SMART Blog

Smart Services has been providing independent agents with proactive, fast, and expert technology services since 1991.

Why Cyberattackers and Other Grifters are Obsessed With Cryptocurrency

Why Cyberattackers and Other Grifters are Obsessed With Cryptocurrency

Cryptocurrency has brought about innovative new technology for use in the business world, but it’s also created more headaches, primarily due to ransomware. With ransomware, a malicious entity can lock down your computer files and demand a cryptocurrency ransom in exchange for your data’s safe return. So, why is cryptocurrency the chosen currency for these kinds of transactions?

0 Comments
Continue reading

The Right Cybersecurity Measures are a Great Confidence Booster

The Right Cybersecurity Measures are a Great Confidence Booster

Nowadays, we’re all busy—especially at work. Collectively, our days are filled with improving our products and services, cultivating client relationships, and putting out fires left and right. Do you really have the mental bandwidth to commit to quibbling over whether or not your data is secure?

The fact of the matter is that cyberattacks of all kinds are a constant threat to everyone, and could very well take your business out of commission unless you do something about it. Let’s review some steps that will help reinforce your business’ security posture and better defend your data.

0 Comments
Continue reading

How to Keep Disasters From Holding Your Business Back

How to Keep Disasters From Holding Your Business Back

What would you do if your entire infrastructure were impacted by ransomware all at once? Do you have a contingency in place to address this risk, or are you going to “wing it” in the face of such a threat? The smart answer is that you’ll be prepared, and a data backup and disaster recovery solution (or BDR) plan will help you do just that.

0 Comments
Continue reading

What to Do in the First 60 Minutes of a Cyberattack

What to Do in the First 60 Minutes of a Cyberattack

Cyberattacks are not to be underestimated. The damage that they can do—even in the first hours—is considerable. This means you need to have a strategy to respond to these incidents, conveniently called an incident response plan.

This procedure should be both tested and documented, preparing you to withstand any cyberattack with minimal damage or disruption. As you might expect, the first hour or so will be a crucial period during this process. Let’s go over what you need to do.

0 Comments
Continue reading

How Your SMB Can Beat Ransomware

How Your SMB Can Beat Ransomware

Small businesses are incredibly important for the community, but there can be no denying that cyberthreats disproportionately impact SMBs. This is especially true for ransomware, one of the worst threats out there, that has the potential to end unprepared businesses. Ransomware locks down access to your computer systems and encrypts files, demanding a ransom in exchange for restored access. What makes small businesses such ideal targets, and what can you do about it?

0 Comments
Continue reading

The Cyberthreat Trifecta: Phishing, Ransomware, Insider Threats

The Cyberthreat Trifecta: Phishing, Ransomware, Insider Threats

The constant chatter about cybersecurity can really be overwhelming. While some Internet tales might be exaggerated, the reality is that these cybersecurity risks are a serious concern for every business. Is your organization truly prepared to confront the sophisticated digital adversaries of our time? Let’s take a look at three prevalent cyberthreats that could inflict significant damage on a business, and what you can do to keep them from negatively impacting yours.

0 Comments
Continue reading

Making Cybersecurity a Team Effort

Making Cybersecurity a Team Effort

We're all busy. Whether you're steering the ship or making sure the daily operations run smoothly, cybersecurity might feel like another drain on your time. Imagine a day when everything grinds to a halt, trust evaporates, or significant money vanishes into thin air. These aren't abstract fears; they are all-too-real consequences of cybersecurity oversights, creating moments that everyone in a business, from top to bottom, desperately wants to avoid… and can.

0 Comments
Continue reading

Ransomware Payments are Less Frequent, But It Isn’t All Good News

Ransomware Payments are Less Frequent, But It Isn’t All Good News

Despite some of the headlines that we saw last year, it wasn’t all bad news regarding ransomware. Critically, 2024 saw ransomware payments plummet by hundreds of millions of dollars… despite many large-scale attacks and one record-breaking whaling payment of $75 million by one victim.

This is undeniably great to hear… but with that in mind, we cannot let ourselves slip into complacency.

0 Comments
Continue reading

Let’s Look at the Different Types of Ransomware

Let’s Look at the Different Types of Ransomware

The growing popularity of ransomware has been disconcerting to many IT professionals, particularly due to the different tactics that this malware variant has been spotted utilizing. In order to protect your business from these attacks, it helps to know how they work. We’ve put together a beginner’s field guide to ransomware types to help you identify (and hopefully avoid) it.

0 Comments
Continue reading

Ransomware is Still a Major Threat

Ransomware is Still a Major Threat

Ransomware is the scariest type of malware out there. It can have a myriad of negative effects on a business, yet it seems to still be on the fringe of the mainstream. Today, we thought we would give somewhat of a refresher course on ransomware. 

