Washington Works Blog

Run your Windows Updates and be very skeptical about opening unsolicited emails. Failure to do so may result in a very dangerous strain of ransomware that could infect your entire network and spread to your clients, partners, and prospects.

A new malware swept across the globe Tuesday, incorporating facets of many ransomwares that have made headlines recently. While it originally appeared to be a variant of the Petya ransomware, it has been determined that it shares more in common with WannaCry. However, “NotPetya,” as it has been named, has a few additional features that experts say make it worse than either of its predecessors.

Despite what detractors say, regulations are in place for good reason. They typically protect individuals from organizational malfeasance. Many of these regulations are actual laws passed by a governing body and cover the entire spectrum of the issue, not just the data involved. The ones that have data protection regulations written into them mostly deal with the handling and protection of sensitive information. For organizations that work in industries covered by these regulations there are very visible costs that go into compliance. Today, we look at the costs incurred by these organizations as a result of these regulations, and how to ascertain how they affect your business.

Printers, along with every other piece of equipment that is on your network, require careful configuration and regular upkeep to ensure that they aren’t putting your data and users at risk. Security researchers recently discovered two massive vulnerabilities in HP Officejet All-in-One printers that make it incredibly easy for hackers to spread malware and gain access to a company’s network.

If you own an Asus laptop, there is a chance that a recent update could have installed malware, and we are urging anyone who has an Asus device reach out to us to have it looked at.

Capital One is one of the largest credit card issuers in the world. On July 29th 2019, Capital One made an announcement, confirming it is the victim of one of the largest data breaches in financial sector history, as a former software engineer for Amazon has been indicted on charges related to the hacking.

It’s not uncommon where a situation arises and you will find yourself working from home. To make this work, it is important that you keep a few additional issues in mind so that you can make the most of it. We have put together a few simple best practices that you should keep in mind as you operate remotely.

There are many reasons that your team may want (or need) to work from home, and there are many reasons to allow them to do so. A 2019 survey by OwlLabs indicated that 71 percent of remote workers are happy with their job (as compared to 55 percent of on-site workers); remote workers responded that they are 13   percent more likely than onsite workers to stay in their current job for five more years than onsite workers will; and when respondents claimed to be working longer than 40 hours per week, onsite workers were doing so out of necessity, while remote workers did so out of desire and enjoyment.

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has released an emergency directive concerning a critical exploit known as Zerologon, that affects servers running Windows Server operating systems that needs to get patched as soon as possible.

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.

If you use almost any Apple products, you’ll want to check for and apply an update that will prevent your devices from being spied on. Apple has just issued an emergency software update for a critical vulnerability that was recently discovered.

The new updates were pushed out on Monday, September 13th, 2021, and include a major security fix for the Apple iPhone, Apple iPad, Apple Watch, and Apple Mac computers and laptops.

Cyberattacks will not let up anytime soon, so businesses need to be prepared with the knowledge and expertise to combat them. Unfortunately, finding the right folks with the right expertise is hard. According to a report from Kaspersky titled “The Portrait of Modern Information Security Professional,” the world is short about 4 million security professionals, and even the existing professionals make grave errors in their first couple of years. Let’s take a look at some of these insights and see what we can learn from them.

Passwords are the most used account security apparatus. As such, it’s essential that everyone connected to your organization has your overall cybersecurity in mind and knows exactly how to secure the accounts they use. In today’s blog, we’ll look at some common passwords that don’t accomplish their stated purpose very well and how to change that.

There’s no question that modern businesses—-businesses just like yours—-cannot and should not function without cybersecurity protections. We will shout this from the mountaintops at every opportunity… so let’s go over why security is so important and what needs to be done to ensure yours.

Email is undeniably a fantastic communication tool. However, there are certain things you should never share via email for safety reasons. Let’s explore what these are—because when it comes to security, it’s better to be safe than sorry.

Encryption has become one of the most dynamic cybersecurity tools available for individuals and organizations. In today’s blog, we will define encryption and how it helps professionals thwart potential cyberattacks.

Cybersecurity covers a broad range of risks and threats. You’ve got the basics like your computer viruses and malware, to the business-crippling ransomware and data breaches. You have threats that cause stress and downtime, and others that steal information and money, and others still that don’t even have clear understandable objectives. The point is, cybersecurity isn’t simple, but sometimes the threat actors and cybercriminals who target you will use low-tech methods to get what they want.

Google Chrome has been pushing a lot of important updates over the last few weeks. Fortunately, updating Chrome is pretty seamless, and it’s important that users do so. Users also need to be wary of fake Chrome errors that insist on installing malware. You don’t want to fall for this scam!

Technology is integral to modern business, making proficiency in necessary tools a must for today’s workforce. However, the complexity of these technologies can create vulnerabilities as malicious actors continually seek ways to infiltrate systems, steal data, and siphon funds.

Password management can be challenging for both businesses and individuals, but it doesn't have to be as difficult as it seems. With the increasing threat of cybersecurity attacks, relying on a single password is no longer sufficient. Instead, you need to use complex passwords stored in a password manager, which simplifies the process of remembering them.