Weak Passwords – Cybersecurity

Too Easy, Too Weak: Password Patterns Still Concerning

Weak password security is one of the main contributing factors to the current wave of cybercrimes sweeping the world. Despite repeated warnings from industry experts to choose more complex passwords, many users still fail to follow this advice.

Recent research shows that internet users continue to opt for passwords that are easy to guess or crack, leaving the door wide open to cyberattacks. Let’s take a closer look at this phenomenon and find out what organisations can do to strengthen their security.

Why are we still using simple passwords?

For many years, cybersecurity experts have been sounding the alarm about simplistic passwords that are far too easy to guess. Passwords like “12345”, variations on the word “password”, or even the user’s own name are still frequently chosen, despite the widely publicised dangers of doing so.

In fact, 2023 saw South Africans choose the password “admin” most frequently of all.

While some experts blame users for being lax or unoriginal, there is a possible psychological explanation for the simple passwords we choose: we believe that if we came up with them, they must be unique and impossible to guess.

This human tendency to overestimate our own ability at certain tasks is known as the Dunning-Kruger effect, a well-documented psychological phenomenon.

This effect applies to everything from our perceived ability to drive at high speeds, our competence at work, and even our attractiveness or social skills. Password creation is yet another area where we often think we are better than we really are.

Best practices for password creation

Unfortunately, cybercriminals are much better at guessing or decoding our passwords than we are at creating them.

To avoid this and secure crucial business data, team members in every organisation should be trained to apply best practices for password creation, which include:

Using a password length of at least eight characters: Longer passwords are harder to guess and cannot be easily cracked by automated password-cracking software.
Including numerals and special characters: This adds complexity to passwords, making them far less likely to be compromised.
Avoiding personal information: Don’t choose words related to your daily life, such as hobbies, interests, or your workplace. Cybercriminals carrying out social engineering attacks may have already researched these aspects of your life and could use them to crack your password.

Password security and secure cloud storage – key aspects of every cyber defence strategy

A strong password adds an extra layer of security to your data, especially as cyberattacks and ransomware incidents become more frequent, costing businesses millions of rand each week.

In addition to strong passwords, secure cloud storage featuring encryption technology has become a non-negotiable element of every effective cybersecurity strategy.

To learn more about these technologies and how they can benefit your company’s online security, visit our product page today.

Free VPN – Cyber Risk

Beware the Cyber Risks of Using a Free VPN

VPN (virtual private network) services are extremely common in this age of privacy concerns, offering a quick and easy way for internet users to avoid tracking and geographic profiling when they access online services.

Unfortunately, free VPNs come with a host of potential security risks and could even make your internet browsing less secure than it was before you started using them.

Here are some of the threats that come with free VPNs and how you can avoid them.

Nothing for Nothing: You May Be Paying for Your Free VPN with Your Private Information

Whoever said that the best things in life are free clearly wasn’t an expert on cybersecurity. In the realm of VPN providers, there’s a direct correlation between the cost of service and the safety of use.

While free VPNs may seem like a good idea, web users should always ask themselves: if it’s free, how does the company make money?

In most cases, free VPN providers generate their income from selling access to your time, attention, and sometimes even your data
Free VPN services tend to bombard your browser with ads, giving advertisers full access to you as a captive audience while you use the service
Some of these ads may be suspicious in nature, with malware waiting to infect your device once you click on them.

Worryingly, some free VPNs may even sell your private data or internet browsing information to third parties or allow hackers to hijack your device. Recently. researchers found 28 free VPN apps on Google Play that had links to cybercrime networks.

Given that these providers are almost always located outside of the country, any form of legal recourse you may seek against them could be highly difficult, if not impossible, if your private information is compromised.

Why It’s Worth Investing in a Paid VPN

Like most things in the market, premium VPNs, which require a purchase or subscription fee, are more likely to offer safe and effective services.

By opting for a paid VPN, you can rest easy knowing that you won’t be bombarded with unwanted ads and that the company has no incentive to sell your data to third parties
In fact, they have every reason to keep your data safe by investing in advanced cybersecurity for users of their service

Paid VPNs bring several benefits, primarily privacy when browsing online, and can be an integral part of a comprehensive cybersecurity strategy for individuals and companies alike.

