Multi-Factor Authentication Archives - gettectonic.com
Unlocking Enterprise AI Success
26Aug

Unlocking Enterprise AI Success

Companies are diving into artificial intelligence. Unlocking enterprise AI success depends on four main factors. Tectonic is here to help you address each. Trust is Important-Trust is Everything Data is everything—it’s reshaping business models and steering the world through health and economic challenges. But data alone isn’t enough; in fact, it can be worse than useless—it’s a risk unless it’s trustworthy. The solution lies in a data trust strategy: one that maximizes data’s potential to create value while minimizing the risks associated with it. Data Trust is Declining, Not Improving Do you believe your company is making its data and data practices more trustworthy? If so, you’re in line with most business leaders. However, there’s a disconnect: consumers don’t share this belief. While 55% of business leaders think consumers trust them with data more than they did two years ago, only 21% of consumers report increased trust in how companies use their data. In fact, 28% say their trust has decreased, and a staggering 76% of global consumers view sharing their data with companies as a “necessary evil.” For companies that manage to build trust in their data, the benefits are substantial. Yet, only 37% of companies with a formal data valuation process involve privacy teams. Integrating privacy is just one aspect of building data trust, but companies that do so are already more than twice as likely as their peers to report returns on investment from key data-driven initiatives, such as developing new products and services, enhancing workforce effectiveness, and optimizing business operations. To truly excel, companies need to create an ongoing system that continually transforms raw information into trusted, business-critical data. Data is the Backbone-Data is the Key Data leaks, as shown below, are a major factor on data trust and quality. As bad as leaked data is to security, data availability is to being a data-driven organization. Extortionist Attack on Costa Rican Government Agencies In an unprecedented event in April 2022, the extortionist group Conti launched a cyberattack on Costa Rican government agencies, demanding a $20 million ransom. The attack crippled much of the country’s IT infrastructure, leading to a declared state of emergency. Lapsus$ Attacks on Okta, Nvidia, Microsoft, Samsung, and Other Companies The Lapsus$ group targeted several major IT companies in 2022, including Okta, Nvidia, Microsoft, and Samsung. Earlier in the year, Okta, known for its account and access management solutions—including multi-factor authentication—was breached. Attack on Swissport International Swissport International, a Swiss provider of air cargo and ground handling services operating at 310 airports across 50 countries, was hit by ransomware. The attack caused numerous flight delays and resulted in the theft of 1.6 TB of data, highlighting the severe consequences of such breaches on global logistics. Attack on Vodafone Portugal Vodafone Portugal, a major telecommunications operator, suffered a cyberattack that disrupted services nationwide, affecting 4G and 5G networks, SMS messaging, and TV services. With over 4 million cellular subscribers and 3.4 million internet users, the impact was widespread across Portugal. Data Leak of Indonesian Citizens In a massive breach, an archive containing data on 105 million Indonesian citizens—about 40% of the country’s population—was put up for sale on a dark web forum. The data, believed to have been stolen from the “General Election Commission,” included full names, birth dates, and other personal information. The Critical Importance of Accurate Data There’s no shortage of maxims emphasizing how data has become one of the most vital resources for businesses and organizations. At Tectonic, we agree that the best decisions are driven by accurate and relevant data. However, we also caution that simply having more data doesn’t necessarily lead to better decision-making. In fact, we argue that data accuracy is far more important than data abundance. Making decisions based on incorrect or irrelevant data is often worse than having too little of the right data. This is why accurate data is crucial, and we’ll explore this concept further in the following sections. Accurate data is information that truly reflects reality or another source of truth. It can be tested against facts or evidence to verify that it represents something as it actually is, such as a person’s contact details or a location’s coordinates. Accuracy is often confused with precision, but they are distinct concepts. Precision refers to how consistent or varied values are relative to one another, typically measured against some other variable. Thus, data can be accurate, precise, both, or neither. Another key factor in data accuracy is the time elapsed between when data is produced and when it is collected and used. The shorter this time frame, the more likely the data is to be accurate. As modern businesses integrate data into more aspects of their operations, they stand to gain significant competitive advantages if done correctly. However, this also means there’s more at stake if the data is inaccurate. The following points will highlight why accurate data is critical to various facets of your company. Ease and speed of access Access speeds are measured in bytes per second (Bps). Slower devices operate in thousands of Bps (kBps), while faster devices can reach millions of Bps (MBps). For example, a hard drive can read and write data at speeds of 300MBps, which is 5,000 times faster than a floppy disk! Fast data refers to data in motion, streaming into applications and computing environments from countless endpoints—ranging from mobile devices and sensor networks to financial transactions, stock tick feeds, logs, retail systems, and telco call routing and authorization systems. Improving data access speeds can significantly enhance operational efficiency by providing timely and accurate data to stakeholders throughout an organization. This can streamline business processes, reduce costs, and boost productivity. However, data access is not just about retrieving information. It plays a crucial role in ensuring data integrity, security, and regulatory compliance. Effective data access strategies help organizations safeguard sensitive information from unauthorized access while making it readily available to those who are authorized. Additionally, the accuracy and availability of data are essential to prevent data

