Posts by SynchroNet Team
Fearsome Amex Phishing Scam
We know this horror story: A trusted character is not who (or what) others think he is. Typically, movie audiences get to see the creature’s eyes glow or go all black when the onscreen victim isn’t looking. Devils behind a recent phishing scam that targeted American Express accounts, however, were fiendishly clever about hiding their…
Read MoreAre Humans Mean to Artificially Intelligent Entities?
Sometimes we are the fiends … science reveals that humans tend to be meaner to artificially intelligent entities than to other humans. Let’s find out why: A new incarnation of a 1970s thriller, Westworld, has begun airing on HBO to rave reviews and much excitement. The original film featured an android cowboy (Yul Brynner) walking…
Read MoreIf IT Threats Were Cast as Star Trek Villains
The United Federation of Planets had a lot of enemies, and if you run a business, you also face some substantial threats to your operation. So in recognition of Star Trek’s 50th anniversary, we decided to cast IT’s most infamous bad actors as notable villains from the Trek shows and movies. Ransomware and Viruses as…
Read MoreWalking Off a Cliff is NOT The SynchroNet Way
To be fair, Russia does contribute more to the cyber-world than a bunch of organized criminals. One example of Russian thoughtfulness is related to the Pokemon Go craze. Now, we’ve never played Pokemon Go, but it seems the game requires you to use your smartphone to locate Pokemon at random sites ranging from private homes…
Read MoreWho Does Ransomware Target?
Another popular enterprise for Russian cybercriminals is organizing ransomware campaigns that target Western companies and individuals. Click on a ransomware-infected link or email attachment and you’ll be helping these thieves “earn” a salary that is—on average—13 times that of average Russian wages. (In case you need a refresher, ransomware is malicious software designed to block…
Read MoreПривет из России. Вы были взломаны. (“Greetings from Russia. You’ve Been Hacked.”)
Sometimes a theme asserts itself. We didn’t start out to make Russia a focal point of this newsletter but once we selected our topics, we couldn’t help but notice a commonality. We’ll begin with something you may have heard about — the hacking of Democratic Party emails by an organization known as Guccifer 2.0. US…
Read MoreOur Brave New World
We’ve had Roombas running around homes for several years now, sweeping and vacuuming floors. It’s easy to think of the gizmos as early versions of Rosie, the Jetson’s robot maid. But even George Jetson did his own driving (or flying, actually). But times are changing. Today, it appears self-driving cars are on the verge of…
Read MorePrevention is Better than Insurance
If you deal with sensitive customer data and information, you may have considered purchasing “cyber insurance.” For those unfamiliar with the term, the International Risk Management Institute explains, “Cyber and privacy policies cover a business’ liability for a data breach in which the firm’s customers’ personal information, such as Social Security or credit card numbers,…
Read MoreWords of Wisdom about Data Security
Your friends at SynchroNet are always available to help you with your data security issues … especially as they pertain to financial information. Since the proverbial ‘ounce of prevention’ is always preferable to the ‘pound of cure,’ here are a a few security measures that will go a long way toward keeping your business data…
Read MorePCI DSS Compliance? … It Actually is Your Business
Handing your credit card to a cashier, repeating your credit card information over the phone to a customer service representative, or entering your information online … these moments require your trust and confidence that any charges arising from the transaction will be legitimate. Correspondingly, as a merchant, you have a duty to ensure that consumers’…
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