Boost Your Data Security

To further boost data security, we recommend browsing our range of secure cloud storage packages for households and businesses of all sizes. As we said earlier, nothing good comes for free but our lineup of automated backup solutions offers an affordable monthly storage option that’s ideal for any organisation.

Cloud Storage Costs – Online Backup

Breaking Down Cloud Storage Costs for SMBs and Entrepreneurs

As a small business owner, security will be high on your list of priorities. Ensure that you have access to the best encrypted cloud storage to keep your data safe without incurring unnecessary expenses. It’s essential to understand the structure of cloud storage pricing and plan your expenditures accordingly.

Let’s take a look at the various pricing options available in the cloud storage industry, as well as the benefits and security enhancements that come with each one.

Cloud Storage: A Crucial Expense

Generally speaking, every business’s expenses can be classified into essential and nice-to-have categories. With the risk of cyber attacks increasing each year, secure cloud storage is definitely in the essential category.

How Much Does a Standard Cloud Storage Setup Cost?

Secure cloud storage allows your important files and documents to be kept safe in the cloud using advanced encryption methods that make it extremely difficult, if not impossible, for cyber criminals to access your data even if it becomes compromised.

In exchange for the peace of mind and security it offers, secure cloud storage is relatively inexpensive.

Let’s take a look at some of Soteria’s cloud storage packages for businesses (September 2024) as an example.

A small business may simply want a 20Gb storage package at the reasonable price of R99 – the equivalent of a few coffees to go.
Doubling this storage quota to 40Gb will cost just R160 – a significant saving per Gb.
A business with data-intensive processes and large storage requirements would still only need 100 – 500gb of monthly storage, ranging from R249 to R999 in pricing.

How to keep your cloud storage cost effective

Since cloud storage packages are usually quoted per Gb or Tb, the ideal approach is to back up your essential files and avoid filling up your storage quota with redundant files. This will also reduce the amount of internet bandwidth you use to upload and backup your files.

Clear out your storage regularly. Carrying out a digital spring cleaning is one of the best ways to eliminate files that are occupying space in your storage.
Compress then upload. Smaller file sizes mean smaller data quotas in your online storage.
Track your usage. Keeping an eye on your storage quota will help you avoid unnecessary charges.

To help your business gain the benefits of enhanced data security, we invite you to visit our product page today and discover a package that suits your organization’s needs.

Banking Apps – Online Security

How Secure is your Banking App?

Banking apps have become the preferred method of transacting for individuals and businesses in SA, offering the advantages of banking at a physical branch without the hassle. But as with all technology, convenience needs to be balanced against cybersecurity risk.

Unauthorised access to your banking app could give cybercriminals the keys to your full account balance, potentially causing a crippling, cash flow crisis.

While banks have invested in and implemented advanced cybersecurity strategies they aren’t always enough, and it is the responsibility of the customer to raise awareness among their staff. Some victims of banking fraud have waited months before their funds are returned – while others have had to write off the entire amount.

To help your business transact safely online, we’ve put together a checklist of dos and don’ts for banking app users. Let’s start with the essentials.

The necessity of secure logins

As every internet banking user knows, the first step to using a banking app is your login, but there’s more to a secure login that simply entering a password. One simple security practice to instil in staff is to ensure that they never use public wiFi connections to do online banking.

You’ll also need to ensure that your bank app allows you to login in a secure manner so that no unauthorised person can use your banking profile even if your phone or device is stolen.

Internet banking apps that use Face ID add an extra layer of security while multiple factor authentication using an OTP code (in the case of FNB) or other pin sent to your mobile number or email address provide a way of authorising transactions securely.

Avoid phishing and social engineering scams

Employees can easily be taken in by the sophistication of modern-day phishing scams.

Lately, criminals are targeting financial decision makers such as bookkeepers or controllers with genuine seeming emails and other text messages purporting to be from management.

This may not be a direct result of banking app security, but the fact that banking apps are often used to carry out these transactions makes it essential to avoid suspicious payment requests – even from colleagues and senior managers.

A concerning recent trend is the escalation of impersonation fraud which takes phishing to the next level.