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August 26, 2024in Salesforce
Standards in Healthcare Cybersecurity
27Jul

Standards in Healthcare Cybersecurity

The Change Healthcare cyberattack was a significant incident with widespread ramifications across the healthcare industry, with effects that are likely to persist for months or even longer. Standards in Healthcare Cybersecurity will change as a result. Since the ransomware attack on UnitedHealth Group’s (UHG) subsidiary, Change Healthcare, providers have faced financial and operational challenges due to disruptions in claims processing and other essential services. Change Healthcare, which processes 15 billion transactions annually and interacts with one in every three patient records in the U.S., is undergoing a complex and lengthy recovery process, with long-term implications for the industry. The attack was first reported on February 21st when Optum, another UHG subsidiary, alerted customers about the unavailability of some applications due to a cybersecurity issue. It was later confirmed that the BlackCat ransomware gang was responsible for the attack, which led to a $22 million ransom payment by UHG. The scale of the attack caused significant operational disruptions across the healthcare system, affecting entities ranging from large pharmacy chains to small, independently owned practices. In the weeks following the attack, UHG began restoring services, but the recovery process remains ongoing. UHG CEO Andrew Witty testified before Congress that the cybercriminals had gained access to Change Healthcare systems nine days before deploying the ransomware, using compromised credentials to access a Citrix portal without multi-factor authentication. The decision to pay the ransom was described as one of the hardest Witty has ever had to make. The incident has highlighted the vulnerabilities in healthcare cybersecurity, particularly for large organizations like UHG that handle vast amounts of sensitive data. It has also fueled the debate over whether ransomware payments should be made illegal, with arguments on both sides regarding the implications for victims and the broader cybersecurity landscape. The attack has prompted a strong response from industry groups and the federal government. The American Hospital Association (AHA) and the American Medical Association (AMA) have been vocal about the impact on providers, with the AHA calling it “the most significant and consequential cyberattack on the U.S. healthcare system in American history.” The federal government, through the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), has provided guidance to Medicare providers and launched a formal investigation into the breach. As the healthcare industry continues to recover, the long-term impacts of the Change Healthcare cyberattack are expected to shape future cybersecurity strategies. The incident has underscored the importance of robust third-party risk management, the implementation of security measures like multi-factor authentication, and the potential need for more stringent regulatory standards in healthcare cybersecurity. The full extent of the breach, including the number of individuals affected, remains to be seen, but it is already clear that this event will have lasting repercussions for the industry. Like Related Posts Salesforce OEM AppExchange Expanding its reach beyond CRM, Salesforce.com has launched a new service called AppExchange OEM Edition, aimed at non-CRM service providers. Read more Salesforce Jigsaw Salesforce.com, a prominent figure in cloud computing, has finalized a deal to acquire Jigsaw, a wiki-style business contact database, for Read more Health Cloud Brings Healthcare Transformation Following swiftly after last week’s successful launch of Financial Services Cloud, Salesforce has announced the second installment in its series Read more Top Ten Reasons Why Tectonic Loves the Cloud The Cloud is Good for Everyone – Why Tectonic loves the cloud You don’t need to worry about tracking licenses. Read more

