Data Security
News from Data Security
Remote Desktop Warning
This article outlines why you need a VPN (Virtual Private Network) when using any type of remote desktop software. Call us if you are not using a VPN. It is free with Windows 10 PRO. Ever since it was discovered six months ago, a malicious software called BlueKeep was found in a Windows component known as Remote Desktop Services. It affects machines running unpatched versions More »
Why it is important to log off or close an application program before shutting down your computer
Recently, we had a client call us in a panic stating “all of my project files are gone”. It appeared that all the project files they were working on, some as old as two years, went “missing”. Upon further investigation we found that all of these files, close to 200, were still on the server, but they were corrupted. Since they were corrupted, the files More »
Alexa and Google Home Abused to Eavesdrop
Privacy threats posed by Amazon Alexa and Google Home are common knowledge. Workers for both companies routinely listen to audio of users—recordings of which can be kept forever—and the sounds the devices capture can be used in criminal trials. Now, there’s a new concern: malicious apps developed by third parties and hosted by Amazon or Google. The threat isn’t just theoretical. Whitehat hackers at Germany’s More »
Report Says Average Cost of Downtime Due to Ransomware Highest in Canada
The world’s most prominent malware threat is alive and well, and its devastating financial impact on businesses has only increased, especially in Canada, according to Datto Inc.’s fourth annual Global State of the Channel Ransomware Report. In 2019, Canada has the highest average cost of downtime related to a ransomware attack at $180,000, according to Datto’s annual survey. Last year, that number was $65,724. More than 1,400 managed service More »
Why You Should Never Swipe Your Credit or Debit Cards
Hopefully credit and debit card users know about cards with little gold squares called security chips. If you have a card with a chip you should NOT swipe the card when you pay for things. Swiping is bad, because the machine reads your personal data on the black stripe on the back of the card. And the machines that read that data can be easily More »
US Bank Withholding Canadian Coffee Stand’s Revenue
The owners of a Toronto coffee stand say Square Canada has told them they can no longer use the popular payment technology because of concerns the coffee stand is selling beverages made from Cuban coffee beans. Square Canada allows customers to tap or swipe their financial cards to pay for things — in this case coffee from Toronto’s Little Havana coffee stand https://www.thelittlehavanacafe.com/ Little Havana’s More »
Tech Companies Need to Allow Remote Work to Compete
Tech companies will need to start allowing for more remote work opportunities, as location was found to be an important factor for tech workers in Toronto, according to a new study by Hired.com. 29 per cent of respondents stated they would not consider a job that requires more than 30 minutes to commute to and 65 per cent said they would be interested in a position More »
Folders of Data Belonging to Scotiabank Found on GitHub
A researcher has discovered application source code and private login keys to back end systems on GitHub repositories. The accusation comes from IT pro Jason Coulls, who, according to the online news service The Register, recently discovered the unprotected folders of data belonging to Scotiabank. “These repositories featured, among other things, software blueprints and access keys for a foreign exchange rate system, mobile application code, and login credentials More »
I Can’t Start My Car – The App is Down!
Some Tesla owners reported being locked out of their vehicles on Labor Day evening because the electric car’s app was down. The problem is, app connectivity shouldn’t have any effect on unlocking a Tesla. On Labor Day evening, numerous drivers found their apps were down “for maintenance” and they were locked out of their vehicles, some for several hours. Tesla allows owners to unlock their cars both More »
Not Again! Medical Data Breach
A Calgary doctor uses his personal Gmail account to communicate sensitive personal health information, does not protect his account, and whammo: 7,000 of his patients now have their private information circulating on the web. Never use your personal email to communicate business sensitive information. In this case, the doctor had been provided with a secure email service by the Alberta Health Service. With many companies, the More »