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US Gov’t Issues Malware Warning Tied to Hurricane Matthew

MalwareWeather isn’t the only threat to fear in a hurricane. Cyber criminals are using the chaos and destruction following Hurricane Matthew to take advantage of unsuspecting web users using malware and phishing scams. The US Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) issued a press release tuesday with six preventative measures to take.

US-CERT warns users to remain vigilant for malicious cyber activity seeking to capitalize on interest in Hurricane Matthew. Users are advised to exercise caution in handling any email with subject line, attachments, or hyperlinks related to Hurricane Matthew, even if it appears to originate from a trusted source. Fraudulent emails will often contain links or attachments that direct users to phishing or malware-infected websites. Emails requesting donations from deceptive charitable organizations commonly appear after major natural disasters.

US-CERT encourages users and administrators to use caution when encountering these types of email messages and take the following preventative measures to protect themselves from phishing scams and malware campaigns:

    • Do not follow unsolicited web links in email messages.
    • Use caution when opening email attachments. Refer to the Security Tip Using Caution with Email Attachments for more information on safely handling email attachments.
    • Keep antivirus and other computer software up-to-date.
    • Refer to the Security Tip Avoiding Social Engineering and Phishing Attacks for more information on social engineering attacks.
    • Review the Federal Trade Commission information on Charity Scams.
    • Verify the legitimacy of any email solicitation by contacting the organization directly through a trusted contact number. You can find trusted contact information for many charities on the BBB National Charity Report Index.

Be wary of hurricane related content from untrusted sources. If you’re unsure if your antivirus is up-to-date, or if your network is secure, contact the security experts at Great Lakes Computer today.

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Google Amps Up Internet Security For Everyone

Internet SecurityThere are lots of ways that hackers can get to you. They can find you on public wifi, access data through your smartphones, and send you infected emails. But the easiest route they can take is the internet, via simple web surfing. With one click of a mouse, you can end up on an infected site unknowingly, giving cyber criminals a back door to your data. But Google is trying to help. Here’s an article, from Network World, that tells us just how Google is doing it.

Google is now providing more information to website owners whose online properties are temporarily blocked as unsafe by its Safe Browsing technology as a way to help them fix the identified problems faster.

Google Safe Browsing is a technology used by Google’s search engine, the Google Chrome browser, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, and Android to steer users away from websites that host malicious or deceptive content.

On the back-end, Google uses robots to scan the web and build a list of websites that host malware, harmful downloads, or deceptive ads and pages. Software developers can then plug into an API to integrate this list into their own applications.

The problem is that many websites hosting malware or bad ads don’t do so intentionally but were hacked by attackers. The owners of those websites can ask Google to rescan their properties and have them removed from the Safe Browsing blacklist once the security problems have been corrected.

Webmasters are encouraged to proactively register their websites in the Search Console even if those websites have never been affected by a security issue. This will save them time when something does happen because Google will send notifications through the service as soon as Safe Browsing detects a problem.

Google estimates that more than a billion users are protected by its Safe Browsing technology, and more than 60 million of them encounter Safe Browsing warnings on a weekly basis. As of May, webmasters took around 60 days on average to clean their websites once they were notified of a compromise, according to Google’s data. This is an improvement from a 90-day average response time in May 2015.

Maintaining your network security should be your number one priority. If you think you may be a victim of malware, the computer techs at Great Lakes Computer can help. We can remove existing issues, as well as set you up with a robust antivirus program to protect you in the future.

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EMV Everywhere: All About the Chip Card Revolution

EMVAll of the major credit card schemes and card issuing banks have been transitioning to payment by chip card, also known as EMV. It’s an older but highly secure technology that is almost impossible to hack. The move to this type of credit card is in direct response to major database hacks of retailers and small-time theft of credit card information. The annual cost of card fraud in the US alone is in the billions of dollars.

Now retailers have to use a POS system that accepts chip cards or assume all liability for fraudulent transactions. It’s an inconvenience to retailers to upgrade, but the benefits far outweigh the trouble of installing a new POS system to accept chip cards.

What Does EMV Stand For?

EMV is an acronym for Europay, Mastercard and Visa. It’s a standard that’s been used in countries around the globe for over 20 years. It works through a microprocessor chip embedded in the card. This microprocessor contains all of the cardholder’s account information. The chip transmits all of the necessary data to the POS system which then sends it to through the merchant service account.

How Does an EMV Chip Work and Why is it Better Than a Magnetic Stripe?

The current technology of the magnetic stripe is inherently insecure. A terminal pulls information off the magnetic stripe when swiped and stores the information in a local database. This system worked fine prior to the days of massive customer information databases. People swiped their cards, information was transmitted, and the information was locked down tight. The rise of stores like Walmart and Target meant that thousands of cards were being swiped every minute and creating a logistical nightmare for data storage. The problems begin when retailers hold onto credit card information for various reasons but fail to keep that information secure. Hackers on the lookout for easy money found that major retailers were ripe for the picking when it came to stealing credit card numbers. Thieves then cloned the credit card information onto the magnetic stripe of a realistic looking credit card and went out shopping.

The EMV chip works by adding a layer of authenticity that a magnetic stripe can’t match. The chip contains information that ties the card to its owner in a way no magnetic strip ever could. Cardholder information is still transmitted and held in a database, but it’s useless to a thief as it’s impossible for a thief to clone an embedded microprocessor.

How do Businesses get a Credit Card Chip Reader?

It depends. Businesses using a single POS system can call their merchant account provider and inquire about getting a replacement that accepts chip cards. Retailers who have an integrated POS system need to do more work and get a chip reader that works with their existing system. All POS machine and system makers have been aware of the switch for some time, so a replacement reader/swiper shouldn’t be too difficult to obtain and install.

There’s a definite learning curve occurring everywhere as merchants, and customers, adopt this new technology, but it’s worth the wait for your security. Great Lakes Computer offers POS system repair and maintenance, and can help retailers with their chip card terminal needs.

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