Quick Intelligence Blog

Compliance means: to conform by fulfilling requirements. In cybersecurity, compliance refers to fulfilling specific cybersecurity requirements, outlined by a governing body. In other words, government organizations, committees, and regulatory boards develop requirements (together called standards) outlining a baseline of cybersecurity protocols. For example, a requirement might be that organizations MUST have password restrictions in place, such as length, repetitiveness, and level of difficulty.

Many organizations feel that being prepared for a ransomware attack is futile. This couldn’t be further from the truth as told by BleepingComputer. Their article about the REvil ransomware attack on Kaseya VSA customers mentioned that many victims refused to pay the ransom. The reason: Backups!

The growth of ransomware continues, leaving many cybersecurity experts to wonder if there will ever be an end? The numbers for 2021 do not paint a good picture. Sophos says the average ransomware payment has increased to $812,260 compared with the 2020 average of $170,000. Worse still, the number of ransoms over $1 million has risen to 11% up from 4% in 2020.

One of the biggest stories in cybersecurity has been the big increase in ransomware attacks. Even though ransomware is not a new threat, it seems that attacks are happening more frequently. Barracuda researchers reported that they’ve identified and analyzed 121 ransomware incidents so far in 2021, which is a 64% increase in attacks. The ransom demands are also getting bigger, with Palo Alto Networks’ Unit 42 finding the average ransomware payment had risen to $925,162.00 during the first 5 months of 2022. That is up 71% from 2021.

Cybersecurity experts often rave about zero trust security. If you haven’t heard, zero trust is a principle that assumes every user, device, and service connecting to a network is hostile until proven otherwise. Zero trust aims to protect data wherever it may reside while allowing only authorized users and entities to access relevant resources and assets.

Congratulations on your move to the cloud! The cloud has many strategic advantages for businesses. The cloud model became so important during the COVID-19 pandemic as employees needed to be able to work remotely. Those reasons are part of what makes the cloud so appealing, however, the cloud has also introduced a host of new cybersecurity threats and challenges.

Has this ever happened to you? Company X gets breached and you receive an email telling you that your password has been stolen and you need to change your password. If you’re wondering how much time you have to reset your password before your account is compromised, the answer, according to cybersecurity researchers at Agari, is not very long.

Businesses tend to think about insuring against typical things like theft, floods, and fire. Has your business ever considered insuring its data against theft? How about insuring your business against cyber attacks?

If you think your business is too small to be of interest to a cybercriminal, think again.  While big companies make the headlines for their data breaches, small companies are also an ideal target for hackers.  "Small businesses can be a really sweet spot for cybercriminals. They have more money to steal than a consumer and less security in place than a large business," said Kevin Haley, director of security response at Symantec. 

There is no doubt that ransomware continues to still be considered a big threat to businesses. The UK's National Crime Agency (NCA) warns in this report that the overall threat from cybercrime has increased during the past year, with more severe and high-profile attacks against victims. Particularly concerning for the NCA is the growth of ransomware "causing harm to our citizens and communities on a significant scale."

Is there such as thing as “just enough” cybersecurity? This is a question businesses have to ask themselves. Most organizations know that they need cyber security, but they don’t know how much security they need, they don’t know what to secure, or how to do it.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, we were warned about the cyber risks associated with a remote workforce. There is also a risk upon a return to the office.

If you own a small business, you may think that cybercriminals would not be interested in stealing your data. The reality is, that SMBs are targeted specifically by cybercriminals because they know SMBs are the easiest, most vulnerable targets to attack.

You may think your business doesn’t hold the same type of sensitive information as a large business, however, cybercriminals are betting that your SMB doesn’t have the same safeguards in place as large corporations. Cybercriminals consider SMBs as “low-hanging fruit” because they often lack the technical resources and expertise to maintain strong security defences.