Hackers Want $2.5 Million Ransom for Texas Ransomware Attacks

The threat actor behind the coordinated ransomware attack against multiple Texas local governments may have gained access to its computer systems via a third-party software provider.  According to NPR, which first reported the development, the attackers want a collective ransom of $2.5 million. So far, there are no indications the amount has been paid.

TheNextWeb.com click the link to read the rest of the story. Our FREE Tools can help!

What would you do, if hit by an attack?Join the conversation on our Facebook Page!

How to Form New Habits That Matter

Nobody is fundamentally excellent or mediocre. Where you are in your life is a result of your habits. The historian and philosopher Will Durant said it best: “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”  That’s also true for the opposite of excellence. Mediocrity is a result of mediocre habits. The good news is that we can go from mediocrity to excellence — by changing our habits. But how do you do that? …

Medium.com click the link to read the rest of the story. Our FREE Tools can help!

What habit changed you life?Join the conversation on our Facebook Page!

Symantec fails to keep up with new industry standards

It seems that six months is not enough for Symantec to get its ducks in a row, as its anti-virus software is unable to handle new security industry standards (SHA-2 signatures), and led to Microsoft withholding updates from certain devices.  In an update note for Windows 7 and Server 2008 R2, Microsoft said that when a device runs any Symantec or Norton antivirus program, and attempts to install an update signed only with SHA-2, the antivirus program blocks or deletes the update during installation, which could make the operating system stop working. …

ZDnet.com click the link to read the rest of the story. Our FREE Tools can help!

Are you still using Symantec or Norton? Why?

Join the conversation on our Facebook Page!

The Evolution of Russia’s Dark Web

Mention the dark web to security experts and their thoughts necessarily turn to its birthplace—Russia. From simple hack-sharing site origins, Russia’s cybercrime ecosystem has grown to rival that of its government.  Ahead of releasing a report on the topic, Charity Wright, formerly with the NSA, and Ariel Ainhoren, Research Team Leader at IntSights, graciously summarized this evolution for us here at the Black Hat conference. …

PCmag.com click the link to read the rest of the story. Our FREE Tools can help!

Have you explored the dark web?

Join the conversation on our Facebook Page!

Startup delivers 5G internet broadband for $49 a month

Common Networks is using 5G and mmWave technology to deliver a low cost alternative to fiber broadband. Super high speed broadband doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg. That’s the aim of Common Networks, a startup using 5G to offer wireless broadband to homes in the San Francisco Bay Area.  The company launched its service three years ago and is offering a new tier of service starting Wednesday that delivers 300 megabit per second downloads for just $49 a month. …

Cnet.com click the link to read the rest of the story. Our FREE Tools can help!

Are you looking for lower cost broadband service?

Join the conversation on our Facebook Page!

Ransomware Attack Hits 20+ Local Governments In Texas

The number of local government entities in Texas affected by a ransomware attack is now up to 23. In a release Saturday afternoon, the Texas Department of Information Resources said the local governments reported the attacks Friday morning. The majority of them are smaller local governments. …The DIR said it is continuing to investigate the origin of the attack, but at the moment believes it came from a “single threat actor.”

Kut.org click the link to read the rest of the story. Our FREE Tools can help!

How safe is your local government?Join the conversation on our Facebook Page!

How To Hack Your Brain Into Remembering Everything

Before getting into how to hack your brain into remember information there are a couple of things we have to understand when we talk about our brain.  Neurons combine so that each one helps with many memories at a time, exponentially increasing the brain’s memory storage capacity to something closer to around 2.5 petabytes (or a million gigabytes). For comparison, if your brain worked like a digital video recorder in a television, 2.5 petabytes would be enough to hold three million hours of TV shows. … 

Medium.com click the link to read the rest of the story. Our FREE Tools can help!

Have you tried brain hacking?Join the conversation on our Facebook Page!

The impact of AI in business

AI is changing the way we do business.  AI can be either a supporting tool or a replacement tool for jobs, tasks and even entire industries. It will all depend on how you prepare your company for the future. Here are the five areas you can implement now. …

Medium.com click the link to read the rest of the story. Our FREE Tools can help!

