Soteria’s Flexible Options for Cloud Backup | Real-Time Cloud Backup

How to schedule your backups with ease

Backing up your important data couldn’t be more essential at a time when cybercriminals are unleashing increasingly sophisticated attacks on businesses across the country.

Cyber attacks on SA’s government departments have been particularly malicious in recent months with the Companies and Intellectual property Commission (CIPC) the latest victim of a security compromise, likely a result of under investment in the right security systems.

But for many business owners, the backup process remains a mystery, especially when it comes to scheduling and execution.

To help you keep your company’s data safe in the cloud, we’d like to cover the flexible options for cloud backup and highlight why scheduling correctly will help you manage your data effectively without using up too much storage.

Backups are a lifesaver when cybercriminals strike

If you’ve been following the news recently, you may be worried that a cyberattack could compromise your access to company data – and you’d be right to worry. Cyberattacks continued to plague South Africa in 2023 and criminals are only getting smarter; 28% of attacks against smart devices in Africa originated in SA last year according to Kaspersky.

One of the tactics that cybercriminals use to extort their victims is the threat of permanently deleting or corrupting files that the company needs in order to function.
An explanation for why companies agree to pay the ransom could be because the most recent backup they have is too old and they genuinely can’t do without the files that are being held hostage.

But all of this can be avoided with regular backups.

Best flexible options for cloud backup to give for peace of mind and efficiency

It makes sense that your business needs to have the most recent version of its files saved in the cloud, but how recent is recent enough?

Files that are updated daily should be backed up daily, and ditto for those that are updated weekly and monthly.
However, tracking the frequency of file updates can be a nightmare.
It’s best to update all your files as often as possible so that frequently changing documents will still be up to date if you need to restore them

A daily backup can be easily scheduled with our streamlined backup system options.

Your data will automatically move to the cloud in encrypted form and you can choose to overwrite older versions of files to save storage space – especially if your business uses a large amount of data for its storage each month.

If you do need more storage as your business grows, our flexible cloud backup options will let you size up your storage as and when you need it.

To learn more about our secure cloud storage packages for businesses, visit our product page today.

New Job Post New Target | Hackers

LinkedIn Privacy – Don’t Let Your New Job Post be a New Target for Hackers

LinkedIn is a fantastic social network for connecting with colleagues and industry associates, but posting about your latest new job on the platform could make you a target for cybercrime.

Here’s a brief overview of the current threats on LinkedIn and how to keep your profile secure.

Cybercriminals targeting professionals on LinkedIn

The excitement of getting a new job is something we all like to share with our social network – but unfortunately they aren’t the only ones looking at our LinkedIn profiles.

A new wave of cybercrimes using LinkedIn is on the rise with professionals around the world wishing for the days when their most annoying connection requests came from pushy recruiters.

Today, hackers and cybercriminals are tracking professionals who have started new jobs and using the information they gather to carry out impersonation scams.

The typical MO of a LinkedIn impersonation scam goes like this:

The new employee who has recently joined a company receives an email from their boss or supervisor, requesting that they make an unexpected purchase or funds transfer.
Not wanting to make a bad impression on the boss, many overly trusting people will follow the instructions as given – only to find that their actual manager knows nothing about the request.

In reality, the person who sent the email was simply impersonating a senior member of the company after researching both the employee’s and manager’s details on LinkedIn. This double violation of privacy has cost workers in various countries a small fortune – and you certainly don’t want it happening in your organisation.

As online scams escalate, privacy protection is non-negotiable

Protecting your LinkedIn profile from unwanted eyes – and ensuring that everyone in your company does the same – is an essential first step when it comes to avoiding these LinkedIn scams that are becoming more and more common.

Employees should be guided to not accept connection requests from people they don’t know and have never interacted with before.
The onboarding process is an ideal opportunity to educate your team on the importance of verifying that emails are legitimate and have been sent from one of the company’s official email addresses before following instructions.

