Category Archives: Cybersecurity

Board of Directors’ Risk Oversight Responsibilities on Cybersecurity

The vast majority of organizations around the globe rely heavily on digital technology to function.  We certainly require good cybersecurity that protects the ability to function safely, and ensures organizations can exploit the opportunities that technology brings. Cybersecurity is therefore central to an organization’s health and resilience, and this places it firmly within the responsibility of the Board of Directors.

New regulations (such as GDPR) as well as high profile media coverage on the impact of cyber incidents have raised the expectations of partners, shareholders, customers and the wider public. Organizations, especially their board members, have to get a firm grip on cybersecurity.

What conscientious manager or owner would leave their valuable premises unguarded and assets unlocked? The answer is no one! Data is our most valuable asset and leaving it with weak encryption leads to asset theft, financial failure, bankruptcy and lawsuits. End-to-end encryption is simply locking the premises securely and protecting our assets from data theft. Additionally, the biggest outlier today is Quantum computing which will soon have the power to crack all current encryption such as RSA and attack all digital assets.

Since encryption is the last line of defense from cyberattacks, the minimum “base case” requirement for security today is quantum-safe, end-to-end encryption. Companies and their board members should demand for its implementation, and that search will lead them to IronCAP, the only “shovel ready” quantum-safe encryption that’s available today.

You can adopt IronCAP along with top cyber consultants now. Checkout: www.ironcap.ca

You Need Quantum-Safe End-To-End Encryption

Let’s dive right into it. The idea of end-to-end encryption is to encrypt (protect) your data till it reaches the intended recipient: only the sender and the receiver can read the message; not even the service provider can view the message.

Many platforms are “encrypted” but you need to understand that not all are “end-to-end encrypted”. A simple example is Facebook messenger. When you communicate with someone through Facebook messenger, your message is encrypted and goes from you to Facebook and then from Facebook to your contact.  But in this process of encryption Facebook still holds access to the key that can decrypt your message.  They are able to view the contents of your message if they want to. For real end-to-end encryption the service provider will not hold the key that can decrypt your message. Only the sender and the recipient can read the message/data.

In today’s highly digitized world we are, consciously or unconsciously, sharing all kinds of messages and data online, whether it be a friendly invite, financial data or corporate contracts. End-to-end encryption is the solution to your fading privacy.

But here is a twist…whether you are a cybersecurity geek or not, you have surely heard of the various quantum advancements in 2020 alone. The rapid acceleration of quantum advancements threatens our current encryption algorithms. This means whether your messages or data are encrypted or even end-to-end encrypted, you are most certainly vulnerable to quantum hacking.

So, the ultimate route to privacy and data protection is using quantum-safe, end-to-end encryption!

We are knee deep into a quantum race, not just among companies such as Amazon, Google, IBM, or Honeywell but also among countries like the USA, Germany, Russia and China. There are reports from different sources that these countries are investing billions of dollars in researches to race to achieve quantum supremacy. Quantum computers could very well crack traditional encryption such as RSA SOON. The urgency to get our current cybersecurity quantum-safe is imminent.

IronCAP X is the world’s first commercially available quantum-safe, end-to-end email/file encryption software. It allows users to encrypt sensitive emails such as those sent by government, financial or legal institutions, and protect their personal or business data.  A key feature of IronCAP X is the digital signature of emails to confirm the sender’s identity.  This feature can shut down the source of most malicious activities such as ransomware attacks and phishing email scams.

Becoming quantum-safe 1-year-too-early or 1-year-too-late is everything.  Join top cyber consultants to become quantum-safe with IronCAP today.

Reference:
Article 1

NetWalker Ransomware Attack was Preventable

The COVID-19 pandemic has made everyone go online more than ever: for work, schools, shopping and for entertainment.  The surge in digital communications and the shift to remote working and learning online have at the same time skyrocketed the risk of cyberattacks.  Besides implementing new information technology systems to adopt new remote working and administrative practices, cyber risk management definitely requires the highest level of attention from all industries and organizations now.

Recently the NetWalker ransomware attacks were brought down. According to Threatpost, the U.S. Department of Justice has brought charges against a Canadian national, Sebastien Vachon-Desjardins of Gatineau, in relation to NetWalker ransomware attacks and also seized US $455,000 in cryptocurrency from ransom payments. That is not all…Sebastien allegedly has obtained illegally over $27.6 million from ransomware victims.