How is AI impacting your business?Join the conversation on our Facebook Page!

 

New cryptojacking malware uses a sneaky trick to remain hidden

A newly-discovered form of cryptocurrency- mining malware is capable of remaining so well-hidden that researchers investigating it found that it had spread to almost every computer at a company that had become infected. … The Monero-cryptomining campaign was uncovered after Varonis’ security platform spotted suspicious network alerts and abnormal file activity on systems within organisations that had reported unstable applications and network slowdown. …

ZDnet.com click the link to read the rest of the story. Our FREE Tools can help!

Are you confident your computers are viruses free?

Join the conversation on our Facebook Page!

Want to Be Super Successful? Science Says Do Any 1 of These 10 Things

We all have the same amount of time. That’s why people who are more productive — and successful — use their time more effectively. … Chris Winfield is a great resource for entrepreneurs.  Chris is an entrepreneur and writer, and if you like this post (and the next two in the series), he’s created a special bonus area with a worksheet and 40 powerful morning habits you can adopt.

Inc.com click the link to read the rest of the story. Our FREE Tools can help!

Will you use any of these tips?

Join the conversation on our Facebook Page!

Top Windows Defender expert: These are the threats security hasn’t yet solved

More danger lurks around the corner as advanced techniques used by state-backed hackers, for example, to steal information, filter down to financially motivated attackers. This threat applies to the continuing growth of file-less malware, supply-chain attacks, and phishing. “We’re seeing the trend of advanced techniques being used to deliver commodity malware. Once the advanced technique becomes public knowledge…

ZDnet.com click the link to read the rest of the story. Our FREE Tools can help!

Are you confident your computers are viruses free?

Join the conversation on our Facebook Page!

Warshipping: new hack tools shipped to your business

Researchers have described a new technique which could be used by cyber attackers to infiltrate corporate setups — with a little help from your friendly neighborhood delivery workers. … Dubbed warshipping, the technique is the result of the researchers’ investigation into possible infiltration methods through package deliveries to the office mail-room — or an individual victim’s front door. …

ZDnet.com click the link to read the rest of the story. Our FREE Tools can help!

Have you found odd electronics in packages to your office?

Join the conversation on our Facebook Page!

These Seven To-Do List Mistakes Could Be Derailing Your Productivity

Before you write your next to-do list, make sure you aren’t making these seven common mistakes:

1. Writing the List in the Morning… Instead, create your list the night before.

Fastcompany.com click the link to read the rest of the story. Our FREE Tools can help!

What is the biggest change you have made in your to-do lists?

Join the conversation on our Facebook Page!

Microsoft alert: Hackers using IoT to breach business networks

One of Russia’s elite state-sponsored hacking groups is going after IoT devices as a way to breach corporate networks, from where they pivot to other more high-value targets.  Attacks have been observed in the wild said the Microsoft Threat Intelligence Center…

ZDnet.com click the link to read the rest of the story. Our FREE Tools can help!

Have you secured all your IoT devices?

Join the conversation on our Facebook Page!

Regulation is Coming to YouTube, and It’s Going to be Ugly

YouTube, which has battled repeated negative headlines in the last two years, published new terms of service for its users in the European Union and Switzerland last month. Hardly anyone noticed.  The rules beef up the power of the video sharing platform to remove access to users who cause harm to the reputation of the service, or harm its users. … Today, the new rules came into force across 29 countries — and at a stroke YouTube became fractured.  Users who access the platform from different corners of the world — the site has around 100 localized versions worldwide, covering 95% of the internet’s users, except China, where the ruling Communist party’s censorship was seen as too difficult to comply with — all see different versions of the site already.

Medium.com click the link to read the rest of the story. Our FREE Tools can help!

Should YouTube be regulated?Join the conversation on our Facebook Page!

How businesses can reduce the financial impact of data breaches

The financial impact of a data breach can devastate companies of all sizes but especially small and mid-sized businesses. The study found that organizations with fewer than 500 employees were hit by losses of more than $2.5 million on average… But there are actions that organizations can take to lessen the financial impact, as outlined in the report. …

TechRepublic.com click the link to read the rest of the story. Our FREE Tools can help!

