SecureSphere (NZ)

SecureSphere (NZ) is excited to announce that Michael is now a Licensed Security Consultant and Installer. Michael's journey to getting an "Individual License" has been a lengthy process with a large amount of evidence needing to be submitted to the PSPLA for verification. This included past experience along with certifications from different CCTV, Alarm System and Access Control providers. If you would like an extra layer of security for your business premises or home, please get in touch to discuss your needs. #cctv #alarmsystem #accesscontrol

Getting the best from your Home Wi-Fi Most devices we use – mobile phones, laptops, tablets, TV’s etc, all use Wi-Fi to connect to the Internet via your home Router. With more people working from home, studying, completing schoolwork or homework at home, or just using the Internet for entertainment, a good Internet connection and Wi-Fi are important. To ensure your Internet and Wi-Fi work for you, consider your: 1.) Internet Connection - Fibre Internet is mostly widely available and much faster, if possible switch to a Fibre Internet connection. 2.) Wi-Fi – Generally the Internet Service Provider (ISP) provides the Router. To ensure good connectivity consider:  a.   The Router’s location. In most cases, it should be in a central location in your house (lounge, dining room etc). b.   What is your house constructed of?  Many NZ houses are constructed from wooden frames with gib board interior walls which Wi-Fi signals pass through fairly easily, however concrete or bricks can block Wi-Fi signals. c.   Is the kitchen between your Router and the bedrooms? Appliances like the fridge or microwave can interfere with Wi-Fi signals. 3.) If your Internet in other parts of the house away from the Router are slow, Wi-Fi Extenders and/or Mesh Wi-Fi are good options to improve the signal in those parts of your house. If you have Wi-Fi issues, always do your research, choose the option that works best for you. Don’t just accept what your ISP or big box electronics stores try to sell you. #wifi #wi-fi #wfh #schoolwork #homework

Majority of businesses are not prepared for a ransomware attack. According to FortiNet, two-thirds of businesses were targeted by ransomware in the last 12 months and over 50% of those targeted fell victim to an attack. Considering this is a global figure, it is hugely concerning since it involves many hundreds of thousands of businesses. Ransomware, in its many forms, has been around for a very long time, decades in fact, but businesses are still falling victim for multiple reasons. Many of these reasons are around employees' lack of cyber-hygiene knowledge / training and lack of security controls / tools. SecureSphere has some basic recommendations to help protect businesses. 1.) Cyber-hygiene training for all staff - There are a number of platforms available that have training material for all levels from a young employee starting their first job, right through to Senior Management and Directors. 2.) Prepare a business-wide Cyber-Incident Response Plan and ensure that ransomware is part of it. Periodically test and update the Response Plan as existing threats change and new threats emerge. 3.) Source and Implement the right Tools and/or Toolsets. - IoT / OT Protection - NGFW (especially important to look at all traffic on the network (North / South and East / West) - Protect Cloud environments - Implement Zero-trust architecture across the entire business SecureSphere (NZ) can help protect businesses. #cyberattack #ransomware #cybersecurityawareness #cyberhygiene

Text scams becoming more sophisticated A few days ago, a Stuff article confirmed some reports that SecureSphere had received about a new and very concerning text message scam demanding payment of for using a tolled road with the risk of court action if payment wasn't made. Of our direct SecureSphere clients, none had used a tolled road in quite a while, so knew that the text was a scam message. However, it does go to show that scammers will use any and all tactics, including threatening people with court action if they fail to pay a bogus road toll. NZTA does have a good section on their website detailing current scams and should be a first point to check if the text message received is a scam or not. See: https://lnkd.in/e9dk-7EM #scams #textscams #txtscams

Continuing on with our Newspaper article series, this is the article we wrote on "What is the Cloud?" What is the Cloud? “Your data is in the Cloud”.  What! What’s the Cloud and where are my business or personal data files?  John Savill, Chief Architect at Microsoft, defines Cloud computing as “using someone else’s computer.” Although this definition seems simplistic, it makes Cloud computing easy for us to understand. So how is Cloud computing going to help me, a home or business user, and what are the benefits? For home users and many small businesses, their email and file storage would be stored in the Cloud, meaning most would only need Wi-Fi and a Firewall. For medium-size businesses and large corporates their entire business could be running in the Cloud - servers, file storage, databases etc. meaning they no longer need any physical infrastructure except a Network Switch, Wi-Fi and a Firewall in the office. Cloud Computing offers many benefits to both home and business users, including: ·        Email – Google Gmail, Microsoft 365, the best-known Cloud email services. ·        Virtual computers – Servers, Firewalls. ·        File storage – Microsoft OneDrive, Google Drive and more. ·        Worldwide Web Applications and/or Websites - Facebook, Instagram. ·        Computer code libraries – GitHub, Azure DevOps and more. With many people working from home due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Cloud computing grew exponentially. Four years on many businesses and large corporates are making more use of Cloud computing or migrating fully to Cloud computing, no longer needing traditional onsite and/or datacenter-based infrastructure. Like many technologies, Cloud Computing has its pros and cons and may not be suitable for every business. For best results, research what would work best for your business and your requirements. #cloud #cloudcomputing #newspaper #newspaperarticle