Online scams and other cyberthreats are a reality that every business needs to prepare for. To secure your confidential data and enjoy peace of mind, browse our range of secure cloud storage solutions today.

WhatsApp scams Increase | Apps

Watch out for new WhatsApp scams

Most people these days use WhatsApp to stay in touch, and work teams frequently communicate with colleagues using the popular app.

Unfortunately, cybercriminals keep finding ways of impersonating WhatsApp contacts and that could lead to serious financial losses for unsuspecting victims.

We have posted before about the dangers of Whatsapp scams and it seems like fraudsters keep getting smarter, coming up with new ways of causing trouble using the app to pose as friends, relatives, managers, and business entities.

Here’s what to look out for as a WhatsApp user in 2023.

That message from the boss? Check that it’s not fake

The latest WhatsApp scam going around the country involves messages that sound like they’re from your boss or manager.

In reality, these communications are the work of criminals bent on defrauding your company.

If you receive a message claiming to be from your manager or another senior member of staff, it’s essential to verify that the person who sent it is really who they say they are.
A message of any kind from an unknown number, asking you to make a purchase or transfer funds, should raise a flag and be regarded as suspicious until such time as you have verified the sender.
Receiving a “help, I’m in trouble” message from someone claiming to be a colleague can be alarming, but before you fire up your banking app to assist them, it’s essential to verify their identity – preferably with a phone call.

Despite online security measures, there’s no denying that a big part of our lives are public knowledge nowadays – and cybercriminals are more than capable of researching a company and identifying its managers and team members to carry out these kinds of attacks.

Beware of fake business accounts

If you receive an exciting message offering you a brand new product or service – especially a premium offering like luxury goods at a price that’s too good to be true – you could be dealing with a fake WhatsApp business account.

Mobile phone users have been conned out of thousands of Rands after responding to messages from fake businesses and paying for products that never materialise.

As with the impersonation scams above, there are several ways to stay safe and avoid cybercriminals that are simple yet effective:

Reduce the risk by restricting your shared information on WhatsApp.
Avoid being added to groups automatically by restricting your profile.
Treat WhatsApp with the same protocol as email – don’t click on unknown links, don’t forward content and double check everything.
Introduce a WhatsApp policy for your business and ensure staff are educated about new security threats.

What’s the one thing can you trust online? Secure cloud storage

Keeping your data safe has become the new challenge for business owners in SA. Our encrypted backup solutions are your best weapon in the fight against cybercrime.

Browse our range of secure cloud storage packages today to safeguard your company information.

Adblockers | Cybercriminals

Cybercriminals are Impersonating Brands – Can Adblockers Help?

Next time you do a Google search, think twice before you click on the top result. Pop-up ads have been annoying internet users for years, and now they’ve been designed to look exactly like search results.

pop-up ads are the newest online pest

They’re annoying and potentially harmful – but impersonating Google is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to pop up ads.

Cybercriminals are using these revenue generating devices to impersonate established brands and well-known tech businesses and websites to spread malware, spyware and a variety of other unpleasant applications.

For most internet users, the natural solution to this problem is an ad blocker. Let’s take a look at the threat posed by malicious ads, and whether investing in ad blocking software can help to keep your business and personal information safe.

how do ad blockers work?

There’s no question that pop-up ads are some of the most annoying features of the internet.

Just when you’re about to click on a useful link or grab some vital information in a hurry, an ad appears, asking you to click on a link – and it’s usually for something you’ll never use.

Avoiding pointless ads for Hawaiian beach holidays and DIY skin blemish removers is something we’d all love to do. Like every other digital problem, there’s a software solution waiting to fix the ad scourge.

Ad blockers prevent pop-up ads from appearing on your screen, especially when these ads try to open a new tab in your browser.
It may be worth installing an ad blocker (especially a free one) to remove the distraction and potential data threat that malicious ads can cause.

whether you use an ad blocker or not, look twice before you click

Malicious ads have one goal: to make you click on a link that causes you to download malicious software. Simply put, if you don’t click the link, you’ll be safeguarding the safety of your personal information.

