This is the last in our three-part series on businesses being under attack. The first two on cybersecurity and facility security, respectively, were obvious examples of how your business might be vulnerable. This third, related to your competition, takes a slightly different perspective. It’s more about how you might be helping your competitors attack your business, which is not what you want to do.

In addition to highlighting some ways you might be giving business away, we’re including ideas on how to stop the attrition using technology as just one of many tools.

You’re delivering mediocre service.
It is a fact that customers will accept lackluster service up to a point. That point often depends on the industry, available options, and industry norms. If the level of service you deliver to your customers too often falls into the “lackluster” level, don’t assume your customer will tolerate it indefinitely. Remember, your competitors are likely routinely soliciting your customers for their business. Why help them? Technology can help whether it is a more efficient way for customers to communicate with you via phone, text, email, or even chat. Setting up a system for customers to self-select urgent requests can go a long way in making customers feel you are trying to deliver good service.

You’ve not kept up with the times.
Customers who want to place an order but can’t do so online because you still need to establish an e-commerce process may easily be wooed by your competition that does. Instead of requiring customers to email or call in an order, how much more efficient would it be for you and them to go online and place the order? Our IT services can help ensure your business has all the proper infrastructure to support your e-commerce needs, including routers and switches, firewalls, and servers.

You’re delivering reactive rather than proactive service.
Hoping you have satisfied customers is not enough. Instead of responding to negative feedback and complaints as they come in, smart business owners proactively manage the customer experience, pre-empting problems before they become lost customers. Setting up automated customer feedback processes helps to identify problems quickly so you can address any issues before they become customer service disasters. It has been said that the best way to improve customer loyalty is to proactively deal with problems head-on. Customers know there are service failures everywhere; it’s how you handle the failures that can make the difference. But it is too late if your customer has already switched to your competitor.

You’re not maintaining a high and positive online presence.
Establishing and maintaining a favorable profile online not only helps to attract new customers but reassures existing customers that they’ve made a good choice in working with you. Google My Business reviews are an excellent way to elevate your business online, letting your competition know you’re delivering high-quality service to your customers.

You aren’t responsive.
Don’t make customers spend time trying to track you down. VoIP (voice over internet protocol) systems allow customers to connect with you whenever, wherever. Simply put, it is a single communication solution, linking a laptop, a desk phone, and a mobile phone to one number. Unified Communications can enhance productivity, streamline communication, and deliver a seamless experience for internal and external communication.

Your systems are down … a lot.
Nowadays, when a company’s systems are down or the website crashes, all business comes to a screeching halt. Maybe you have a few folks internally tasked to manage your IT needs, but is it time to rethink that? If you are losing orders, business, or customers because of downtime, a possible solution is “managed services.” Our managed services can provide the support your organization needs to maintain productivity and peak efficiency while freeing up your internal resources to focus on core business functions. We offer a full range of services, including help desk, break-fix, ongoing monitoring, and systems management. Let us handle your IT management, freeing your internal staff to focus on your core business.

If your business is guilty of any of the above, you are asking your customers to go to your competitors. Let’s discuss how our IT services can help you retain and grow your customer base. Call 800-854-2444 today to schedule a free consultation to talk about the many ways technology can help you keep your customers satisfied, or go online to learn more at https://inversetech.com/it-services/

With the myriad options organizations now have regarding the physical security of their facilities, there is no excuse to remain vulnerable to a wide range of potential risks and threats. Maybe you don’t think your company is a target for thieves because you don’t have high-value inventory on hand. But high-value “stuff” is not the only reason to secure your facility. Since it is Halloween time, let’s scare ourselves silly by reviewing the potential issues a company might face if it is not adequately secured.

Unauthorized Access: Without secure facilities, you leave yourself wide open to unauthorized individuals gaining access to your premises. Who knows what they want? What will they do? There are so many choices, including theft, vandalism, and data breaches.

Theft and Loss: Even if you don’t have high-value inventory in your facility, you still have equipment and potentially sensitive customer data on-site, right?

Data Breaches: Mostly, we think about cybersecurity regarding data breaches, but what if the bad guys gain physical access to your facility and on-site servers? What kind of damage can be done to your company, including financial losses and potential damage to your reputation

Workplace Violence: We must face the reality that workplace violence is on the rise; whether it is a disgruntled former employee or an angry customer, you are responsible for keeping your employees safe.

