You’ll Soon Be Able To View LinkedIn Profiles In Your Teams Chats

Did you know this? Microsoft isn’t just about Windows, 365 and Xbox. It also owns THE business social media platform LinkedIn.

And now the tech giant is going to bring together two of its most popular apps – LinkedIn and Teams – to help you and your people communicate better and be even more productive.

Think it’s not possible? Can Teams really bring MORE helpful features to its platform?

100% yes!

Microsoft recently announced it’s working on a new feature that will allow you to see colleagues’ LinkedIn profiles during personal chats in Teams.

The update is due to be released in March. And while it will only be available in 121 chats to start with, it’s possible that it will eventually become a feature across all chats.

That could make it easier for you to find the right people for upcoming projects, and to keep up-to-date on news from colleagues and anyone else you work with.

Microsoft bought LinkedIn back in 2016, for a massive $26 billion, to try to break into the social media space.

We’d say it’s done pretty well with that, wouldn’t you?

Thanks in huge part to the pandemic, productivity and communication tools like Teams have become a staple for businesses all across the world.

Teams makes it easy to hold video meetings, collaborate on projects, and chat with colleagues from anywhere, and on any device. Many companies would now struggle to function without it, despite a lot of workers being back in the office.

Teams currently has more than 270 million active monthly users, while LinkedIn has 810 million members in 200 countries around the world. It was only a matter of time until these two platforms joined forces!

So what could this mean for your business? How would you like to make use of this new feature? And what other features would you like to see in Teams soon? We’d love to hear your thoughts! Want to see what all the fuss is about Teams? We can help you get it set up within your business. Give us a call.

This Malware Phishing Campaign Hijacks Email Conversations

Hackers have been using social engineering tricks to get their malicious code onto the systems of unsuspecting victims. This has been happening for almost as long as the internet has been around.

It’s one of the most common tactics in use today, primarily because it’s so simple and effective.

Trial and error have shown hackers that users are more likely to trust an email if it looks like it’s part of an ongoing conversation. So, they often try to spoof that. Unfortunately, spoofing an ongoing conversation is a lot harder to do than it might first seem. As technology has advanced, they’ve hit on an even better solution.

Instead of spoofing a conversation, why not hijack one?

That’s right, hackers now have the capability to hijack a legitimate and ongoing conversation between you and another individual and lace that conversation with malware.

Since the conversation is one the user is currently having naturally, that individual will trust any links or attached files that might be a part of the conversation. That translates into a greater likelihood that those links will be clicked, or those files will be opened.

Right now the main source for this innovative attack variant is the group spreading Qakbot.

Here’s how it works:

Qakbot spreads via infected Windows computers.  The malware downloads a payload which scans for email accounts.  It finds them and steals login credentials while other automated tools are busy going through the user’s inbox and sending out phishing emails. They do this by using the “reply all” function when it finds an existing email thread.

The original message is quoted in the reply, which makes it look that much more authentic.

After the original message, the bot will append a few lines of text that contains a request to “look at an attachment” which is often a zip file.  Anyone not paying attention is bound to open the file without thinking, and you know the rest of the story.

Keep this one high on your radar, it’s particularly sneaky.

How IT Security Audits Will Boost Your Cybersecurity

Businesses of all sizes are prime targets for a cyberattack, so they must be proactive and have a cybersecurity strategy in place. To be effective, that strategy must include IT security audits. As a vital component of a cybercrime protection system, regular IT security audits can help reduce risk, strengthen controls, enhance security, and improve overall business operations.

What is an IT security audit?

An IT security audit is a thorough evaluation of the cybersecurity measures of your organization. Performing IT security audits will help you identify and assess vulnerabilities in your networks, associated devices, and applications. It involves scanning for security vulnerabilities and performing penetration tests to determine how well your IT infrastructure can defend against various cyberattacks. The results of these tests will help you customize security policies and achieve compliance.

Types of IT security audits

There are two forms of IT security audits, namely:

Internal audit

In an internal IT security audit, a company uses its own resources and auditors to conduct the assessment. The organization conducts an internal audit to determine if its systems and cybersecurity policies are compliant with its own rules and procedures.

External audit

An external audit is carried out by a third party. External audits are performed when a company needs to ensure that it’s complying with industry standards and government regulations.

Why is an IT security audit important?

An IT security audit provides a roadmap for your company’s key cybersecurity vulnerabilities. It shows where your organization is meeting important security criteria and where it doesn’t. IT security audits are essential for creating risk assessment plans and prevention strategies for businesses dealing with sensitive and confidential personal data.

What does an IT security audit cover?

During an IT security audit, every system an organization uses will be checked for weaknesses in the following areas:

Network vulnerabilities

Auditors identify vulnerabilities in any network component that cybercriminals could use to access valuable information or cause system wide damage. This includes unsecured access points, instant messages, emails, and network traffic.

