Cyber attacks are a constant threat in this age of the internet, and despite the presence of a global pandemic, they are still on going in 2020. Thus far there have been a number of significant hacking attacks throughout the world. We’ll take a look at a number of the attacks that have happened so far, for a full list we would recommend looking at this resource. Now, let’s get into the cyber attacks of 2020 that have happened so far.

Cyber Attacks So Far

We’ll progress through the list in order from oldest to newest, just so we can end off with the most recent information fresh in your mind.

January 2020

• The Austrian foreign ministry was subjected to an attack that lasted several weeks, it is believed that a specific nation state was behind the attack.
• Around two dozen Pakistani government officials had their mobile phone targeted and infected by spyware that was developed by the Israeli NSO Group.
• The networks of two U.S municipalities were breached by nation state hackers, taking user information and adding in backdoor access for future attacks. As announced by the FBI.
• The UN revealed that their European IT systems were hacked into by an unknown but highly sophisticated hacking group.

February

• Malaysian government officials were targeted by Chinese hackers in an effort to steal data on government-backed projects happening in the area.
• Over 10 countries pointed the finger at Russia, accusing them of being behind a 2019 cyber attack against Georgia that affected thousands of websites for private, state, and media institutions.
• A failed cyber attack was launched against Mexico’s economic ministry’s network, but no sensitive information was taken.

March

• The CIA was accused by Chinese cybersecurity firm Qihoo 360 of being behind an 11 year long campaign of hacks against various Chinese industry, science, and government targets.
• Over 75 organizations around the world were targeted by Chinese hackers in a massive cyber espionage campaign that targeted manufacturing, media, healthcare, and nonprofit organizations.
• People involved with North Korean refugee issues were targeted by North Korean hackers.
• South Korean hackers used previously unreported software vulnerabilities in a cyber attack against North Korean targets as part of a large espionage campaign.

April

• Russian hacking groups planted articles on social media in an attempt to undermine the governments of Estonia and the Republic of Georgia
• Hackers, suspected to be from Vietnam, attacked Wuhan government networks in an effort to collect information relating to China’s COVID-19 response.
• Chinese cyber attacks against healthcare providers, pharmaceutical companies, and the U.S. department of health surged amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Poland indicated that Russia might be behind a series of cyber attacks against Poland’s War Studies University in an attempt to spread misinformation and undermine U.S.-Polish relations.

May

• Officials in the U.S. accused Chinese hackers of attempting to steal research into a coronavirus vaccine.
• Germany found that a Russian hacking group associated with the FSB had hacked into, and compromised the networks of energy, water, and power companies around Germany.
• Norway’s state investment fund was compromised in an email scam that fooled an employee into transferring $10 million into the hackers bank account.
• Iranian hackers conducted a cyber espionage campaign targeting air transportation and government actors in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.

Always On Going

So long as the internet exists, cyber attacks will always be on going. While nations and big businesses have the resources for large scale and complex cyber security, smaller businesses and individuals may not have this luxury. There are ways to begin protecting yourself however, so don’t give into despair if this news sounds overwhelming. Use some common sense, take some precautions, and you’ll be giving yourself a good start on staying safe online.

Sooner or later your work office will open its doors once again, and work will resume in the regular ways. With many working from home for quite some time at this point, there has been plenty of time for workers to create sensitive business documents from their homes. While it is possible to get secure shredding at their homes, many may not be in a position to do so at this time. This of course creates some holes in your company’s business management process, but there is a way to quickly compensate for this when the office opens again.

Opening Day Office Purge

When the time comes, direct your employees to bring all the business records they created at home to the office. Make arrangements to have a document purge happen day 1 or 2 in order to be as secure as possible. Reacting quickly in this way ensures that nothing needing immediate shredding falls through the cracks. Also, if anything was forgotten when the office closed down you’ll be taking care of it right away. There is no need to worry about possible workflow interruptions to your operations as they restart, as purge service is designed to be in and out with minimal disruptions to your office.