Regulatory Compliance: If your organization is subject to regulations regarding the security of sensitive information, you already know you need to secure the facility. But have you reviewed the latest regulations, and are you still fully compliant?

Insurance Costs: You might lower your insurance premiums if you improve your facility’s physical security.

Inverse Technology Solutions provides state-of-the-art access control, security cameras, and surveillance systems. We partner with equipment and software leaders in security, ensuring we always offer the latest technology to our clients. We start with a system design based on your needs and carry through expert deployment and 24/7 monitoring. From an on-premise single location system to a cloud-based system that provides a dashboard to monitor multiple locations, we can tailor your system to your particular requirements.

We have it all: surveillance cameras, intrusion detection systems, access control, and alarm systems. For multi-location clients, we provide centralized monitoring, video management software, remote access control, and integrated access control.

Think about taking that first step toward securing your organization for today. Call 800-854-2444 today to schedule a free consultation, or go online to learn more at https://inversetech.com/security/

Online publication Cybercrime Magazine reports on cyber attacks worldwide. The following list summarizes attacks just since 9/1/23 – 9/22/23 and US only. You are going to recognize some big names. Hackers don’t care how big (or small you are) or what your business might be – if your business doesn’t already have a cyber security partner working to keep your company safe, you are vulnerable. Check out the list; you’ll likely recognize most of them. Hackers don’t care who you are, what business you’re in, or even how big you are. Think of all the companies that have been hacked that didn’t make the news. If you don’t already have a cyber security partner, call us. Your business’s survival depends on it. Further details of each incident can be found at the cited source. 

Clorox Warns of Product Shortages Following Cyberattack

Clorox’s quarterly earnings will take a hit from a recent cyberattack, which has disrupted operations and dented availability of the company’s products. The cleaning-products maker said Sep. 18 in a securities filing that the fallout from the attack will cause a material impact to its current-quarter financial results. The longer-term impact is uncertain, given the continuing recovery. The cyberattack on Clorox’s information technology infrastructure, initially disclosed Aug. 14, prompted the company to take certain systems offline and resort to manually ordering and processing products at a lower rate than normal. Clorox is still operating at a reduced rate, which has recently hurt product availability. “At this time, the company cannot estimate how long it will take to resume fully normalized operations,” Clorox said. 

Source: The Wall Street Journal
09/18/2023 

 

Billionaire investor Mark Cuban loses $870K in crypto in MetaMask wallet hack

Entrepreneur and investor Mark Cuban, whose net worth is over $5 billion, fell victim to a hack on the night of Sep. 15. Cuban lost crypto assets worth $870,000 in the attack that compromised his MetaMask wallet, according to a DL News report. Cuban confirmed the hack to DL News and said he had lost 5 Ethereum (ETH) tokens, worth around $8,170 at current prices. However, he also lost USD Coin (USDC), Polygon (MATIC), Lido staked Ethereum (stETH), and tokens from SuperRare and Ethereum Name Service. Most of the proceeds from the hack were still lying in the hacker’s wallet at the time of writing. Cuban managed to transfer around $2 million USDC from the wallet to Coinbase Custody and save most assets from being stolen. According to Cuban, he is “pretty sure” he downloaded a malicious version of MetaMask, which led to the hack.

Source: CryptoSlate 
09/16/2023 

 

Ransomware attack hits Orbcomm’s BT series of ELDs; paper logs are back

Orbcomm, a major provider of ELDs (electronic logging devices) to the trucking sector, is dealing with a ransomware attack that has limited the ability of its customers to use its Fleet Manager offering, which includes its Blue Tree ELD systems, the company has confirmed. Resolving the issue may take up to two weeks. “On Sep. 6, ORBCOMM experienced a ransomware attack that is temporarily impacting our FleetManager platform and BT product line, which is used by some of our customers to track and monitor their transportation assets,” Michelle Ferris, the company’s VP of corporate communications, said in response to an email query from FreightWaves. “Upon discovering the issue, industry-leading external cybersecurity experts were retained to conduct a thorough investigation.

Source: Freight Waves 
09/15/2023 

 

Caesars Entertainment Paid Millions to Hackers in Attack

Caesars Entertainment Inc. paid tens of millions of dollars to hackers who broke into the company’s systems in recent weeks and threatened to release the company’s data, according to two people familiar with the matter. Caesars is expected to disclose the cyberattack in a regulatory filing imminently, the people said. The disclosure of the alleged Caesars breach comes as another Las Vegas entertainment giant, MGM Resorts International, announced that it was hacked earlier this week.The group behind the attack is known as Scattered Spider or UNC 3944, according to the people. Its members are skilled at social engineering in order to gain access to large corporate networks, according to cybersecurity experts. In the case of Caesars, the hackers first breached an outside IT vendor before gaining access to the company’s network. 