This type of scam involves comprehensive research on the part of cybercriminals to map out an organisation’s management structure and find ways to impersonate members of senior management.
Once they’ve achieved this, they will typically contact employees via non-verbal means like email or private message and issue financial instructions which ultimately result in company money being deposited into the fraudster’s bank account.
Savvy social engineering combined with AI has made it possible for hackers to imitate the tone of writing typical of specific senior managers.
This could be achieved by studying articles that are published on LinkedIn or other financial media and using AI to produce devious messages using the manager or owner’s characteristic choice of words.

In summary, it’s essential for all organisations to follow the “trust but verify” model when dealing with financial transactions.

If a financial instruction hasn’t been verified over the phone or in person, it simply can’t be taken at face value just because an email or message was supposedly received from a member of management.

Add secure cloud storage to your cybersecurity strategy

Taking the steps above is an excellent approach towards securing your company’s financial and business information. Our range of secure cloud storage packages with data encryption add an extra level of protection to your valuable business data. Visit our product page today to learn more.

Soteria Online Backup – Cloud Backup Solutions

Cloud Backup Solutions – Why do I need Soteria Backup?

Running a business today means dealing with a huge amount of data, even if you’re not in the tech industry.

From customer information, including confidential banking details, to proprietary product designs and confidential documents, the information that used to be locked away in a filing cabinet is now stored in electronic form – and it’s easier to steal.

The recent wave of cyberattacks sweeping the country mirrors similar trends overseas, and as of now there would appear to be no end in sight. Secure cloud storage is a proven method to minimise the impact of a ransomware attack, data leak, or hacking attempt, since you have a recent copy of all your important business documents saved securely in the cloud.

Let’s take a look at some of the features of cloud storage that make it so essential for businesses of all sizes.

Automated backup solutions

One of the great features of secure cloud storage is that it can be set up to automatically save files to the cloud without you or your staff having to put them there one by one.

If you’re still relying on manual backups, chances are good that you’ve already tried to find a file in the cloud – only to realise that the latest version wasn’t there.
In the event of a cyberattack, not having the latest version of a file could mean that cybercriminals do have it and you may be forced to pay a ransom in order to obtain it from them.

Automated backup ensures that the latest version of every file is saved to the cloud in encrypted form. You can schedule these backups to take place on an hourly, daily, or weekly basis, depending on how frequently you update your files.

Scalable encrypted storage solutions that grow with your business

The most important feature of a secure backup system is that your files are safe in the cloud, unreachable by hackers. Furthermore, you should have enough storage to meet your company’s needs without overpaying for capacity that you don’t use.

Secure cloud storage solutions like those we offer cover all these bases, with immutable storage offering a guarantee that cybercriminals will not be able to access or change the data as it’s kept safe on our servers.

Soteria cloud storage packages are suitable for businesses of all sizes with varying amounts of secure data since they can be scaled up in capacity depending on how many gigabytes you require.

This allows you to increase your storage capacity as the needs of your business grow: an ideal feature for companies of all sizes. Best of all, it means that we can grow with you as a trusted provider over the years.

In short – Soteria backup offers:

Security and peace of mind
Automatic offsite backups
Data encryption
Scalability
Flexibility
Compatibility
Cost-effective cloud backup
Encrypted backup
Local servers and support

To find out more about our range of secure cloud packages and how Soteria’s online backup can benefit business of all sizes, visit our product page today.

Cyber Defence and Cyber Insurance – Cybersecurity

A Holistic Approach to Cyber Defence and Cyber Insurance

Cybercrime in South Africa continues to soar and companies of all sizes are realising the essential need to have comprehensive cyber insurance. While cover of this type is an essential precaution it needs to be implemented as part of a holistic cybersecurity strategy in order to be cost-effective and ultimately useful to the business.

In this article, we take a look at the symbiotic relationship between cybersecurity cover and the various cybercrime prevention methods that businesses can implement to lower their risk profile when dealing with insurers.

Read on to find out how you can protect your business from online criminals and potentially end up with a lower monthly insurance premium.

Cybercrime insurance: what the latest data tells us

Cyber attacks in South Africa are rising by the year and companies are increasingly opting for cybercrime insurance. However, given the dramatic increase in these attacks, some insurers have left the market while others are raising premiums significantly and increasing their qualifying criteria for policy holders.

Businesses seeking comprehensive cybersecurity insurance should bear in mind that covering their losses in the event of a cyberattack is not the only necessary measure that should be taken.

