And now for a public service announcement… August 25, 2021 T-Mobile recently confirmed that a threat actor stole the full names and driver’s license information for 40 million people last week. While AT&T is currently denying it, another Threat Actor claims to have stolen the names, phone numbers, physical addresses, email addresses, and Social Security numbers for 70 million of their customers. Ransomware makes… Read more Darkside: Why is this time different from last time? May 19, 2021 During the Jewish holiday of Passover, it’s traditional for the youngest child to ask the four questions, seeking to understand the symbolism behind the story of the exodus from Egypt. “Ma Nishtana” they ask in Hebrew. Why is this night different from all other nights? That phrase popped into my head as the Colonial… Read more Beware The No Name Hacker April 7, 2021 Kevin Mitnick, Adrian Lamo, Albert Gonzalez, Mathew Bevan, and Richard Pryce. Are these guys household names in your household? These five (and dozens of others), are among the most notorious hackers on the planet, people who spark fear into the hearts and minds of the most sophisticated technology organizations on the planet. These online villains… Read more Is it Time to Rid Healthcare of Email? March 26, 2021 I know, I might be accused of heresy for even bringing it up. But the statistics are so alarming these days, it’s a discussion that needs to be held at the very highest level of every healthcare organization in America. For security’s sake, isn’t it time to get rid of email? There, I’ve said… Read more Burning Down the House March 11, 2021 After a week of dealing with attacks on Microsoft Exchange servers, I got in my car, turned on the radio, and heard that classic song by the Talking Heads. David Byrne says he wasn’t really singing about a house on fire but instead, about breaking free from whatever was holding you back. And I thought…… Read more Don’t Just Phish February 17, 2021 Recently, a fellow CISO asked a group of us if we “punished employees who consistently failed to recognize phishing emails.” This created a great discussion with most folks agreeing that punishment rarely works and often has negative effects (including potential for legal action). After all, hackers take advantage of people’s willingness to be helpful or… Read more Protect Yourself by Protecting Your Smartphone February 3, 2021 Talk to any Chief Information Security Officer and they’ll tell you that the weakest link in their organization is always the individual. Take smartphones for example. They’re designed with security in mind but that protection is compromised each and every day. 70 million smartphones are lost each year, with only 7 percent recovered Users are… Read more Be Cautious Using Google Search January 19, 2021 The “bad guys” constantly look for ways to trick users into giving up information or download malicious software that will steal information. One of the easiest ways for them to do this is to get you to click on links that show up using a search engine. Given the popularity of Google search, bad actors… Read more Vishing, Smishing, and Phishing. It’s more than Alphabet Soup! January 6, 2021 I’ve talked a number of times about Phishing and we’ve talked about Smishing. Today, I want to touch on the subject of Vishing. Vishing is Phishing using voice. This isn’t new. You’ve all either received or know of folks who’ve received, phone calls from folks pretending to be from “Microsoft Support” or “Visa”. You may… Read more ‘Tis the Season…for Threat Actors to stuff their stockings with your money, or your data. December 16, 2020 Phishing, scams increase significantly over the holidays. This year, there is even a greater risk from these scams because folks are doing even more online now, due to Covid-19, than any other holiday season. While a large number of these scams are related to online shopping, free gift cards, credit card offers, and even shipping… Read more SMiShing December 2, 2020 No, this isn’t a typo. SMiShing is the SMS version of phishing scams but instead of a bad email, you get a bad text message on your smartphone. While smishing has been around for years, its use has increased significantly since March, all thanks to the Coronavirus. According to the FTC, 52,500 Americans have filed… Read more Qbot: Using the Election as Bait November 10, 2020 Yes, we are talking about Phishing… again! The complex methods used by Threat Actors today makes me long for the days when malicious emails were comprised of either very poor English, or someone telling me that I was being gifted $1,000,000 by some person I never heard of in some far away country! The current… Read more Multifactor Authentication: What I Know + What I Have October 28, 2020 Multifactor authentication (MFA) or Two-Factor authentication (2FA) works on the principle of “something you know” plus “something you have (or are).” “Something you know” is your username and password. “Something you have” can be a smartphone, USB security key, your fingerprint or face, or other physical object in your possession that can be used to… Read more EMOTET: This Trick is No Treat October 14, 2020 October is Cybersecurity month, so there’s no better time to talk about the scary reality of constant hacker attacks and threat actor tricks. While one should always be vigilant, every day, every email, this month you need to be especially diligent. The cybercommunity has seen a significant increase in the last few weeks of the… Read more Contact Info Mail info@vertitechIT.com Phone 855-638-9879 Address 4 Open Square Way Suite 421 Holyoke, Massachusetts 01040 Recent posts Can You Count to TEM? August 23, 2021 HIMSS21: Headlines from a Largely Empty Room August 19, 2021 Stamp Your Vaccine Passport on Blockchain August 11, 2021 Learn More First Name* Last Name * Email Address * Tell Me More About * --- COVID-19 Digital Transformation The INFRAM PACSquad TransformIT Other Privacy Policy | © 2021 VertitechIT All Rights Reserved. | Terms of Service We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsAccept