Hackers and cyber-criminals have been leveraging the hype and fear connected with the growing COVID-19 (Coronavirus) situation as a tool to steal passwords and data.

Several of the security research firms have reported an increase in malicious domain registrations, an increase in Malware infected emails and phishing attacks.  NGT has also seen a direct increase in brute force attacks against assets we maintain.

 

The bad guys know when people get stressed or scared they click on things they shouldn’t because they are in a hurry.  So they are exploiting that.

          – “Think before you click!”

The bad guys know that IT professionals might be distracted with the state of things, so they use this time to ‘attack’ firewalls and systems to see if they can find a hole.

          – NGT uses automation and alerting to help combat this.

 

How do I stop the bad guys? 

  • Do not click on links in emails and then provide your credentials.  Go to the site you know directly.
  • Do not provide credentials over the phone. Hang up and call the person back on a number you KNOW is correct.
  • Do not use the same password in multiple places! If the bad guy gets one, then they have them all.  Each system you use should have a different password.
  • See “Episode #5: Good Passwords” for more info on creating strong passwords.
  • Learn more about this yourself and help teach family and coworkers.
  • Subscribe to our blog by going to www.ngtnet.net and click on the Blog tab to continue to learn ways to protect yourself.

If you’re not sure, please feel free to reach out to NGT by going to http://www.ngthelp.com to call, email or chat with our help desk staff!