How to keep your children safe online?

Security for kids vs. end users: Who needs to be locked down more?

While IT departments often go to great lengths to enforce safety policies, there are very few households that have any security in place or enforce any internet safety policies.

In theory, there are ways to restrict what times devices can connect, what sites family members can visit, and which apps they can download… but does anyone actually implement these security measures at home?

Whether it’s to keep them from downloading malware, falling victim to scams, leaking sensitive information, or going to unsafe online spaces, who do you think needs to be locked down more… kids or end users in the office?

Both kids at home and end users in the office need safeguarding, but in different ways to address their unique security risks. With children, the concern is about exposure to inappropriate content, cyberbullying, and risky interactions online. Employees often manage sensitive company data, making them potential targets for phishing, malware, and social engineering attacks. In this environment, locking down access through policies, permissions, multi-factor authentication, and employee training is crucial to maintain data integrity and security.

Is Microsoft 365 enough to secure your business?

The benefits of Microsoft 365 as a security measure for your business

In today’s digital landscape, the threat of cyber-attacks looms large over businesses of all sizes. Protecting your company’s sensitive data and ensuring seamless business operations are more crucial than ever. As an IT service provider, we understand the importance of robust security measures, and we believe that Microsoft 365 stands out as a comprehensive solution. Here’s how Microsoft 365’s advanced security tools, including DMARC, Graphus, and Spanning, can help safeguard your business.

1. Email Security with DMARC

Email remains a primary vector for cyber-attacks, with phishing and spoofing being common tactics used by attackers. Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance (DMARC) is a protocol that helps protect your email domain from being used for malicious purposes.

• • • Authentication: DMARC ensures that emails are authenticated against the sender’s domain, reducing the risk of phishing attacks by verifying that the sender is legitimate.
    • Reporting: It provides detailed reports on email activity, helping you monitor and analyse any suspicious attempts to use your domain.
    • Compliance: DMARC aids in maintaining email security compliance, which is crucial for businesses overseeing sensitive data.

2. Anti-Phishing with Graphus

Graphus is an AI-driven email security solution designed to defend against sophisticated phishing and spear-phishing attacks. By leveraging artificial intelligence, Graphus provides an added layer of security to your Microsoft 365 environment.

• • • AI Protection: Graphus uses advanced algorithms to detect and block phishing attempts in real-time, ensuring that malicious emails are intercepted before they reach your employees.
    • Employee Shield: This feature alerts employees about potential threats, empowering them to recognise and avoid phishing attempts.
    • Automated Response: Graphus automatically quarantines suspicious emails and provides administrators with actionable insights, reducing the time and effort required to manage email security.

3. Data Backup and Recovery with Spanning

Data loss can be catastrophic for any business. Spanning provides cloud-based backup and recovery solutions, ensuring that your critical data is always protected and recoverable.

• • • Automated Backups: Spanning automatically backs up your Microsoft 365 data, including emails, files, and SharePoint sites, reducing the risk of data loss due to accidental deletion or cyber-attacks.
    • Quick Recovery: In the event of data loss, Spanning allows for quick and easy recovery of lost files, minimising downtime and ensuring business continuity.
    • Compliance and Security: With Spanning, your data is encrypted and stored securely, helping you meet regulatory compliance requirements and protect sensitive information.

4. Comprehensive Threat Protection

Beyond DMARC, Graphus, and Spanning, Microsoft 365 offers a suite of integrated security features designed to protect your business from a wide range of threats.

• • • Advanced Threat Protection (ATP): ATP safeguards your business against sophisticated threats hidden in email attachments and links.
    • Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): MFA adds an extra layer of security by requiring multiple forms of verification before granting access to your accounts.
    • Information Protection: Microsoft 365 includes tools to classify, label, and protect sensitive data, ensuring that your information remains secure even if it is shared externally.

AI, a threat to your business

Why the widespread interest in AI?

Since the release of ChatGPT in December 2022, we have witnessed a surge in products and services incorporating AI integrations for both internal and customer use. Organisations across various sectors are now embedding large language models (LLMs) into their services and operations. This trend has sparked widespread interest in other applications of AI among a broad audience.

The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) aims to ensure that everyone can benefit from the full potential of AI. However, to fully realise these opportunities, AI must be developed, deployed, and operated securely and responsibly. Cybersecurity is essential for ensuring the safety, resilience, privacy, fairness, efficacy, and reliability of AI systems.

What AI security threats to look out for?

1. Automated attacks and exploits: Hackers are using AI to automate their attacks on companies. With AI, they can quickly find weaknesses in a company’s computer systems and applications. These weaknesses could be things like easy-to-guess passwords or flaws in the system’s security. AI algorithms help hackers launch large-scale attacks on many companies at once. By doing this, they increase their chances of successfully breaking into a company’s network.

2. Advanced phishing and social engineering: AI is also aiding hackers in carrying out more sophisticated phishing attacks. Phishing is when hackers trick people into giving them their personal information, like passwords or credit card numbers. With AI, hackers can create more convincing emails and messages. AI algorithms analyse a lot of data to make these messages look real and personalised. It becomes harder for people to tell if the messages are from real or fake sources.

3. Sneaky malware and dodging security: Hackers are now using AI to create malware that is harder to detect. Malware is malicious software that hackers use to gain unauthorised access to computers or steal data. AI helps hackers design malware that can hide from security software. The malware can change its code or behaviour to avoid being detected by antivirus programs. This makes it more difficult for companies to protect their systems from these attacks.

4. Cracking passwords and fooling biometric systems: Passwords are a common way to protect our accounts, but hackers are using AI to crack them. AI algorithms can guess passwords by trying many different combinations. They can also use information from past data breaches to figure out common password patterns. Additionally, hackers are using AI to create fake fingerprints or voice recordings to trick biometric systems. Biometric systems use unique physical characteristics like fingerprints or voiceprints for security, but AI helps hackers bypass these systems.

5. Analysing data for targeted attacks: Hackers are using AI to gather and analyse large amounts of data. They can collect information from social media, leaked databases, and other sources. With AI, hackers can find patterns in the data that help them launch more targeted attacks. They can tailor their attacks to exploit specific weaknesses or trick certain individuals. This makes it easier for them to steal valuable information from companies.