Source: Bloomberg 
09/13/2023 

 

Save the Children hit by Ransomware, 7TB stolen

Cybercrime crew BianLian says it has broken into the IT systems of a top nonprofit. As highlighted by VX-Underground and Emsisoft threat analyst Brett Callow earlier today, BianLian bragged on its website it had hit an organization that, based on the gang’s description of its unnamed victim, looks to be Save The Children International. The NGO, which employs about 25,000 people, says it has helped more than a billion kids since it was founded in 1919. BianLian added that its victim, “the world’s leading nonprofit,” operates in 116 countries with $2.8 billion in revenues. The extortionists claim to have stolen 6.8TB of data, which they say includes international HR files, personal data, and more than 800GB of financial records. They claim to also have email messages as well as medical and health data. Save the Children has confirmed someone broke into its computer systems, understood to be BianLian. 

Source: The Register 
09/12/2023 

 

MGM Resorts Sees Outages Across Properties Due to Cybersecurity Issue

Hotel and gaming company MGM Resorts is grappling with a cybersecurity issue that has caused an outage across its properties. “Our investigation is ongoing, and we are working diligently to determine the nature and scope of the matter,” the company said in a post on X, formerly Twitter. “We notified law enforcement and took prompt action to protect our systems and data, including shutting down certain systems,” the company said in the post. The incident has affected various systems, TechCrunch reported Sep. 11. Guests at MGM’s Las Vegas casinos have reported that ATM cash dispensers and slot machines have been affected, leading to outages, according to the report. Additionally, hotel restaurants are only accepting cash payments, and guests are unable to charge expenses to their rooms. The incident has also rendered digital room keys unusable. 

Source: PYMNTS 
09/11/2023 

 

Associated Press Stylebook Data Breach Impacts Customers

The Associated Press (AP) has alerted its customers about a recent data breach that has impacted users of the AP Stylebook. This widely used guide on grammar, punctuation, and writing style for journalists and newsrooms worldwide has suffered a security incident where attackers stole customer data and then launched targeted phishing attacks. The breach occurred between Jul. 16 and 22, 2023, on an old third-party-managed AP Stylebook site that was no longer in use. The stolen information includes customers’ names, email addresses, street addresses, city, state, zip codes, phone numbers, and User IDs. Moreover, customers who entered tax-exempt IDs, such as Social Security Numbers or Employer Identification Numbers, also had these IDs stolen. Journalists’ and media companies’ login credentials are highly sought after by cybercriminals due to the potential for extortion, data theft, and cyber espionage. Full Story 

Source: ISP.TODAY 
09/09/2023 

IBM Flags Data Breach At J&J’s Janssen Carepath Portal

IBM has announced a data breach of Janssen’s CarePath platform and has started informing affected customers. The Janssen CarePath portal provides patients and healthcare professionals in the U.S. with information regarding insurance coverage, out-of-pocket costs, and prescribing information at no cost to the users. The Janssen CarePath systems provider, IBM, indicated that the stolen data may have contained information provided as part of the Janssen CarePath application, including individual names, contact information, date of birth, health insurance information, and information on an individual’s health conditions and medications. Although IBM has identified that a data breach occurred on Aug. 2, the company is unsure of the extent of information that was accessed. Janssen is a Johnson & Johnson company. 

Source: Pharmaceutical Technology 
09/07/2023 

 

Coffee Meets Bagel Hacked — Why The App Went Offline & What’s Next

Coffee Meets Bagel, a popular dating app boasting “over 150 million matches and counting,” is back online as of Sept. 3 after being hacked by an “outside actor who maliciously deleted company data and files,” resulting in the service being down for nearly a week beginning on Aug. 27, 2023. An update shared by the company explained that it “quickly re-established a secure environment for our technology team to restore our production services and notified law enforcement about this incident,” with its team working around the clock to repair the damage. CMB apologized for the service disruption: “In addition to restoring your experience,” they said, “we’ve added 1,000 beans [in-app currency] to any accounts that were active 14 days prior to the outage to make up for lost time.” 

