ThrottleNet

Managed IT services, support and cybersecurity

Coronavirus Pandemic a Prime Situation for Brand Phishing

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We are in unprecedented times as COVID-19 spreads across the globe. Students of all ages are forced to attend classes online from home. Office workers are now forced to work from home. Because people are now forced to stay home in this era of “Social Distancing,” there has been an uptick in finances as less money is being spent by families. People are also streaming their entertainment services more as well. These are prime situations for cybercriminals, in particular, brand phishers.

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What is brand phishing?

Brand phishing attacks are when a cybercriminal tries to imitate the official website of a well-known brand using a similar domain name or URL as well as using a site design that looks almost identical to the brand site they’re imitating. Cybercriminals use this technique to steal sensitive information from the people that they are targeting. This information could be credit card information, bank account information, personal details, etc. They will try and get this information through imitation by email, mobile, or fraud websites. Anyone and any business is susceptible to brand phishing, so everyone should be aware of brand phishing; but some people and business are more at risk than others.

Who is susceptible to brand phishing?

The top three types of websites that are susceptible to phishers are technology sites, banking sites, and other media sites. Sites that require you to enter personal information, credit card information, etc. are going to be the ones that are targeted by cyber criminals. Although these are the top three websites being targeted by the cyber criminals, nobody is immune from brand phishing.

What brands are known for being faked by phishers?

In Quarter 1 of 2020, Apple was the number one faked brand for phishing while Netflix was a close second. Both of those companies require credit card information to be put on the accounts of the users, which makes them prime candidates to be imitated by phishers. Other top companies that were faked in Q1 of 2020 were Yahoo, Paypal, Chase, and Amazon. Just like Apple and Netflix, each one of these websites has personal information, including credit card info. Of course not all emails and notifications from these brands are going to be from phishers; just look out for the emails or notifications that look suspicious. Again, it comes down to being aware of brand phishing as no brand or company will be immune to this.

During this unusual time, cyber criminals are licking their lips with the possibility of acquiring so much information from so many people due to the stay at home orders. There’s no way to prevent it from happening, but being cautious and being aware of brand phishing is the best defense against it. Be vigilant and be cautious when you are disclosing any type of personal information online.

Don’t become phish bait!

Looking for a secure work-from-home solution? Try EverFuel secure remote access from ThrottleNet. Just $9.95 per computer per month!

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Due to the current situation, employees find themselves working from home, and students are finding themselves attending class online. Zoom has become the go-to method of video and audio communication among employees, students, teachers, etc. because they are able to access Zoom on almost any device from anywhere, anytime. With Zoom comes a new trend, Zoom Bombing.

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What is Zoom Bombing?

Zoom Bombing occurs when uninvited guests, otherwise known as hijackers, guess the correct URL or meeting id for a public Zoom session, giving them access to the feed/meeting. These hijackers cause disruptions by releasing personal information or simply yelling profanities in the meeting. This new trend has people asking how to prevent zoom bombing from happening.

Here are ten ways to prevent Zoom bombing:

(As recommended by the Better Business Bureau)

1. REQUIRE A PASSWORD TO JOIN YOUR MEETING

One of the easiest ways to prevent Zoom bombing from happening to you is to require a password to join your meeting. Requiring a password provides extra security against hijackers because not only would they have to guess the correct URL/meeting id, but they would have to guess the correct password as well, which is unlikely to happen.

2. USE A UNIQUE ID FOR LARGE OR PUBLIC ZOOM CALLS

Whenever you create a Zoom meeting, you are required to either create an id for the meeting or generate a random id. Generating a random id will always give you the more unique and secure id, but creating your own id will work as well, as long you…

3. DON’T SHARE THE UNIQUE ID’s PUBLICLY

Another trend that has come with Zoom is taking a screenshot of your Zoom meeting and sharing it on a social media website. This makes your meeting EXTREMELY public and allows for hijackers to get in much easier. If the meeting is private, keep it private.

4. ONLY ALLOW HOSTS TO SHARE THEIR SCREEN

This is also a simple yet effective way to keep the hijackers out is to only allow the host(s) to share their screen. Giving anyone in a Zoom meeting the ability to take control of the screen is an easy way for guests, whether invited or uninvited, to share unwanted content.

5. CREATE A WAITING ROOM

A Zoom waiting room works just like any other waiting room. A waiting room stops guests from joining the meeting until the host(s) is ready for them to join. It’s a way to make sure that no uninvited guests are waiting to get into the meeting, kind of like a bouncer at a club.

6. CREATE AN INVITE-ONLY MEETING

An invite-only meeting is just like it sounds. Nobody can enter this meeting unless they have been invited by the host(s). Nobody likes it when an uninvited guest shows up to a party, so don’t allow it to happen here either.

7. LOCK THE MEETING ONCE IT STARTS

Once the meeting starts, the host has an option to lock it. Locking your zoom meeting will not allow any new members to join the meeting, even if they have the correct id and password. It’s better to be safe than sorry when locking your car or the doors in your house, so do the same with your Zoom meeting.

