for the hackers and ensures that, for a fee, details of vulnerable networks can be quickly obtained. The majority of these deals take place on the dark web with access details being sold to the highest bidder.

How Do You Avoid Becoming an IAB Listing?

IABs are not selective in the industries that they target and tend to scour all industries for potential victims. These threats are also unfolding on a global basis, but some research has shown that a third of IAB listings involve businesses located in the US. Accordingly, you will want to make sure you don’t find your organization having its vulnerabilities advertised as being for sale. And you can do this by taking note of the following:

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

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The Dangerous Power of the Prometheus Malware

antivirus software, Cyber Security, email security, malware, Ophtek, Prometheus Malware, , , , ,
18
Aug 2021

Malware-as-a-service (MaaS) provides a powerful malware solution for hackers. And Prometheus is the perfect example of such an infrastructure.

There’s money in everything and hacking is no different. But rather than extorting funds through ransomware, hackers can also design MaaS to generate some quick cash. MaaS takes the pain out of designing your own malware by offering a ready-made solution. And all you need to do is a pay a fee to use it. Typically, MaaS will give the user access to software which can distribute malware through malicious campaigns; this is exactly what Prometheus does.

As Prometheus, and all forms of MaaS, is so powerful, it’s important that you understand what it is and how to tackle it.

How Does Prometheus Work?

Prometheus has been available to purchase for a year now, with a subscription costing $250 per month. It uses two main attack strategies:

  • Distributing MS Word and Excel documents which are infected with malware
  • Using malicious links to divert victims to phishing websites

Subscribers to the Prometheus MaaS are given a central control panel from where they can launch their campaigns. From here they are able to configure various parameters to tailor their attacks e.g. targeting specific email addresses with a malicious call-to-action. Prometheus can also be used to assess potential victims. Using infected websites, Prometheus can collect data on visitors – such as IP address and user details – to assess which method of attack is best to launch. It’s a sophisticated form of hacking and one that requires high levels of awareness to combat.

It’s estimated that over 3,000 email addresses have been targeted by Prometheus as of this writing. These targets have included individuals in Europe and a number of government agencies and businesses in the US. While 3,000 potential victims may sound relatively small, it’s clearly best for every one of them to avoid it. And it is possible.

How to Combat Prometheus

Prometheus uses traditional methods to infect PCs with its malicious payloads, so it’s easy to avoid becoming a victim. All you need to do is practice the following:

  • Check All Emails: Malicious emails are very good at hiding the fact that they are malicious. Therefore, it always pays to quickly verify every email. Is the email address correct or is it a strange variation e.g. security@micros0ft.com? Is there an unusual and urgent call-to-action in the email such as a “click here before you lose access to your account” link? Anything suspicious should be queried with your IT team immediately.
  • Verify Links: It’s very easy to insert a malicious link into an email or website, so these need to be verified before clicking. For example, a link could be displayed as www.bankofamerica.com but hovering your cursor over this link will reveal the genuine destination. And this could be redirecting you towards a malicious website, so always verify your links.

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

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