Author: zachi

Advice for New Homeowners

Automotive Security

Congratulations on your new home! Whether it is your first residence, or you’ve recently moved to a new neighborhood, you should feel safe wherever you leave. Part of that means that you need to make your new place more secure. Before we start giving advice you can always reach out to ASAP Locksmith at (714) 409-3850 anytime and here is some additional advice.

Replace the Locks

Changing the locks is always a good place to start, especially if you are living in a rental property. Even though the landlord or management company is supposed to switch out the existing locks for old ones, you can never be sure if they did that. However, you will want to be sure that doing so won’t constitute a violation of your lease agreement. If possible, you should consider upgrading from conventional locks to electronic locks. This way, you’ll have a code that only you a few other trusted individuals know.

Check Door Hinges

While you are thinking about changing the hardware and other locks on the door, you should also check on the door hinges of your new home. Replacing the screws serve a dual purpose: increasing your security while ensuring that the door locks won’t jam. A jammed lock won’t open on either side – and if you ever run into this problem, you may need the assistance of a professional locksmith to resolve it. Before you do anything to the doors, make sure you aren’t breaking your lease agreement in a rental property, and that you have someone to help if you are modifying a home that you own.

Secure the Garage

Another worthwhile suggestion is to secure the garage attached to your home. Collect the remotes you have now and reprogram them. All of the garage door openers you have can present potential vulnerabilities since the doors could be linked to old remotes. If you’re still worried about unauthorized access, then you’re better off changing these remotes and installing a keypad lock on your garage. Key-less entry systems can help you control access, again, by only granting access to those who know the correct code.

Get to Know Your New Home

Lastly, take some time to familiarize yourself with your new surroundings. Not all home emergencies will involve an intruder; sometimes you’ll need to put out a fire a or stop a flood in the basement. In these situations, you need to know where your fire extinguishers are and how to use them. The same goes for everyone in your family, along with how to find and turn off the water supply valve.

Top Risks to Business Security in 2019

Watch These Business Security Risks in 2019

As more and more companies go to the internet to hook up their infrastructure and corporate data, the risk of getting hijacked or hacked has never been higher.

This is no more evident in the Experian hack we saw last year where over 100 million people’s financial data was exposed.

Prevention is Key

Therefore, companies need to stay up to date with the latest business security technology to make sure they are not next. While many threats are still physical, the vast majority will be coming from online sources as more information goes digital.

According to an independent study by the Ponemon Institute, the average cost of a data breach for a company is $3.86 million dollars. That’s a high cost for losing valuable company data that you can’t get back.

  • Crypto-jacking
    • With the rise of Crypto currencies, criminals no longer need to rob banks in person- they just need to be good on a computer. Crypto-jacking occurs when hackers trick their victims into downloading mining codes onto their computer. This allows them to use their computer’s resources to mine cryptocurrency, which badly drains computer resources like performance and memory.
  • Ransomware
    • Ransomware is a form of malware where the hacker encrypts the victim’s data and then demands ransom for its decryption. As these attacks become more popular, cybercrime is quickly becoming a multibillion dollar industry with no end in sight. The best method for dealing with ransomware is through prevention such as antivirus programs and regularly clearing your internet browser.
  • Cloud Cyber Security Threats
    • The cloud has revolutionized the way we store and use data on the internet. Unfortunately, it has also given hackers a much easier way to steal company data and cause havoc on a very large scale. Threats include misconfigured Amazon buckets and Cloud malware. Companies can deal with these threats the best way through good prevention techniques such as secure cloud migration.
  • Directed Denial-of-service (DDOS) attacks
    • These cyber-attacks target a businesses’ website or online presence, slowing down and overwhelming their servers by repeatedly requesting for data. This attack can be crushing if the company sells their products and services online, costing them thousands, or even millions, a day in losses.

We Need to be Responsible and Aware

Cyber-attacks are getting smarter and more dangerous every year. And with the looming rise of A.I, we will need to be more responsible with our technology than ever before. That’s why, for 2019, any company with an online presence should have cyber-security in their budgets. Or consider calling in a professional to beef up business security with state-of-the-art locks and cameras to protect from theft and burglary.

It’s not enough to simply think about it anymore. The threats are big enough to hit you and your company’s personal credit cards and online money accounts. So it’s time to get busy or face the numbers.

The Biggest Security Threats To Cars Today

Automotive SecurityThe days when locking your car gave you peace of mind are long gone. Nowadays, there are several new automotive security threats to cars to keep in mind. A report on vehicle tracking and hacking reveals that there are gaps in automotive security and privacy. There have been recent attacks on vehicle computer systems that reveal that car manufacturers need to be more vigilant. In this article, we review the potential automotive security threats affecting car owners all over Tarzana and beyond.

Car Manufacturers Just Aren’t Paying Enough Attention

Many new vehicles now come with computers that have wi-fi and other devices that connect to the internet. Secondly, the number of suppliers delivering them is on the rise. This ever-growing supply along with the increasing technology demand is a major threat to car security. This is because the chance that thieves will find and exploit loopholes in this technology is much higher now.

More Complex Products And Services We Don’t Understand

Many automotive manufacturers are focusing on making more complex, interconnected services. Any problems in these systems become a weak point and spur attackers to find one insecure opening. For example, it could be something as simple as a Bluetooth connection between the phone and the vehicle. Or an mp3 stereo system. Gaining access to such systems means that attackers can take control of the critical connections your vehicle’s security depends on.

Potential For Hacking Through Bugs In The Software Code

Generally, there is no software code that is 100% bug-free. For instance, modern cars come with more than 1000 lines of code in their computers. A simple bug in the code offers a massive attack opportunity for the cybercriminals. Plus, the amount of code in these computers is growing given how many cars now have connected systems. Vehicle manufacturers should come up with specific bug bounty programs that can counter these attacks.
Another potential software threat comes from the fact that these lines of code are developed by different programmers. These codes are then evaluated by a third party that is unrelated to the previous company. However, this does not necessarily guarantee more secure vehicle systems. Frankly, the attackers have a high potential of going unnoticed.

Car Security Is At Risk; But It’s Not Too Late

Ultimately, those are the potential security threats facing the automotive sector today. Basically, the vehicle manufacturers should address these threats to make sure that our vehicles are secure. Although this seems like a huge challenge, all they need to do is have better communication and organization when making the vehicles. And the people that develop these connected systems should continue to work closer with vehicle manufacturers to find solutions to these problems.