The reason for this is simple: a business that is vulnerable to cyber attacks due to poor security is more likely to be targeted by cybercriminals, and therefore will end up claiming on its cyber security insurance more frequently – or at least that’s what the insurer may assume.

This high risk profile may drive premiums up to the level of unaffordability.

At the same time, insurance companies are starting to demand that comprehensive cybersecurity planning and response protocols are in place before even ensuring a customer.

53% of businesses surveyed by Sophos indicated that they are seeking cybercrime insurance this fiscal year.
Of these respondents, 98% have implemented some form of cybersecurity upgrade to improve their chances of approval and favourable premiums.
An overwhelming majority of respondents said that their enhanced security measures had resulted in successful insurance outcomes, underpinning the effectiveness of this approach.

The main take away from the current developments in the cybersecurity sector is that it’s no longer a case of either insuring your business against the eventuality of a cyberattack or preventing one with advanced security measures, but rather that it’s necessary to do both.

Why a holistic approach is needed to combat cybercrime

Before obtaining cybercrime insurance cover for your business, an excellent strategy is to have all the necessary cybersecurity protections like firewalls, antivirus software, and multi factor authentication in place.

Among these, obtaining secure cloud storage is one of the most crucial steps that any business can take to increase its chances of recovery in the wake of a cyberattack.

Our range of secure cloud storage solutions for businesses of all sizes are built on a powerful backbone of immutable storage, which is almost impossible to corrupt. Browse our range of packages today to enjoy the peace of mind that comes with having your data fully secured.

Apple Spotlight Shifts – AI

Apple spotlight shifts from cars to robots

Apple pushes robotics as its car business moves off the table

Apple may be famous for its $200 billion a year iPhone lineup but the company has recently shifted gears when it comes to R & D, with its sights firmly set on the robotics sector.

As tech giants try to find new avenues for growth at a time when competition has become fierce on their traditional terrain, should we expect to see innovative new robots bearing the apple logo soon?

Here’s the latest scoop on what Apple has been experimenting with, and what the implications might be for the cybersecurity sector.

The evolution of Apple from desktop computer manufacturer to a laptop maker, and most recently the creator of the iPhone and iPad, a trio of Portable devices that revolutionised the way we communicate for work and pleasure, is legendary.

These innovations have propelled the company to ever increasing heights in terms of revenue and market valuation, with the company now worth $2.8 trillion – an amount almost equal to the GDP of France.

However, with major competition from rivals like Samsung and critics pointing out that the latest iPhone contains very few essential upgrades and is more an exercise in aesthetics, the company is seeking new avenues of growth.

Several years ago, Apple impressed investors and financial journalists when it announced an ambitious smart car project to rival Tesla. Unfortunately, this seems to be stuck in first gear with no realistic timeline for a viable product offering.

Instead, Apple appears to be investigating the potential of robotics – presumably with AI integration.

Like every piece of information about Apple’s, future activities, reports of its robotics research are mainly obtained through leaks and a fair amount of industry gossip. Word from Silicone Valley is that the manufacturer is developing two main prototypes:

A consumer robotics product with full integration to the companies of the devices.
A possible rival for the Roomba vacuum – which to date has been the most successful robotic home consumer product produced despite being in its 20th year.

Whatever these early prototypes end up becoming, it’s clear that smart devices are a major focus for big tech – and that poses a cybersecurity threat all by itself.

The impact of consumer robotics on cybersecurity

As the Internet of things continues to develop, electronic devices other than computers and mobile phones, that are both connected to the internet and sync with our other devices, are becoming the norm.

Given that we live at a time when cybercriminals have managed to carry out daring hacking attempts – even using the water monitor in a casino’s fish tank – the potential for denial of service attacks and takeover attempts on household robotic items could be huge.

Apple has generally been good at securing the privacy and personal data of its users, but as hacking attempts become more sophisticated, there’s no telling what cybercriminals could pull off.
Rather than placing the blame or expectation of safety on a single manufacturer, internet users should carefully consider what risks they are taking when they buy and use sophisticated consumer products.

As a general rule, if your device sends and receives data, that data needs to be backed up – and that’s where secure cloud storage comes in.

