What is Ransomware? Let’s start with the basics. The simple definition of ransom is “a consideration paid or demanded for the release of someone or something from captivity.” Ransomware, then, is a way for bad actors to encrypt information and hold it ransom in exchange for money—typically untraceable bitcoin. There are four main ways that hackers target organizations and demand payment: Lockout...

If you work in cybersecurity, the chances are that you will have come across the phrase Zero Trust over the past few years. It’s become a real industry buzzword, but there is substance behind the noise on this occasion. To the outsider, it’s a term that is easy to misinterpret. It sounds draconian and severe and could be perceived as meaning the organization trusts no one when it comes to...

May’s ‘this month in cybersecurity ’ is somewhat of a ransomware news special. In addition to a ransomware attack on Costa Rica and the continued expansion of BlackByte, this month also marks the fifth anniversary of WannaCry, perhaps the most damaging malware attack the world has seen. Ransomware remains hugely prevalent, but is an attack likely to happen again on this scale? And if it did, how...

The unwavering protection of personally identifiable information (PII) is the foundation upon which financial and banking organizations build their services and instill trust in customers. Achieving this requires credit unions and related companies to navigate a fine balance between stringent data security and business efficiency to meet customer needs and evolving compliance requirements...

Spring is the time of year when people start thinking about decluttering, cleaning, and readying themselves for the next season—spring cleaning. It's a tradition that dates back centuries, but it could also be applied to an organization's cybersecurity. There’s never a bad time to reflect on how best to keep your organization safe, especially given that there seems to have been no shortage of...

The old adage, "It's not a matter of if, but when" can strike fear in the heart of every IT professional, especially when talking about recovering form the unexpected impact of outages. Whether the result of a natural disaster, cybercrime impact, or large-scale network outages that dreaded downtime and the security measures that need to be taken around it must be planned for. Most organizations...

Secure Data Exchanges Don't Have to Sacrifice Efficiency Hitting “send” is as routine and frequent as sipping on coffee for many employees. And uploading a file to a third-party, vendor, or another colleague happens with that same automatic mind-set. Outside of the IT team, many employees don’t actually give a lot of thought to the journey of the data they are sending out. The value of the data...

With dozens of file transfer protocols to choose from, how do you know which is the best for your business? Some file transfer protocol specifications are set by trading partners – method, format, and security requirements – while others are set by internal requirements. Discover the top secure file transfer methods, and how they stack up against one another in this blog. Your Comprehensive File...

Humans use reviews for pretty much everything – hiring a company, making a purchase, even applying for a job. Reviews give us insight into what someone – presumably someone like us, if they’re currently using the same thing we’re shopping for – thinks of a product: how they liked it, what their experience is, and what could have been better. Even feats of human ingenuity have reviews: the Great...

Whether your employees are headed back to the office enthusiastically, with a bit of dread, or a mix of emotions, they’ll bring with them more than just their laptops, lunches, and stories from their work-from-home days upon their return. They’ll also potentially be bringing along some data security risks. While risks around unauthorized file sharing, virus prevention, and more, might be similar...

Cybersecurity for Government is Crucial In these trying times government agencies everywhere must be resilient when it comes to cybersecurity. Cyber resilience is an organization’s ability to prepare for, respond to, and recover from cyber threats. A cyber-resilient organization can adequately adapt to known and unknown crises, threats, adversities, and challenges. Resiliency is an absolute...

The EU’s GDPR paved the way for data privacy and protection laws around the world, and one of the latest is the emerging Personal Data Protection Bill in India. While organizations in India already adhere to international data privacy laws, including GDPR when serving overseas customers, as well as the restrictions set out in 2000’s Information Technology Act , neither directly and specifically...

Supply chain attacks are one of the fastest-growing cyber risks that organizations face in 2022, and when it comes to supply chain risk management, organizations in every industry should pay attention. There have always been efforts to help organizations understand and mitigate risks related to supply chain, and recent initiatives, including the U.S.’s Executive Order on Improving the Nation’s...

Chris Spargen , Senior Solutions Engineering Manager for HelpSystems (now Fortra) , was recently featured on the ModernCTO Podcast . In the interview, Spargen discusses how MFT technology has rapidly evolved to be more user friendly and how the company’s MFT solutions can secure, automate , and encrypt file transfers in an ever-increasing threat environment . Listen below:

Working 9 to 5 is no longer the only way to make a living, and for the foreseeable future, organizations parking most of their employees at a particular desk Monday through Friday is looking less and less likely. Working from home, at least as part of a hybrid organizational structure, is here to stay. Whether working from home, in a hybrid situation, or back in that old familiar office chair...

HITRUST Compliance Helps to Manage Risk The secure storage and transfer of sensitive data is of the utmost importance to the healthcare industry. Data security and complying with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) is paramount, yet doing so can often be complex and difficult to maintain. This is where HITRUST comes in as a certifiable and recommended framework trusted...

February, while a short month, was long on cybersecurity threats. Read on for a few of the high- (well, low-lights) as well as for some resources from GoAnywhere MFT on how you can help secure your sensitive data files while they are in motion and in transit. Love Hurts The search for love turned up more than potential partners over the last few months (o.k., years). In fact, according to research...

What is PGP and What is It Used For? PGP is short for Pretty Good Privacy and it’s one of the most widely used technologies for encrypting and authenticating files. It can help encrypt, decrypt, authenticate, and verity various file types including emails, files, directories, disk partitions, and more. PGP, along with its offshoots Open PGP and GPG , are used so frequently because they’re flexible...

Every year the healthcare industry is greeted with headlines stating that ‘last year was the most-breached ever .’ And that trend is unlikely to stop in 2022. The healthcare industry has historically been one of the most-targeted by hackers, and one of the most breached by internal actors. Key reasons why include vast amounts of extra sensitive patient data, higher-than-average payouts, and a slow...

Collaborating or sharing information lies at the very heart of business. Securing these information exchanges, however, requires more than a firm handshake. The information your organization owns is priceless, so it’s vital to ensure that it is accessed, manipulated, and shared only by authorized individuals and with security measures that do not slow down the wheels of commerce. How Can an EFSS...