0 Comments
Continue reading

Paying a Ransom Demand Could Get Even More Expensive

Paying a Ransom Demand Could Get Even More Expensive

When it comes to ransomware, we have always stood firm in our recommendation not to pay whoever is responsible for locking down your systems. However, due to the globalized nature of technology and cybercrime, it is even more important that companies don’t attempt to placate their attackers with the demanded funds. Otherwise, warns the United States Treasury Department, these victimized businesses could very well pay severe fines for doing so.

0 Comments
Continue reading

Ransomware Shouldn’t Cost You a Thing

Ransomware Shouldn’t Cost You a Thing

If fortune smiles on your company, you won’t ever have to deal with what we are about to discuss: ransomware. For the past several years ransomware has been a major issue for businesses, governments, and individuals. Today, we will talk about ransomware, how there are different strategies, and how some people want to put a ban on ransomware payments. 

0 Comments
Continue reading

Cyberattack Discovery Time is Decreasing (But This Isn’t All Good News)

Cyberattack Discovery Time is Decreasing (But This Isn’t All Good News)

Research has revealed that cyberattacks are spending decreasing amounts of time on their targeted networks before they are discovered. While this may sound like a good thing—a faster discovery of a threat is better than a slower one, after all—this unfortunately is not the case.

0 Comments
Continue reading

Cybersecurity Lessons to Be Learned from the Colonial Pipeline Attack

Cybersecurity Lessons to Be Learned from the Colonial Pipeline Attack

Headlines have been filled with news pertaining to the recent hack of Colonial Pipeline, which has created significant gasoline shortages up the east coast of the nation. While the pipeline has been restored, the way this was accomplished sets a dangerous precedent. On top of this, the attack seems to have set off bigger infrastructural changes in the political space.

0 Comments
Continue reading

Hackers Start Beef with JBS Ransomware Attack

Hackers Start Beef with JBS Ransomware Attack

Last weekend saw a significant cyberattack waged against the world’s largest meat processor and distributor, JBS S.A., that completely suspended the company’s operations in both North America and Australia… and as a result, has impacted the supply chains associated with the company. Let’s examine the situation to see what lessons we can take away from all this.

0 Comments
Continue reading

Ransomware Has Gotten So Bad, It’s Aligned with Terrorism

Ransomware Has Gotten So Bad, It’s Aligned with Terrorism

Ransomware has rapidly progressed from an irritating annoyance to a legitimate global threat, with the U.S. Justice Department officially going on the record and establishing that future ransomware investigations will be handled the same way that terrorism cases are now. Let’s review the reasons behind this policy change and how your business should respond.

0 Comments
Continue reading

Zero-Day Vulnerability Causes Major Problems for IT Providers

Zero-Day Vulnerability Causes Major Problems for IT Providers

A new ransomware attack has surfaced, this time mostly targeting IT companies and their clients. The attack is specifically targeting the Kaseya platform. Kaseya is management software that many IT companies use to remotely manage and support technology. The attack in question attacked Kaseya’s supply chain through a vulnerability in its VSA software; this attack is notable because of how it targeted the supply chain, not only striking at the vendor’s clients—notably IT companies—but also their customers. Basically, this attack had a trickle-down effect that is causing widespread chaos for a massive number of businesses.

0 Comments
Continue reading

Identifying Tactics Used to Disseminate Ransomware

Identifying Tactics Used to Disseminate Ransomware

Ransomware is such a massive threat that all businesses should be aware of the latest news and findings regarding how it spreads and how it can be prevented. According to a recent report, the latest modes of transporting ransomware have been revealed. What can your organization do to keep ransomware off of its network? Let’s find out.

0 Comments
Continue reading

New Developments in Ransomware are Potentially Devastating

New Developments in Ransomware are Potentially Devastating

While it only makes sense to assume that a cybercriminal would focus specifically on those targets that would bring them the greatest profit—in other words, larger businesses—the reality of modern cybercrime renders this assumption grossly outdated. Let’s examine how different developments in ransomware have made it possible for cybercriminals to be far less discerning in who they target.

0 Comments
Continue reading

Fake Ransomware Shows That Fear is Often Our Worst Enemy

Fake Ransomware Shows That Fear is Often Our Worst Enemy

There’s no way around it; ransomware is bad stuff, plain and simple. The first half of 2021 saw a massive increase in ransomware attacks that made the lives of countless individuals and business professionals difficult. However, a new trend is surfacing, and it’s one that you might be surprised to see: fake ransomware threats.

0 Comments
Continue reading

Mobile? Grab this Article!

QR-Code dieser Seite

Blog Archive

2026
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
2012
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
2011
January
February
March
April
May
July
August
September
October
December

Sign up for our Newsletter!

  • Company Name *
  • First Name *
  • Last Name *