Latest Articles
Netflix Scams target “work from home staff”
With people spending a lot more time at home sheltering we are finding entertainment online. Google searches for Netflix jumped 142% since the advice to stay home became serious. The criminals as usual take note [...]
Facebook and Social Media prove vitally important
The FBI released an alert describing how scammers can use personal information on social media to break into online accounts. As people are confined to their homes, many have been drawn to social media where [...]
Re-Opening the Economy?
Whilst we start to wrestle with the "when and how do we restart" post Covid19 the malicious actors are unfortunately ahead of us all. Over the past week or so there has been robust debate [...]
#StillOpenForBusiness
Since 1996 Consulting IT have engaged in a number of large-scale projects and deployments across Professional Services/ Not for Profit/ Mining and Energy/ Engineering and Manufacturing sectors, our flexibility in all aspects of the IT [...]
QR Code Generator Scam
A scammer has stolen more than $45,000 worth of bitcoin over the past month by tricking people with fake QR code generators discovered running on a number of different websites. Bitcoin addresses are often converted [...]
Zoom: Unprecedented popularity increase and concerns
The massive uptake of video conferencing service Zoom has resulted in a rise in stock price, a class action lawsuit and a huge opportunity for cybercriminals. With “work from home” becoming the new normal, this [...]
Social distancing and the unseen risks to your IT infrastructure
With many countries participating in social distancing directives, remote workers are elevating both personal and organisational risk. While working from home you have likely already experienced some of the challenges around finding a quiet place [...]
When it comes to information security … what are the desired security practices?
Today, more than ever before, we need all employees to follow a number of basic guidelines to help ensure you don’t become a target for Phishing or Ransomware cybercriminals. Strong, unique passwords: Create strong passwords by [...]
Security experts warn that phishing attacks against home workers will rise
Work from home staff often require an enterprise virtual private network (VPN) solution to connect employees to an organisation’s network. Many companies are now requiring their employees to work from home but there is a [...]
Flexibility of Consulting IT
Since 1996 Consulting IT have engaged in a number of large-scale projects and deployments across Professional Services/ Not for Profit/ Mining and Energy/ Engineering and Manufacturing sectors, our flexibility in all aspects of the IT [...]
FBI warns of BEC attacks abusing Microsoft Office 365 & Google G-Suite
The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) warned private industry partners of threat actors abusing Microsoft Office 365 and Google G Suite as part of Business Email Compromise (BEC) attacks. "The scams are initiated through specifically [...]
New COVID-19 Message: You Are Infected
Malicious actors continue to craft ruthlessly aggressive email attacks tailored to leverage mounting fears and anxieties surrounding the COVID-19 outbreak, bad guys try to exploit the very worst fear among email recipients: the fear of [...]
Huge ransomware attack laid bare French lingerie firm … and bankrupted it
High-end French lingerie firm Lise Charmel has gone into receivership after being floored by a ransomware attack that encrypted its entire computer system and paralysed the company for a month during which it lost millions. Founded in [...]
Consulting IT: Soon to be classed as an Essential Service?
Since 1996 Consulting IT have engaged in a number of large-scale projects and deployments across Professional Services/ Not for Profit/ Mining and Energy/ Engineering and Manufacturing sectors, our flexibility in all aspects of the IT [...]
Ransomware Attack on Police Department Encrypts Evidence, Sets Criminals Free
Holding data for ransom often has business repercussions beyond just delays and inconvenience. In the case of a police investigation, it’s putting criminals back on the street. A Police department in Florida were hit with [...]
Working from home: Solution Offer
Since 1996 Consulting IT have engaged in a number of large-scale projects and deployments across Professional Services/ Not for Profit/ Mining and Energy/ Engineering and Manufacturing sectors, our flexibility in all aspects of the IT [...]
Working from home – mental health is also important
As a responsible organisation Consulting IT have helped to #flattenthecurve by sending staff home to ensure the health of our staff, our clients and of course the all-important business continuity of ourselves as a business in [...]
Update your password: email scam
A phishing campaign that is convincingly spoofing emails from the online payment company Stripe is in the wild and being replicated with other payment websites. The email informs the recipient that an unknown device has logged [...]
