Blue Ridge Technology

Workers are more mobile than they’ve ever been at many office-oriented businesses. Your business likely pivoted hard to a virtual or work-from-home environment thanks to the pandemic. That move was crucial at the time as it was the only way to keep work moving, even though it created its own set of security concerns (which we’ve discussed here before). Now, as the world starts to open back up, many businesses are keeping more relaxed policies in place regarding where employees work. And employees are taking advantage, working from wherever they happen to be. If you or members of your team are working on the go, being Wi-Fi aware is also crucial for your company’s security. Here’s what mobile employees (executives, too) need to know about the potential dangers of unfamiliar Wi-Fi. Be Cautious About Connecting to New Networks The first step in being Wi-Fi aware is simply to be cautious when connecting to new Wi-Fi networks. It may seem like a Wi-Fi connection is merely a way to access th...

Ransomware Resilience No matter the size of your business, you could be the target of a ransomware attack. These attacks are more complex to pull off than simple credential theft, and early attacks tended to target high-profile organizations and government agencies. But now, ransomware attacks are becoming more and more common. You might not think of your business as a likely target. But the danger is real regardless. Here’s what you need to know about ransomware attacks — and how to protect yourself and your business. What Is Ransomware? Ransomware is a type of malicious code-based lockout attack. In a ransomware attack, hackers break into a target system and lock out all users (typically encrypting data on that system as well). The perpetrators demand a payment (or ransom) to return or unlock the affected systems and files, often in cryptocurrency or other means that are difficult to trace. What Are Some Recent Ransomware Attacks? Ransomware attacks have been on the rise, including s...

There’s a false notion out there among small businesses that can be unimaginably dangerous. It goes something like this: “We don’t need to worry too much about cybersecurity. We’re so small, no one would want to hack us.” If you’ve ever been tempted to think something similar — and if your digital security efforts reflect this mentality — your business could be in danger. The truth is, small businesses are big targets for cybercriminals. Your small business isn’t too small to get hacked, and it may even be an especially enticing target. Here’s why, and some initial steps you should take. Fort Knox and Convenience Stores It’s tempting to think that hackers will always and only go after big, juicy, lucrative targets. And don’t get us wrong: hackers do go after big global corporations. Sometimes they even succeed. But everyday hackers are just as likely — if not more likely — to go after smaller targets. To understand why, we’ll use an analogy from offline crime. Which would you rather r...

Five Strategies for How to Spot a Phishing Email In last week’s blog post, we talked about the rise of the phishing email, now one of the most common methods of digital attacks. We showed you how dangerous these emails can be, and what to do if you think you’ve fallen for one. What Are Phishing Emails, Again? As a reminder, phishing emails are fraudulent messages that usually appear to be from some well-known, legitimate company or authority (like the IRS). But they actually come from scammers trying to steal account information and other personal data. If a user clicks a link in a phishing email and tries to log into the (fake) page, the scammers immediately get access to whatever the user typed (usually a username and password). While it’s good to know about phishing emails, the real trick is to be able to recognize phishing emails in the first place. If employees know the email’s a phony, they should know to delete it, not click through. So, with that in mind, here are our top tips ...