Mistakes might lead to humility in some people, but they can also lead to agony in others. The key to success is meticulous attention to detail, but if you wander, pray the monsters don't show up. Welcome to the world of an IT professional for a managed service provider. On the surface, they appear to be masters of their realm, calm, cool and collected. However, a single blunder made by just one client employee could allow cyber monsters to take over the customer's infrastructure.
MSP technicians go above and beyond, from delivering services using a jumble of business continuity and disaster recovery (BCDR) suppliers to costly security training sessions and bolstering client security posture. They still fall short, however, because it is difficult for them to control the weakest part of any client's security infrastructure and the principal source of data loss - the employees, or the client's human firewall. This raises the question of what needs to be done to protect client IT infrastructure from human error as well as server monsters lurking in the shadows, waiting for the perfect chance to attack.
The Ransombear
The Ransombear appears nice and harmless at first glance. This impostor, on the other hand, can explode a payload that cripples systems, steals data, and kills client business with a single click. Cyberattacks have become far more common, with phishing attacks being one of the most common methods of delivery. In fact, phishing is responsible for 65 percent of ransomware infestations. In addition to phishing, fraudsters perceive potential in hiding ransomware-causing software within a client's IT network for lengthy periods of time in order to harvest large amounts of sensitive data, resulting in an increase in advanced persistent threats (APT).
APT is a type of cyberattack in which a hacker acquires and retains unauthorized access while remaining undetected for a long time. Between infection and repair, attackers monitor, intercept and pass on sensitive data. The average time it takes to detect a breach is nearly seven months (207 days). To escape discovery, attackers are inventing new techniques to hide malware within client networks.
Here are some places malware loves to lurk:
Windows Registry - Malware modifies Windows Registry keys to establish long-term residence within a network and further deploys more malware each time the OS is launched.
Temporary Folders - The loose security makes it a sweet landing page for ransomware after it enters the system.
.lnk Files - Both malware and ransomware can gain a foothold within a system after propped-up .lnk files that may resemble an existing shortcut are downloaded.
The ATO Spider
To get access to user credentials, the Account Takeover (ATO) Spider weaves a web of deception. Before entrapping data over client networks, this eight-legged beast of the dark web baits people into readily giving away their logins and passwords. Phishing has gained in popularity, and it is currently being used to obtain account passwords. Account Takeover (ATO) attacks have risen by at least 300 percent in the previous two years, owing to the enormous rise in new remote employees operating from home networks, frequently without the protection of company firewalls and other security safeguards.
Cybercriminals steal or acquire credentials after third-party breaches, then use them to get simple access to corporate networks to steal IPs, perpetrate business email compromises, gain access to financial accounts, and perform other sorts of cyber fraud. Every month, at least one compromised account threat affects 80 percent of all firms. Technicians are well aware that compromised accounts are a security vulnerability that can jeopardize a client's reputation and revenue.
Purge all Closet Monsters with RCS
RCS Professional Services is your one-stop solution for slaying the cyber monsters that hide in your client's server and steal the peace of mind of your technicians. With ransomware detection, self-healing backups, and more, protect client data across physical data centers, virtual environments, cloud-native workloads, and SaaS apps.
Be Proactive with Ransomware Detection
To safeguard client data, RCS uses a multi-pronged approach that includes endpoint, network, server, and backup level detection. RCS's predictive analytics engines look at backup data to see if ransomware is active on a client-server, workstation, or desktop. This includes sleeper ransomware, which is undetected by clients and workers until a ransom demand occurs. It's easier to locate the source of the attack when ransomware circumstances are proactively recognized. If an infection is confirmed, professionals can quickly restore systems to the last certified recovery point using backups validated at the application services level.
Test to Guarantee Fast Recovery
To assist our clients in achieving cyber resilience, RCS tests recovery processes on a regular basis to ensure they are ready for a real incident. RCS performs automated testing to aid in the evaluation of client backup viability, including trial recoveries up to the point of activating a backup application. This guarantees that client backups are functioning properly and that ransomware prevention is functional. Clients can rest assured that they will accomplish their recovery point objectives (RPOs) and recovery time objectives (RTOs).
You may rest assured that client data will be safe from the monsters hiding in their servers if you have RCS Professional Services on your side.
For more information on optimizing your IT and securing your network, contact RCS Professional Services to speak with an IT professional or visit our website www.rcsprofessional.com.
https://www.idagent.com/blog/whats-behind-the-huge-rise-in-healthcare-data-breaches/
https://www.mcafee.com/enterprise/en-us/security-awareness/ransomware/what-is-stuxnet.html
https://heimdalsecurity.com/blog/account-takeover-fraud/
https://spanning.com/resources/whitepapers/global-data-protection-survey-report-2016/
