Usually, it’s ok to wait until Apple pushes through iOS and iPadOS updates. However, iOS 14.4 and iPadOS 14.4, which were just released, should be installed right away because they fix three security bugs that were found by hackers.
The vulnerabilities allow remote attacks on your device to run malicious code and give hackers privileges to access personal information on your device. And because the hackers found the bugs before Apple did, they’ve had time to figure out how to exploit them.
Now is a good time to update your software – go to Settings > General > Software Update.
Wishing you a safe and happy holiday season. We will be closed on Friday, December 25, and Friday, January 1, to celebrate with our families and friends. Looking forward to 2021!
If you have an emergency support need during this time, please email support@skyviewtek.com and call 610-590-5006 at the same time, and note “EMERGENCY” in your messages, and we will respond soon thereafter. If you have a regular support request, just email support@skyviewtek.com or complete our online form here and we will respond by the next business day.
Our regular business hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30am to 5:00pm EST (not including U.S. holidays).
COVID-19, along with the 2020 elections, has prompted an extraordinary increase in cyber crimes. No vendor is flawless or impenetrable – not even Microsoft or Apple. The latest victim is SonicWall firewall – which will need to be updated and patched for a major new vulnerability that was disclosed on Wednesday, according to ZDNet.
If your business subscribes to our Proactive Monitoring / Managed Services, then we’ve already implemented the patch to your SonicWall. If you do not subscribe to our Managed Services and you use SonicWall, please contact us asap to retain our services to implement the patch. In addition, if you’re a small business interested in VPN to enable work-from-home for your employees, then please email support@skyviewtek.com or call 610-590-5006.
Finally, SkyViewTek will be rolling out a comprehensive Cyber Security supplementary offering to our Managed Services clients by January 2021. We will be reaching out to you soon for your overall 2021 I.T. planning session, or please contact us for details.
SMB owners should consider a proper “best practices” I.T. infrastructure as one of top 3 priorities in running a successful business. The SkyViewTek six standards include the following:
UPS (uninterruptible power supply) / Battery Backups
Business Continuity / Disaster Recovery Plan
For a complete description or for a consultation to help ensure your SMB has the best practices in place to minimize cyber security risks, please contact SkyViewTek at 610-590-5006 or email support@skyviewtek.com.
National Cyber Security Awareness Month (NCSAM) – observed every October – was created as a collaborative effort between government and industry to ensure every American has the resources they need to stay safer and more secure online. Click here for more information.
We can help you develop a technology plan to minimize cybersecurity risks for your small business and prepare a disaster recovery plan in place in the event of an incident. Contact SkyViewTek today for a consult. Call 610-590-5006 or email support@skyviewtek.com; please note “emergency” in your message if your request is urgent.
Spear phishing has been in the news lately thanks to the indictment of 12 Russian actors but what is “spear phishing” anyway?
A “phishing” email is when someone sends out a mass email pretending to be someone they are not, maybe a bank: “This is Wells Fargo – we need you to send us your login and password to verify who you are”; or just AOL, Google. They are usually wide spread and just try to see who responds.
“Spear Phishing” is more targeted. The hacker or perpetrator will check out your website to see who is the boss, who is the financial person, check out their Facebook and LinkedIn accounts to gather as much information as they can. Then they will send a fake email to and underling from their boss asking them to wire money ASAP. Or ask you to verify your email password saying they are from “IT.”
It is very hard to identify those attacks as we have seen them coming from the exact domain of the user, but if you look at the tracking behind the scenes (which most users would not know how to do or need to know how to do) the email actually came from some compromised account.
What Can You Do?
The first step is to have all the prevention you can afford. At the very minimum, have an up to date Virus Scanner. And we don’t mean Windows Defender. Have a paid subscription to a legit Anti-Virus. We recommend WebRoot. Second is have a Firewall. Especially if you are a business, small or not, you HAVE to have a proper firewall.
Thirdly, it comes down to the user. Be smart. Does your boss regularly ask you to send wire transfers? Or wire transfers to random oversea accounts? Pick up the phone and call your boss to confirm. Your boss will never chastise you for being too careful.
Please contact SkyViewTek for help implementing any or all of these recommendations. Call 610-590-5006 or email support@skyviewtek.com.
A firewall is a key factor in any small business’s plan to protect against cybersecurity. Firewalls monitor incoming and outgoing traffic, filter out certain threats, and even block some sites altogether. A firewall is a key factor in any small business’s plan to protect against cybersecurity. Firewalls monitor incoming and outgoing traffic, filter out certain threats, and even block some sites altogether.
Check out these three reasons why your small business should have a firewall – like the SonicWall TZ series, which is SkyViewTek’s recommended firewall option.
1. Your office has no borders.
When you need to access files or programs from your office computer or server, a proper firewall provides your employees/users the capability for secure remote access to the office or connecting from office-to-office — also known as VPN (virtual private network). So if the weather is an issue for employees to get to the office and be productive, now employees can work from home until the weather cooperates!
2. You have better control over Internet usage in the office.
If employee productivity is an issue because of surfing the web for personal usage (like social media, shopping, gambling) or streaming videos (like watching the Olympic games or other sporting events), then a proper firewall can be set up to limit or disable access to certain websites or certain categories of websites.
3. You enhance protection of your client/patient data, as well as your business’s Intellectual property and trade secrets.
Data breaches happen all the time. And it seems that an incident can cause greater financial impact and mistrust with customers when it happens to small businesses, like yours. A proper up-to-date firewall, with the appropriate security suite bundle, along with other I.T. “best practices,” protects your internal network from outsiders and helps minimize these data breaches and other cybersecurity risks.
A strong firewall alone won’t protect you from all the threats on the internet, but it’s an added layer of insurance you should NOT be without. Contact us for more information on firewalls and other cybersecurity best practices, which will help minimize risks for your business and will help keep your employees as productive as possible. Call 610-590-5006 or email support@skyviewtek.com.
If you aren’t taking active steps to secure your business’s digital assets, you’re putting yourself at risk.Approximately 43 percent of all cyberattacks, according to Symantec, focus on small businesses — in part because they’re a big enough target to be valuable, but also small enough to be vulnerable…. according to the National Cyber Security Alliance, as many as 60 percent of small- to medium-sized businesses that have been hacked go out of business within six months of the attack.
You’ve probably heard about the Equifax data breach that’s making headline news. Investigators have discovered that it was preventable.
Sensitive information on 143 million people was stolen because Equifax had failed to apply a security patch that was available two months ago. Two executives have now resigned and the company is the target of law suits.
If your systems aren’t patched on time, you increase your risk of being attacked. Half of all attacks target small businesses.
How to Check if You Are Vulnerable:
A security scan of your systems can help determine your vulnerabilities. Make sure that all of your software patches are up-to-date.
We help our clients manage their IT security proactively.
Contact SkyViewTek today for a custom assessment to learn how “at risk” you are and what you can do to protect your business.
P.S. Please share this alert with your friends at other companies. We might be able to save them from being a victim.
The latest security threat is called “WannaCry Ransomware Attack.” Many businesses and organizations around the world have been attacked in the last couple of days, including Fedex in the U.S. Security experts said the attack appeared to be caused by a self-replicating piece of software that enters companies and organizations when employees click on email attachments, then spreads quickly internally from computer to computer when employees share documents and other files.
Some businesses default to the built-in ISP firewall to help protect its computer network, which is bare minimum protection for a home network. We at SkyViewTek recommend a proper business-grade firewall – like SonicWALL – be used to help protect a business computer network.
Contact SkyViewTek for more information or to have a SonicWALL installed at your business.
