AM Exclusive Technicity Newsletter Issue 2 | Page 2

HOW TO PROTECT YOUR DATA EVEN IF YOU OR YOUR
STAFF TAKES THE BAIT IN A PHISHING SCAM
Two-factor authentication (2FA for short),
sometimes called dual-factor or multi-factor
authentication, is a system in which you must
verify your identity in two separate ways to
access an account. This may be a login password,
an online account, or an account to access an
application. Sound confusing? It’s not. Here’s an
example:
W
hile many of us enjoy fishing in the summer months, so do
hackers, but they are “phishing” in a different way.
Phishing: The fraudulent practice of sending emails
purporting to be from reputable companies in order to
induce individuals to reveal personal information, such
as passwords.
At any given moment, hackers are sending out emails to small business
owners and their staff, trying to get you to give them the keys to your
network. Just as in home security, no matter how good your network
security system is, it will fail if someone is tricked into letting an
intruder in.
Hackers are getting more and more sophisticated at fooling people.
The fact that anyone can be deceived, even you, should not be
underestimated. For instance, some scams in the news recently have
targeted Office 365 administrators with emails that look like they are
coming from Microsoft. One such email states that someone has gained
access to one of your user’s email accounts and that you need to log in
to “investigate” the issue. It then directs you to a landing page that looks
like a Microsoft login page.
After enabling 2FA on a Microsoft 365 account,
each time you access webmail or connect remotely
to your computer, you’ll have to input your
password. You then will get a pop-up notification
on your smartphone asking you if you approve the
login. You will only have access to your account
if you click “approve”. If someone steals your
password, they still will not be able to access
your Office 365 account.
In addition to this example, there is a smartphone
app that will allow you to enable dual-factor
authentication on any other sensitive website you
log into, where it generates a unique code for you
to enter every time you log in.
If you aren’t currently using two-factor
authentication with your most sensitive data
and systems, we highly recommend you do
so, whether that be with us or your current IT
provider. The extra 15 seconds to approve a
notification or pull up the code on your phone and
get logged in is laughably short compared to the
time spent dealing with a hacked account.
• Protect your data from hackers with our
FREE “2FA” Audit. For free, one of our Small
Business IT Experts will come to your office
and provide an IT Security Assessment where
we will:
Once you enter your
credentials, the bad guys have
full access to wreak havoc and
it becomes very difficult AND
expensive to stop them. • discuss how to create secure passwords and
review your environment for compliance;
• review the applications and services you
utilize to see if your environment can support
2FA; and
But don’t worry, there is a
solution to eliminate your
vulnerability to phishing
attacks that are geared towards
obtaining your staff’s passwords,
and it is called MULTI-FACTOR
AUTHENTICATION. • provide advice as to how you can protect your
most important business processes.
Claim Your Free “2FA” Audit Today online at:
www.amexclusive.com/2fa or by calling us at:
718-690-2044 ext. 3.