Government agencies, municipalities, and social services agencies are not exempt from the scrutiny of hackers. In fact, two US federal civilian agencies were hacked last year by posing as tech support, convincing unaware employees to call them and to visit malicious websites. With increasing connectivity and the expanding use of Internet of Things (IoT) devices and Bring-Your-Own-Device (BYOD) work environments, the attack surface available to cybercriminals has greatly expanded.
For providers of needed social services, a data breach can not only contribute to loss of trust, but also leave communities who rely on services for housing, jobs, transportation, foster care, mental health services, child care, elder care, and more, vulnerable. To ensure that your agency — and the data it processes — is as safe as possible, becoming aware of common cyber threats is essential.
With technology rapidly changing, it can seem a daunting task to keep up with cybersecurity issues. However, even though cybercriminals have been refining their strategies and coming up with new ways to gain access to sensitive information, they still depend on many tried and true schemes. Understanding how these strategies work and educating your staff on proper cyber hygiene can go a long way toward securing your digital environment and keeping data safer. Here are the most common cyberthreats in 2023 to be aware of:
In a phishing scam, the hacker will send an email to your employees, pretending to be someone that they are familiar with. Hackers pose as CEOs, CFOs, vendors, and others to gain trust. Typically, they will make a request that seems very legitimate, such as asking for an invoice to be paid, a payment amount to be clarified, or information to be confirmed.
Pre-Vishing is an innovative attack that is text based and typically involved a fake attachment such as an image or an invoice that the recipient needs to review. There will be a phone number to call if the invoice is sent in error or needs to be corrected. Of course, the number that is called is directed to the hacker, who will them ask for the data they need to gain access to accounts.
Ransomware is a serious problem, with over 236 million attacks worldwide in just last year alone. Even newbie hackers can get in on this scam using ready made ransomware kits that are being sold as Ransomware as a Service, allowing them to target any businesses that are vulnerable. Ransomware is a malicious software that is inserted into your infrastructure when an employee clicks on a malicious email attachment or visits a website in which the malware exists. Once inside your system, it can block your use of data until you pay the amount requested by the hackers.
Hacktivism — where hackers organize distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks against an agency — is alive and well. And in fact, hacktivism groups are using artificial intelligence (AI) to fake audio and visual images that can be used to compromise your organization’s reputation. Because these group often target organizations that have a social or political component, agencies that provide social services must beware. In the case of hacktivism, it is best to partner with a competent third party managed services provider (MSP) to get the cybersecurity you need to thwart these attacks.
If your agency provides social services and you handle personal or confidential information, you must be compliant with the applicable data protection and privacy regulations. That means you must have strong cybersecurity protections in place to ensure that your data — and that of the people you serve — is properly protected.
At Blue Technologies, we offer a wide range of Managed IT services that help you achieve — and maintain — compliance assurance. Our team of cybersecurity and Managed IT professionals have the deep technical knowledge necessary to provide a competent assessment of your vulnerabilities along with a robust plan for correcting weaknesses, boosting compliance, and providing the peace of mind you need to serve your community well.
We are the team you need for cybersecurity in 2023. Contact a Blue Technologies consultant and learn how our cybersecurity specialists can help your agency be secure — and successful.