Our range of cloud storage solutions for businesses and households is the ideal place to start when securing your crucial data. Browse our range of packages today to get started,

Cybersecurity Threat Landscape – Cyberattacks

Understanding the Threat Landscape of Cyberattacks on SMEs – Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity has become just as important as physical security for companies both in South Africa and abroad – and considering the number of cyberattacks that take place each year that’s no surprise.

The latest data from Sophos shows that cyberattacks took place against 78% of South African companies surveyed last year, with many attacks affecting small to medium sized businesses.

In this article, we take a look at the cybersecurity landscape, highlighting some of the main threats that hackers and cybercriminals pose to businesses, and outline the best practices that your organisation can follow to secure its data.

Cybersecurity threat landscape has never been bigger

The cybersecurity threats facing SMEs are growing alongside those facing major corporations. As the threat landscape expands, small to medium business owners need to come to terms with the fact that their enterprises could – and frequently do – fall victim to online hacking, ransomware, and phishing attacks.

The study conducted by Sophos may not have surveyed every small business in South Africa, but the fact that so many respondents have faced the difficulties of a cyberattack in the past year paints a bleak picture of the online security environment, both locally and abroad.

With the total cost of cybercrime around the world estimated at a whopping $9.5 trillion for 2024, business owners can no longer afford to hope that it won’t happen to them.

Let’s take a look at some of the ways you can mitigate your small business vulnerabilities and stay safe online.

Know the enemy: the top cyber risks facing businesses

Online threats that affect small businesses can be divided into several categories. These are the main ones to take note of.

Ransomware

This type of attack happens when criminals gain access to your files and encrypt them so that you can’t access them. Some companies have paid millions of dollars to recover sensitive files compromised in ransomware attacks, but with the right strategy you can avoid becoming the next victim.

Data leaks and breaches

While ransomware attacks involve stealing your data and holding it hostage, data leaks are almost the opposite. This type of incident happens when your data is released on the internet for anyone to see and use, thus compromising the security of your business and clients.

Not only can this be bad for your reputation and cost you clients in the long run, but can also result in heavy fines in terms of the Protection of Personal Information Act.

Social engineering attacks

These take place on social media, with hackers contacting you or your employees posing as trusted figures like clients or service providers.

Once trust is established, criminals will convince the person they are dealing with to release sensitive information or download malware. Like the two other types of attacks mentioned above, social engineering can cost your business a fortune in revenues and reputational damage.

SMEs are especially vulnerable to this type of attack since they often deal with smaller suppliers or clients whose businesses aren’t necessarily household names. Impersonation scams like the one that almost bankrupted The Big Issue last year, are also rampant.

With the threat landscape shifting to dangerous ground, you’ll need a solid plan to keep your sensitive data secure.

Strategies to mitigate your online risk

The reality is that cyberattacks can, and will, continue as long as criminals know that it pays to carry them out.

As a business owner, you’ll need to take steps so that your enterprise can function and trade effectively online.

A firewall, updated antivirus software, and secure cloud storage are some of the tech solutions that you can implement to keep your data safe.
Automated backup is especially useful because it protects your files without the need for constant conscious action on the part of your staff.

Protecting your business against social engineering attacks and phishing scams requires staff training to enable your employees to detect the signs of a cyberattack and encouraging them to always verify the identity of outsiders communicating with your business.

Soteria offers a range of secure cloud storage solutions using the latest encryption techniques for companies of all sizes.

Today’s Cyber Threats – Real Time Cloud Backup

What you don’t know about cybersecurity, and what that means for your business

Cybersecurity has become a buzz word in the business community affecting business from small SMEs to government groups. Five or ten years ago very few entrepreneurs had it on their radar, and still – ask many small business owners if they are worried about the cybersecurity of their operation today and most will respond by telling you they are too small for anyone to want their data! Wrong.

The massive escalation of online threats affecting South African businesses and highly publicised ransomware cases involving millions of Rands should have any size of business worried – but what’s the best way to defend your enterprise?

As with many things, the unknowns about cybersecurity can be the most dangerous. To bring business owners up to speed quickly, we’ve put together a list of the essential online threats facing every company and how to reduce them with innovative products like secure cloud storage.

Cyber Threat #1:unsecured credentials

There’s an image out there – probably created by Hollywood – that hackers are super advanced evil geniuses tapping away at their keyboards until they finally gain access to government secrets or billion dollar bank accounts.

