Posted by: TAZ Networks on November 22, 2017 at 4:59 pm
Short week, big tech news.
News Roundup: Uber Breach, Net Neutrality & More
Short week, lots of tech news. Let’s go.
Uber Breach
You probably heard about this, but Uber was hacked — 57 million accounts compromised. While not a huge breach, the newsworthy part is that Uber not only paid off the hackers, but did not disclose the breach for a year! Not even to the owners of the 600,000 stolen drivers license numbers.
Now that this has hit the news, be aware that hackers are going to use this in phishing and other scam emails. Usually, this kind of email looks something like “Warning, your Uber account was compromised” with a link to a site where you can “change your password” or “verify your account.” But what really happens is the page will:
- steal your Uber login info and use it to try to crack your other online accounts,
- steal personal financial information like a credit card number or your Social Security number,
- install a keylogger, virus, or some other malware,
- or all of the above.
Please note: you might get a “warning” email even if you don’t have an Uber account.
So, yes, change your Uber password. But don’t do it from a link in an unsolicited email, even if it looks legit. Log in from a regular browser, or a bookmark you already have.
Make sure your staff is aware of this risk as well. Most business compromises come from this kind of incident. Once the bad guys have a valid email, they use it for more targeted attacks, like the W-2 scam or the wire transfer scam. All the scammers need to get started is a valid email address.
This is a good time to have your IT person or service provider review your network security. Next-generation firewalls, anti-virus and anti-malware software, as well as email spam control and quarantine are all good defenses against general and targeted phishing scams. If you need help with your small business network security, contact us.
Net Neutrality
Quick primer on this: Under rules established in 2015, internet providers must allow the free-flow of digital traffic for all content. They can’t slow down one content provider (like your web site) in favor of another (like Netflix).
Basically (very basically), the FCC is proposing to roll back that rule, redefine what telecom providers are, and 200+ pages of other changes. Many, many tech experts are concerned that this will result in higher costs for individuals and small businesses.
The FCC is scheduled to vote on whether to accept the new rules on December 14.
TAZ Networks – Holiday Schedule
Our consultants are available as much as possible within general business hours. To that end, we only close on the actual dates of winter holidays, or the Friday before if the holiday falls on a Saturday; Monday after for Sunday holidays. We also have someone on call for extended hours, including holidays, for our Complete Managed IT Care clients.
TAZ Networks will be closed on:
- Thursday, November 23, 2017
- Monday, December 25, 2017
- Monday, January 1, 2018
On-call coverage is between 8 AM and 11 PM. For critical issues, email or leave a voice mail, and our on-call consultant will contact you within 2 hours.
Network monitoring continues 24/7, with alerts in place in case issues come up.
Have a great weekend and don’t set your kitchen on fire.