Category: News and Events

Mobility is now one of the most important factors in ensuring the continued business operation of a company. Allowing your users the freedom on choosing where and when they can work is essential to a user’s performance and efficiency. It is no wonder that security focus is now towards your endpoints rather than your network perimeter. By getting access to your users endpoints, they can essentially gain access to the network. Your endpoint security should be able to detect threats quickly to protect endpoints, cloud workload, applications and data. This is where security solutions like VMware Carbon Black can help. Below are a few features of Carbon Black that can benefit your business security:

Fast, Intelligent Protection – Analyze a multitude of system events and behaviors to better understand the context of the IT environment to identify malicious threats early

Reduce Complexity – Allow your IT team to manage several cyber security features from a single platform, console, and agent for a more simple and efficient operation.

Straight forward integration – easily integrate Carbon Black to fit into existing VMware portfolios and security stack

CT Link will be hosting another exclusive workshop to a select few companies to experience Carbon Black firsthand. They will be given a chance to learn how Carbon Black endpoint security can improve your security posture through its single cloud native platform that adapts to the business needs. They will also be given the opportunity to go through the security dashboard and experience themselves the simple and Intuitive UI.

The workshop will be on July 20, 2022 from 10:00AM to 11:30AM.

If you are interested in learning more about VMware Carbon Black, or if you want to learn how your company can join our next workshop. Please contact us at marketing@www.ctlink.com.ph and we will gladly answer your inquiries!

Since the beginning of 2022, we have started to see some semblance of normalcy. Globally, people are now easing restrictions and many businesses are back to pre-pandemic standards. However, one thing that seems to be clear is that the attitude towards remote and hybrid work has changed.  

In the Philippines, the office culture has always leaned towards the traditional approach of going to an office from 8-5. Most hybrid or remote work setups were from jobs which were on a consultant or freelance basis. However, once the pandemic forced businesses to adapt, the mindset of many businesses changed to be more accepting of the concept.

Businesses need to be able to support hybrid or remote work to prepare for the coming years. Below are some concepts in which every business needs to consider to better support hybrid or remote work:

Elastic Work

“Elastic work” pertains to the concept of whether your users are at the office or working remotely, they should have the same experience. At the start of the pandemic, this was not a priority as most businesses just wanted to enable their users a way to work remotely. The priority now has shifted to ensuring their users have the same experience regardless of location. This means having good security, reduced friction when dealing with technology, and most importantly, being able to work how they want without hassle.

Going from Reactive to Proactive

Businesses who are proactive in their approach for hybrid try to improve their user’s security and experience before issues arise. The goal is not to log in remotely and see their desktops, but to improve that experience when they engage with their applications. By enabling your users with an overall good experience, it can also lead to applications that would provide your customers with a better experience overall. Whether it be through better productivity of your team or through applying your experience with users to your customer’s service.

Simple and Convenient

As the technology progresses, solutions can become more complex and hinder users. When preparing for your hybrid or remote work solution, you need to keep user experience in mind. Keeping it simple and intuitive will go a long way for both your users and customers. Enabling your workforce a way to work remotely won’t work if the process to do it is in itself confusing or restrictive. Finding the best balance between security and accessibility is key.

Creating a balance between your on-prem and hybrid/remote work users can be challenging. However, there are many solutions available that can help alleviate your concerns. Citrix Secure Private Access is a solution that can be considered to improve your remote work capabilities. As a Zero Trust Network Access security solution, provides your business with:

• A VPN-less remote access solution that can support both modern and legacy applications
• Flexibility on what device users can use to access your network anytime and anywhere while keeping your network secure
• A way to verify and allow access only to authorized resources with functions such as Single Sign On (SSO), Multifactor Authentication (MFA), and browser-isolation

This leaves little to no chance for outsiders to get into your network while providing your users improved user experience. To learn more about the Citrix Solutions, Contact us at marketing@www.ctlink.com.ph today!