Why Purge Vs Recurring

While many offices sign up for a recurring service, and you should as it’s a great way to keep on top of document destruction requirements, we realize that for many businesses that are just reopening it may not be a practical step for them yet. Purge service was designed from the ground up to accommodate those whose shredding needs are not as frequent as others, or who don’t have the budget for regular shredding. In this time when many have had to close up shop for several months, every penny counts right now.

There is also no need to worry about the job being too small or big for the scope of a purge. We might be in and out, but that doesn’t mean we’re only looking at the small and quick jobs. Everything is on the table, no need to concern yourself.

Getting A Purge

Setting up a date for a purge is as simple as reaching out to us and letting us know when you would like it. We recommend doing this as soon as possible so you get the best chance of getting the work done on day 1 of reopening, but as we mentioned earlier, doing it a little after should be okay as well. Just don’t leave things for too long. You are still obligated to follow compliance laws and maintaining information safety.

We live in a different world now then we did just a little more than a month ago. Many people are isolated at home to avoid the cycle of contracting and spreading the virus. Those fortunate enough to have the option are now working remotely from the comfort of their own homes. With this shift in business comes a shift in the needs for those producing secure business records. With no office open, secure services have to come to your home insead.

This is not a new service by any means, onsite services at business and residents are all too common. What is new is the situation with the virus. In order to ensure compliance with regulations, our services are still coming to your location, but we have some changes with how to approach this in order to adhere to social distancing.

COVID Service Update

In order to ensure the protection of both staff and customers, onsite service requires a little more distance then usual. In happier times, our drivers would be happy to give you a hand shake and have a friendly chat while gathering up your material destined for the shredder. You’d then come on out to the truck and watch on the monitor with the driver as the papers get shredded. After handing over a signed certificate of destruction the driver will be off with a nod and a wink to the next client.

A keen reader will note that it sounds like a lot of close interaction, too close for the current situation, and you would be right. The current situation requires some distance.

To that end, what’s the new procedure with onsite services? Firstly, instead of having our driver come into your office, or work location, to collect the necessary documents, you should leave them near the front door. Keep them on the inside of course, no need to be careless, but near the front door, or a front room, for ease of access is best. When the driver comes in, keep well back to the CDC recommended distance. Your documents are gathered and then taken out to the curb for shredding in the truck as normal.

Now comes the part where you would normally come on out as well to watch the magic happen. We encourage you to still come out, but we can’t have you coming right up close any more as you might be able to guess. Remember the safe distances, observe the process, and you’ll be able to get the same old compliance shredding services you are used to.

We’ll all get through this safely in terms of information compliance, and health if we do what needs to be done.

If you’ve had the fortune to have your work switch to a remote footing, you may have been producing business records at your home for a number of weeks now. While it is always important to be on top of shredding compliance, there are times when you need to retain documents instead of just shredding them. While that is of course fine where necessary, what you need to make sure you are doing is storing them someplace secure. How do we define secure, and what can we do when faced with limited options? Let’s go over it.

What’s Considered Secure Storage?

So you’ve identified your documents to store, and are pondering the best way to do that. Below are some common secure storage options at home.

Desks And File Cabinets

These are probably the most likely options most people newly working at home will have. Desks with a lockable drawer are a decent option, though the quality of lock can vary a large degree. Chances are you’ll be fine using one of these since you are living and working in the same space everyday, but just keep in mind that they are not a perfect solution. The same logic applies to a file cabinet as does a desk drawer. A simple and good organization will also go a long way for you, and make sure you are shredding the documents as soon as you are required to in order to maximize safety.

Safes

A good old fashioned safe, perhaps the most secure option you could go for should you choose it. While it may not be the most convenient option, it is hard to beat the security offered by a safe. Safes are best used with the philosophy of “out of sight, out of mind”, so keep them some place people won’t casually see. While you don’t need a massive wall safe that’s secured right into the frame of the building, one that won’t be easy for someone to carry away is always a wise choice.

What About Documents Ready to be Shredded?

Not only do your important documents need to be stored securely, but documents you plan on having shredded must be kept secure as well.