Source: Women’s Health Interactive 
09/05/2023 

 

Golf Club Maker Callaway says 1 million Affected by Data Breach

The company that sells the Callaway brand of golf gear reported a data breach that affected more than 1 million people. Topgolf Callaway Brands Corp. has been notifying customers that some users of its e-commerce websites had information exposed in an “IT system incident” that began Aug. 1. The breach affected customers of the “Callaway, Odyssey, Ogio, and/or Callaway Golf Preowned sites,” the company said. Exposed information included account passwords and answers to security questions, as well as names, mailing addresses, email addresses, phone numbers and order histories. The company forced a password reset for customers and said it “has taken a number of additional steps to further secure its data. Topgolf Callaway, based in Carlsbad, Calif., did not specify the nature or source of the incident. 

Source: The Record 
09/01/2023 

 

Forever 21 Data Breach Affects Half a Million People

Clothing giant Forever 21 said a data breach earlier in the year affects more than half a million individuals. A data breach notice filed with Maine’s attorney general said the fashion giant was hacked over a three-month period beginning early Jan. 2023, during which intruders obtained files from its systems. This data included the personal information of current and former employees, said a spokesperson for Forever 21 via public relations firm FTI Consulting. According to the notice, Forever 21 notified 539,207 people that the breached data included their name, date of birth, bank account number and Social Security number, as well as information regarding employees’ Forever21 health plan, including enrollment and premiums paid. Forever 21 has about 500 retail locations and an online store.

Source: TechCrunch
09/01/23

 

No matter what size your business or the industry you’re in, you are at risk if you are connected to the internet and have customer or business data. Think about what would happen if hackers took your customer files hostage. What would you do? Now is the time to call us for a risk assessment and learn how to protect your business and customers. Call us at 800-854-2444 or visit www.inversetech.com to learn more about our cybersecurity services.

The following article, “Back to School, With Panic Buttons: The post-Uvalde scramble,” published August 22, 2022, by CNBC online, is sadly more relevant now than it was just a year ago. While this piece focuses on schools, at this point, we know other venues such as retailers, banks, healthcare facilities, and more are also at risk. So think about your business right now. Is it ready? 

“Key Points

• Panic-alert systems are gaining traction nationwide amid a surge in school violence that includes shootings and fights.
• The technology features wearable panic buttons or mobile phone apps that enables teachers to notify each other and police in the event of an emergency.
• Districts are shelling out tens of thousands of dollars per school in a spending spree that also includes metal detectors, security cameras, vehicle barriers, alarm systems, clear backpacks, bullet-resistant glass and door-locking systems.

Melissa Lee comforted her son and daughter after a student opened fire in their suburban Kansas City high school, wounding an administrator and a police officer stationed there.

Then weeks later, she wept for the parents in Uvalde, Texas, who were forced to bury their children after the massacre there in May. She said she was “absolutely” reassured when she learned her district had since purchased one of the panic-alert systems gaining traction nationwide amid a surge in school violence that includes shootings and fights. The technology, featuring wearable panic buttons or mobile phone apps, enables teachers to notify each other and police in the event of an emergency.

“Time is of the essence,” said Lee, whose son helped barricade a classroom door and watched police enter his school with guns drawn. “They can hit a button and, OK, we know something’s wrong, you know, really wrong. And then it puts everybody else on high alert.”

Multiple states now mandate or encourage the buttons, and a growing number of districts are shelling out tens of thousands of dollars per school for them — part of a widespread scramble to beef up school security and prevent the next tragedy. The spending spree includes metal detectors, security cameras, vehicle barriers, alarm systems, clear backpacks, bullet-resistant glass and door-locking systems.

Critics say school officials are scrambling to show action — any action — to worried parents ahead of the new school year, but in their haste may be emphasizing the wrong things. It’s “security theater,” said Ken Trump, president of the National School Safety and Security Services. Instead, he said, schools should focus on making sure teachers are implementing basic safety protocols such as ensuring doors aren’t propped open.

The attack in Uvalde illustrated the shortcomings of panic-alert systems. Robb Elementary School had implemented an alert app, and when an attacker approached the school, a school employee did send a lockdown alert. But not all teachers received it because of poor Wi-Fi or phones that were turned off or in a drawer, according to an investigation by the Texas Legislature. And those who did may not have taken it seriously, the Legislature’s report said: The school sent out frequent alerts related to Border Patrol car chases in the area.

“People want visible, tangible things,” Trump said. “It’s a lot harder to point to the value of training your staff. Those are intangibles. Those are things that are less visible and invisible, but they’re most effective.”

