The volume of malicious cyber attacks is increasing every year. Although many companies use the latest network security systems, they aren’t immune to the hackers’ favorite strategy — social engineering. Unlike malware, social engineering tricks people into volunteering sensitive data. Here’s what you should know to protect your business. Phishing This is the most frequently used social engineering attack, especially against small businesses. Check out these frightening statistics: Kaspersky Labs revealed that its anti-phishing system prevented more than 107 million attempts to connect users to malicious websites in just one quarter of 2018. Barkly added that 85% of companies have fallen prey to this nefarious scheme. And PhishMe reports that the number of these scams is growing by at least 65% per year. How is phishing carried out? Criminals make use of emails, phone calls, or text messages to steal money. Victims are directed to phony websites or hotlines and are tricked into giving away sensitive information like names, addresses, login information, social security, and credit card numbers. To protect yourself, be wary of emails from people you don’t know that offer you a prize, come with attachments you didn’t request, direct you to suspicious sites, or urge you to act quickly. Phishing emails usually appear to come from reliable sources, but they are wolves in sheep’s clothing. One of the most infamous and widespread examples of phishing was during the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio, where victims received fraudulent emails for fake ticketing services that stole their personal and financial information. Tailgating What’s the fastest and easiest way for criminals to enter a secure office? Through the front door, of course! Tailgating happens when an employee holds the door open for strangers and unauthorized visitors, allowing them to infiltrate an organization. This simple act of kindness enables fraudsters to enter restricted areas, access computers when no one is looking, or leave behind devices for snooping. Quid pro quo Here, scam artists offer a free service or a prize in exchange for information. They may lure their victims with a gift, concert tickets, a T-shirt, or early access to a popular game in exchange for login credentials, account details, passwords, and other important information. Or hackers may volunteer to fix their victims’ IT problems to get what they want. In most cases, the gift is a cheap trinket or the tickets are fake, but damages from stolen information are all too real. Pretexting Fraudsters pretend to be someone else to steal information. They may pose as a telemarketer, tech support representative, co-worker, or police officer to fish out credit card information, bank account details, usernames, and passwords. The con artist may even convince the unsuspecting victim to apply for a loan over the phone to get more details from the victim. By gaining the person’s trust, the scammer can fool anyone into divulging company secrets. In spite of the many security measures available today, fraudsters and their social engineering schemes continue to haunt and harm many businesses. Thus, it’s best to prepare for the worst. To protect sensitive information, educate yourself and be careful. Remember: If anything is too good to be true, it probably is! To shield your business from social engineering attacks, don’t take chances! Get in touch with Multi IT today on 011 435 0450.

Many business owners are looking to artificial intelligence (AI, or “machine learning”) for its potential to improve communications with their customers. It is predicted that by 2020, 85% of all interactions will originate from machine learning “bots.” If you operate an e-commerce business and are wondering how you can benefit from bots, you’re in luck. We’ve compiled a few of the most important reasons to adopt AI for e-commerce. Predicting what your customers want There are many ways AI can benefit businesses and consumers. For example, machine learning algorithms can identify customers’ habits and their interests, simply based on their search histories. Properly configured, AI can analyze customers’ shopping behaviors to customize the online experience based on a variety of factors like browsing pattern and purchase history. Product recommendations, pairings, and promotions can also be targeted to individuals, improving the customer experience and your bottom line. More intuitive product recommendations Machine learning is also great for cataloging products. In the past, businesses would send out cumbersome product catalogs that made it difficult for customers to find what they were looking for. In the near future, customers will be able to upload photographs of clothing that’s similar to what they want to purchase. Through AI, a website will be able to analyze the photographs and create a catalog of suggestions based on the uploaded image. Customers can still talk to a “representative” With advances in “plain language” systems, more and more users will rely on e-commerce over face-to-face sales interactions. Machine learning is getting better at interpreting conversations, and answering with natural-sounding responses. If the choice is either searching “Blue summer dress,” or “Billowy summer dress in a warm blue color,” which do you think would make customers’ shopping experience better? By replicating the in-person shopping experience over the internet, businesses can shift away from brick and mortar overheads to an e-commerce-centered structure. They will realize significant savings on capital expenditures and human resource investment, as well as reduce costly human errors. If you’re ready to begin integrating more “machine learning” into your business model, we already have the means to make that happen. Contact Multi IT as soon as you’re ready to transform your e-commerce business into a money-making powerhouse!

Cloud computing has proven to be a cost-effective necessity for small businesses. However, there are still many owners who remain misinformed about the intricacies of cloud solutions. Here are some common misconceptions you should stop believing about the cloud. #1. Cloud infrastructures are unsecure Information security is a necessity for every business. And the most prevalent misconception about the cloud is the idea that cloud services lack appropriate security measures to keep data safe from intruders. Most users also think that the data stored in the cloud can be easily accessed by anyone, from anywhere, and at any time. But the truth is it’s actually more secure for small businesses to use cloud services. Small companies usually can’t afford to hire an IT department let alone train them to deal with online security threats. Cloud providers, on the other hand, offer services such as multi-layered security systems and antivirus protection that not only specialize in keeping infrastructures safe from hackers but are available at a price that is much lower than you would pay for in-house IT staff. Additionally, large cloud-based services such as G Suite and Office 365 are supported by an infrastructure that constantly installs updates and patches, which helps manage security breaches. This frees you from the burden of installing the updates yourself and managing the overall security of your system. Users should understand that no company is completely safe from security threats regardless of their IT infrastructure. But data is likely to be more secure in the hands of cloud providers as they are the most prepared and qualified to protect your digital property. #2. The cloud lacks proper encryption Most people misunderstand how encryption is implemented to keep your data safe. For example, encryption is generally used for data in transition, where data is protected from anyone seeing it as it travels from one internet address to another. But encryption can also be applied to data at rest, where data is encrypted on a storage drive. With this in mind, you should understand what types of encryption your business and its data require. When it comes to choosing the right cloud service, it is best to inform yourself about the security measures that a cloud infrastructure implements and look at how it can protect your company’s digital property. #3. With the cloud you are no longer responsible for data security While cloud security is important, protecting data ultimately rests on the users who have access to it. Misplacing unlocked mobile devices can leave your data vulnerable and compromise your entire cloud infrastructure. This is why we recommend strong verification mechanisms in place for devices that are used to access the cloud. #4. The cloud is never faulty Like many IT services, cloud-based services are not immune to technical difficulties. For example, some cloud businesses have suffered outages and server failures which corrupted files and may have lost data in the process. Hacking is another reason why some cloud services fail. Using a less than optimal cloud service that is vulnerable to attacks can lead to stolen or deleted data, which would be near impossible to recover if you did not have any offline backups. Before signing up for any type of cloud service, clarify with its provider what is guaranteed. Most cloud providers make promises about a service’s uptime or its safety from provider-related breaches. Security is truly one of the biggest barriers to the adoption of cloud computing in a small business. But as cloud services expand and encryption technologies advance, cloud adoption is increasingly becoming the most cost-effective solution to meet the small business owner’s IT demands. Contact Multi IT today on 011 435 0450 to learn how your business can take advantage of all the cloud has to offer.