Normally in an office that is set up for this you would find shred bins set up that you can drop documents in. Chances are you don’t have these at home, but you could if your need is great enough. Now it’s very unlikely that you will need the large bins, chances are you don’t have the space for them, luckily there are smaller options.

They come in a number of sizes, from consoles that easily fit in next to a desk, or larger units perfect for a room corner. These secure containers are by far your best options for secure storage. They are designed to easily fit into your work space, and are locked units with only a letter slot on top to allow papers in. As the professional choice, we can’t recommend these enough, especially with their compatibility with our residential shredding service.

If it is not practical to seek out a shred bin at this time, you’ll have to rely on what you have at hand. Making sure you have a separate lockable filing cabinet or safe for documents waiting to be shredded might be all you need. Just make sure you keep your end-of-life documents away from your retained documents. Accidentally putting a document in the wrong cabinet could have dire consequences.

For those who are solely digital, you also need to be safe with your data, but that is another topic already talked about. At the end of the day, if you are safe with your information and stay on top of compliance, you’ll get through this with no issues.

More and more of life’s tasks are handled online through various platforms. While it does make things a bit more convenient, it does have the side effect of putting information out there to be found. Data Breaches and data scams are occurring more and more these days, and there’s no sign that will change any time soon. With all this happening, what we need is to take some steps to protect ourselves online.

As individuals, we may not have the resources that big corporations have to fight cybercrime, but we are not without options. Sometimes all it takes is common sense to keep protected, but having education to back that up is the best. Offline protection is important as well, destroying old devices is what you need, but online protection is a bit more involved. We’ll look at 6 ways you can increase your data protection online.

6 Data Protection Tips

Keep Your Operating System Updated

No one likes having to update their OS, how annoying it is to turn off the computer, only to be faced with a massive update. While this may be the case, keeping things updated is a necessity. The updates come out for a number of reasons, one of which is they contain updates for any security issues that have been discovered. By falling behind on updates you are leaving your system vulnerable to possible attack. There is a reason updates are set to happen automatically, it keeps you from falling behind on those all important security updates.

Use Secure WI-Fi, Avoid Public Wi-Fi

Most people will have their wi-fi password protected, which is good. Hopefully your password isn’t obvious, put some thought and care into it. Also don’t name your wi-fi something that people can identify as being yours. What’s an even better idea then simply naming it something that isn’t traced back to you, is setting up your routers to not broadcast the network name. This is known as the Service Set Identifier (SSID).

Public wi-fi is one of those wonderful things that we have now, it can be pretty hard to find a place that doesn’t offer it any more. As helpful as it is, it isn’t risk free, and many people don’t realize this. Public wi-fi are far more vulnerable then private secured wi-fi, and with the amount of data going back and worth, it’s a buffet for cyber criminals. Avoid doing anything private on public wi-fi, don’t do your banking, make big purchases, etc. Save those types of things for when you know you’re on a secure network.

Delete Emails From Unknown Senders

It’s one of the oldest tricks in the book, and they still use it because people still fall for it. You get an email from your “bank” that requires you to immediately respond with some important details. And now you just willingly handed your details to the scammers. Don’t even open emails from senders you don’t recognize, or that seem suspicious in any way, just delete them. Be extremely suspicious of any emails with attached files, these will leave something nasty behind on your machine.

Set Up Two-Factor Authentication

An additional layer of security beyond your normal password, two-factor authentication is being used more and more. How it typically works is simple: when attempting to login to an account, after the password, you will be prompted to provide a unique PIN, or answer some security questions. The answer to the question is whatever you set it up as, the PIN is generated for you when logging in and is only valid for a few moments. PINs are typically texted to a phone number you provide, provided by an app you can download, or generated through a small device you carry around. The PIN is entered, and then you can login, but if the PIN isn’t used within the time limit, it is invalidated and login is prevented.