Cybersecurity controls

In this part of the audit, auditors will check how effective an organization’s security controls are. This includes assessing how well the company has implemented existing policies and procedures to protect its information and infrastructure. For example, an auditor will evaluate an organization’s existing security policy on data breaches to determine if the proper measures are in place and if everyone is strictly adhering to those measures.

Data encryption

This will verify that your company has controls in place to manage the data encryption process effectively. This is to ensure that digital data is kept confidential and protected while being stored on site, in the cloud, on portable devices, and while it is in transit.

If you need help in conducting an IT security audit for your business, contact Net Activity today to see how we can help.

Protect Your Business From These Common Financial Phishing Scams

The average office worker sends and receives around 121 emails every day.

And while that sounds like a lot, you may be shocked to learn that 3 billion phishing emails are sent each day. They account for 1% of all email traffic.

What’s a phishing email? It’s an email sent by cyber criminals that pretends to be from a trusted source, such as your bank, Amazon or a delivery company.

They’re trying to get you to click on a bad link. Maybe so they can install malware (malicious software) on your computer. Or to fool you into trying to log into a fake website; inadvertently giving away your login details.

The likelihood is that your team will each receive several phishing emails every week. So it’s really important they know the warning signs to look out for.

New research has revealed that PayPal was the most spoofed business in all financial phishing emails in 2021, accounting for 37.8% of attacks. Mastercard and American Express followed behind, with 12.2% and 10% share of attacks.

It’s because PayPal is so widely used – it has 392 million active accounts right now – that scammers pretend to be the online payments giant.

At a glance, a typical phishing email really looks like it has come from the real business.

It will ask the recipient to update their details, or check for unauthorised activity. The worry that someone may have breached their account can cause people to let hackers in. Ironic, isn’t it?

Phishing is bad for anyone personally. But if hackers get into any business account, the resulting data breach can be devastating.

It’s absolutely vital that you educate all your people on the warning signs to look out for:

• First, always check the link you’re being asked to click. Hover your mouse over the link and look at the URL. Does it look suspicious? Is the business name spelt correctly?
• Check the address the email has been sent from. Does it look like a standard email address from the business? Or does it seem a little strange?
• Look closely at the content of the email too. Emails from scammers will likely contain grammatical mistakes. They might not address you by name, and the layout may look slightly different to a genuine email from that company.
• Trust your gut feeling. You might feel it’s not quite right but be unable to say why. Don’t ignore that nagging feeling.
• If you’re ever unsure, go to your browser and type in the real website address, then log into your account that way.

How protected do you think your business is? Are you certain all members of your team would spot a scam before clicking a link?

We’d love to help you review your data security and cyber-crime awareness training. Get in touch.

How Do Hybrid Work Strategies Help Your Business?

The COVID-19 pandemic has shown us that not all companies have considered how to be flexible in their operations, but it has also given them opportunities to adjust accordingly. With these new flexibilities in place, what does the future of your office look like? Would you ever consider a hybrid approach to the workplace?

Major technology companies like Apple have delayed the return to the workplace, whereas others have completely removed the commute to the office, choosing instead to embrace fully remote operations for the foreseeable future. The traditional office environment, once a staple in the workplace, is slowly giving way to these more flexible operations. Employers may have vehemently opposed the idea of remote or hybrid working conditions, but they have since warmed up to the opportunities they represent.

The shift in employer mindsets is showcased in the rates at which companies are paying their office leases. For example, ComputerWorld writes: “In early May, just one in 20 office buildings in the US had occupancy levels above 10%, and as recently as last month occupancy rates averaged just 16%. Looking ahead to 2022, about one in five offices are expected to be empty, according to Moody’s Analytics, a consultancy.” This hesitancy to renew leases on office buildings likely stems from the fact that businesses are unsure of how much space they actually need to keep operations running.

This doesn’t mean there is no demand for offices, just that the office layout is changing. Businesses are shifting more to a hybrid model, where employees spend some of their time working in the office and the rest of it working remotely. Some businesses are wary of implementing such a model, but it can cut costs for them if implemented correctly. Technology ensures that this new concept of hybrid operations is achievable for all types of businesses, allowing them to break down the boundaries that previously prevented them from making it happen.

We understand that some businesses might not have thought hybrid operations were possible before the pandemic, but nowadays, with technology solutions more accessible and hyper-focused on communication than ever before, we think remote or hybrid operations are possible for all types of companies. If you think you lack the budget or knowledge to implement the necessary tools, we urge you to contact us at Net Activity to discuss your options. If nothing else, it pays to have a plan for remote or hybrid operations, even if temporary, as the pandemic has proven quite painfully.

If you are one of the companies that originally struggled with the pandemic and your response to the new normal, we can help make sure that you have a more flexible response system for the next time something happens which forces your employees to work while out of the office. To learn more, reach out to us at 216-503-5150.