For companies with the Microsoft 365 E3 license, the decision on whether to upgrade to 365 E5 is likely taken into consideration, and security should certainly be included. With E5, companies will likely find security upgrades in three key areas: identity management, endpoints, and cloud. So says David Broggy, Trustwave's Senior Solutions Architect, Implementation Services, and a 2024 recipient of the Microsoft MVP Award, in a recent webinar on transitioning from Microsoft E3 to E5.

Data is the new gold, and it needs to be kept safe just like gold. In this digital age, where data is easily shared and technology is always getting better, the risk of data leakage is very important for both businesses and people. Data leakage, which is when private information is shared without permission, can have serious effects, including losing money, hurting your image, and being sued.

As digital threats evolve, safeguarding sensitive data has become more important than ever, especially for businesses using removable storage devices like USB drives. While these external devices boost productivity, they also increase the risk of data breaches if not properly managed. Unprotected peripheral ports serve as unguarded entry points for data thieves and malicious software, highlighting the critical need to secure these access interfaces.

In emergency situations, 1Password Extended Access Management can get devices patched faster than MDM alone.

Phishing attacks occur when cybercriminals trick their victims into sharing personal information, such as passwords or credit card numbers, by pretending to be someone they’re not. Artificial Intelligence (AI) has made it easier for cybercriminals to carry out phishing attacks by writing believable phishing messages, mimicking people’s voices, researching targets and creating deepfakes.

Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) have become the backbone of modern applications. They enable seamless interaction between different software systems, allowing businesses to innovate rapidly. With the proliferation of APIs comes an increased risk of security vulnerabilities. Ensuring API security is crucial to safeguarding sensitive data, maintaining user trust and protecting the integrity of applications.

One of the biggest burdens on any government agency or contractor is dealing with controlled unclassified information, or CUI. This information requires oversight, security, access control, and record-keeping – all part of the general “control” of that information – and keeping track of it all can be a huge task. One way in which this task is made easier is through the process of decontrol.

So far in 2024, many major companies have fallen victim to credential stuffing attacks. Some of these notable credential stuffing victims include Roku, Okta, General Motors and Levi’s. Credential stuffing attacks occur when a cybercriminal uses stolen login credentials to attempt to log in to multiple accounts simultaneously. Since many people reuse their passwords, cybercriminals can use stolen credentials to sign in to many accounts, compromising employee, customer and organizational data.

Researchers at Palo Alto Networks’ Unit 42 warn that attackers are using refresh entries in HTTP response headers to automatically redirect users to phishing pages without user interaction. “Unit 42 researchers observed many large-scale phishing campaigns in 2024 that used a refresh entry in the HTTP response header,” the researchers write. “From May-July we detected around 2,000 malicious URLs daily that were associated with campaigns of this type.

Managing and Safeguarding data is becoming more complex with more cyber threats piloting daily. Organizations are facing constant risk of accidental errors or intentional hacking of sensitive information. Cyber enthusiasts have come up with a one-stop solution to prevent any such damage to data, known as Data Loss Prevention solutions or DLP. It is a crucial tool in the battle of keeping data safe and mitigating any risk.