8. REMOVE ATTENDEES OR PUT THEM ON HOLD IF THEY BECOME DISRUPTIVE

Anytime someone in your meeting is being disruptive or distracting other attendees, just remove them from the meeting. If you remove someone from the meeting, they are not allowed to rejoin.

9. DISABLE THE UNRUY PARTICIPANT’S CAMERA OR ALL CAMERAS

Assuming this is an option, hosts are allowed to disable the camera of any and all members of the meeting. This will allow any unwanted, inappropriate gesture to be blocked for everyone in the group.

10. MAKE SURE THE DISABLE FILE TRANSFER SETTING IS ACTIVE

Once in a meeting, if file transfer is not turned off, it is common for hijackers to spam the chat with memes, GIF’s, and inappropriate language/photos. Turning this setting off will stop each and every one of those things from happening before it even happens.

Now that you have learned 10 EASY ways to prevent Zoom bombing from happening in your next or all future Zoom meetings, take action. Zoom bombing may seem harmless, but people are having to get used to working and going to school remotely and need each and every minute to learn and concentrate on their work without any disruptions.

Don’t let this happen to you!

Looking for a secure work-from-home solution? Try EverFuel secure remote access from ThrottleNet. Just $9.95 per computer per month!

CONTACT THROTTLENET

You’re working from home, now what? As more people are working from home these days, security issues with working remotely are at the forefront of everyone’s mind. How can you tell if network issues are due to being compromised vs technology hiccups? 

As people break from routines and start using new technology, it can be hard to keep things in line. Security issues with working remotely can be averted with good support and communication with your team. It’s critical not just to continuing service to your customers and clients in challenging times but to keep your business operating properly and smoothly.

As more work from home office jockeys are trading lunch breaks for fishing breaks, cybercriminals are phishing too. Check out this blog post about how to make your network a no phishing zone. Security issues with working remotely bring new challenges that we will address here.

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Spotting Email Scams

Keep in mind that Phishing attacks aren’t going away because of the virus. If anything, they’ll increase since cybercriminals love to exploit people in times like this. Make sure your team knows what to look for as well as what to do in the event of a phishing attack.

Things to look for include emails from unknown recipients with links or attachments, requests to make wire or financial transfers, tracking numbers from UPS or FedEx – especially right now given that this is how most people are shopping during this time – odd phrasing or misspellings.

You also want to check the sender to make sure it’s not a spoof email. A way to do this is simply to hover over the from address which will show you if the person is who they say they are. Check out our blog that goes into more detail about email scams and gift cards.

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Cybercriminals Are Preying on Fears of the Coronavirus

Another way hackers are exploiting this is via charities or websites claiming to be for the public good that are malicious sites which could download malware onto your computer, or steal passwords. These scams may claim to have a ‘cure’ for the virus, offer a financial reward, or by encouraging you to donate.

Like many phishing scams, these emails are preying on real-world concerns to try and trick people into doing the wrong thing.

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What to do if you think you’re the victim of a phishing attack?

If you feel you’re the victim of a phishing attack, please follow these steps in addition to providing them to your users.
  • If this is your home PC running your AV solution, open your antivirus (AV) software and run a full scan. Follow any instructions given.
  • If you’ve been tricked into providing your password, you should change your passwords on all your other accounts immediately.
  • If you’re using a work device, contact your IT department and let them know.

The sooner an issue is identified, the more effective we or your IT team can be in resolving it.

I’d like to take a moment to outline a few ways ThrottleNet can assist you in alleviating security issues with working remotely.

EverFuel

For those organizations that require secure remote access, we’ve introduced Everfuel Secure Remote Access. This solution is only $9.95 per user/per month plus a one-time setup and training fee of $10. There’s no commitment and you can cancel anytime. Take a deeper dive into Everfuel today.

Managed Network

Of course, for those of you on one of our Managed Network plans, most of what we’ve discussed is covered assuming you’ve kept your network current and have been heeding the advice of your vCIO.

For those that aren’t familiar, Managed Network is where ThrottleNet serves as your full time IT department by providing maintenance, monitoring, and management of your network in addition to a fully staffed help desk and dedicated team of IT professionals.

Remote Maintenance and Monitoring plus AV

If managed services aren’t for you, we’d recommend our workstation remote maintenance, monitoring, and AV combo as well as our server safeguard. This ensures your machines are protected in addition to sending alerts in the event of an issue.

Hosting

Finally, we offer a variety of hosting solutions via Microsoft including Office365 and Azure Cloud Hosting.

These solutions – when working in concert – allow you to work from anywhere as long as you have an internet connection. Couple this with a hosted VOIP phone system such as Ring Central and you should be good to go if this ever happens again.

How Can We Help?

If you need anything or are interested in learning more about our services, contact us today or give us a call at 866-829-5557

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