What is Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) & How It Works

Date: 02/07/2020 Author: Andrew Lopez Categories: Helpful Tips, Small Business2 Comments

Here’s an example of what multi-factor authentication (MFA) is not. For instance, you head to your online bank account to login. Entering the username and password into the designated fields and click on login. From here, you’ve gained access to your bank information. Easy peasy and you go about your business. Wait one second! If you’re one of the 54% of consumers who use five or fewer passwords for all of your online accounts, you could be setting yourself up for failure.

Recycling passwords is a big no-no. We highly advise coming up with unique passwords for all digital channels. We published a blog post discussing the importance of unique passwords and why using the same password is bad.

Let’s dive right in and discuss the benefits of multi-factor authentication.

New Year – New Email Resolutions For 2020

Date: 01/14/2020 Author: Andrew Lopez Categories: Email Security, Security ThreatsNo comments yet.

Happy New Year to all! The New Year has arrived and we’re excited to hear many of you have resolved to improve your email security awareness in 2020. For example, you may be more sensible with your replies to colleagues or reading emails more throughly and looking for illicit content.

Why Using The Same Password Is Bad

Date: 10/28/2019 Author: Andrew Lopez Categories: Cybersecurity, Helpful TipsNo comments yet.

Some of us more than others are guilty of using the same password for different websites. A new study by Google confirmed internet users need to stop using the same password for multiple websites unless they’re keen on having their data hijacked, their identity stolen, or worse. Utilizing the same password for different websites leaves you vulnerable to hackers gaining access to sensitive accounts. We’ll explain why having different passwords for different websites is a cybersecurity benefit and a tool to help manage many passwords. Spoiler alert – you’ll need to remember one master password.

Passwords are not the most efficient cybersecurity practice. Even though we’ve all had passwords since the genesis of the internet – passwords were ways to curtail access to sensitive data. Fast forward to 2019 and notice how new methods of authentication are beginning to replace passwords. For instance, the newest iPhone comes equipped with facial recognition software to unlock the phone. Another example is bio-metric security. Laptops and accessing secret lairs with a fingerprint is becoming used for higher level security hardware and buildings. Although this technology is available, it’s not practical for the average user. Therefore we use passwords to access certain information on the internet. Let’s discuss why using the same password is harmful to your digital identity.

What Is A Virtual Private Network – (VPN)?

Date: 08/05/2019 Author: Andrew Lopez Categories: Cybersecurity Tags: Virtual Private Network, VPNNo comments yet.

A virtual private network, VPN for abbreviation purposes, is an organization and managed IT service providers best friend. What exactly is a VPN? A VPN is a service that lets you access the web safely and privately by routing your connection through a server and hiding your online actions. In short, a PC connects to the VPN server. The connection between you and the VPN server becomes encrypted. Encrypted data is unreadable by humans and computers. The VPN connection becomes active and can now browse out to the internet without someone intercepting the users connection.

How Hackers Use Employees to Access Your Network

Date: 06/17/2019 Author: Andrew Lopez Categories: Cybersecurity, Security Threats Tags: hackersNo comments yet.

Computer hackers are located throughout the entire world. Most hackers work around the clock looking for vulnerable systems. What exactly is a hacker’s goal? A computer hacker’s motivation varies. A common motive is holding sensitive data hostage or exploiting customer data on the internet, such as credit card or social security numbers. How do hackers access said data? For starters hackers can use sneaky methods in email message attachments or bad code when downloading a software. Let’s discuss how hackers use business employees to gain access to the company network.