The difficulty comes in trying to identify which ads are malicious and dangerous, with some even alleging that you have been infected with a virus and recommending that you download a malware protection solution. There have even been instances where established sites and networks have been hijacked by cybercriminals

Before you click on any link, ensure that it’s from a legitimate website (when in doubt, check the URL). Educating your family and employees about the dangers of pop-up ads and the need for an ad blocker will help you keep your data safe online.

Soteria Cloud’s range of encrypted cloud storage solutions offer top level secure data management at competitive prices. Learn more about our packages to get started.

Think Like a Cybercriminal | Cybercrime

Detect and protect – Think like a cybercriminal

There are more than five billion internet users in the world, and every one of them is a potential target for cybercriminals.

With ransomware attacks and other types of cybercrimes increasing by the year, online security vigilance is no longer a nice to have for businesses and families. It’s an essential component of security just like your alarm system or the locks on your door.

Cyberattacks can come out of nowhere and cost your business immensely. That’s why it’s essential to be prepared for digital crimes and have a response plan ready. One of the best ways of doing this is to think like a cybercriminal.

How do hackers think?

Hollywood has done a good job of portraying hackers as a breed of dark misunderstood geniuses, isolated in an attic somewhere plotting to take over the world.

Without stereotyping – they’re more like local house burglars but with less bravado and more brain. A hacker wants to find a way into your business and will look for any loopholes or vulnerability in both your system and your staff.

Cybercriminals follow a similar modus operandi to those who commit housebreaking. The typical strategy that they employ goes something like this:

Reconnaissance – also known as casing the joint. This involves finding out more about a company’s cybersecurity defences and the type of data that they may have stored in their files. If it seems worthwhile to attack the business, cyber criminals will move onto the next stage.
Plan of attack – Online thieves have one main objective, and that’s to steal information or trick internet users into installing a malicious piece of software. They achieve this through various means, including fake emails, malicious downloads, or targeted attacks using company employees as accomplices. Once the attack is successful, it’s time for the criminals to cash in.
Holding the data to ransom – Once cybercriminals have penetrated your cyber defences and stolen your data, the rest is usually easy. By demanding a ransom, criminals have a relatively good chance of getting the money that they want because companies are extremely sensitive about their information being leaked and the costs involved could be several times more than the ransom amount.

Looking at the strategy of a cybercriminal, it’s evident that the best way to avoid a cyberattack is to close any gaps in your security. In this way you take opportunity away from cybercriminals who will use any weakness in your cyber defence to infiltrate your business.

Secure cloud storage, email, and firewalls are a good first step

The human element is crucial to any cyberattack and it’s essential for you and your team to be vigilant at all times when using the internet. Just as you’re careful to lock your doors every night and activate your alarm system, you need to build a combination of defences around your data, all day every day, and every night!

Keeping data out of the wrong hands is the biggest challenge for every organisation’s online security. Our range of secure cloud storage packages will give you peace of mind knowing that your information is safe and encrypted in a secure remote location.

What is Cybersecurity | Cybersecurity

The Importance of Cybersecurity and Why it Matters

Read the news lately? Chances are, one of the first stories you’re likely to read will be about cybersecurity, data leaks, or the latest hacking incident at a major company.

The online risks for every business have never been higher, with cybercrime estimated to cost enterprises around the world $10.5 trillion by 2025 – that’s a jaw dropping R 175 trillion.

In a world that’s becoming increasingly unsafe online, cybersecurity is big business. But what is cybersecurity exactly? Let’s take a look at all the aspects involved in keeping your enterprise safe online – including secure cloud storage – and how you can implement them effectively as an entrepreneur.

cybercriminals prey on an interconnected world

Today’s global business environment is linked in real time to an extent that nobody could have imagined back in 1990 or even 2000. Instant order fulfilment, an entire online economy of clients and service providers who have never really met face-to-face, and the flow of information and capital across borders are all revolutionising the way we do business.