Below are 4 tips on how to prevent ransomware

1. Brief your employees on IT security 
2. Set up a data backup and recovery plan
3. Secure your servers
4. Implement zero trust

Ransomware is malware that is made to block access to a computer until a ransom is paid. This can be encountered through a variety of means, so it’s important to know how to prevent attacks. Otherwise, it could impact a business negatively — including disruption of operations, financial losses, and harm to reputation. This article will discuss some helpful tips on how to prevent ransomware. Keep on reading!

Brief Your Employees On IT Security

Email remains one of the lead delivery methods for all types of malware. In phishing emails, victims are tricked into clicking on malicious links and attachments that when downloaded or opened, will introduce ransomware into the system. This is one of the reasons why ransomware attacks occur. It only takes a momentary lapse in judgment for people to fall victim to a phishing link. 

Prevention is still better than cure, so it’s vital to train your employees when it comes to IT security. User training can significantly reduce the risk of infection, as long as your employees are trained to identify cyber threats — such as ransomware and phishing. 

To further improve email security, you can also consider using Trend Micro Deep Discovery Email Inspector. It comes with a ransomware detection and blocking feature, which uses advanced analysis techniques and custom sandboxing. This is important because ransomware should be blocked before it’s even delivered.

Set Up A Data Backup And Recovery Plan

Ransomware can prevent your employees from accessing your data and applications until a ransom is paid for. This can lead to temporary or permanent loss of your company’s data, cause a complete shutdown of your business operations, and end up with financial loss and damage to your company’s reputation. There’s also no guarantee that data would be returned or recovered once the ransom has been paid. 

Make it a priority to have backups of your organization’s most important data. This can help you recover from ransomware protection by giving you continuous access to your files and applications. You can restore the infected files to regain access to previously-compromised data.

Datto Workplace has a mechanism that can help you recover from a ransomware attack. With a Threat Detection and Management feature, you can not just detect ransomware infections, but also revert the infected files to their previous uninfected state.

Secure Your Servers

Ransomware attacks start in two ways. The more popular and common method is through phishing emails, where a victim is tricked to download an infected attachment or click on a malicious link. The other method takes place when a vulnerability in your network has been detected and exploited to insert ransomware. Once this is done, the malware encrypts the files on the system, drives, and network-connected devices.

To protect your servers from ransomware, you can rely on Trend Micro Deep Security. This solution offers anti-malware scanning to stop malware from attacking your server. With network security solutions and intrusion prevention, it can prevent your servers’ vulnerabilities from being misused — therefore stopping the potential installation of ransomware. It can also provide system security, so you can monitor system changes due to malware activity. 

Implement Zero Trust

Zero Trust is a type of security framework wherein all users inside and outside your organization’s network should be continuously authenticated and authorized before being granted access to resources. If implemented properly, it can help create a better security defense from ransomware attacks. 

One of the concepts of zero trust is the principle of least privilege. This means that you should only issue the bare minimum privileges that users need to perform their role. By restricting access, you can minimize the vectors of access for ransomware and limit the impact of a potential attack.

Zero trust also makes use of monitoring, detection, and threat inspection features to prevent ransomware attacks. Since zero trust is a long-term security approach that requires a change in mindset and commitment to implement, you can consider subscribing to a zero trust service.

Key Takeaway

By preventing you from accessing data and applications crucial to your business, ransomware can halt your operations and cause unexpected downtime. This can lead to more problems such as financial loss and damage to reputation. There’s no guarantee that your access will be granted once you pay for a ransom, so it’s important to reduce the risk of ransomware as much as possible. Follow the tips above to prevent this malware from creating problems within your organization.
If you want to learn more on how to prevent ransomware, you can send us a message here at CT Link. As an information technology solutions provider, we can help you find the right software that will match your requirements. We only partner with the best companies such as Trend Micro and Datto. We can also provide backup as a service, zero trust service, and email security service.

Tips on preventing business email compromise attacks

What are some tips on preventing business email compromise attacks?

