Blue Ridge Technology

Hard to believe, but another new year is already upon us! From all of us at Blue Ridge Technology, we hope your 2025 was a great year, both in business and outside of it. As we look ahead to 2026, most of us are giving some thought to resolutions, goals, or commitments for the new year. This is certainly worth doing, but this isn’t the place to talk about fitness goals or healthy eating. Instead, let’s think about what kinds of New Year's resolutions your business should make, especially surrounding tech and IT. 1. Find One Process to Automate — and Do It Business automation tools have come a long way in the last couple of years, thanks in large part to artificial intelligence (AI). We know that at this point some readers’ hackles may go up: there’s a lot of hype around AI, and some worry about job displacement. Those are both real concerns, but there are great automations that don’t fall into either category. Here’s an example. Just recently at a routine doctor’s appointment, the ...

Device Code Phishing Buckle up: this one’s a little bit wild…and a lot bit bad. A new scam has been hitting businesses across the US, even those who have been working hard to shore up their cybersecurity defenses. And when this attack works, the bad guys don’t even need to have a compromised or stolen password. The account or system under attack never even asks for one. We know this sounds just about impossible, but unfortunately it’s a very real threat. Here’s everything you need to know about device code phishing: what it is, why it works without a password, and what you can do to avoid becoming a victim. What Is Device Code Phishing? Device code phishing is a sophisticated form of phishing attack that convinces victims to give up access to their accounts. This time, instead of going after your username and password, the attack tries to convince you to input something called a device code. Once you do, you’ve actually given them access to your account, and they can do all ...

Cybersecurity! Can you recognize a phishing attempt? In today's rapidly evolving digital landscape, businesses in Asheville, NC, face an increasingly sophisticated array of cybersecurity threats. At Blue Ridge Technology, we recognize that the greatest vulnerability in any organization could very well be overconfident employees. As cybersecurity threats advance, even the most seasoned staff can unknowingly contribute to security breaches. The illusion of confidence in cybersecurity A startling 86% of employees believe they can identify a phishing email. Despite this confidence, over half have fallen victim to phishing scams. Cybercriminals' tactics are evolving, ensuring their messages emulate legitimate emails from banks, suppliers, or colleagues, making them harder to spot. Recognizing the subtlety of modern threats Gone are the days of easily identifiable scams filled with spelling errors. Today's malicious emails can mimic internal communications or trusted contacts, ...

Cyber Attacks In today's interconnected, technology-driven world, it's imperative for businesses to maintain a vigilant stance towards cybersecurity. Cyber attacks are becoming increasingly sophisticated, targeting organizations of all sizes and sectors. With the rise of remote work and digital transformation, vulnerabilities have proliferated, requiring robust protective measures. But how concerned should you be about cyber attacks? Let's explore this critical issue in detail. The evolving landscape of cyber threats The nature of cyber threats has evolved significantly. Transitioning from simple malware and phishing attacks, cybercriminals now employ advanced tactics such as ransomware, zero-day exploits, and even state-sponsored attacks. The Verizon 2022 Data Breach Investigations Report highlighted that 82% of breaches involved human error, illustrating how crucial it is to educate employees about cybersecurity best practices. Types of cyber attacks Understanding the t...

File storage and transferring hold a very dear place in most people’s lives. However, the safety of files is really tough to maintain. In this guide, we are going to help you protect your files. We will explore ways to store and send files securely. What is secure file storage? Secure file storage protects your files. It prevents others from accessing your files or altering them in any way. Good storage grants protection to your files using locks. You alone can unlock such files. Phishing Attacks Phishing attacks will always be in vogue. They make you give away your personal data. It may involve a phony message or fake websites. Always check the sender’s email address. Do not click on suspicious links. Types of secure storage Files can be stored securely in various ways, as listed below. 1. Cloud 2. Hard drives that are external 3. Encrypted USB drives Cloud storage saves files on the internet. External drives save files on a device you can hold. Encrypted drives use special codes to l...

New Threat to Microsoft Teams We’re constantly warning about the threats of phishing schemes and other similar attacks, and for good reason — they still remain the most common way that cyberattacks and other digital threats originate. Well, we wish this post were different, but instead it’s just a little bit worse: now the threat could be coming from inside the house. Here’s what we mean, and what to watch out for. New Threat: Attackers Sending Messages Within Microsoft Teams The new threat, first identified by Sophos and reported on in Security Week , is an attack that uses Microsoft Teams. The threat actors who got caught using this attack exploited a vulnerability in Microsoft Teams — more specifically, in one of its default configurations. Millions of companies rely on these default configurations, so we’d say it’s a pretty big vulnerability! The Scam’s Architecture Here’s how the scam played out. First, the bad guys sent a ton of spammy messages through Microsoft Teams. These wer...

New Year’s Resolutions It may be hard to believe, but the year is over, and 2025 is here! As we jump into the next year, many of us are thinking through New Year’s resolutions at home: maybe this is the year to cut back, to get fit, to start saving, or to finally master that hobby or language. We aren’t much help when it comes to those kinds of resolutions. But as you’re taking stock at home, right now is the perfect time to think through your business. What’s going well? What goals did you achieve during the previous year? And what needs to change heading into the new year? To help get the ball rolling, here are 3 top business resolutions for the new year — changes that businesses like yours might benefit from making. #1: Cybersecurity Audit and Upgrades First up is making this the year that you conduct a cybersecurity audit — and implement any hardware/software upgrades or process changes revealed through the process. Small businesses get hit every single day by cyberattac...

Beware this malware: It "annoys" you into handing over login details There’s a new malware threat that’s been on the rise since August. This one’s a little…weird, to be honest. But because it’s unusual and unexpected, it’s working surprisingly well at tricking people into giving up their credentials and causing massive risks of data breaches and more. This week, we’re explaining how this malware works, why it’s been so effective, and how you can avoid getting sucked in. Meet Amadey: A New Breed of Annoyance Malware Amadey is what some call “annoyance malware”: it doesn’t lock up your data and threaten you for ransom, and it doesn’t do major damage to your computer or turn it into a botnet. It just emulates a problem with Windows itself and annoys you. And this particular version makes you think the only way to solve the problem is to log in and change your settings. You might already see where we’re going with this: the login link and screen are fake, of course. So if you ent...

Cybersecurity With all the talk of AI everything these days, it’s easy to wonder if a new generation of AI tools is going to create cybersecurity nightmares. Well, many leading cybersecurity firms aren’t worried about AI — at least not yet, and not in the ways we might think. And worst (or best?) of all, the solutions to today’s biggest problems are still actually pretty simple. Here’s what you need to know. New Tech that Could Become a Threat Much of the focus lately has been on a new generation of AI tools, like large language model (LLM) generative AI tools. These systems have the potential to be really powerful, no question about it. It’s not impossible to imagine a future where hackers create a sort of “malwareGPT,” a generative AI tool that creates malicious code. And that’s just one example of how AI tools could increase cybersecurity threats; there are plenty more. AI-powered tools could greatly increase the speed and scalability of creating malicious code, and it’s possible t...