Unfortunately, these connections are an opportunity for cybercriminals to compromise the data of all parties involved, even going so far as to hold information for ransom and demand astronomical amounts of money for its return.

There are several prevalent cyberthreats that every business owner should be aware of:

Phishing and email scams, which rely on fraudulent emails to trick users into clicking dangerous links.
Social engineering attacks, which persuade internet users to share personal information with criminals unwittingly.
Data leaks, which often occur due to employee error and can expose business information to the risk of being stolen.
DDOS, or denial of service attacks, which temporarily render a business website or service unusable:
Attacks using mobile devices, often impersonating messages from existing contacts to carry out cybercrimes.

Preventing these crimes requires a comprehensive cybersecurity strategy, and it all starts with reliable cloud storage.

secure cloud storage is the best and cheapest defence against cybercrime

With the multitude of cybercrimes out there and the number of South African companies being targeted by international cybercriminals increasing by the month, now is the time to prevent a cyberattack before it happens.

In addition to firewalls, antivirus software, and other basic measures, cloud storage is a highly effective deterrent because it makes your data extremely difficult to access and decode even if it happens to fall into the wrong hands.

Storing your sensitive information in the cloud using advanced data encryption means you’ll stand the best chance of surviving a cyberattack with your information intact.

To find out more about secure cloud storage and how it can help protect your intellectual property, browse our range of packages for businesses today.

SA SMES face cyber threats | Cybercrime

Cybercrime: SA companies still at risk

Scores of well-known companies across South Africa from ABSA to Dis-Chem, Shoprite to Transnet and many more, have fallen victim to cybercriminals over the past 12 months – yet businesses remain disturbingly unprepared for a cyberattack.

We take a look at the latest findings from Kaspersky’s annual cybersecurity survey and interpret them in the context of rising online crime threats facing the country to give business owners insights into how to improve their own security.

2022: a marked increase in cyberattacks

Large data leaks and ransomware attacks are becoming commonplace in South Africa, with small to large corporations, credit bureaus, and government departments being targeted.

The recent leaking of President Ramaphosa’s personal details show just how brazen cybercriminals have become, and how even world leaders aren’t safe from their illegal activities.

under attack: South African SMEs face cyber threats

South African small and medium enterprises are increasingly falling victim to the threat of cyberattacks in the form of continuous phishing and ransomware attacks.

According to Kaspersky’s annual cyber threat survey, Trojan-PSW attacks (a malware that steals passwords and other data) have increased 69% over the past year, despite a 13% reduction in internet attacks which could reverse at any time.
While internet attacks, which target web pages and site exploits, were 13% lower in the first quarter of 2022, the number of attacks still remains concerningly high.
The increase in cybercrimes may be linked to the work from home phenomenon that emerged in 2020 and continued into last year, with remote desktop protocols providing cybercriminals with a new avenue of attack.
Despite these worrying numbers, local businesses are still lagging behind when it comes to cybersecurity and response measures.
Considering the potential for financial and reputational damage that a small business could suffer in the wake of a cyberattack, now is not the time to take a laid-back approach to online security.

Here are some measures that businesses can take to keep their data safe

Invest in a comprehensive cybersecurity system. This will allow IT experts to track, monitor, and visualise the state of your company’s data before, during and after an attack.
Move away from physical storage. A secure cloud storage solution is a key weapon in the fight against cybercriminals, decentralising your data and encrypting it so that it can’t be used even if it’s compromised.
Take cybersecurity training seriously. Every employee is a soldier in the war against data-related crime. By empowering your team with training that will help them identify and report suspicious activities, you’ll be creating a wall of steel around your business.

A successful cybersecurity system that can keep you ahead of the curve against cybercriminals starts with tight data security. Check out our secure cloud storage packages today and choose a solution that suits your business.

