Were you one of the 186.4 million Thanksgiving weekend shoppers last year? According to the National Retail Federation (NRF), the number of online-only shoppers in 2020 was up 44% compared to 2019 for the entire weekend (Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday) and is predicting between an 11 - 15% increase this year.

Every organization wants to stay off the cyber hacker’s radar, but with the increasing number of data breaches year over year, this is easier said than done. According to the latest report from the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC), the number of reported data breaches through Q3 of 2021 has already exceeded the total number of breaches reported in 2020 by 17%.

Exploiting security vulnerabilities in unpatched systems has become one of the leading causes of data breaches today. Cybercriminals are actively scouring networks searching for vulnerabilities in systems and applications to exploit. However, new vulnerabilities are not the only target.

The November 2021 Microsoft Patch Tuesday updates were released on November, 9th. The full release covered 55 security updates and vulnerabilities found in Exchange Servers 2013, 2016, 2019. Included in this release is a patch that covers an actively exploited zero-day vulnerability classified as CVE-2021-42321 - Microsoft Exchange Server Remote Code Execution Vulnerability. This one vulnerability only affects on-premises and hybrid Exchange servers 2016, and 2019. 

It may come as a surprise that cybercriminals prefer to target individual end-users rather than complicated, corporate infrastructures in their cyber attacks. It's easier for hackers to prey on unsuspecting individuals than it is to create expensive, time-consuming business network exploits. Below we will outline five common types of cyberattacks targeting end-users, the risks they pose to organizations, and the suggested data breach prevention steps needed to reduce the threats.

Change is one thing we can all count on and the hardest thing to implement, especially when it comes to technology. Right now, the way we work has changed indefinitely, increasing our dependency on technology and intensifying cybersecurity risk.

Budget season is here again, after what was likely the most unpredictable planning year on record. Business continuity plans were tested, and shifting priorities took precedence over pre-planned agendas. This shift evolved the way we work and altered employee expectations.