2020 has witnessed a tsunami of many such ransomware and phishing attacks. This is about to blow up even more with the rapid advancements of quantum computing alongside quantum hacking.  Let’s connect the dots: our current (weak) security systems and quantum hacking will lead to a man-made DISASTERS!  It is imperative to have an airtight quantum-safe encryption that will allow us to communicate safely.  We need an encryption that can prevent cyberattacks today as well as in the quantum future.

The GOOD NEWS is there is already an airtight end-to-end, quantum-safe encryption solution available today – IronCAP X.

IronCAP X is a new quantum-safe email and file encryption software that will let you authenticate and digitally sign your email.  It provides the safest, end-to-end, quantum-safe encryption for your data now and in the quantum future. The best part about IronCAP X is that it is FREE for personal usage and effectively protects you from all phishing scams. We know technology evolves every day and we are at the brink of a cyber cold war.  So why not armor up, get your IronCAP X today and be quantum-safe.

Reference:
Threatpost article

Hackers want your personal data

If you read the news, you may have already known about the plague of ransomware attacks and data breaches. It is scary to see that hackers have no bounds and fear nobody: individuals, large corporations or government agencies. Hackers hijack your data and ask for a ransom.  They threaten to lock up all the files on your computer or expose your data on online forums if you deny their request. We as a community have to put a stop to this.

Now you might think hackers will only target large corporations, high profile businesses or government agencies which have data that worth millions of dollars. Well let me correct you.  Hackers do not discriminate therefore all data is “money-making” to them. They are hungry for your personal data so they can gain access to your bank accounts, credit cards, logins and social platforms. In fact it is easier for them to penetrate your weak personal security measures versus advanced, stringent securities at large corporations.

There was an incident recently reported where hackers attacked an individual’s Facebook account to run ads. Chris Hodson, who was the victim, told KrebsonSecurity that a review of his account showed the unauthorized campaign had reached approximately 7,150 Facebook users, and had generated 770 clicks, with a cost-per-result of 21 cents. Of course, it didn’t cost the ransomware group anything but the owner of the stolen Facebook account was obliged to pay.

Most people don’t understand that a lot of hackers can penetrate their accounts through phishing emails.  Phishing is simple but still the most effective and used hacking tool. Hackers make phishing emails appear “authentic” when in fact it is a malicious actor behind the screen. So while we think we have strong passwords and extra layers of security, it may not be enough in today’s highly digitized world. We must upgrade our security TODAY!

Here is a FREE software to give you some peace of mind.  IronCAP X  is a proven secure, quantum-safe email encryption software that will let you authenticate and digitally sign your email.  Recipients will know it’s a legitimate email if it’s coming from an IronCAP X user in their contacts.  For added security, the email is encrypted and can only be decrypted by the designated recipient. We can cut off hackers from accessing our data.  It is time we educate ourselves on email security and take measures to prevent data loss.

It is 2021 and we’ve got to be cyber smart to beat hackers.  Want to know more and get cyber safe? Visit: https://www.ironcap.ca/ironcap-x/

Reference:
KrebsonSecurity article

CISA Warns Against Phishing

On January 13th 2021, the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency issued a warning – hackers are targeting a variety of cloud services with full force phishing schemes. Phishing uses malicious emails to trick the recipient into believing the message is from a legitimate sender and to click a link or download an attachment. This lets the “Phisher” plant key logger (a man-in-the-middle that captures your network credentials), a ransomware bot and all kinds of nasty stuff onto the recipient’s computer.  The recent SolarWinds hack arrived like an earthquake in the cyber industry. This incident made it abundantly clear that our cybersecurity measures are totally inadequate! What are you planning to do about it? Are your security measures better than top government agencies? Are your security measures ready to brace the next looming threat of quantum hacking?

A post-quantum cybersecurity strategy is imperative for everyone.  IronCAP’s unique cryptographic, quantum-safe technology can protect your data now and in the quantum future. We have further developed IronCAP X, a proven secure, quantum-safe end-to-end email/file encryption software that will let you authenticate and digitally sign your email.  Recipients will know it’s a legitimate email if it’s coming from an IronCAP X user in their contacts.  For added security, the email is encrypted and can only be decrypted by the designated recipient. Bonus – IronCAP X is free for personal usage.

