Important product updates and year-end preparations.
Hi there ,
Buckling up as we head into the final two months of 2020 is the smart and prudent thing to do.
✓ Last month we held account reviews for clients, and now we are campaigning the use of MFA, multi-factor authentication for Private Email accounts at TDS.
Multi-factor Authentication
Nothing works better to prevent an online account hack than multi-factor authentication, or "MFA."
"Based on our studies, your account is more than 99.9% less likely to be compromised if you use MFA."
Alex Weinert, Group Program Manager for Identity Security and Protection at Microsoft.
Use MFA to secure bank accounts, investment accounts, and any accounts that include personal information.
✓ Best practice - enable MFA for every online account that offers the option.
New feature - MFA for Private Email
Private Email accounts from TDS now include multi-factor authentication as 'optional' for all email boxes.
✓ See the first news tile below for client information and enabling MFA for your email domain. Click for more about Private Email.
Device Protection for Computer Security
Software Updates - Windows and Macs
For computer security, the F-Secure service we provide is best-in-class, and clients love the peace of mind it brings.
One of F-Secure's unique features is managing the huge volume of software updates from Apple and Microsoft. The updates are crucial and must be installed quickly from a prioritized queue.
Microsoft and Apple are bombarding computers with these essential software updates. Eighty-seven updates in one day on October 13th, for Microsoft. This level of activity is creating some issues with some users.
Fortunately, F-Secure is rising to the challenge and releasing a new "Software Updater." Software Updater is a next-generation tool designed to manage the increasing demands for keeping systems current and safe.
✓ Over the coming weeks, TDS is upgrading all PCs and Macs with F-Secure's new Software Updater. It is an automatic process and seamless to the user.
In the meantime, over the coming months popups like this can be ignored:
Cyber risk is an existential risk
This month's CyberAdvisor Letter focuses on significant product updates and preparing for more cybercrime activity through the balance of 2020.
But, please don't miss the news tiles and the headlines below. We are entering an unprecedented time for new risks and dangers that affect all aspects of mainstream life today. Cyber is an existential risk, and it is time to take heed.
✓ For the peace of mind that comes with privacy and cybersecurity, please contact us.
Finally a closing thought straight from the horse's mouth:
“The concept of social networks, broadly speaking, as amplifiers for idiots and crazy people is not what we intended.”
Eric Schmitt, former chairperson of Google, Oct 21st, 2020.
MFA is now standard for all Private Email boxes from Total Digital Security.
Clients can request MFA by clicking below. Scroll to the page bottom for the request form.
FBI, DHS, HHS Warn of Imminent Ransomware Threat Against U.S. Hospitals
"Officials from the FBI and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security hastily assembled a conference call with healthcare industry executives warning about an “imminent cybercrime threat to U.S. hospitals and healthcare providers.”
Krebs on Security, Oct. 28th, 2020
Russian Hackers Attack U.S.
Airport Wi-Fi Networks
Russian hackers may have infiltrated more targets in the US than previously thought, new reports have claimed.
TechRadar, Oct 26th, 2020
Global Democracy at Risk from Cyberattack 'onslaught' - Microsoft President
“Five years ago, I think we thought about this principally in terms of attacks on, say, conventional infrastructure or our military capabilities, but today I think it’s just become an onslaught on democracy itself.”
Microsoft President Brad Smith, Reuters, Oct. 21st, 2020.
Digital Thieves Are Hacking Brokerage Accounts
“Cyber hacking has now become the biggest threat to investors’ financial well-being. Unfortunately, brokerage firms haven’t invested the money needed in order to keep cyber hacking of brokerage accounts from happening.”
Former president of the Public Investors Advocate Bar Association, Bloomberg, Oct.13th, 2020
Crypto Poses a Growing Threat to National Security, U.S. Says
“Current (criminal) use of cryptocurrency may represent the first raindrops of an oncoming storm of expanded use,”
AG William Barr’s Cyber-Digital Task Force Report, Bloomberg, October 8, 2020.
Hackers Eye Their Next Targets
"Cyberattacks have become a commodity - ransomware-as-a-service. As a society, we haven’t figured any of this stuff out. Over the next decade, I bet we will.”
Jeff Moss, founder of DEF CON, an annual conference for hackers.Wall St Journal, Oct.8th, 2020.
Recognize Misinformation on the Internet
Identifying reliable information online is especially urgent, and especially for seniors.
The New York Times, Aug 22, 2020
Steps for Fact Checking Social Media
"Facebook has been taken to court for the misinformation spread like peanut butter across its platforms, while Twitter’s war on fake news has led to many dustups with POTUS—most recently over a blocked New York Post article about Joe Biden."
The Morning Brew, Oct. 28th, 2020
How to Recognize and Report Spam Text Messages
Have you ever gotten a text message from an unknown sender? It could be a scammer trying to steal your personal information. Find out what you can do about unwanted text messages and how to report them.
FTC - Consumer Information
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