How many of their recommendations have you implemented?

Join the conversation on our Facebook Page!

Capital One’s breach was inevitable

Another day, another massive data breach.  This time it’s the financial giant and credit card issuer Capital One, which revealed on Monday a credit file breach affecting 100 million Americans and 6 million Canadians. Consumers and small businesses affected are those who obtained one of the company’s credit cards dating back to 2005.  That includes names, addresses, phone numbers, dates of birth, self-reported income and more credit card application data — including over 140,000 Social Security numbers in the U.S., and more than a million in Canada.

TechCrunch.com click the link to read the rest of the story. Our FREE Tools can help!

Should government do more?

Join the conversation on our Facebook Page!

The Power of Stilling the Mind – why leaders do it

I have also practiced this discipline for twenty-two days in a row. Honestly, this has been one of the most transformational things I have ever done. …  Here are three of my own reasons for practicing the discipline of stillness:  I want to maintain perspective. If I don’t make time to be still, then I find myself in reactive mode—influenced by hundreds of little voices with big demands. I want to stay connected to my true self. I don’t want to get confused, thinking that I am the image I present to the world. They are related, of course, but I want to live from the inside out. I want more internal margin in my life. While I have been pursing external margin in my calendar and finances, I also want internal margin—more room to notice what matters most and be thankful for it. … How to Practice Stillness…

MichaelHyatt.com click the link to read the rest of the story. Our FREE Tools can help!

Do you practice stillness?

Join the conversation on our Facebook Page!

66% of SMBs don’t believe they are vulnerable to cyberattacks

The majority (66%) of business leaders at small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) don’t believe they will fall victim to a cyberattack… While SMBs don’t think they are at risk, a previous study conducted by the Ponemon Institute for Keeper found otherwise: 67% of SMBs experienced cyberattacks within the past year. … The report found a major gap between the awareness and reality of cyberattacks in SMBs. Only 12% of respondents said they realize how likely an attack is on any size company.

TechRepublic.com click the link to read the rest of the story. Our FREE Tools can help!

Can you business survive the cost of a data breach?

Join the conversation on our Facebook Page!

Capital One Data Theft – What it means for you

Federal prosecutors this week charged a Seattle woman with stealing data from more than 100 million credit applications made with Capital One Financial Corp. Incredibly, much of this breach played out publicly over several months on social media and other open online platforms.  … That data included approximately 140,000 Social Security numbers and approximately 80,000 bank account numbers on U.S. consumers…

Krebsonsecurity.com click the link to read the rest of the story. Our FREE Tools can help!

What do you do to protect yourself?

Join the conversation on our Facebook Page!

This new Android ransomware infects you through SMS messages

A new family of ransomware designed to attack Google’s Android mobile operating system utilizes SMS messaging to spread, researchers say.   On Monday, cybersecurity professionals from ESET revealed their investigation into the new malware, dubbed Android/Filecoder.C, that earmarks the end of a two-year decline in new Android malware detections.

ZDnet.com click the link to read the rest of the story. Our FREE Tools can help!

Have you seen these SMS messages?

Join the conversation on our Facebook Page!

Should the U.S. Government Fight Back When Businesses Are Cyberattacked?

Keith Alexander of the venture-backed cybersecurity start-up IronNet is unequivocal in his belief that private companies protecting themselves from nation-state threats is not working. “I flipped through this before you arrived,” he told us, dropping a pocket copy of the Constitution on the table. “It still says that the purpose of the Union is to provide for the common defense. There is no parenthetical that says ‘except in cyberspace.’” …

Medium.com click the link to read the rest of the story. Our FREE Tools can help!

What should the government do?Join the conversation on our Facebook Page!

Is Gmail’s new Confidential Mode the Snapchat-ification of Email?

Google announced that on June 25, 2019, Gmail’s new Confidential Mode will be switched on by default as the feature becomes generally available for both G-Suite and personal users.  For email recipients, it means that an email can be set to effectively self destruct after it’s been opened and read. No copying, forwarding or downloading either; email just vanishes as if it had never been. …

Medium.com click the link to read the rest of the story. Our FREE Tools can help!