Vary Your Login Credentials

It’s easy for us to settle into the habit of using one or two passwords for multiple accounts. This is really not a good thing, if your password gets cracked all your accounts are vulnerable. Your best bet is to use different usernames and passwords for every account you have. Can that be hard to keep track of? Yes, of course, but it’s worth doing to maintain your security, as the pains of identity theft are infinitely harder.

Avoid Downloading Files From Random Places

There are plenty of sites out there that want you to download files from them, not all of which have honest intentions. Just like with files attached to suspect emails, downloads from strange sites can have nasty repercussions for you. Sometimes they trick you by having a link that looks like it will go to another page, but really is a download for a file. Before clicking, hover over the link for a moment and check the bottom of your browser to see the full hyperlink text. Anything ending in a file type is going to be a download, if it looks weird to you and you aren’t sure about it, just don’t click.

Food For Thought

These have just been a few tips to keep your data safe online, there are far more things you should be doing as well. It’s important to remain vigilant for your own safety, take some extra time with these things. You will be happy you did at the end of the day.

A1 Datashred COVID-19 POSITION STATEMENT

Update March 17, 2020

While it is the hope of A1 Datashred that the COVID-19 pandemic is short-lived, we wish all of our clients, good health during this time. And to ensure maximum transparency and clarity in reassurances provided by our company, A1 Datashred is issuing a complete detailed communication regarding its interim policies and actions related to the impact of COVID-19 outbreak on our clients and employees.

Because the situation is evolving, A1 Datashred will update this position statement as needed.

Interactions with Clients

Security: The security and integrity of the information clients rely on us to protect and manage will continue to be a top priority. The usual high standard of care A1 Datashred provides in that regard will remain unchanged.

Flexibility: At this time, unless instructed or arranged otherwise at the client’s discretion, we will continue to provide service as scheduled. To modify service, please contact A1 Datashred Customer Service at 888-957-4733 or info@a1datashred.com.

A1 Datashred will make every reasonable effort to amend that schedule if requested to meet clients’ needs. Should the client wish to curtail or reduce service during the outbreak, there will be no attempt to enforce contractual requirements. Service frequency or methodology may be modified at any point.

Employee/Client Interactions: Should service continue in any form, we have implemented explicit policies, instruction, and training to minimize the need for interaction among clients’ employees and others, including our employees adhering to the following:

• Not reporting for work should they feel any symptoms, including but not limited to fever, difficulty breathing, headaches, or muscle aches.
• Declaring their fitness for duty each day upon arrival at work, which is also subject to supervisor evaluation
• Frequent sanitizing of hands and, where possible, wearing sanitized gloves and face masks
• Washing of any, and all equipment that is used to service clients
• Maintaining a safe distance between customers’ employees and eliminating or minimizing the need to exchange paperwork or writing instruments during service
• If refused entry due to a client policy or concern, stand down
• Maintaining all existing policies related to data security, including authorized access to records and media already transferred to employees’ custody

A1 Datashred will continue to do its best to promptly address all inquiries and instructions. If due to staffing limitations, we cannot respond immediately, we will do so as soon as possible. We thank our clients in advance for patience during this time.

Regarding Data Protection & Integrity

It is well known that times of high stress create security vulnerabilities. Telecommuting and reduced staffing have the potential to put data security at risk and increase the potential for fraud and targeted email phishing. We urge all clients and employees to ensure the protection of regulated information is not put at risk during this period.

Clients should consider providing instructions and the means for remote employees to safeguard any information required to be retained, as well as the instructions and means for remote employees to properly destroy discarded information and media.

As it is also expected, the rate of business may well slow during this time; it may offer an opportunity to remove unnecessary, obsolete records and electronic equipment from the storage areas. Such records and electronic equipment are known to pose a recognized risk to data security.

Employment Policies

In addition to the employment policies summarize above, A1 Datashred has adopted other policies designed to protect our employees and customers.  For example, non-essential employees will work from home until further notice. Those working remotely are required to take home one of the security collection containers provided at each workstation.

