Back in April, the largest known e-mail security breach took place when Epsilon, an online marketing corporation, had their clients’ lists of e-mail addresses stolen by sophisticated cyber thieves. Epsilon was in charge of maintaining the e-mail databases and campaigns of some of the largest corporations in the country, including 1-800 Flowers, Best Buy, Walgreens, JPMorgan Chase, Capital One, and more. In fact, there’s a good chance that you’ve received multiple “apology” e-mails from these vendors. While some said the breach didn’t cause a whole lot of damage, we disagree. Essentially, these cyber criminals now have the ability to invent highly sophisticated phishing attacks by creating e-mail offers that look like legitimate promotions coming from companies they (the people whose e-mail addresses were stolen) buy from and trust. And though it’s already common for cyber thieves to impersonate credible organizations with what appears to be legitimate e-mail messages that seek to verify account information, this recent breach of security allows cyber thieves to be smarter and even more targeted with their scams. Two Key Lessons First, you need to be a lot more wary of e-mail promotions and communications that ask you to provide your credit card information or to validate your account information (username, password, social security number, etc.). No valid company will ever ask you to send important, confidential information in that manner. Second, this breach serves as a warning to all businesses that they must have the MOST up-to-date security systems in place for their computer network, especially if you handle client data such as credit cards, bank accounts, social security numbers, passwords, client lists and more. Epsilon has responded to the security breach, apologizing to all of those affected, but the damage is done to their organization, not to mention their clients. That’s why we urge all of our clients to enroll in our . This service allows us to monitor your network’s anti-virus, firewall and security settings to make sure your network is fully protected against these damaging events.

Weak Passwords .You know you need to have a stronger password, yet “password” is still the #1 password used by computer users. For maximum security, your password should contain numbers and letters, both upper and lowercase combined. Lack of Education. Most viruses and spyware are invited by the user; therefore, if you want to make sure your employees don’t download viruses, take the time to educate them on what new viruses are circulating and about common scams. Lack of Maintenance. No software is perfect, which means security loop holes will be exploited by hackers the minute they are discovered. That’s why it’s critical to keep your security patches up to date. Plug and Surf. Computers are NOT designed “ready to go” out of the box. Before a phone line, ethernet cable or wireless card is anywhere near a new computer, certain security needs to be installed and/or configured. Ideally, this should include virus protection, multiple spyware scanners and a program that runs in the background to prevent malicious software from ever being installed. Do It Yourself. Setting up a network, applying proper security measures and downloading and installing software can be tricky. Large companies have IT departments. Small business owners should also ask for advice or even hire help. It’s worth the extra cost. Who Else Wants To Win A $25 Gift Card? Take my monthly Trivia Challenge and you could win too! The Grand Prize Winner of last month’s Trivia Challenge Quiz is [name of winner and town]! They were the first person to correctly answer my quiz question from last month: According to legend, what did St. Patrick drive out of Ireland? a-Witches, b- Leprechauns, c-An SUV, d-Snakes The correct answer is (d) – “Snakes.” Congratulations, [winner name], you’ve won a [25 Gift Card];! Now, here’s this month’s trivia question. The winner will receive a gift card to [NAME OF STORE OR RESTAURANT]. In a 1980 April Fools’ Day hoax, the BBC reported that the iconic Big Ben will undergo a drastic transformation. What was the transformation? a) Becoming a Swiss watch b) Double the size of the clock c) Go digital Call me right now with your answer! XXX-XXX-XXXX