In reality though, many cyberattacks take place because someone forgot to change their password.

The recent leaking of 70 million login credentials worldwide means that every business, no matter the size of it, should update its passwords without delay.

The single best (and easiest) thing you can do to enhance your cybersecurity is make sure that all your passwords are up-to-date and any devices associated with your business have multiple factor encryption enabled.
Changing passwords manually or by using password management software is the first line of defence against cybercriminals while having more than one factor to identify users will protect your data in the event that one of your devices is stolen.

Cyber Threat #2: lack of employee training

Many cyberattacks are carried out by criminals who are easily able to fool company employees into downloading a piece of software or clicking a link.

With the rise of AI applications like ChatGPT, which can write a convincing email, the dead giveaways of badly worded text and ridiculous offers which were typical of old online scams are a thing of the past.

To stay ahead of online criminals today, your staff will need to be trained to identify the signs of a social engineering or impersonation attack delivered by email.
It’s also essential to verify the authenticity and credentials of anyone who contacts your business with a potential order or service offering because hackers may use real names as a Trojan horse to carry out fraud and online attacks.

Cyber Threat #3: inadequate data protection

Relying on the office USB stick to keep your files safe simply isn’t good enough in 2024. If your business still hasn’t invested in a firewall and encrypted online backup, now could be the best time to secure your data – before you fall victim to a cyberattack.

No matter what size your business is, Soteria’s range of secure cloud storage packages gives you the flexibility of being able to scale up your storage as your business grows. Our backup system features the latest encryption technology with immutable storage for added peace of mind.

To learn more about how we can help secure your company’s crucial information, visit our website today.

Best Cloud Practices | Sustainable Cloud Business Practices

The Positive Impact of Cloud Backup on Sustainable Business Practices

Sustainability has gone from a trendy buzz word to nonnegotiable business strategy as the effects of climate change start to mount.

With businesses finding new ways to work sustainably, the amount of data that every enterprise produces and stores must be reduced for the sake of the planet’s future.

Secure cloud storage has an important role to play in sustainability, because it allows organisations to free up storage space, and streamline the use of servers across the global IT industry. Here are some ways that cloud storage can contribute to efficiency and sustainability in any business.

Counting the climate cost of surplus data

The huge number of files that we all generate instantaneously can easily distract us from the fact that information is not only a virtual entity. Files also exist in physical space – be it on a storage medium or in the cloud.

Data requires electricity in order to be stored, and as our data requirements soar our energy bills are following suit.

Current estimates indicate that 1% of all electricity is used to process data. This figure is only likely to grow in the era of cryptocurrency trading and the widespread adoption of AI which uses a huge amount of data.
As we experience ongoing electricity supply problems related to Eskom, it’s easy to imagine how our global electricity supply would be constrained if unnecessary data continues to be produced and stored at the current rate.

Secure cloud storage is an effective way to free up extra storage and ensure that essential files are kept safe. At Soteria we use energy efficient data centers, eliminating the need for our clients to invest in less energy efficient computers and small servers.

Traditional storage methods represent major climate risks

With billions of internet users around the world, businesses and private individuals in almost every country have become consumers of computers, electronics and storage devices.

This is placing huge pressure on natural resources and is creating a pollution problem as recycling efforts fail to keep up with the mountain of hard drives, flash drives and other physical storage that are piling up in dumps around the world. To make matters worse , some of these discarded devices – like old routers – can pose a major security risk if they fall into the wrong hands.

Cloud storage can help to eliminate this wasteful and environmentally polluting practice by ensuring that fewer small storage devices need to be produced on an annual basis.

Localisation favours regions with sustainable energy

As businesses become more discerning about the electricity usage practices of their suppliers and choose partners who value sustainability, sustainable cloud backup services located in areas known for sustainable energy will enjoy the upper hand.

This should put some friendly pressure on data centres and other tech providers to invest in solar technology and other sustainable forms of energy generation at their facilities.

Final thoughts

Overall, secure cloud storage has the potential to support the push towards sustainability that has become so popular in the business world and is crucial for the planet’s future.

If you’d like to move away from traditional hardware and embrace a planet-friendly, economical, and safe backup storage solution, browse our range of packages for sustainable cloud businesses of all sizes today.