Bot malware is a growing security threat • Blisstech Solutions

If we talk about ‘bots’ you’d be forgiven for thinking of the amazing AI chatbots that have been all over the news lately.

But this isn’t a good news story. Bots are just automated programs, and bot malware is a worrying new security risk you need to defend your business against.

Malware bots are particularly dangerous because they steal whole user profiles – that’s a complete snapshot of your ID and settings. This potentially allows cyber crooks to bypass strong security measures like Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA).

Usually, if a criminal steals your username and password, they still can’t access your account because they don’t have access to your MFA authentication method. But with your whole profile available to them, using your cookies and device configurations, they can trick security systems and effectively switch off MFA.

Once profile information is stolen, it’s sold on the dark web for as little as £5.

And it’s not even super-sophisticated cyber criminals deploying this technique. Just about anyone can obtain your details and use them for phishing emails, scams, and other criminal activity.

Since 2018, 5 million people have had 26.6 million usernames and passwords stolen, giving access to accounts including Microsoft, Google, and Facebook.

All this means there are things you need to do – right now – to keep your profiles and your business protected from bot malware.

  • Update your antivirus software and keep it on at all times.
  • Use a password manager and Multi-Factor Authentication to keep your login credentials safer
  • And encrypt all your files so that, if anyone does access your profile, there’s very little to steal.

These are the things we help our clients with every day. If we can help you, just get in touch.

More Content

WAIT sign on British road crossing

How to delay Windows 10 updates

It is an undisputed fact that, to keep your computer secure, you should keep the software running on it up to date.  We go on about it again and again and again.  However, there is a balance between making sure that you have the latest Windows 10 updates, and also...
The little things that make a big difference

The little things that make a big difference

Microsoft’s made another update to Windows 11, and while it’s a small one, it could make a big impact. We have all the details of what’s changing.

Tech Tip: How to use Pivot Tables in Excel

Welcome to Tuesday's Two Minute Tech Tip where Matt shows you how you can explore your Excel data using the power of Pivot Tables. Pivot Tables are a powerful feature of Excel that allows you to manipulate your flat Excel data to perform calculations and create charts...

Microsoft Remove Delay Windows 10 Updates in version 2004

We recently wrote an article on how to delay Windows 10 updates so that you can wait until issues are resolved before you install new updates.  However, in the Windows 10 2004 update, Microsoft has removed the ability to delay Feature Updates for up to 365 days in the...

What is Proactive Monitoring and how can it protect your business?

How proactive monitoring will help your business weather any storm. You are the captain of your business's ship. You have a loyal and skilled team behind you. You are ready for any challenge! Or so you thought. Then, one day, without warning, a vast digital monster...

What is the Microsoft Modern Workplace?

Microsoft has been hard at work over the past few years to create a new "modern" workplace. Sounds great right, but what is this, and what are its benefits? The Microsoft Modern Workplace is designed to make it easier for employees to collaborate online, and to help...

Are you losing hours each week setting up video calls?

You could be losing a full-time working week for every member of your team, thanks to the hassle of setting up video calls.

Criminals are exploiting AI to create more convincing scams

One of the many cool things about the new wave of Artificial Intelligence tools is their ability to sound convincingly human. AI chatbots can be prompted to generate text that you’d never know was written by a robot. And they can keep producing it – quickly, and with minimal human intervention. So it’s no surprise that cyber criminals have been…

Tech Tip: How to use Search Outlook Folders to organise your Inbox

Welcome to a new Tuesday Two Minute Tech Tip that will help you to organise your inbox using the Outlook powerful search features. Are you the kind of person who likes to organise emails into folders? Are you manually dragging your emails around to organise them? This...

Get ready for another game-changer from Teams

Microsoft is working hard to lead the AI revolution and its latest update to Teams will certainly make it a front-runner. We think the potential is unlimited, here we’ll tell you why.

Share This
Contact
Love Lane
Cleobury Mortimer
Shropshire DY14 8PE

01299 382 321
[email protected]
Copyright © 2024 Blisstech Solution Ltd
Registered No: 08125391 VAT No : 307 5490 05