1. Know the common BEC attack scenarios
2. Enable multi-factor authentication for email accounts
3. Be aware of email address changes
4. Clarify suspicious requests
5. Detect malicious email with the right software
6. Avail of email security as a service

Business email compromise (BEC) is a type of cybercrime where an attacker hacks, spoofs, or impersonates a business email address to trick receivers that they’re receiving an email from a trusted source. BEC attacks are dangerous because they often lead to data theft and financial loss. Keep on reading to learn some tips on preventing business email compromise attacks.

Know The Common BEC Attack Scenarios

BEC attackers rely on social engineering techniques to trick their victims. Because of this, training can greatly help your employees. Proper training helps them become aware of the common attack scenarios, so they could take action immediately when it happens. Here are some examples to look out for:

• Impersonation. BEC attackers will often impersonate a vendor, an executive of a company, or other authorized persons. You might notice that the domain name and email message seem legitimate because an attacker might have hacked their email account. But fund transfers are usually requested to be sent to the cybercriminal’s accounts.
• Sense of urgency. Criminals posing to be executives or other authorized persons will create a false sense of urgency in their email messages, convincing unsuspecting individuals to provide fund transfers. This typically includes the demand for secrecy or a request to bypass security procedures.

Enable Multi-Factor Authentication For Email Accounts

To prevent email accounts from being easily hacked and taken over by criminals and used for BEC attacks, it’s vital to secure them in the first place. By enabling multi-factor authentication for email accounts, you can significantly reduce the chances of accounts being compromised.

Multi-factor authentication is a method of authenticating users by requiring them to provide two or more verification factors before they can access their account. Because other factors are needed in addition to a password, criminals will find it more difficult to infiltrate an account. Below are some examples of additional authentication factors:

• Things you know (answer to a personal security question)
• Things you have (a one-time password sent via text)
• Things you are (fingerprint)

Be Aware Of Email Address Changes

BEC attacks can also happen through email spoofing. In a spoofing attack, the sender of the email can fake their display name and sender address to make the correspondence look like it came from a trusted person or company.

Another tactic is to create lookalike domains by using characters that can easily be confused. For example, @company.com and @cornpany.com will look similar at first glance. This will fool users which are too busy to pay attention. 

Because of these tactics, your employees need to be extra aware of email addresses. 

Clarify Suspicious Requests

Because BEC attacks can happen due to hacked accounts, it’s a good practice to also be skeptical when reading email messages. Think twice about granting a request for fund transfers or requests asking for sensitive details. 

For example, scammers sending emails from accounts of executives have a psychological advantage over the victims, which are often employees from the same company. When your employees receive these kinds of emails, it’s important to instruct them to think twice about whether it’s typical behavior for a CEO to send this kind of request. 

Employees should always request clarification for suspicious requests through other channels before authorizing transactions. One method is to pick up the phone and call to confirm first.

Detect Malicious Email With The Right Software

People can make mistakes, so it’s also crucial to add another layer of security by having the right software in place. Look for something that can specifically protect your organization from business email compromise like Trend Micro Email Security.

Trend Micro Email Security combines machine learning and expert rules to examine header and email content. It will analyze the behavior, intention, and authorship of the sender to protect you from BEC attacks. Aside from that, it can also prevent phishing and spam attacks.

Avail Of Email Security As A Service

Email is an important communication tool for your business, so it’s only right for you to invest in email security. With attackers targeting emails to steal confidential information and money, it’s now normal practice for companies to ensure proper protection from criminals.

But there are multiple steps that you must take to protect your email accounts. To make email security implementation easier, it’s beneficial to avail of email security as a service. 

From proposing a security architecture design to testing security policies, performing spoof attacks, using an updated threat database, and monitoring — CT Link will help you find the security solution built for your organization.

Key Takeaway

Email is a common attack vector that cybercriminals use to get what they want. It’s where BEC attacks, phishing, and other social engineering attacks occur. That’s why it’s important to invest in employee training, multi-factor authentication, and the right software to detect and block these attacks!

If you need more tips on preventing business email compromise attacks, you can send us a message here at CT Link! We can help you secure your email accounts, so you can ease your worries and focus on your actual work. For questions and inquiries, you can click here.