In suburban Kansas City, the decision to spend $2.1 million over five years for a system called CrisisAlert “isn’t a knee-jerk reaction,” said Brent Kiger, Olathe Public Schools’ director of safety services. He said he had been eying the system even before gunfire erupted in an Olathe high school in March as staff confronted an 18-year-old over rumors that he had a gun in his backpack.

“It helped us kind of evaluate it and look at it through a lens of: ‘We’ve been through this critical incident, and how would it have helped us?’ And it would have helped us that day,” he said. “There’s just no question about that.”

The system, a different one than what Uvalde relied on, allows staff to trigger a lockdown that will be announced with flashing strobe lights, a takeover of staff computers and a prerecorded intercom announcement. Teachers can set off the alarms by pushing a button on a wearable badge at least eight times. Staff also can summon help to break up a hallway fight or to deal with a medical emergency if they push the button three times.

Demand for CrisisAlert had been growing even before Uvalde, with revenue from new contracts increasing 270% from the first quarter of 2021 to the first quarter of 2022, the product’s maker, Centegix, said in a statement.

Arkansas was an early adopter of panic buttons, announcing in 2015 that more than 1,000 schools would be equipped with a smartphone app that connects users quickly with 911. At the time, education officials said the plan was the most comprehensive in the nation.

But the idea really gained steam after the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.

Lori Alhadeff, whose 14-year-old daughter, Alyssa, was among the 17 killed, founded the group Make Our Schools Safe and began advocating for panic buttons. She had texted her daughter as shots rang out that help was on the way.

“But in reality, there was no panic button. There was no immediate way to contact law enforcement or emergency services to get on site as soon as possible,” said Lori Kitaygorodsky, the group’s spokeswoman. “We always kind of go by the thinking that time equals life.”

Lawmakers in Florida and New Jersey responded by passing Alyssa’s Law, requiring schools to begin using panic alarms. District of Columbia schools also added panic-button technology.

Following Uvalde, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a new bill into law that requires school districts to consider installing silent panic alarms. And Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt issued an executive order, calling on all schools to implement panic buttons if not already in use. The state previously provided money for schools to subscribe to an app.

Over the years, legislation also has been introduced in Nebraska, Texas, Arizona and Virginia, according to Make Our Schools Safe.

Las Vegas schools also decided to add panic buttons this year to deal with a wave of violence. Data show the district recorded 2,377 assaults and batteries from August 2021 through the end of May, including an after-school attack that left a teacher injured and unconscious in her classroom. Other districts adding panic buttons for back-to-school include Madison County Schools in North Carolina, which also are putting AR-15 rifles in every school, and the Houston County School District in Georgia.

Walter Stephens, the executive director of school operations in the 30,000-student Houston County district, said the district piloted the panic button technology last year in three schools before signing a $1.7 million, five-year contract to make it available in all its buildings.

Like most schools, the district reassessed its safety protocols after the tragedy in Uvalde. But the Texas shooting didn’t provide the impetus to add the panic buttons, Stephens insisted. If students don’t feel safe, he said, “that translates to them not performing well in our schools.”

Whether the buttons deliver as promised is something experts are monitoring. In places like Florida, a panic button app has proven unpopular with teachers. And what happens, asked Mo Canady, executive director of the National Association of School Resource Officers, in the case of a false alarm, or a student using a panic-button to cause mayhem?

“In throwing so much technology at the problem … we may have unintentionally created a false sense of security,” Canady said.

Kansas state Sen. Cindy Holscher represents an area that includes part of the Olathe district, and her 15-year-old son knew the Olathe East shooter. While Holscher, a Democrat, supports the addition of panic buttons in the district, she said schools alone can’t fix the country’s mass shooting problem.

“If we make it way too easy for people to get their hands on guns, it’s still a problem,” said Holscher, who has championed a red-flag law and another measure that would have mandated safe firearm storage. She said neither measure even got a hearing in the GOP-dominated Legislature.

“We have got to get to the heart of the issue at some point.”

This article points out that the panic systems for school districts may not yet be perfected, but that is likely to be expected. Meanwhile, it offers some insight into the ways people can be protected. Take a moment to consider the safety and well-being of your employees and customers. We would be happy to explore options with you based on your unique situation and concerns. Please call us at 800-854-2444 or visit www.InverseTech.com

Source: CNBC online; 8/22/22