So, what are you waiting for? Get ahead of the bad guys and safeguard your data with IronCAP.

 

Reference:
CISA Warning

CEO of 01 Communique responds to SolarWinds Hack

Andrew Cheung, CEO of 01 Communique and IronCAP, has 20 years of experience in remote access technology, SaaS technology, encryption and post-quantum cybersecurity. His company has developed and marketed the world’s first commercially available, end-to-end quantum-safe email/file encryption product. (For more information, please read our press release: https://www.01com.com/pdf/2020/IronCAPX-v1.1-release.pdf)

Q4 of 2020 was a game changer for cybersecurity. Although cyber breaches and many experts’ including Mr. Cheung’s warnings had been escalating for years, it is not until the recent SolarWinds cyberattack that has forced the industry to recognize its system failures.  Hopefully this incident has also awakened the self-satisfied slumber that is prevalent in many if not most organizations. Clearly this is a more complex and technical subject but while government agencies are still determining the magnitude of the breach, we know that the SolarWinds breach had been undiscovered for many months.  Hackers had accessed highly sensitive data in dozens of US and other sovereign governments along with many major corporations. Once the outer wall of security had been breached, hackers were free to search identities and hack masses of the world’s most sensitive data.

This is the point of contention that Mr. Cheung has been making to the industry for years. Breaches like this will occur again!  Human error and soon to arrive quantum hacking will continue to make our data vulnerable, and no easy solution is possible.

But let’s pose the questions – What if the data hackers have acquired is “useless”? How about a final line of defense that makes the stolen data “useless” both now and in the future? This is exactly what inspired Mr. Cheung to develop IronCAP – to provide quantum-safe data and end-to-end email/file encryption that will not just safeguard your data today but also be your armor for quantum hacking. So, as we go through a massive gut-wrenching rethink of cybersecurity, don’t miss the obvious.

The hacking threat is real and bad actors are certainly “pedal to the metal” refining quantum hacking. So, let’s not ignore a big part of the solution – a final line of defense with quantum-safe, end-to-end encryption that is low cost, unbeaten in a global hackathon and available today.

Hear more from our CEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsfzWs7Nx4k
More on IronCAP: https://www.ironcap.ca/ironcap-x/

Embrace the Post-Quantum Era in 2021

2021 is just ONE day away…cybersecurity experts and industry leaders are certain that their 2020 security concerns are here to stay and will get dramatically worse in the coming 2021 Any business operation must treat cybersecurity as a critical component. Cybersecurity wars are real and the cyber-risks associated to them are unfathomed.

The digital age is transforming every day and nobody can grasp all the cyber-risks that will come with the technological changes. We need to race with the cybercrime and advance our cybersecurity system. Adoption of post-quantum cybersecurity is the urgent next step that all businesses should take in 2021.

Stéphane Nappo, 2018 Global CISO of the Year, Vice President & Global Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) Groupe SEB told Cybernews that a few things 2021 will bring:

  • Classical cryptography will lose the ground in front of quantum computing weaponization.
  • Post quantum cryptography will emerge (from theory to reality) as a necessary solution.
  • Data sovereignty will become a major concern for nations and their economies.

Stéphane Nappo said it all…your current security systems, such as RSA, will render obsolete in the post-quantum era. Quantum computing is now accelerating rapidly into commercial applications and that unfortunately will also include quantum hacking. The good news is that IronCAP has already successfully built a quantum-safe encryption that protects you from pre-quantum and post-quantum threats.

If the year 2020 has not opened your eyes on the urgency to make your data quantum-safe, then nothing will. Quantum cryptography is a foolproof way to prevent quantum hacking. Implement IronCAP’s cryptographic technology and be QUANTUM-SAFE, today and tomorrow.

Reference:
Cybernews

The worst cyber-attack on US government

You read that right…the worst cyber-attack on US government was reported on Dec 17th, 2020.

The US energy department, the one responsible for managing US nuclear weapons, was breached. An attack of this nature could have unimaginable consequences but reports suggested while their network was breached, their arsenal’s security was not compromised. This is not it…the US treasury and commerce departments were also breached.

