Wednesday, January 17, 2018

US Government’s Revelations Against North Korea Cyber Attacks

Recently, the FBI and The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued alerts to warn people of two types of malicious software or malware that the North Korean hackers are using to attack telecom, media, aviation, and finance industries. One of the malwares is known as FALLCHILL and has been in use since 2016. It facilitates hackers to get access of and monitor infected computers remotely. The malware spreads when users accidentally download it by visiting infected websites. The DHS and FBI also mentioned that FALLCHILL uses multiple layers of ‘proxy malware’ to conceal its origin and makes it even more difficult to trace the hackers.

Another type of malware introduced by the North Korean hackers, named VOLGMER uses a spear phishing technique to infect computers. It sends a legitimate-looking email with a link that spreads the virus when clicked on. The US authorities say that North Korean computer hackers have been using this malware since 2013.

According to the DHS and FBI identified both the above mentioned malwares to be in association with HIDDEN COBRA, a term used by the US government to refer to the “suspicious & malicious cyber activity by the North Korean government.” In the recent years, North Korea has been linked to a few of the most high-profile, destructive cyber attacks that includes a $101 million theft from Bangladesh’s Central Bank in the year 2016, an attack on movie studio – Sony Pictures in 2014 and several disruptions to its neighbor South Korea’s systems. These hackers also have been accused of being the mind behind Wannacry Ransomware attack in May 2017 that caused a terrible loss to hundreds and thousands of computers across the world.

The North Korean cyber attacks have been making headlines for quite some time. However, the countries that are capable of doing so are constantly tracking, watching and spying on the capabilities of other countries. They usually attack the countries that fall beyond its immediate borders with cyber intrusions or missiles.

Net Activity, Inc. is protecting businesses of such kind of malware attacks since 2002 and has proven the competence of its IT Managed Services at the time of cyber attacks. Secure your network and hardware system before a malware takes its control. Contact Net Activity today at 216-503-5150 to learn how to protect your business from these malicious attacks.

Source - http://www.netactivity.us/blog/us-governments-revelations-against-north-korea-cyber-attacks/

Wednesday, January 3, 2018

Hybrid Cloud - Definition, Benefits, & Limitations

Though cloud computing is not a new concept, it has its own set of complexities and people often try to overlook them ending up in choosing a cloud server that does not suit their specific business purpose. Since hybrid cloud is still a mystery for many, here is a brief understanding of what hybrid cloud is and how it helps businesses.

What is Hybrid Cloud? 

As the name suggests, hybrid cloud is a combination of public cloud server and a private cloud platform. Both these cloud infrastructures operate independent of each other and communicate using a technology that permits the portability of applications and data over an encrypted connection. The point of focus here is the public and private clouds work independently so that the business can extract the ability to leverage resources using a public cloud service and store privileged data on a private cloud server. This arrangement is very beneficial as there’s minimal exposure of data that ensures protection of sensitive data.

What are the benefits? 

One of the major benefits of hybrid cloud computing is utilization of a private infrastructure that enhances latency and access time when compared to public cloud servers. The volleying of threats among service providers and the halting of Net Neutrality, it’s not unacceptable that businesses rely on a single source. This is where switching to Hybrid Cloud servers is a game changer. Apart from securing your data, the hybrid cloud computing model provides a computational on-premise infrastructure that manages average workload for organizations while retaining the public cloud servers for fail over circumstances.

What are the limitations? 

Besides all the advantages hybrid cloud provides, it exhibits its own set of limitations and certain privacy/security issues. The network used to transfer information can be sometimes subjected to third-party interference. Data transfer is a critical operation that is very sensitive as it takes place across a network. Another point of thought is the price factor. There are many organizations that have a thin budget and as a result can’t afford the hybrid cloud solution. The upfront costs of acquiring the private servers are substantially high and are a deciding point for those who can otherwise opt for public cloud servers.

At Net Activity, Inc. we provide public, private, and hybrid cloud computing solutions to organizations. Please visit us at http://www.netactivity.us/services/cloud-computing-services to know more about our cloud services or call us at 888-545-5346.

Source - http://www.netactivity.us/blog/hybrid-cloud-definition-benefits-limitations/