We have instructed our employees that no employee should come into work if showing symptoms of influenza, including but not limited to fever, difficulty breathing, headaches, or muscle aches. Coming into work ill is grounds for termination. There will be no discrimination or negative repercussions for appropriately reported absences. Furthermore, should a family member or close personal associate with whom an employee has regular direct contact show such symptoms, employees are required to inform their supervisor and may be required to stay away from work.

Questions & Comments

While our phones will remain open, we request questions, comments, and instructions are emailed in as it provides a written record. Please send all such emails to info@a1datashred.com.

There’s something happening right now, and we all know what it is. COVID-19 is sweeping the globe, and a lot of people are seeking medical attention. With an influx of patients comes an increase of medical records being passed around. You would think that the predators might take a break giving the situation, but there is no rest for the wicked, they see only opportunity. So we really need to keep our medical records safe from theft during this period, just like all of them, but even more so now.

There are many things you can do, we’ll look at 5 of them to get you well on your way. Common sense supported by education goes a long way to keeping you safe from fraud attempts.

Our 5 Tips

Review Your Medical Records

Since these records are yours, and yours to view, you can easily take a peek at them when you want. Doing so keeps you on top of what procedures, prescriptions, and expenses you’ve incurred. By doing this, and keeping note of what you see, you can be on the lookout for anything suspicious. If you see anything untoward in your records, you’ll know they’ve been compromised, and can take steps towards correcting the issues.

Think Of Medical Records Like Financial Records

You wouldn’t want to share your financial records everywhere would you? Didn’t think so. Having the same attitude with your medical records will go a long way to keeping you safe. Share only the minimal amount of information you have to, and only with trusted sources, your doctor for example.

Even avoid posting on social media about your medical procedures and prescriptions. While your security settings may have it so that only your friends can see what you’re posting, this is not a fool proof method of staying on top of your security. Information has a way of spreading when you didn’t expect it to.

Be Skeptical Of Emails

All it takes is one click on an email you didn’t recognize that then leaves something behind on your computer. Less dastardly ones may require you to send back information manually, but no matter the method, the result is the same if you fall for it. You just handed out private information someone can use for information theft.

Decide Between Paper Or Digital

There’s a lot of options out there these days between how to store one’s records. More and more things that used to be handled through paper are being handled with digital options. This can lead to some of us having information across both, which opens up more options for people to come for your information. Choose what your prefered format is for files, take all necessary security precautions, and stick with that.

Store Records Securely

No matter what format you choose, keep records stored in a secure manner. For paper records, consider using a good safe that’s kept out of sight and out of mind. A lockable file cabinet can work if you’re lacking a safe, but they aren’t as recomendable.

Paper records also need to be destroyed after their retention period has passed. Digital files need good and strong passwords protecting your logins, and secure servers for your databases. Any information that was saved onto hard drives makes it necessary to destroy these devices at the end of their lifespan, which prevents data recovery attempts. The harder and less accessible records are, the greater chance you have of keeping your information safe.

Keep Yourself Safe

Be sure to remain vigilant for your medical records information safety during these times. It can be easy to forget this while COVID-19 is the main topic of concern, but once it passes, you don’t want to end up with more troubles. You don’t have to go it alone on the information protection front, certified help is available to you.

To our valued customers: we are remaining strong, dedicated to supporting our people and our community and we are taking the necessary precautions to keep our customers and staff safe. We would like to let you know that:

• We we will remain open for business at this time. We plan to continue our operations for as long as our customers stay open and need our services.
• We are carefully monitoring the health of our entire staff. No one will be out servicing our customers, or working in our offices, if they are experiencing any cold or flu-like symptoms.
• If you have your employees working from home, please remind them of the importance of storing any paperwork they may have to print in a bag or box at their home. Employees can bring that container back to your office and place the contents in our shred containers when you re-open. Reminding your employees that the safety of their documents is always critical, and keeping work-related and personal documents out of dumpsters all over the city will go a long way in keeping your corporate information safe.

If you would like to learn more about our position statement, please read more here: https://a1datashred.com/a1-datashred-covid-19-position-statement/

Stay well and please reach out if you have any questions!

A1 Datashred