Over a last couple of months, SecureSphere (NZ) have been lucky enough to be asked to contribute articles to our local community newspaper. The articles have a very limited word allowance (250 - 300), so have to be quite brief. Below is a copy of the article that we wrote on "How to avoid being scammed!" “Hi. I’m <insert name> from Microsoft. We have detected that you have <insert problem> with your PC”. This is the start of a classic scam that has been doing the rounds for many years and is continuing to claim victims. Scams come in many different types from the classic “support call” above to dating or romance scams, buying and/or selling goods online and many others. In 2023 nearly 8000 incidents were reported to CERT NZ with a combined loss of $18.3 million! These are just the reported incidents; many go unreported. How do you keep yourself safe from a scam? Be aware of RED flags: ·        If it seems too good to be true, it probably is. ·        Requesting access to your “computer” to troubleshoot an issue. ·        Poor grammar and/or spelling in text messages and emails. ·        Urgency or pressure tactics. ·        Requests for payment via unusual methods - gift cards, wire transfers. ·        Unsolicited communication – emails, calls, texts – asking for personal information. Always: ·        Verify the legitimacy of requests or offers. Don’t just take someone’s word for it. Do your own research and don’t be in a hurry. ·        Don’t share sensitive personal information including on social media – Facebook, Instagram, X, Tiktok etc. ·        If the person on the phone says they’re from your bank, hang-up, ring your bank on their correct phone number and report it to them. Don’t use the number the person called from. Unfortunately, scammers are becoming more and more sophisticated all the time meaning we need to always be “on guard”. #newspaper #newspaperarticle #scams #scammers

Cybercrime Trends 2024 A couple of months ago, SoSoft came out with their annual Cybercrime Trends report which made for interesting reading. The report confirmed a number of things that SecureSphere (NZ) had been seeing or hearing from customers. The main points in the report are as follows: 1.) AI’s growing role in cyberattacks - With the grow of AI across the entire technical spectrum and with AI being integrated into more-and-more systems and products every day, it increases security risks for both businesses and individual's. Cybercriminals are also use of AI to make and deploy attacks, especially very realistic Deep-Fakes along with Social Manipulation and Dis-information campaigns. 2.) All new technologies are being exploited by cybercriminals - As above with AI, new technology becomes both a tool and a target for sophisticated cyber threats. With the increasing use of "cloud technology", this is increasing the digital footprint cyber-attackers can use to target businesses and individuals. 3.) Cybercrime will transform into an even more highly professionalized and profitable business - Over a number of years, cyber-attackers have become much more organized, professional and profitable. This will only continue this year and in coming years due to the money involved in cybercrime. 4.) Digital dissent and deception: The dual faces of hacktivism and cybercrime in a fragmented world - With the unstable geo-political landscape we all currently live and work in, cyber-attackers are using their skills and knowledge to exploit this unstable landscape to make statements. This has been seen with the war in Ukraine and the Israel / Hamas conflict. #cybercrime #cyberattack #cyberawareness #cybersecurity

Chinese hackers breached 20,000 FortiGate systems worldwide https://lnkd.in/dMXTVAbT When this came to light a couple of days ago, it came as no great surprise to SecureSphere (NZ), as we have seen many Fortinet firewalls running old out-of-date firmware versions, alongside many out-of-support Fortinet firewalls still being used in Production environments. In SecureSphere's view, this will continue to be an issue in the future and not just with FortiNet firewalls. Although SecureSphere (NZ) mainly sees FortiNet firewalls in-use by small-to-medium businesses, we also see a large number from other providers (ie: Cisco, HP, Checkpoint, Ubiquiti and many others). Firewalls are a CRITICAL part of a networks defense and shouldn't just be installed and forgotten about. If you have a FortiNet firewall, SecureSphere (NZ) is should be your first choice as we have many years of experience working with, managing and maintaining FortiNet firewalls for small, medium and large businesses.

$6.6 million reported in losses to Cyber Security Incidents in 1st Quarter (January to March) 2023 in New Zealand. Current losses reported to CERT NZ over the last 2 years (24 months - 8 Quarters) come to $41.1m. The CERT NZ Cyber Security Insights report for 1st Quarter 2024 makes for worse reading than the 4th Quarter 2023 with higher financial losses but with fewer reported incidents than Q4 2023. Some highlights from the report: - $6.6 million in direct financial loss was reported in Q1, up 84% from Q4 2023. 27% of incidents reported financial loss. - 1,530 incidents were responded to by CERT NZ in Q1 2024, down 20% from Q4 2023. - Scams while buying or selling goods online went up by 15% from 214 in the previous quarter to 247 in Q1 2024. - There was an increase in reports across approximately half of incident categories with Suspicious Network Traffic seeing a massive 300% increase from Q4 2023. At SecureSphere (NZ), as we have previously noted, we know that the numbers and data released by CERT NZ (https://lnkd.in/dv7VRkVx) are just the tip of a very large iceberg as they are just the incidents that have been reported to CERT NZ. The vast majority of incidents don't get reported and the damage and financial loss from those incidents is not currently known but can be guesstimated. SecureSphere (NZ) can help to prevent Cyberattacks and stop businesses losing money. Talk to us today to see how. #cybersecurity #cybersecurityawareness

Security of OT / SCADA in businesses or the lack there of Many businesses run some form of OT (Operational Technology) / SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition), especially if they are in the manufacturing or food industries. This could be something simple like controlling the speed of a conveyor belt or something much more complex like managing an entire water distribution plant or a waste management plant. Many times, SecureSphere (NZ) has seen OT / SCADA systems connected directly to the Internet with Non-Existent security or Very Little in the way of security. Many of these OT / SCADA systems have no built-in security (ie: username / password at a minimum). With attackers looking for easy wins, unsecured OT / SCADA systems are ripe for abuse and in many cases can cause either severe damage to the plant and endanger lives and/or other assets. SecureSphere has many years of experience in securing OT / SCADA from single devices up to entire plants. Contact us today to discuss how we can help secure your OT / SCADA systems before they are compromised by attackers. #otsecurity #scadasecurity #scada #cybersecurity #cybersecurityawareness