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Criminals are exploiting AI to create more convincing scams

24th May 2023
Criminals are using AI to scam you

One of the many cool things about the new wave of Artificial Intelligence tools is their ability to sound convincingly human.

AI chatbots can be prompted to generate text that you’d never know was written by a robot. And they can keep producing it – quickly, and with minimal human intervention.

So it’s no surprise that cyber criminals have been using AI chatbots to try to make their own lives easier.

Police have identified the three main ways crooks have found to use the chatbot for malicious reasons.

  1. Better phishing emails

Until now, terrible spelling and grammar have made it easy to spot many phishing emails. These are intended to trick you into clicking a link to download malware or steal information. AI-written text is way harder to spot, simply because it isn’t riddled with mistakes.

Worse, criminals can make every phishing email they send unique, making it harder for spam filters to spot potentially dangerous content.

  • Spreading misinformation

“Write me ten social media posts that accuse the CEO of the Acme Corporation of having an affair. Mention the following news outlets”.  Spreading misinformation and disinformation may not seem like an immediate threat to you, but it could lead to your employees falling for scams, clicking malware links, or even damage the reputation of your business or members of your team.

  • Creating malicious code

AI can already write pretty good computer code and is getting better all the time. Criminals could use it to create malware.

It’s not the software’s fault – it’s just doing what it’s told – but until there’s a reliable way for the AI creators to safeguard against this, it remains a potential threat.

The creators of AI tools are not the ones responsible for criminals taking advantage of their powerful software. ChatGPT creator OpenAI, for example, is working to prevent its tools from being used maliciously.

What this does show is the need to stay one step ahead of the cyber crooks in everything we do. That’s why we work so hard with our clients to keep them protected from criminal threats, and informed about what’s coming next.

If you’re concerned about your people falling for increasingly sophisticated scams, be sure to keep them updated about how the scams work and what to look out for.

If you need help with that, get in touch.

Published with permission from Your Tech Updates.

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3 essential security tools for every business

16th May 2023
3 essential security tools for every business

Your data is one of your most valuable business assets. Keeping it safe should be one of your main priorities. So if you don’t have much security in place, there’s a minimum standard you should be implementing, right now.

There are dozens of security solutions available that all perform different tasks – from preventing criminals gaining access, to recognising attacks in progress, and then limiting the damage that can be done. There’s no one-size-fits-all as every business has different priorities and different types of data to protect.

Here are three essentials that every business should put in place as a basic level of protection.

  1. A firewall

A firewall monitors the internet traffic coming into and leaving your IT network. It acts as a wall between your network and the outside world. It’s your first line of defence against an intruder breaking in to your network.

  •  A password manager for everyone in the business.

A password manager stores all your credentials securely, and can also generate nearly impossible-to-guess passwords for all your accounts and applications.

That’s useful against brute force attacks, where cyber criminals essentially try to force their way into your system by guessing the password. It also stops you writing down your passwords somewhere ‘safe’!

  • A VPN (Virtual Private Network)

A VPN is important for any remote or hybrid workers in your business.

It means your employees can access your network from wherever they’re working, without worrying that their online activity is being watched by a criminal.

VPNs make your browsing completely private, hiding your device and location details, and anything you download. If you or your employees regularly use public Wi-Fi – especially to access your network – a VPN is essential.

These are our absolute minimum recommendations.

The strongest security uses additional tools like Multi-Factor Authentication to prove the identity of all users, and antivirus software to deal with any intrusions.

These work together to create a multi-layered security shield to defend against threats on many fronts.

But it’s important you create a security plan that’s right for your specific business. It’s a good idea to seek some professional help.

Not everyone’s as excited about IT security as we are! But we definitely have a passion for it.

If we can help you, get in touch.

Published with permission from Your Tech Updates.

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10 Common Tech Problems Plymouth Businesses Are Eliminating From Their Business Forever

9th May 2023

They say, “You get what you tolerate” and now more than ever, we’ve been conditioned to tolerate worse service at higher prices. Companies get a ‘free pass’ simply by saying phrases like “the labour shortage,” “because COVID,” or “inflation.”

But it doesn’t have to be that way.

While you may be able to still do business even with some less-than-stellar vendors in some areas, if all your computers were to suddenly stop working, your network go down, your files gone, chances are you’d be dead in the water.

Your business depends on technology, and you need to make sure everything is up and running RIGHT and you’re protected ALL the time.

Here’s a list of ten common problems, complaints and just downright failures in service we hear of all the time…and I’ll show you how to eliminate them in your business.

