CRT, Inc.

12/31/2024

And this is not just the healthcare industry that has issue. A hacker group known as Salt Typhoon, a Chinese Government group hacked 9 telco companies in the US. If you need help with your security needs call CRT and we can help with best practices.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has proposed updates to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) to secure patients' health data following a surge in massive healthcare data leaks.

10/22/2024

Interesting read. Not every company will experience what they did. Obviously this is a large company with big IT expenses but the concept is good for everyone. The cloud is convenient. It is also very expensive. We believe the hybrid approach is best for most businesses. Somethings are just going to be better in the cloud like email and web servers. But somethings are better on premises than in the cloud. It is also based on need. Some companies need files in the cloud for sales people in the field but HR files are most secure on premises.
https://www.theregister.com/2024/10/21/37signals_aws_savings/?fbclid=IwY2xjawGEhKhleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHdU9A1Z5znGfBKji2VG-YMUy4TdHwXrTzagEVxSczrEHTRGA_UAquSrplQ_aem_ZOzew1ZWTZgJwmJkv-uwPQ

37signals CTO claims cost of new hardware was 'entirely recouped' as contracts expired after AWS exit

09/11/2024

This required update will force the AI on people that screenshots every few seconds. They say this "feature" data stays on your PC. However, like anything else they can change the terms of service without any notice. We see the "recall feature" as a security risk and recommend to our clients to shut it off. Unfortunately Microsoft in it's infinite wisdom has decided to make it so the recall feature can't be uninstalled. Turning it off is better than nothing and we assume some researcher will find a way to disable it for good.

Microsoft announced that Windows 11 installs reaching the end of support next month, on October 8, will be force-upgraded to Windows 11 23H2.

09/03/2024

October is cyber security awareness month. We partner with KnowBe4 a company that does cyber security training. They send your employees emails and if they fall for these scam emails they will be directed to a couple of 15 minute training videos to watch. As the employer you will get a dashboard that shows you who clicked and who actually watched the training videos. Use our special URL to learn more about this service. No one else has this service at this level. It also has training for industry specific things like HIPAA.

Use these free resources to enforce a strong security culture and help keep your users on their toes. Prepare now for Cybersecurity Awareness Month 2024!

07/19/2024

Who pushes out an update that crashes 100% of the windows machine that get it? I don't see how any expiation from CrowdStrike could make us feel any differently. CrowdStrike's legal team is going to be working overtime very soon.

05/22/2024

The post privacy internet gets more obtrusive every day. This new Microsoft product we recommend avoiding. It's not the point that you have nothing to hide. The point is that the more information a threat actor has about you the easier it is to trick you into a scam. Call CRT if you have any questions or need suggestions on privacy respecting products and techniques.

Microsoft's announcement of the new AI-powered Windows 11 Recall feature has sparked a lot of concern, with many thinking that it has created massive privacy risks and a new attack vector that threat actors can exploit to steal data.

05/02/2024

Windows update fails? Call CRT. The fix is a manual one. Changing hard drive geometry is intimidating and you can mess it up to the point where the drive data is not accessible. CRT is very comfortable with this process. https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/microsoft/microsoft-wont-fix-windows-0x80070643-errors-manual-fix-required/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR3thTYKrUdYerKpN2aKQj1KFsI2i--JZsKOcb_8qfRJIcrkMpKoZ_DaC70_aem_AUREONKjTWvfvbASllrrnyKmMW_QJP5dHKjm49ONU-thfRVlmSHHCeiNUU44YvtzZOQrn_wqMdoXVayQ25AQct-J

​Microsoft has confirmed that it won't provide an automated fix for a known issue causing 0x80070643 errors when installing recent Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) updates.

04/27/2024

Know your systems engineer and not some anonymous person in a call center on the other side of the planet. Call CRT for help with your IT needs.

04/02/2024

This won't happen at CRT. The sales guy and the engineer are the same person. Let us help you without high pressure sales techniques.

03/20/2024

If only ever scammer actually put the word scam in their web address. But most won't be this easy. Call CRT and ask us about KnowBe4 to help educate your employees on how to spot social engineering attempts that are not this obvious.

03/13/2024

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/hackers-abuse-windows-smartscreen-flaw-to-drop-darkgate-malware/?fbclid=IwAR1QZJXWWRUFA-QxwudCagZCUfBpMpGfXAqZS1Zus7eUKyogLS-raFTvbuQ

A new wave of attacks by the DarkGate malware operation exploits a now-fixed Windows Defender SmartScreen vulnerability to bypass security checks and automatically install fake software installers.

02/07/2024

Be careful what you click on. You would think Facebook ads would be safe but they are not. https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/facebook-ads-push-new-ov3r-stealer-password-stealing-malware/?fbclid=IwAR1eZTHX1DVVTHnvc3303xS2-3EdiGAMathhAHI6tk2l3OpNE35EKKrD5Sk

A new password-stealing malware named Ov3r_Stealer is spreading through fake job advertisements on Facebook, aiming to steal account credentials and cryptocurrency.