The Most Important Thing When Working From Home
As a responsible organisation Consulting IT have helped to #flattenthecurve by sending staff home to ensure the health of our staff, our clients and of course the all-important business continuity of ourselves as a business [...]
Consulting IT project work
Since 1996 Consulting IT have engaged in a number of large-scale projects and deployments across Professional Services/ Not for Profit/ Mining and Energy/ Engineering and Manufacturing sectors, our flexibility in all aspects of the IT [...]
Work from home challenges
As a responsible organisation Consulting IT have helped to #flattenthecurve by sending staff home to ensure the health of our staff, our clients and of course the all-important business continuity of ourselves as a business [...]
Work from home solutions
As a responsible organisation Consulting IT have helped to #flattenthecurve by sending staff home to ensure the health of our staff, our clients and of course the all-important business continuity of ourselves as a business [...]
Consulting IT and the flattening of the curve
We have consistently been on at the forefront of change since 1996 and in today’s environment, we are no different. You have probably seen or read many an article from myself outlining the need to [...]
Harvard Business Review: Coronavirus could force teams to work remotely, management strategies that can help.
With the coronavirus spreading, managers should be preparing for the possibility that their teams may have to work from home. This articles offers strategies for helping team members continue to collaborate effectively and meet deadlines. [...]
Social influencer or social disgrace?
A 22-year-old Instagram and YouTube "influencer" has been arrested after allegedly convincing her followers to assist her in a fraud scheme. Prosecutors say the influencer posted on Instagram, Snapchat, and Facebook using social engineering to tell her [...]
Exploiting the Coronavirus: The Spammers, the Scammers, and the Bad Guys
As the world issue travel bans, mass shutdowns, cities and now countries look to isolate their people ... here is a fantastic article from our partners at KnowBe4 on the ways the bad guys (and [...]
Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games
Like the Coronavirus scare, the business of scamming will play a major role in the cybercriminal footprint. The games will provide countless options to scam participants, sponsors and spectators using contextual details and social engineering. [...]
Microsoft & Google encourage staff to work from home and cancel major annual summits
Microsoft is allowing and encouraging its employees to work from home as the novel coronavirus outbreak continues to spread in countries around the world. The software giant has updated its guidelines for employees, allowing anyone [...]
$48k per Phish!!
No, it is not a reward of $48k for the biggest gaming fish, it is the figure the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC) identified as the highest loss/ attack at a little over $48,000 per attack [...]
Australian industry crippled last week by Ransomware causing $60-$80 million weekly turnover halted
75% of the Australian and New Zealand wool industry forced offline for a week due to Ransomware attack. Read the article here: https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2020-02-27/ransomware-cyber-attack-cripples-australian-wool-sales/12007912 #computersecurity #informationtechnology #informationtechnology #emailsecurity #emailsecurity #antivirusandmalwares #phishingattacks #computersoftware #computersoftware #socialengineering #breached #breached [...]
An industry worth a predicted $20 Billion globally by 2021
No, this is not a typo ….. it is a “B” for Billion and you too could be a part of it by just doing nothing, absolutely nothing …… you interested??? Ransomware attacks shift from simple [...]
We are hiring!!
IT Support Engineer (Level 1) ALL applicants via Acworth Recruitment on SEEK ONLY. No other recruitment agencies or direct applicants accepted. Failure to understand means you can not follow instructions and you will NOT be [...]
Business continuity in the Coronavirus/ COVID-19 age
It goes without saying, this pandemic is scary, and it is starting to affect Australian businesses in a myriad of ways. Businesses and in some cases, entire towns/ cities/ provinces around the world are in [...]
43,000 employees without email
The recent attack on facilities management company ISS has created a significant disruption in their operations, communication and services worldwide. With over 500,000 employees, the last thing Denmark-based facilities company ISS needs is any kind [...]
500 Chrome browser extensions stealing millions of user’s private data
Cybercriminals never stop their innovation; they want your data and will do anything to get it. Developing a novel method to poison Google's extension ecosystem and combining this with “social engineering” tactics that lure users into [...]
Your confidential health & financial information publicly displayed!!