Understanding Data Leakages | Data Leaks Part 1

Understanding Data Leakages – Part 1

Cybercriminals are responsible for a huge amount of data-related crimes every year – but they aren’t the only ones responsible for the loss of sensitive business information.

A data leak, which is often the result of employee carelessness or weak IT security policies, can cause crucial information to flow out of your business, even if it wasn’t deliberate.

In this article we unpack the notion of a data leak, find out how it’s different from a data breach, And explore some of the ways data leaks occur.

is it a data leak or a data breach?

If your company suffers a sudden loss of sensitive data this is probably the first question your IT security consultant will ask. Knowing the difference between a data leak and a data breach is the first step in keeping your organisation’s information safe in the digital age.

A data leak is any unintentional sharing of sensitive information with an unauthorised user outside your organisation. As the name implies, the ‘leak’ usually takes place from the inside out and often involves an employee or trusted user.
A data breach is a deliberate attempt to break through your IT security system from the outside, usually by hackers or cyber criminals. This type of crime takes place from the outside in.

Put differently, the difference between a data leak and a data breach is like the difference between leaving your front door open and someone breaking the lock to get in.

what causes a data leak?

As we mentioned above, most data leaks take place due to negligence or carelessness. Here are the different types of data leaks along with the most likely cause of each one.

accidental data leaks

These data security failures take place by accident and are often caused by employees –

sending an email containing sensitive information to the wrong person
sharing access to confidential folders with people outside the organisation is another common cause of data leaks
taking videos of sensitive company information or events and sharing them on social media is another way data privacy can be compromised

malicious data leaks

This type of leak is deliberate, usually carried out by a disgruntled employee who –

seeks to discredit the company or blackmail the management

Malicious leaks often take place anonymously and it can be difficult to determine who the original culprit was.

data leaks carried out by outsiders

This type of incident is almost never an accident. Like a data breach, it is typically carried out by an outsider who plans to use the data for criminal purposes.

perpetrators will usually try to trick an employee of the company into sending them confidential or giving them access to privileged files and folders
IT managers can sometimes track and investigate this type of leak by flagging emails and folder access granted to people outside the organisation

data leaks caused by IT security failure

This type of leak is caused by incorrect network security settings or errors in mailing list automation software.

by the time the error is discovered, important data will probably already have leaked out of the company
identifying the cause of the leak and ensuring that doesn’t occur again is essential in this scenario.

protect your data from cybercriminals

No matter what causes a data leak, the cost to your business can be huge. Over the past few years, we’ve witnessed financially damaging data leaks at companies including household names like Nespresso.

Ensuring that your IT security is on point and that your data is encrypted and secured with cloud storage will help you avoid a similar scenario in your own business.

In our next article, Data Leaks Part 2, we’ll explore the topic of data leaks in more detail and look at some ways you can protect your business against this preventable but damaging type of cybersecurity failure.

Personal financial scams: how to respond

Being a victim of fraud is something we all want to avoid. Here’s how to avoid scammers and what to do when they strike.

Fraud is one of the sneakiest types of crime, and if you’ve had the bad luck to be a victim of financial scammers, you’ll know just how upsetting and inconvenient it can be.

Losing your hard-earned income to the criminal acts of fraudsters is something that nobody wants to experience, but it’s important to remember that there’s no shame in being a victim of cybercrime – it can happen to anyone.

Being the target of any type of fraud can be deeply personal. Fortunately, there are things you can do to avoid becoming a victim of cyber fraud and steps you can take to mitigate the damage.

Let’s look at some anti-fraud measures you can take to protect yourself.

fraud: a growing threat in south Africa

The number of South Africans falling victim to fraudsters has increased significantly over the past decade. In 2020, banking fraud victims lost over R1.5 billion to scammers.

Here are some basic anti-fraud measures you can take to secure your financial data.

