Small-Business Nightmare A PHISHING ATTACK LEAVES A FIRM OFFLINE FOR 22 DAYS
For most small businesses, cybersecurity means antivirus software. Deploying firewalls or employing someone to monitor their technology is too expensive. Because of this, 57% of small businesses have experienced a cyberattack within the past year, and 60% of small businesses will fail within six months of a hack. Unfortunately, our tech experts at MicroTech Systems have witnessed the toll a lack of cybersecurity can have on a small business. Catching a Big Phish Jenny, whose name has been changed, is the owner of a boutique marketing firm. Her business primarily functioned on Microsoft’s Office 365 platform. Jenny’s firm was covered with firewalls, antivirus programs, and monitoring — a rarity for small businesses. One morning, Jenny received an email from “Microsoft,” notifying her that her payment had been declined. The letterhead, font, and message were indicative of Microsoft, but rather than clicking the login portal, Jenny asked her bookkeeper to verify her credit card information. A week later, she received a different email, and she clicked on the link. But the URL said “electriccompany.microsoft.com,” and Jenny knew she had made a mistake. Thinking correctly, she changed her passwords immediately. Nothing happened at first, but soon, her account and company were sent through the wringer.
Jenny ultimately waited 22 days to regain access to her email, spent more than 17 hours on the phone managing the problem, and had 21,000 spam emails sent from her account. Today, she still gets phishing emails, and if anyone at the firm clicks on them, this nightmare could start up again.
What You Can Do Identifying phishing emails and websites requires trained observation. The first email Jenny received was sent from “support.onmicrosoft.com,” but the letterhead and message made it difficult to notice this subtle change. Even worse, firewalls and antiviruses cannot prevent this attack.
Instead, there are three ways you can prevent this kind of breach.
1. Educate yourself and your employees about phishing. 2. Enable two-factor authentication on all of your accounts, which will make it more difficult for hackers to steal data. 3. Always authenticate, document, and verify requests for information. These methods aren’t foolproof, but they will help. Learn more about protecting your small business by calling MicroTech Systems at (208) 345- 0054. Read more of Jenny’s story on our blog at MicroTechBoise.com. The vet discovered that Roxy had significant nerve damage, and her left front limb would suffer because of it. She was in stable condition that night, and we could take her home without an amputation for the foreseeable future. Thankful that Roxy was still alive, we loaded up the truck and headed home. By around 7:30 p.m., we finally pulled into our subdivision. But as we rounded the corner to our home, I took the corner a little too close and clipped the mailbox with the trailer. The mailbox went flying into the street while our neighbors stood in their driveways laughing and teasing us. Keri immediately broke down in tears. Shocked, the neighbors apologized, comforting Keri and reminding her that it was just a mailbox. But after our three-hour trek had turned into a nearly 10-hour nightmare, Keri, the kids, and I were done. In response, I said, “That’s it. This day is over. Everybody is going to bed right now.” We all climbed into our beds with empty bellies and horrifying memories and fell asleep. Today, Roxy is 12 years old, and she never did have to get her left leg amputated. It shriveled up against her chest, and she hasn’t let it stop her! And, despite me accidentally maiming her, she still loves us. Thankfully, we can all now laugh at the horror show that was this trip home, but in the moment, it was beyond exasperating. ... continued from Cover
Have a Laugh!
And that’s why we have a three-legged dog.
–Randy Amorebieta page 3
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