While government agencies are still gauging the method and scope of the cyber-attack, according to Oren Falkowitz, a former NSA official and the CEO of the cybersecurity firm Area 1 told CNN, “…first thing the attackers went for were email systems.” Sophisticated phishing campaigns are the easiest way to gain illegitimate access to any network but you can prevent that from happening.

You have to understand that cybersecurity is not just the concern of a government agency or large corporations. No one is “too small” for a cyber-attack.  In fact the smaller the business, the easier the attack will be. Think about this – it is far easier to penetrate thousands of small targets with low security measures than one big target with stringent security measures.

It is not true that good cybersecurity has to be very expensive. IronCAP X can protect your network and data from being phished at a cost-effective way. Get some peace of mind from IronCAP X, a proven secure, quantum-safe email encryption software that will let you authenticate and digitally sign your email.  For added security, the email is encrypted and can only be decrypted by the designated recipient.  It is time that we educate ourselves on email security and take measures to prevent data loss.

IronCAP X currently provides you FREE personal end-to-end email encryption usage. Want to know more? Visit: https://www.ironcap.ca/ironcap-x/

References

BBC article
CNN article

Want to save millions of dollars in lawsuits? Quantum-safe encryption is the solution.

China just beat Google to the race of quantum supremacy, making it 10 billion times faster as per the report published on Live Science in early December, 2020. Recently a team of Chinese scientists developed the most powerful quantum computer in the world that can perform one task a 100 trillion times faster than the world’s fastest supercomputers.

U.S.A, China and many other countries are heavily investing in quantum computing. In fact reports from NDTV suggest China is spending US$10 billion on the country’s National Laboratory for Quantum Information Sciences.

Quantum computers could very well crack traditional encryption such as RSA by 2022. A 2019 DigiCert report suggested security teams need protection from quantum breaches by 2022. Becoming quantum-safe 2-years-too-early or 2-years-too-late is everything. The most valuable resource today is data and in 2020 alone we have seen large corporations such as Fire Eye, Zoom, Twitter and many more struggle to keep their data safe.

The growing ease with which hackers are breaching company and government agencies suggests quantum hacking may have already happened. IronCAP recognizes the risks of quantum hacking and can provide you quantum-safe encryption today. Our unique cryptography technology is designed to operate on conventional computer systems while at the same time can safeguard attacks from quantum computers. It is proven secure at a hackathon, vetted by industry experts and is low-cost.

Instead of spending tons of money in lawsuits to recover data, investing a fraction of it on your post-quantum cybersecurity NOW is the wisest business decision to make.

To learn more, visit www.ironcap.ca.

References:

Live Science article
DigiCert report
China claims Quantum supremacy

Why you need a post-quantum cybersecurity strategy?

In today’s highly digitized, data driven world what do you need to stay safe from hackers? The answer is simple – bulletproof encryption for your data.

As we know development in quantum computing is accelerating and has reached a new milestone in 2020. On December 3rd, 2020, China reported massive progress in its quantum research; claimed quantum supremacy and will continue to invest in the future of quantum computing.  Additionally, tech giants such as IBM, Google, Amazon and Honeywell are significantly multiplying their quantum power each year.

In June this year, Honeywell released its quantum computers with the commitment to increase its power 10-fold every year. Honeywell’s quantum computers are already being used by enterprises like Merck, DHL, BP, and Accenture. President of Honeywell Quantum Solutions, Tony Uttley told Tech Republic, “Next year what we will see is the advancement into some areas that really start to show promise…” And Research Vice President at Gartner, Chirag Dekate said, “2021 will be a pivotal year for seeing the maturation of the vendor landscape. Amazon, Azure, and other cloud service providers are aggressively ramping up their quantum capability.”

As quantum computing advancements rocket, organizations and government agencies need to prepare for post-quantum cybersecurity. It is integral you save your data from eavesdropping hackers waiting for a gateway into your network. IronCAP’s patent pending, cryptographic quantum-safe encryption is the best in business.  Andrew Cheung, CEO at IronCAP, said, “It almost felt like having the bulletproof vest before the first bullet injury.” But we know Q day will come much sooner than most people think.  Our IronCAP encryption available today is designed to provide security to your data now and in the future quantum world.”

The Quantum revolution is coming!  Are you ready?

References:
Tech Republic article
China claimed quantum supremacy
Honeywell quantum computers