Change your passwords regularly
Never reply to suspicious bank emails
Consider using a banking app instead of cell phone banking
Opt for two factor authentication if your bank provides it
Never lend any of your bank or credit cards to anyone – even a friend – and be careful where you use your credit card to avoid cloning
Always backup your data

what to do if you’re a victim of fraud

Sometimes even the best prevention measures fail to keep you safe from fraudsters. If you realise that you’ve been scammed or notice suspicious activity in your bank account, it’s important to stay calm and take immediate action. How you react and respond to any type of cybercrime can be critical in whether or not you are able to recover any or all of your losses.

Here are some things you can do to limit your financial losses.

Contact your bank. Speak with the fraud department, tell them exactly what happened, and forward them any relevant details or supporting documentation to ask for without delay.
Contact the police. Even if you don’t know the identity of the fraudsters involved in your case, you’ll need to report the incident to the police as soon as possible. A SAPS case number may be needed before you can claim from fraud insurance or request a reversal of suspicious transactions
Contact the SA Fraud Prevention Service. This is a dedicated organisation that helps victims of fraud and identity theft. If you feel that your bank was not helpful enough in dealing with your fraud case, you can also contact the SA Banking Ombudsman for further assistance.

keep your financial data safe with secure cloud storage

With hackers and financial cybercriminals becoming smarter by the year, keeping your sensitive financial information safe and encrypted in the cloud is a powerful weapon against fraudsters.

Browse our range of cloud storage services to find the package that suits your needs the best.

Weak Passwords Weaken Your Security | Password Security

Why weak passwords weaken your security – stop the blame game

When NordPass released its annual list of common passwords for 2021, that old staple of the lazy password maker, 123456, made it to the top of the list once again. If you’re shaking your head in disbelief or chuckling as you read this, take it from us: weak passwords are all too common, and they leave the door wide open to cybercriminals.

Let’s take a look at how weak passwords can weaken your security and how you can fix yours today.

weak passwords: who’s to blame?

Let’s be honest – we’ve all used easy to guess passwords before and who could blame us? They’re easy to remember!

Unfortunately, the entire cybersecurity community is blaming us. That’s because lazy passwords are also easy to crack – and when a data breach happens, who’s to blame?

Instead of making fun of average Joes like us and the passwords we choose, a better strategy for website owners is to understand the importance of a strong password and how to help users develop one.

Users will naturally chose simple or funny passwords for the sake of convenience or to save time. As a site owner, you’ll need a system that filters out weak passwords and encourages users to make theirs longer – and not necessarily more complex.

But what does a good password look like in 2022 anyway?

what makes an iron clad password?

Whenever a user creates an online account, they’ll go through a process of password creation – and somehow, the password they choose is never good enough.

We’ve all been there: either the password is too long or too short or doesn’t contain enough uppercase characters, symbols and other special characters…

A good site makes this process easy and even humorous but the site owner takes on the responsibility of putting a strong block on proceeding until such time as the user has chosen a safe password has been chosen.

Truth be told, all this hassle is for a good reason. The more unusual your password is, the more difficult it is for hackers to crack it. At least that’s what we used to think.

Cybercriminals use a technique called brute force cracking to discover passwords.
This basically involves trying random numbers and letters together in sequence like the wheels of a slot machine until the password is cracked. The process takes time – and the longer your password is, the more difficult it is to crack.

A short password that contains special characters isn’t necessarily going to be more effective against cybercrime in 2022.

Instead, it’s a good idea to lengthen your password as much as possible and always use the maximum amount of characters allowed by the app or website you’re using.

keep the good stuff to yourself

You’d be surprised how many data breaches, hacking attempts, and cases of fraud have taken place simply because someone wasn’t careful enough about hiding their password.

It’s essential that you never share your password with anyone or write it down and leave it somewhere – like on your desk where people with prying eyes can see it.
By taking a few simple measures, you can keep your password safe and effective and protect yourself from the rising threat of malware, ransomware and cyber crime in general.

take your data security to the next level with secure cloud storage

The safety of your data is one of the most important aspects of your company’s overall digital safety plan this year.

Our range of secure cloud storage solutions will help keep your valuable information safe in the cloud.