Data Security 3 April 2020

DATA SECURITY   Here are some suggestions and free trials to keep your data safe whilst working from home. FIREWALL AND VPN We can provide you with a free review of your Firewall and Virtual Private Network (VPN) requirements. VPN is used to allow staff to work from home whilst accessing PCs and other network resources at the office.   FREE ACRONIS CLOUD BACKUP Customer new to Acronis can have free Cloud backup until end of July 2020 at which time they can either continue with the service at current rate or cancel the service.   FREE CLOUD SERVER Any new Entry level or Standard level Cloud Server and VPN will be offered free of charge until 26th July 2020. With no commitments or contracts following this date and the Cloud Server can be removed at any time.   BITDEFENDER Block cyber-attacks better than any other security solution with Bitdefender GravityZone. Protect against ransomware, viruses and malware to prevent computer slowdowns and manage them easily within the GravityZone portal. Assign policies and adapt them to location, customise filters to block sensitive information and distribute updates directly inside the network. An industry-leading, trusted solution that gives peace of mind. Offered free for customers new to Bitdefender until 26 July 2020.   MICROSOFT TEAMS FREE TRIAL To show their support during this pandemic, Microsoft is offering its paid version of Microsoft Teams for six months, for free. Quickly and easily share documents, conduct team video calls and more, free of charge.   TREND MICRO INTERNET SECURITY FREE LICENCES Free 60 day temporary licenses of Worry-Free Services. With many customers now forced to work from home, you may find that they are using unsecured machines and networks. Trend would like to offer additional licenses of Worry-Free Services FOR FREE for 60 days with the option to extend if necessary, so you can continue to maintain and manage a secure customer base.  Free 6 month licenses of Trend Micro™ Maximum Security. If you have staff currently working from home using their personal computers, Trend would like to provide your employees with 6 months free access to their consumer internet security product, Trend Micro Maximum Security. Sign up to receive a product download URL that you can share with your employees.         TREND MICRO PHISH INSIGHT Free access to campaigns to simulate phish attacks in the organisation. No software to install Phish Insight is a SaaS-based phishing awareness tool. With Phish Insight, there is no need for special software. You can access Phish Insight via a standard web browser. COVID-19 Phishing email simulations. Cybercriminals like to take advantage of items in the news to exploit fear and bad actors have been deploying different waves of COVID-19 phishing emails. Train your employees to stay secure during these very difficult times. Cybersecurity training for employees working from home. The huge shift to working from home practices means that many companies may have employees who are unable to secure family devices and networks as well as keeping sensitive information secure at home.   CAMERA SYSTEMS Physical security is important. You may need cameras to cover unoccupied offices or for personnel and lone worker safety. Modern camera systems allow remote monitoring and recording. You may also require door entry camera to see who is calling and answer without having to open the door to strangers. Some of the systems are suitable for self-installation, others require engineer installation which we can arrange.    For information on any of the above, please do not hesitate to contact us.   Enjoy the weekend and keep safe.   Peter Savic Peter Savic Plum Communications Limited For service please contact us by email service@plumcom.co.uk or telephone 01616223500.

[+/-] Show Full Post...

[+/-]Hide Full Post...

NHS across UK hit by Ransomware attacks

After a weekend when NHS devices across the UK were put out of action by ransomware you will be concerned whether you have adequate protection for your own PCs and data.

Simple steps involve

1. Making sure that operating system and programs are up to date
2. Installing suitable anti virus software
3. Making secure backups of data

If you have procedures in place you may have more steps than this but if you do not have at least all three you should consider whether you have adequate protection. We are not suggesting that you only need the three steps shown, there are other measures that we can also help you with.

The cost of compromised PCs or lost data could be enormous in terms of time, customer loyalty and financial.

For more information on how to make those first steps, or if you have already made them and require more detailed support such as managed firewalls, encrypted backup, cloud storage and disaster recovery contact Plum Communications.

Always here to help.

[+/-] Show Full Post...

[+/-]Hide Full Post...

The worm that spreads WanaCrypt0r

Something that many security researchers have feared has indeed come true. Threat actors have integrated a critical exploit taking advantage of a popular communication protocol used by Windows systems, crippling thousands of computers worldwide with ransomware.
Within hours of being leveraged, a flaw that had been recently patched by Microsoft has been used to distribute the WanaCrypt0r ransomware and wreak havoc worldwide.
In this blog post, we will describe the worm responsible for spreading this ransomware by looking at its capabilities and what has made this threat so successful...

Read this blog in its original posting in the malwarebytes blog https://blog.malwarebytes.com/threat-analysis/2017/05/the-worm-that-spreads-wanacrypt0r/.

