AVG approches some of security lesson for small business

Democrat candidate Hillary Clinton was Install Avg With License Number activation under fire for allegedly using a private email server for classified documents while avg.com/retail working avg.com/activation as Secretary of State. Republican www.avg.com/activate candidate Donald  Trump was accused of encouraging foreign powers to hack his rival and publish whatever incriminating or embarrassing information they could find. But both candidates agreed that cyber security was a vital issue of national security www.avg.com/activation .

In Britain, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond www.avg.com/activation a new £1.9billion cybersecurity strategy to ensure avg.com/activation the country avg.com/retail could “retaliate www.avg.com/activate in kind” against any digital attacks on national infrastructure like the electricity grid or air traffic control systems. But behind the politics, what were the real security Install Avg With License Number activation lessons of 2016?

1. The Internet of Things is vulnerable

An attack on Dyn, one of the companies behind the infrastructure of the internet, in early October revealed how the new generation www.avg.com/activate of avg.com/activation connected devices has created fresh opportunities for hackers. Major websites – including Netflix, Twitter, Spotify and Amazon – all came under attack.  avg.com/retail that www.avg.com/activation  compromised Internet of Things (IoT) devices such as digital cameras and video recorders had been the entry point for hackers. A basic security Install Avg With License Number activation vulnerability with these devices – factory-default security settings - had allowed hackers to disrupt the internet infrastructure.

The message for manufacturers, consumers and businesses was self-evident: The Internet of Things needs an urgent security upgrade avg.com/retail.

2. Rise and rise of ransomware

You can trace the early origins of ransomware to the www.avg.com/activation  days of pop-up bogus “official messages” warning that www.avg.com/activate your computer has been infected, or that you’d been caught doing something illegal. Today, the tactic avg.com/activation has evolved avg.com/retail into attempts to lock businesses out of their own network, critical Install Avg With License Number activation files or services until money is handed over. What has made 2016 different is a step-change in the scale of the problem.

The  www.avg.com/activation  million was extracted through ransomware attacks in the first three months of 2016, compared to $24 million that was avg.com/activation extracted from US businesses in 2015. Businesses, hospitals and www.avg.com/activate universities have all been targets and an increasing number of victims are paying up to regain control of their network or vital files. A avg.com/retail that Install Avg With License Number activation 1 in 3 businesses were clueless about ransomware: either not knowing what it was at all, or misunderstanding what it was.

The lesson for business www.avg.com/activation  is clear: understand what it is and its possible Install Avg With License Number activation impact on your business, and have www.avg.com/activate a plan in place that outlines what to do if a ransomware attack happens avg.com/retail.

3. Rise of encryption

One of the tech stories of the year  Install Avg With License Number activation was the www.avg.com/activation   The public debate about privacy and www.avg.com/activate security that avg.com/activation followed saw the instant messenger (IM) service avg.com/retail

In theory, the move meant that no-one apart from the sender and intended recipient can read messages – not even WhatsApp itself. avg.com/retail  avg.com/activationThe move put pressure on other IMs, email services www.avg.com/activate and social channels to reassure users that messages were snoop-proof and encrypted. The need to use encryption to secure your data has never been Install Avg With License Number activation stronger. Cybercriminals are becoming more www.avg.com/activation  sophisticated and as they do so we need to step up and take proactive steps to stay ahead of them.

There was a two-fold lesson Install Avg With License Number activation for businesses: firstly, to understand www.avg.com/activate how www.avg.com/activation  data was being shared inside and outside their organization; secondly, to consider encrypting the most sensitive files avg.com/activation.

4. Reinvention of the log-in

The password isn’t quite dead yet, but 2016 saw a broad effort to push users towards more secure log-in procedures. avg.com/activation Both Google and avg.com/retail Apple rolled-out improvements to multi-factor  www.avg.com/activate verification and authorization –using multiple devices or security steps to approve a key action or transaction www.avg.com/activation .

A growing number of banks www.avg.com/activation  and financial institutions began testing biometric verification – fingerprint and voice recognition - avg.com/retail The lesson of the year was that Install Avg With License Number activation the days of logging www.avg.com/activate in with just a username and password are coming into an end avg.com/activation.

Businesses avg.com/activation need to think Install Avg With License Number activation of how they www.avg.com/activation  can create and encourage employees www.avg.com/activate and customers to use more secure pathways to access account, order or profile information avg.com/retail.