Walsh IT Group Blog

If we told you that it is possible for others to hire hackers to launch attacks against your business, would you believe it? Well, we hope so, because it is very possible and more common than you might think. Comparitech launched an investigation into the average prices of various hacking services on the Dark Web, and you might be surprised by how affordable and accessible they are. This is just more reason to take network security seriously.

When it comes to network security, there are a lot of complex solutions that solve multi-faceted issues, some so mind-boggling in scope that it is simply overwhelming. Then there are the small-scale solutions that you can implement on a day-to-day basis that can make significant changes over time. Locking your computer is one of these tactics, and it should not be overlooked in your security strategy.

While most people may be most familiar with the concept of the blockchain thanks to cryptocurrencies—particularly with the recent behaviors of some coins—this first application of the blockchain has blossomed into many others with great potential. Let’s go over what blockchain technology is, how it works, and how it can benefit businesses of all kinds.

There are a lot of cyberthreats out there… too many for the modern business to avoid them all. While employing best practices may greatly reduce your chances of being breached and having data stolen from your network, they can also help you determine how a breach occurred and how your data was stolen. While there is no such thing as perfect cybersecurity, there are a few strategies you can lean on to strengthen yours.

Smart assistants are one of the most intriguing and confounding technologies developed over the past decade. At the time of this writing, over 150 million smart speakers are in 60 million homes in the United States, when you add in the smart assistants available on mobile devices and other various smart devices, you’re talking a billion people actively using some type of smart assistant. Over the past couple of years, you’re beginning to see these assistants being used more for business and this has made certain security-minded people a little weary of them. Let’s take a look at some of the security questions surrounding the smart assistants.

As a consumer, how concerned are you about the care that businesses give to your data privacy. Very? You aren’t the only one. 87 percent of Americans see their data privacy as a human right.

It may not be a surprise to you that hackers and other scammers are trying to get between you and your stimulus money. Using the COVID-19 pandemic to prey on unsuspecting or ill-prepared people, they have already made off with more than millions of the $290 billion that the U.S. government has earmarked for its citizens. Let’s look at how you can avoid being another unfortunate victim of the modern cybercriminal. 

Your business is bound to collect a sizable cache of data, a significant percentage of which being the kind used to identify someone. This is exactly the kind of data that cybercriminals are looking for, which means it needs to be protected. Here, we’re covering the basics of how you can help secure your data’s integrity against cybercrime.

The data stored on your computer is valuable, and that’s a fact. Unfortunately, this means that there are unscrupulous characters out there who will want to get at this data, so you will need to have the right solutions in place to protect it. Part of this will require you to have a firewall included in your protections.

With most everything having gone digital, most consumers have changed their preferred payment method. Many different factors contribute to credit cards becoming the most used payment. Today, we take a look at why this has become a popular means of payment, as well as weigh the pros and cons of credit cards. 

2.4 billion users actively use Facebook. That’s a lot of information that passes by the Facebook servers each day. One problem that Facebook has had over the past several years is dealing with personal data privacy. With it becoming a larger concern for individuals and businesses, alike, and we thought we would take a look at the Facebook privacy settings to see how you can better control your individual privacy.

If you haven’t read part one of our Facebook privacy blog, it wouldn’t hurt for you to go back and read that one first. Today, we will be looking at configuring your Facebook with security settings designed to protect your personal information. The social media giant certainly has a checkered history when it comes to protecting user privacy. In fact, a lot of its ongoing troubles center around maintaining individual privacy of its users.

Facebook is one of the most popular websites on the Internet and has been a global phenomenon for the two billion people that use the platform. This doesn’t mean that it has been smooth sailing for the tech giant, as over the past several years there have been a few major controversies concerning the privacy of user data and how Facebook works to secure it. Today, we’ll tell you how to get access to all the information Facebook has about you.

Mobile devices have become a staple in contemporary life, with more business uses added regularly. Unfortunately, this makes them a more enticing target for cybercriminals to go after. To help you keep your phone secure, we’ve assembled a brief list of best practices for you and the rest of your company to follow.

After years of talk about individual data privacy, and years enacting regional laws, the European Union’s flagship individual privacy law, the General Data Protection Regulation went into effect a year ago in May. Suddenly, if your organization does business inside EU member states, you will be under a stringent regulation concerning individual data privacy. Today, we will look at the GDPR and what has changed in the year it has been law.

Social media has brought about a massive shift in the way people interact. Today we share our opinions, photos, and videos; and, we can even choose our dates by swiping right or left. With social media, people share moments, opinions, and other information, but is all this sharing actually setting people, and the organizations they interact with, up for failure? We’ll take a look at social media privacy concerns and potentially hazardous practices that could exacerbate the problems further.

It is no secret that kids these days have more access to technology than any generation before them. While this access can truly help to enrich their lives if leveraged properly, it can also have serious ramifications if it isn’t checked.

Cybercrime is the fastest growing criminal activity in the world. From the largest enterprise to the individual, it can affect anyone, anywhere. To help ensure the cybersecurity of American citizens and their businesses, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (CERT), and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and other agencies work together every October to raise awareness about the threats people face online through a series of educational events and activities.

Considering that since January 1st of this year, there has been upwards of 10 million personal information records lost or stolen each day, odds are that you, or someone you know, has had their records compromised by a data breach. With such a high incident rate, individuals and businesses that have never received any kind of notification that their records were included in a breach, generally consider themselves lucky and assume that they are not at risk of identity theft or unauthorized account usage. Unfortunately for them, that is not always the case.

2FA, or two-factor authentication, is a simple and effective means of boosting your cybersecurity. Despite this, a study performed by Duo Labs suggests that 2FA has not been adopted as much as one might expect, or as much as it should be.