  1. When you call your IT company, your message goes to voicemail and you’re stuck waiting hours (or even days) for a call back so your problem gets resolved.
  2. You often must reach out multiple times to get a problem resolved and you need to check back to see what the status is and get a timeframe.
  3. Your IT company doesn’t proactively monitor, patch and update your computer network’s critical security settings daily (or at least weekly) leaving your entire business vulnerable to attacks.  
  4. Your IT company doesn’t offer proof that they are backing up ALL your data, laptops and devices.
  5. Your IT company doesn’t meet with you regularly (at least once a quarter) to report what they’ve been doing, review projects and offer new ways to improve your network’s performance instead of waiting until you have a problem to make recommendations.
  6. Your IT company doesn’t provide detailed invoices that clearly explain what you are paying for.
  7. Your IT company doesn’t explain what they are doing and answer your questions in terms that you can understand, NOT in “geek speak” and they don’t routinely ask if there’s anything else they can help with, no matter how small.
  8. Your IT company doesn’t proactively discuss cybersecurity with you or make recommendations for protecting your network from ransomware and offer employee training videos, so they don’t fall victim to a scam.
  9. Your IT company hasn’t provided you complete network documentation, and they hold the “keys to the kingdom” refusing to give you admin passwords so you’re totally helpless if something goes wrong and you can’t get a hold of them.
  10. Techs arrive late and dressed like they just got out of bed, and you cringe every time you need to make that call because they’ll make you feel dumb or like they are ‘doing you a favor’ even though you’re paying them!

If you’re tolerating any of these common problems, know that you don’t have to! You could be paying for substandard support and worse, not be keeping your company protected.

This could jeopardize your data and your network’s security and cost you thousands in lost productivity because you and your employees are spending time dealing with problems that shouldn’t exist.

If that’s the case, then it’s time you see what else is out there and make sure you’re getting what you pay for.

To schedule a free 10-minute discovery call to see how we can get rid of your tech issues, go to https://limbtec.com/book-a-call

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When did you last have a health check?

23rd January 2023
When did you last have a health check?

Did you start a January Health kick? How is it going?

January is that time of year when a lot of us take our health seriously, well for a month or so! It is a good thing to look after yourself, and do something about it.

Your doctor would probably like to see you once a year for a health check, just to find any small problems and stop them from progressing.

It is the same principle with your technology.

So why not book in for an IT check-up, to make sure everything is in great shape for the coming months.

After all we do this for Ourselves, or our car, and it’s a good plan to do the same with your workplace tech. After all it might be working really hard in the year ahead.

What would we do

We will help pick up any minor-but-urgent fixes, that could help prevent a disastrous breakdown in a few months time. (we have just seen this where we identified an issue with a server, which went on the break, and was unable to be repaired just 4 months later)

If there are bigger, but no-urgent jobs that you can safely leave for another day, we will tell you that too.

And if you get a clean bill of health, you can carry on with confidence for the coming months.

It may also be a great time to think about new technology and prioritise your IT projects. We can look at what you need to do with your systems as your business grows.

Our experts carry out top to toe IT health checks for all kinds of businesses, and we will give you honest jargon-free advice on the best solutions for a trouble-free tech set up.

To book your check-up, get in touch

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Windows is the prime target for cyber criminals

18th December 2022
Windows is the prime target for cyber criminals

Windows is the prome target for cyber criminals, the bigget reason why is its huge dominance in the workplace. The bad actors are trying to steal your information, disrupt your business, or hold your data to ransom.

Tens of millions of attempted malware attacks were discovered throughout this year, and a massive 95% of those threats were targeted at Windows.

Although most of these are unsuccessful, those that are succsessful can cause havoc for the affected businesses. The best way to minimise or prevent this is by taking all possible precautions to protect your business and your data.

  • Hardware and software companies release regular updates to address threats to Windows users, as well as security patches designed specifically to deal with new risks. These should all be installed as soon as they become available.
  • Your people should be regularly trained in how to spot cyber security threats and what to do if they suspect one.
  • And because it’s not possible to protect every business from 100% of all threats, it’s also important that you have a strong resilience plan in place.

Resilience Plan

This should detail exactly how your business should react if it falls victim to a cyber attack and who should be notified to take action. Everyone in the company should have access to this document and know to report any potential attack as quickly as possible – that’s the best way to lessen its impact.

If you have an IT service provider, they’ll be able to make the best recommendations to keep your business safe and secure, train your people, and even provide monitoring to spot any potential danger before it becomes a problem.

This is something we do every day. So if we can help your business become more resilient, just get in touch.

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The Global Chip Shortage and your business.

24th July 2022
The global chip shortage and what it means for your business.

The global chip shortage has been with us for the past couple of years, the tech world has been struggling with a huge shortage of chips.

But it’s not just tech businesses that are feeling the impact.

Pretty much everything we use every day has at least one chip in it. Laptops and desktops, sure. But also household appliances, even our cars. It’s hard to find an electric device without at least one chip.

This global chip shortage has the potential to disrupt our modern lives.

Did you know, it’s been ongoing since 2020 (ah, that year really was a gift, wasn’t it)?

It started during the pandemic as production fell while demand went up.

Other events since have made it worse, including extreme weather, the Ukraine war and a factory fire.

The need to increase chip production

We’re told that increasing chip production isn’t easy. It can take years to build a new factory because of the unique production demands.

Of course, all of this is someone else’s problem. Let’s make it real to you – what does this actually mean for your business?

Essentially it means you need to plan ahead more.

Some of the technology you need to run your business may be in short supply.

As an example, getting large numbers of the same laptop might be difficult, compared to getting just 2 or 3.

And some of the essential devices you rarely think about as they’re in the background, such as network switches, are currently much harder to get.

As you push your business towards increased growth it means planning ahead more than ever before.

Industry experts expect the shortage to last into next year… and it could be even longer.

Would you like to run your growth plans by us, so we can advise what might need to be ordered, when? Get in touch.

Published with permission from Your Tech Updates.

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