If you’ve been paying attention, then you know about the several disturbing events happening around the world. Deadly wildfires in Australia, the presidential impeachment and the escalating tension between the United States and Iran which comparatively makes Trump’s impeachment look like a bush-league incident.

The fact is, Iran is capable of launching cyberattacks to disrupt the critical infrastructure of our personal and business life – at least temporarily – but it’s not as bad as it sounds. Although the U.S. Department of Homeland Security issued a bulletin warning American’s about Iran’s “robust cyber program”, there has been no historical evidence that any cyberattack has ever resulted in physical harm. Therefore, we can be somewhat comforted in knowing that it is difficult to physically harm someone through a cyberattack. Attacks will likely be subtle and targeted at private citizens, causing annoying distractions and increasing the fog of confusion.

Last week, Jon Bateman, former Defense Intelligence Agency analyst on Iran’s cyber capabilities told The Washington Post that “At this point, a cyberattack should be expected” in retaliation for Soleimani’s assassination.

It’s time you start thinking of cyberattacks, not just as an everyday irritant, but as a major player in military warfare and government conflicts. Some fear a large-scale cyberattack against America is imminent. These attacks could threaten your mobile devices and bank accounts. If Iranian hackers attack power grids they can cut power to our homes and businesses, effectively shutting down all communication systems and putting a halt to an entire organization, city, county, state or nation.

 

5 Things To Do NOW In Case Iran Attacks The U.S.

Take these actions to prepare and protect yourself, your company and your customers:

  1. Be on high alert. Look out for suspicious Phishing email attacks that you are not expecting. Remember to hover over links before you click them to see where it wants to take you if you click on it. Check the email address of the sender for accuracy. Call the sender at a KNOWN number to confirm the legitimacy, NEVER call the phone number listed in the email. And remember, if it sounds too good to be true – it is.
  2. Increase organizational vigilance and security. Ensure all personnel knows how to spot phishing, spear phishing, and social engineering emails. It’s a good idea to provide some sort of cybersecurity training for your employees as humans are the #1 cause of all breaches in business. Protect bank accounts by setting up email notifications and 2-factor authentication.
  3. Educate personnel on the reporting process. Do all of your employees know what to do if they know or suspect they have been targeting by an attack? Educate them on how to respond in a calm and organized manner. However, the targeted employee is usually unaware of what they have done or had a suspicion but did not report it for fear of getting in trouble.
  4. Have an incident response plan. Document key steps that all personnel must take during an incident and ensure everyone is familiar with the process for maximum recovery.
  5. Put IoT devices on your guest WiFi. Make sure to always keep your IoT (Internet of Things) devices, also known as internet-enabled devices, on a separate network form your computers because they are extremely vulnerable to attack. Are WiFi Connected Devices Leaving Your Company “Back Door” Wide Open For Hackers?

 

Advanced Steps

Go a little further to protect yourself with these 7 advanced steps:

  1. Passwords: you’re doing it wrong. You must use a unique and difficult password on every account and IoT device. Try using a password manager to save and remember all your passwords. Learn how to get better at password management.
  2. Get a cybersecurity risk assessment by a professional IT services company. Get a FREE Cybersecurity Risk Assessment, from Juern Technology, that gives you the answers you want and the certainty you need.
  3. Get year-round cybersecurity training for all your personnel.
  4. Makes sure your network and all devices are patched and up-to-date.
  5. Have a business-class image backup BOTH on-premises and in the cloud.
  6. Deny access to company data from employees’ personal devices that are not being monitored by YOUR IT department.
  7. Make sure your network is being monitored and maintained behind a strong firewall with up-to-date antivirus software.

 

If you would like more information about cybersecurity training or would like us to perform a FREE cybersecurity risk assessment for your organization (a $427 value), contact us at (210) 245-6900 or visit us online at www.juerntech.com/cyberaudit/ to schedule your FREE cybersecurity risk assessment today.

 

Juern Technology is a San Antonio Managed IT Services Provider helping small and medium-sized businesses manage their technology. No other IT services company in San Antonio can touch our fast response time of 3 minutes or less, personalized service with our around-the-clock local Help Desk, live-answered phones, or our ability to deliver technology solutions that keep your projects on track, your remote workers connected, and your data safe. Our service philosophy is proactive, not reactive.  With state-of-the-art network monitoring and management, we manage your network 24/7 to identify issues and address them BEFORE they become problems, rather than putting out fires.