The NIST framework comprises five essential functions: Identify, Protect, Detect, Respond, and Recover.

Identify Threats

You can’t defend against a threat you don’t understand. Start by identifying the potential threats to your business assets and resources. This includes understanding the hardware, software, and supply chain that support your business, as well as adhering to regulatory guidelines to protect these resources. Knowing what to protect—and against whom—helps you assess risk and determine appropriate safeguards.

Protect Against Threats

Once you understand the risks, implement protective measures such as:

• Access controls to limit unauthorized access to data and systems.
• Data security to ensure confidentiality and controlled access to critical information.
• Routine maintenance to keep systems updated and secure, maximizing uptime.
• Staff training aligned with their access levels.

In addition, consider a business continuity strategy—beyond NIST recommendations—to identify your minimum operational requirements.

Detect Threats

It’s not about whether an attack will happen, but when. Your cybersecurity solutions should be able to detect threats in real-time, alerting you to any suspicious activity. These alerts are crucial to ensuring your defenses are functioning effectively. If you aren’t detecting potential threats as they emerge, you could be left to deal with major vulnerabilities.

Respond to Threats

The goal is to detect and respond to threats quickly, minimizing their impact on your operations. Have a clear, reliable incident response policy in place. Address the immediate threat, mitigate residual risks, and keep communication open with affected parties like customers, vendors, employees, and local authorities.

After addressing an incident, review the attack to learn how to improve your defenses for the future.

Recover from Threats

Even after neutralizing a threat, recovery is an essential step. Use your business continuity plan to restore interrupted services and implement a well-defined recovery strategy to get your company back on track. Focus on restoring critical systems, learning from the incident, and improving to prevent future issues. Keep all stakeholders, including customers, staff, and partners, informed of your recovery progress.

Protecting Your Business

While these five steps may seem extensive, they highlight the importance of cybersecurity to your business’ resilience. Don’t wait until an incident occurs—prepare now with solid strategies and systems.

Patriot Tech Services Inc. offers reliable IT resources to support your security needs. To learn more, reach out to us today at 877-874-4629.

Dr. Lukas Knochensäge swiped through the files on his tablet as he confirmed his patient’s medical details. The patient in question—Max Cooper, owner/operator of the local Toasty Beans coffee shop—shifted uncomfortably on the freshly papered exam table, cold without his shirt in the air conditioning. Lukas began running through his patients’ data to ensure its accuracy.

“So, I hear you’ve had some heart problems, Max?”

“Yeah, I was mistakenly diagnosed with Carney complex last year when that man showed up claiming to be my long-lost father. Fortunately, that was all cleared up when…”

Max paused, seeing Lukas’ face crease in frustration as he began to swipe across his tablet more violently.

“What’s wrong, Dr. Lukas?”

Lukas looked up after a moment or two of continued swiping.

“My tablet isn’t working. For some reason, it isn’t letting me get into your files. That’s strange.”

Suddenly, the doctor’s eyes widened in visible panic.

“Wait, what? Why can’t I get into anything?”

Fed up, the medical practitioner ran his fingers through his sable beard, stroking his strong chin in frustration. His eyes widened more as a new window appeared on his tablet’s display, bearing a video message.

“To the Staff of Oak Falls Municipal Hospital:

Are you having trouble doing your job? I must inform you that’s because we added something extra to your computer systems.

We are DarkLulz Doom, and we have locked your data using military-grade encryption. We will provide the password once you send 2.5 Bitcoin to the wallet at…”

The distorted voice went on to specify the address of a wallet and provide instructions detailing how to purchase and transfer Bitcoin to it.

“Be warned: You have a limited time to deliver this payment to us before you face severe consequences. If we don’t receive payment within this time, we will have no choice but to delete every file, every folder, and every record you have. We will also have to inform everyone whose data you’ve lost of your failure.

Please act quickly, as the clock is ticking.

Sincerely,

DarkLulz Doom”

The doctor gulped, hands shaking as he gripped the tablet tighter.

“I… I don’t know what to do.”

Max stared at him incredulously. “What do you mean, you don’t know what to do? The hospital should pay them! You need that information to do your job! Lives are at stake!”

Dr. Knochensäge slams his tablet into the table.

“Don’t you think I know that? All these people trust me with their health, and I need that information to care for them!”

“So you have to do something!”

“I know, I just don’t know what!”