Have you tried the feature yet?Join the conversation on our Facebook Page!

Ransomware: Why cities are now big targets for cyberattacks – and why it’ll get worse

In an emergency meeting of the city council, the administration of Lake City, a small Florida city with a population of 65,000, voted to pay a ransom demand... The decision to pay the ransom demand was made after the city suffered a catastrophic malware infection earlier this month… Despite the city’s IT staff disconnecting impacted systems within ten minutes of detecting the attack, a ransomware strain infected almost all its computer systems…  the unfortunate truth is that some organizations still won’t heed the lessons of the recent spate of attacks

ZDnet.com click the link to read the rest of the story. Our FREE Tools can help!

Do you agree with their decision to pay the ransom?

Join the conversation on our Facebook Page!

5 Reasons Why You Should Commit Your Goals to Writing

The research is conclusive. Dr. Gail Matthews, a psychology professor at Dominican University in California, did a study on goal setting with 267 participants. She found that you are 42 percent more likely to achieve your goals just by writing them down.  I have found this to be true in my own experience. Here are just a few goals I have written down over the last three decades: …

MichaelHyatt.com click the link to read the rest of the story. Our FREE Tools can help!

Have you made writing your goals down a habit? 

Join the conversation on our Facebook Page!

The New Ways Your Boss Is Spying on You

It’s not just email. Employers are mining the data their workers generate to figure out what they’re up to, and with whom. There’s almost nothing you can do about it. …

HOW TO KEEP YOUR PRIVATE LIFE MOSTLY PRIVATE

Maintain separate devices: Only use your employer-issued phone and laptop for work and keep a separate phone and computer for personal use.

Avoid linking your personal devices to corporate Wi-Fi networks: “Companies routinely log network activity to protect business interests, and most policies make clear there is no expectation of privacy of company equipment,” …

Be careful what you share on your resume: Recommends using a Google Voice or internet-based calling phone number rather than your cellphone number, and a commercial mail receiving address like a UPS store.

Use a USB data-blocker: These devices look like thumb drives and sit between a smartphone and a charging cord or dock. They protect smartphone data from being transferred to public charging stations, rental cars or company-owned computers.

Avoid leaking information: Don’t publish information about your personal life on public social media accounts like Facebook and Twitter profiles, which can be mined for potentially damaging information by your employer or a company where you have applied for a job.

WSJ.com click the link to read the rest of the story. Our FREE Tools can help!

Are you using these methods in your business?

Join the conversation on our Facebook Page!

Here’s how you can still get a free Windows 10 upgrade

Microsoft’s much-hyped free upgrade offer for Windows 10 ended in 2016, right? Not exactly. … In this post, I’ll cover the basics of a Windows 10 upgrade. I’ll also talk about the licensing issues involved, which are (as always) confusing. …

ZDnet.com click the link to read the rest of the story. Our FREE Tools can help!

Are you still waiting to upgrade?  What is your biggest concern?

Join the conversation on our Facebook Page!

Microsoft Warned 10,000 Users Targeted By State-Sponsored Hackers

Microsoft is warning customers that they are being targeted by state-sponsored hackers. Over the last year, the software giant said it had notified 10,000 users that they had been targeted by adversaries working for foreign governments. Some people had also been compromised as a result of these attempts…

Forbes.com click the link to read the rest of the story. Our FREE Tools can help!

Has your business been targeted by foreign governments?  Are you sure?

Join the conversation on our Facebook Page!

Strange new phishing attack uses a surprise bill to trick you

Banks and financial institutions around the world are being targeted by a new email phishing campaign which uses an unusual technique as part of its attacks.  The phishing emails come with server-parsed HTML (SHTML) file attachments that are typically used by web servers. If users open the attachments, they’re immediately redirected to a malicious site requesting sensitive information, which if entered, falls directly into the hands of cyber-criminals …

ZDnet.com click the link to read the rest of the story. Our FREE Tools can help!

Does you company test employee phishing id skills?

Join the conversation on our Facebook Page!