Malwarebytes is available from Plum Communications for minimal sum per device.

For a free evaluation or a review of your existing security contact Plum Communications 0161 622 3500.

[+/-] Show Full Post...

[+/-]Hide Full Post...

Britain’s cyber security bolstered by world-class strategy

The UK will be one of the safest places in the world to do business, with a world-class cyber security industry and workforce thanks to a new plan underpinned by £1.9 billion of investment.

The Chancellor, Philip Hammond has today (1 November 2016) formally launched the government’s new National Cyber Security Strategy, which will set out decisive action to protect the UK economy and the privacy of British citizens, while encouraging industry to up its game to prevent damaging cyber-attacks.

Almost doubling the funding commitments of the first strategy which ran from 2011, the new plan outlines:

• how the UK will use automated defences to safeguard citizens and businesses against growing cyber threats
• support the UK’s growing cyber security industry
• develop a world-class cyber workforce
• deter cyber-attacks from criminals and hostile actors

Cyber security is recognised as one of the greatest threats to business around the world, with the global cost of crimes in cyberspace estimated at $445 billion, according to the World Economic Forum’s 2016 Global Risks Report.
Measures within the new National Cyber Security Strategy to keep the UK’s cyberspace safe are therefore crucial to the future of the UK’s economy.
Outlining how cyber security underpins our daily lives such as through domestic devices in our homes and cars, air traffic control and power grids, the Chancellor reinforced how the threat of attacks invade our privacy and threaten our national security and set out how the government plans to deal with it.
The approach on cyber is a core part of the upcoming Industrial Strategy.
He explained how increasingly vulnerable society is to cyber-attacks thanks to the expanding range of connected devices which are creating more opportunities for exploitation; more demand for training and skills; old legacy IT systems used by many organisations in the UK and the readily available suite of user-friendly hacking tools which means everyone from the living room to the boardroom is exposed to malicious hackers.
The Chancellor also emphasised the responsibility that CEO’s have to make sure their organisations are secure against cyber-attacks and the additional support government will give industry and wider society through the new National Cyber Security Centre.
The National Cyber Security Strategy:
Underpinned by £1.9 billion of investment for dedicated actions through three key areas:

Defend:

The strategy sets out how government will strengthen its own defences as well as making sure industry takes the right steps to protect Critical National Infrastructure in sectors like energy and transport. We will do this through working in partnership with industry - including companies such as the innovative SME Netcraft - to use automated defence techniques to reduce the impact of cyber-attacks by hackers, stopping viruses and spam emails ever reaching their intended victims for example.
The Chancellor pointed to the recent successes of government. Previously a website serving web-inject malware would stay active for over a month- now it is less than two days. UK-based phishing sites would remain active for a day- now it is less than an hour. And phishing sites impersonating government’s own departments would have stayed active for two days - now it is less than 5 hours. The Chancellor also pointed to the recent success of government in reducing the ability of attackers to spoof @gov.uk emails – extracting valuable information from duped receipts. Our recent work saw the spoofing of taxrefund@gov.uk go from 50,000 per day to effectively zero in the past 6 weeks.

Deter:

Significant investment will go towards taking the fight to those who threaten Britain in cyber-space and relentlessly pursuing anyone who persists in attacking us. This will be done in part through strengthening our law enforcement capabilities to raise the cost of cyber-crime, building international partnerships and being clear that the UK will defend itself in cyberspace and strike back against those that try to harm our country.
This year alone we are recruiting over 50 specialist cyber-crime investigators and technical specialists working within the National Cyber Crime Unit, enhancing their ability to provide a powerful and highly visible investigative response to the most serious incidents of cyber-crime: pursuing cyber criminals at a national and international level. This is part of tens of millions of pounds of investment in our cybercrime law enforcement capability, locally and nationally.

Develop:

The new plan places strong emphasis on developing the nation’s capabilities to keep pace with cyber threats. We will also increase investment in the next generation of students and experts.
The Chancellor also announced a new cyber security research institute - a virtual collection of UK universities which will look to improve the security of smart phones, tablets and laptops through research that could one day make passwords obsolete.
This builds on a range of cutting edge skills and education initiatives, including cyber apprentices, retraining schemes and an advanced cyber security teaching in schools, which are already being developed.
We are creating the UK’s first cyber security Innovation Centre in Cheltenham, will launch a Cyber Innovation Fund next year to develop innovate technologies and products and are funding training and support for cyber start-ups and academics to help them commercialise cutting edge research and attract investment from the private sector.
These actions will ensure that the UK continues to be the world leading digital nation, building on the successes of the previous strategy.

Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond said:

Britain is already an acknowledged global leader in cyber security thanks to our investment of over £860 million in the last Parliament, but we must now keep up with the scale and pace of the threats we face. Our new strategy, underpinned by £1.9 billion of support over 5 years and excellent partnerships with industry and academia, will allow us to take even greater steps to defend ourselves in cyberspace and to strike back when we are attacked.

Ben Gummer, Minister for the Cabinet Office & Paymaster General, said:

No longer the stuff of spy thrillers and action movies, cyber-attacks are a reality and they are happening now. Our adversaries are varied - organised criminal groups, ‘hactivists’, untrained teenagers and foreign states.
The first duty of the government is to keep the nation safe. Any modern state cannot remain secure and prosperous without securing itself in cyberspace. That is why we are taking the decisive action needed to protect our country, our economy and our citizens.

We can be proud that the UK leads the world in cyber security.

Cindy Rose, UK CEO, Microsoft, said:

The mobile-first, cloud-first world holds enormous potential for organisations and individuals to generate new and exciting growth opportunities.
However, there is a corresponding risk that as people increase their technology usage they also increase their exposure to cyber security threats. It is critical for all organisations to strengthen their core security hygiene as well as creating a pervasive security culture through education and awareness.

All participants in the security ecosystem also need to work together to ensure everyone can trust the technology they use. The Chancellor’s announcement is the kind of initiative that the UK needs to protect British citizens from the growing threats we face. We welcome the government’s focus on tackling this significant issue which affects business and individuals alike.

To read this article in its original posting follow this link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/britains-cyber-security-bolstered-by-world-class-strategy

[+/-] Show Full Post...

[+/-]Hide Full Post...

Londoners agree to give child away in return for free WiFi

The headline will have grabbed your attention. Pity the fine print was not as widely read by the unfortunate souls who signed the online agreement.

How often have you been asked to sign an online agreement before downloading content or subscribing to a service?

I suggest that you never sign anything until you have read it and understood it.

Fortunately there is a happy ending, this was not a genuine contract, but a survey to see if anyone would sign the contract and in any case our legal friends advise us that the contract could not be enforced under UK law.

You can read the whole story at the link below.

Sources
http://www.scmagazineuk.com/londoners-agree-to-give-child-away-in-return-for-free-wifi/article/374302/

[+/-] Show Full Post...

[+/-]Hide Full Post...

97% of all emails sent are spam

A Microsoft security report has found that 97% of all emails sent are spam emails, which cover a wide range of subjects and advertisements. The report also showed that Office document attachments and PDF files are increasingly being targeted by hackers. The worldwide ratio of infected machines is 8.6 to every 1,000 uninfected machines, with the UK average being 5.7 to every 1,000 uninfected machines. However, Microsoft is encouraging people not to worry about the high levels of spam, as “the majority of that never hits your inbox” (Cliff Evans, head of security and privacy for Microsoft in the UK).

This report has highlighted the need to keep anti-virus software, anti-spam software, operating systems, web browsers and applications up to date with the latest versions. If you do not have anti-virus software or require advice on how your computers could be protected from such viruses, do not hesitate to contact Plum.

[+/-] Show Full Post...

[+/-]Hide Full Post...

Manchester could become 1st city in the UK to have identity cards

During a visit to the city, Home Secretary Jacqui Smith has stated that Manchester could be one of the testing grounds for the government's ID cards scheme. The Home Secretary, who discussed the issue with business leaders in Manchester Town Hall and at Wythenshawe’ Newell Green High School, said that the cards, which would cost £30, aimed to be 'less bother' rather than 'Big Brother'. The Home Secretary’s visit featured in a news forecast on Channel M and can be viewed here. During her speech at Manchester Town Hall she spoke about the ID cards’ benefits, e.g. better security at airports, better immigration control, “easier” proof of identity and a "secure and trusted environment" for the public's personal data. The scheme will be tested out in several "beacon areas" later this year to ensure that the relevant systems are operating smoothly, with the aim of then making them available to young people nationwide from 2010 and then adults from 2012. A list of the benefits of ID cards can be viewed here and general information regarding the ID cards here on the Home Office website.

However, the Home Secretary’s proposal and actions have been scrutinised by others. Dave Page, Manchester co-ordinator of the NO2ID campaign, said: "Jacqui Smith is trying to reassure people that biometric data is secure when she herself had her fingerprints stolen”, this relating to an incident in November 2008. Sabina Frediani, campaigns co-ordinator for Liberty, criticised Ms Smith for discussing the issue while visiting a school, "Schools are places for education not indoctrination.". Others are concerned about the security of the ID cards due to recent mass losses of data, e.g. Child Benefit, HMRC.

[+/-] Show Full Post...

[+/-]Hide Full Post...