IndyTek Consulting

02/22/2024

Solar Flare or EMP Attack?

AT&T’s network went down for many of its customers across the United States Thursday morning, leaving customers unable to place calls, text or access the internet.

Although AT&T provided no official reason for the outage, the issue appears to be related to how cellular services hand off calls from one network to the next, a process known as peering, according to an industry source who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

There’s no indication that Thursday’s outage was the result of a cyberattack or other malicious activity, the industry source said.

A US cyber official tracking the AT&T outage told CNN there has so far been no indication that the outage was caused by malicious cyber activity, but the investigation is ongoing.

However, the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency is “working closely with AT&T to understand the cause of the outage and its impacts, and stand[s] ready to offer any assistance needed,” Eric Goldstein, the agency’s executive assistant director for cybersecurity, said in a statement to CNN.

Full article at -

AT&T’s network went down for many of its customers across the United States Thursday morning, leaving customers unable to place calls, text or access the internet. By late morning, the company said most of its network had been restored.

05/08/2020

CDC alerts. Cybercriminals have sent phishing emails designed to look like they’re from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. The email might falsely claim to link to a list of coronavirus cases in your area. “You are immediately advised to go through the cases above for safety hazard,” the text of one phishing email reads.

Health advice emails. Phishers have sent emails that offer purported medical advice to help protect you against the coronavirus. The emails might claim to be from medical experts near Wuhan, China, where the coronavirus outbreak began. “This little measure can save you,” one phishing email says. “Use the link below to download Safety Measures.”

How do I help avoid scammers and fake ads?
Scammers have posted ads that claim to offer treatment or cures for the coronavirus. The ads often try to create a sense of urgency — for instance, “Buy now, limited supply.”

At least two bad things could happen if you respond to the ads.

One, you might click on an ad and download malware onto your device.

Two, you might buy the product and receive something useless, or nothing at all. Meanwhile, you may have shared personal information such as your name, address, and credit card number.

Bottom line? It’s smart to avoid any ads seeking to capitalize on the coronavirus.

Tips for recognizing and trying to avoid phishing emails
Here are some ways to recognize and avoid coronavirus-themed phishing emails.

Phishing email messages usually try to lure you into clicking on a link or providing personal information that can be used to commit fraud or identity theft. Here’s some tips to avoid getting tricked.

Beware of online requests for personal information. A coronavirus-themed email that seeks personal information like your Social Security number or login information is a phishing scam. Legitimate government agencies won’t ask for that information. Never respond to the email with your personal data.
Check the email address or link. You can inspect a link by hovering your mouse button over the URL to see where it leads. Sometimes, it’s obvious the web address is not legitimate. But keep in mind phishers can create links that closely resemble legitimate addresses. Delete the email.
Watch for spelling and grammatical mistakes. If an email includes spelling, punctuation, and grammar errors, it’s likely a sign you’ve received a phishing email. Delete it.
Look for generic greetings. Phishing emails are unlikely to use your name. Greetings like “Dear sir or madam” signal an email is not legitimate.
Avoid emails that insist you act now. Phishing emails often try to create a sense of urgency or demand immediate action. The goal is to get you to click on a link and provide personal information — right now. Instead, delete the message.

Excerpts taken from Norton Lifelock article here -

Scammers are using phishing emails to profit from the coronavirus outbreak. Learn how to help avoid getting scammed.

04/07/2020

Ransomware attacks have been increasing over the last few years and are one of the leading causes of data loss for companies.

There are few steps that you can perform to help protect your company and your company data from ransomware attacks.
Have a good backup strategy - This is the first law of IT, back up your data. If you have backups then exposure due to hardware failures and malicious attacks can be mitigated
Check your backups - We tell customers that you backup is only as good as the last time you restored it! Check early and often to make sure the backups are running properly.
Protection from the Internet - Hackers are constantly probing for holes. Have a good, stateful inspection firewall that only allows traffic that needs to be on your network. If you are relying on the modem you got from your Internet provider it is likely not enough.
Protection from Internet Traffic that passes your firewall - Email is on of the biggest delivery sources for malware. Have a good anti-virus and malware product on your firewall if possible and also on your internal computers. Multiple lines of defense are necessary!
Educate Your Employees - A training course in how to recognize malware in email, how to avoid it and what to do if you lick the wrong link can easily return the cost of the training in up time and decreased incidents.

If you feel that you could use help with these steps please contact us - [email protected]

04/07/2020

Keep ransomware at bay! Steps to help protect your data.

IndyTek Consulting

03/17/2020

IndyTek offers remote desktop and IT Support

If you are working from home during this time of COVID 19 crisis we can assist with issues that you may have with your connectivity to the Internet, issues with your computer or connections to your office via VPN.

Please email us [email protected] to discuss any issue that you may need assistance with.

IndyTek Consulting

12/23/2019

Is CallerSpy Malware Spying on You?

Meet CallerSpy malware, a new form of mobile malware designed to snoop on calls, texts, and other smartphone communications. This trojan malware is

08/21/2018

Scam of the Week: SharePoint Phishing Attack on Office 365 Users This latest attack uses several familiar aspects of O365 to lull potential victims into an assumption everything is above board. Be on...

04/10/2018

Gmail Phishing Scam

Twitter user shared a recent phishing scam that they received; and it’s so fiendishly clever that it’s gone viral. They wrote: "This is the most clever phishing scam I've ever...