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July 27, 2024in Salesforce Health and Life Sciences Solutions, Salesforce Health Cloud, Salesforce Optimization
How AI is Raising the Stakes in Phishing Attacks
13Apr

How AI is Raising the Stakes in Phishing Attacks

Cybercriminals are increasingly using advanced AI, including tools like ChatGPT, to execute highly convincing phishing campaigns that mimic legitimate communications with uncanny accuracy. As AI-powered phishing becomes more sophisticated, cybersecurity practitioners must adopt AI and machine learning defenses to stay ahead. What are AI-Powered Phishing Attacks? Phishing, a long-standing cybersecurity issue, has evolved from crude scams into refined attacks that can mimic trusted entities like Amazon, postal services, or colleagues. Leveraging social engineering, these scams trick people into clicking malicious links, downloading harmful files, or sharing sensitive information. However, AI is elevating this threat by making phishing attacks more convincing, timely, and challenging to detect. General Phishing Attacks Traditionally, phishing emails were often easy to spot due to grammatical errors or poor formatting. AI, however, eliminates these mistakes, creating messages that appear professionally written. Additionally, AI language models can gather real-time data from news and corporate sites, embedding relevant details that create urgency and heighten the attack’s credibility. AI chatbots can also generate business email compromise attacks or whaling campaigns at a massive scale, boosting both the volume and sophistication of these threats. Spear Phishing Spear phishing involves targeting specific individuals with highly customized messages based on data gathered from social media or data breaches. AI has supercharged this tactic, enabling attackers to craft convincing, personalized emails almost instantly. During a cybersecurity study, AI-generated phishing emails outperformed human-crafted ones in terms of convincing recipients to click on malicious links. With the help of large language models (LLMs), attackers can create hyper-personalized emails and even deepfake phone calls and videos. Vishing and Deepfakes Vishing, or voice phishing, is another tactic on the rise. Traditionally, attackers would impersonate someone like a company executive or trusted colleague over the phone. With AI, they can now create deepfake audio to mimic a specific person’s voice, making it even harder for victims to discern authenticity. For example, an employee may receive a voice message that sounds exactly like their CFO, urgently requesting a bank transfer. How to Defend Against AI-Driven Phishing Attacks As AI-driven phishing becomes more prevalent, organizations should adopt the following defense strategies: How AI Improves Phishing Defense AI can also bolster phishing defenses by analyzing threat patterns, personalizing training, and monitoring for suspicious activity. GenAI, for instance, can tailor training to individual users’ weaknesses, offer timely phishing simulations, and assess each person’s learning needs to enhance cybersecurity awareness. AI can also predict potential phishing trends based on data such as attack frequency across industries, geographical locations, and types of targets. These insights allow security teams to anticipate attacks and proactively adapt defenses. Preparing for AI-Enhanced Phishing Threats Businesses should evaluate their risk level and implement corresponding safeguards: AI, and particularly LLMs, are transforming phishing attacks, making them more dangerous and harder to detect. As digital footprints grow and personalized data becomes more accessible, phishing attacks will continue to evolve, including falsified voice and video messages that can trick even the most vigilant employees. By proactively integrating AI defenses, organizations can better protect against these advanced phishing threats. Like Related Posts Salesforce OEM AppExchange Expanding its reach beyond CRM, Salesforce.com has launched a new service called AppExchange OEM Edition, aimed at non-CRM service providers. Read more The Salesforce Story In Marc Benioff’s own words How did salesforce.com grow from a start up in a rented apartment into the world’s Read more Salesforce Jigsaw Salesforce.com, a prominent figure in cloud computing, has finalized a deal to acquire Jigsaw, a wiki-style business contact database, for Read more Health Cloud Brings Healthcare Transformation Following swiftly after last week’s successful launch of Financial Services Cloud, Salesforce has announced the second installment in its series Read more

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April 13, 2024in Data, Technology

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