Caught up in a panic, Lukas hurled the tablet across the examination room, shattering it in the corner. He swiftly moved to the workstation tucked away in the corner. Maybe, just maybe, the tablet had a glitch or something, and his computer was fine.

However, it was not to be. A bead of sweat rolled down his forehead as the same message was revealed on the monitor—added something extra, military-grade encryption, clock is ticking. Lukas felt his heart race faster and faster, completely lost as to what to do.

He thought back to all the patients who had entrusted him, not only with their health but with their privacy. How would he live it down? How could he tell them all what had happened, and on his watch? How many lives would be ruined because this happened? Lukas felt his stomach roll over on itself as a wave of nausea swept over him.

He turned, looking at Max, who was staring at him in obvious concern.

“I… I don’t know what to do.”

Max, seeing how stressed his physician was, was at a loss for words. Before him, he was witnessing the complete breakdown of a man, growing more and more agitated with every moment. He watched as Dr. Knochensäge stared at his computer in despair, and as his expression shifted to one of resignation.

“Well, I guess I have no choice.”

“What are you going to do?” asked Max.

“The only thing I can do… I’m going to pay them the—” Lukas paused as he looked up the value of the demanded ransom. “$70,000 or so to get my data back. I have no choice.”

Max stared at him, aghast. “You didn’t keep a backup or something?”

Lukas shook his head. “I figured I didn’t have to worry about this kind of thing. I mean, who would think they’d get hacked in Oak Falls?”

Lukas grimly followed the instructions on the ransom note, purchasing the requisite Bitcoin and making the transfer. He waited for his access to return, but instead, a new message revealed itself:

“Thank you for your cooperation. You can expect the decryption key shortly after we receive the second installment of your payment, which should total 8 Bitcoin.”

Shocked, Lukas turned to Max, realizing what had just happened: he had been duped. He still didn’t have his data and had just wasted tens of thousands of dollars.

TO BE CONTINUED…

***

Next time, on Of Vice and Vulnerability… Heir to the Lutz Hotel Fortune, Derrick Lutz, gets a seemingly innocent email, while Bella Bianchi struggles with her gambling addiction while clicking on every banner ad she sees.

Of Vice and Vulnerability is brought to you by Patriot Tech Services Inc., one of TriState’s most reliable IT providers. Stay tuned for more, and to avoid this situation, call 877-874-4629.

Be Wary of Phishing Schemes

The biggest reason phishing attacks work so well is their uncanny ability to slip through the cracks of security solutions.

Hackers utilizing phishing attacks will use insidious tactics to get their messages past even the most powerful security systems. Sometimes, the attacks are so personalized that victims will click on links without a second thought. Of course, the uninformed are going to be more likely to fall prey to these types of attacks, but today’s phishing attacks are so convincing that one can’t really fault another for falling for one.

That’s why it’s so important to train your team on how to identify and address phishing attacks… before they do something silly.

Signs of Potential Phishing Attacks

To help your business identify potential phishing attacks, we’ve put together a list of four signs:

1. Look at the sender: If you don’t know the sender, you should always be cautious of a message, particularly if it comes from outside of your organization. Consider verifying the sender's identity any other way you can (especially if they claim to be within your organization).
2. Consider the urgency: If a message demands immediate action, you should be at least a little wary of it. This is especially true if the message is asking you to click links to confirm orders, contest winnings, or anything else you don’t remember doing.
3. Suspicious behavior in general: If a message solicits sensitive information from you, such as your Social Security number, credit card information, or other type of personal or financial data, you have more than enough reason to consider it a phishing attack.
4. Unsolicited links, images, or attachments: If you receive a message that looks legitimate but has suspicious links, images, or attachments, stop right there. Don’t click on any of them without first verifying the sender’s identity.

If you believe you’re the target of a phishing attack, inform your IT department or a trusted IT resource immediately.

Protect Your Business Today

Ideally, you protect your business so well that phishing attacks never hit your inbox in the first place.

It’s not so difficult to make this happen, especially with advanced threat detection available through spam blocking and content filtering solutions. With the right tools and, of course, proper training for your employees, you can take the bite out of phishing attacks. While you can never eliminate them entirely, the best course of action is always to make them less effective by eliminating opportunities for your team to get duped by them.

To get started, call Patriot Tech Services Inc. at 877-874-4629 today.