Businesses, especially those in the Professional Services vertical are experiencing an increase worldwide in a relatively new style of Cybercriminal activity. The hackers infiltrate your network, steal data and slowly drip feed that confidential/ sensitive [...]
Beware: Coronavirus COVID-19 “safety measures” phishing email
Ever alert to an opportunity, cybercriminals are exploiting the Coronavirus/ COVID-19 epidemic in their attacks. In the last week, numerous security experts have seen phishing emails purporting to be from the "World Health Organization" or [...]
Phishing: One email scams Government for $2.6 million
Once again, it was the human factor and skilled phishing tactics from the bad guys that was responsible for such a material loss. And, from the sound of it, policy and procedure either weren’t in place or [...]
FBI 2019 Internet Crime Report
With Ransomware increasing by 41% a recent report shows that 90% of data breaches in the UK during 2019 are caused by human mistakes. The analysed data breach reports received by the UK Information Commissioner’s [...]
Ransomware and Cybercrime
What is Ransomware? How am I a target? What does it do? Ransomware by its very name locks users out of your own data and then holds your data for ransom. These attacks cause data-loss, [...]
Spot Light on Alex Gardner – Consulting IT’s General Manager
Alex has been with Consulting IT for the better part of a decade, as our General Manager he also wears the hat of Technical Director, Lead Engineer, Chief Problem Solver, IT Guru and plant waterer. [...]
New Hire – Level 1 tech
November saw the Consulting IT family expand as we welcomed Tom to our technical team. As a keen PC gamer and enthusiast, he is very much immersed in everything IT related and keeping up with the [...]
New Hire – National Sales & Marketing Manager
Last Month (November '19) Consulting IT welcomed Corey Hill as our new National Sales and Marketing Manager based in Brisbane. With 25 years sales experience behind him in the IT and Telecommunications fields he has [...]
Cyber Attack Alert
A renewed warning to be aware of Viruses & Cryptolocker RansomWare, Scam emails and hackers. There has been a world wide cyber attack with over 200,000 affected cases already confirmed. Be alert, this new attack [...]
Security & Safety Audit
IT Security & Safety Checklist □ Do you have a backup of your data? □ Do you have a plan if your server breaks today? □ Would you be up and running within [...]
It’s not if you get hacked, it’s when!
“9% of breaches are ever found - out of that 1/9 with monitoring and 8/9 by pure luck”. 1 This was a statement tweeted by Sami Laiho on October 17, 2016. Sami is a Microsoft [...]
Cryptolocker Virus Warning to 365 Users
365 Users are the latest targets of ransomware viruses such as Cryptolocker and it's various mutations. You may even see the term "Cerber Attack" used in the media to describe these ransomware infections. This latest [...]
Apple issue safety recall on Adapters
Apple have issued a safety notice to all customers who may have an affected adapter. If you have a wall plug adapter with 4 or 5 characters (or no characters) running up and down on [...]
California hospitals $3.6 million Ransom by CryptoLocker Virus
Recent reports indicate that a Medical Centre in California is being held to ransom for $3.6 million dollars by Hackers who've released a CryptoLocker / Ransomware Virus on their network. Read more Don't be fooled [...]
CryptoLocker / Ransomware Viruses – Secure your Data!
We have yet another client affected by a variant of the CryptoLocker and Ransomware viruses. This client has 100 employees across multiple locations. They were severely impacted and could have suffered major data losses. CryptoLocker [...]
Windows 10 has arrived!
Microsoft have released Windows 10 and are calling it their best version of Windows. Windows 10 includes a start menu that many users missed in previous versions, is easier to use and includes greater security [...]
CryptoLocker Viruses
CryptoLocker Viruses are once again attacking computers and servers. We have had 2 clients recently who were severely impacted by CryptoLocker viruses, causing major data losses. We worked for several hours (days actually) to recover their data for them [...]
G20 Is almost here, are you ready?
We have identified a number of our clients who will be affected by the G20 Summit, whether by road closures or simply because they are within (or located near) the security areas. Some questions we [...]
Beware of the latest scams
Internet scams are a continual threat to us all and they are becoming more and more sophisticated in an attempt to catch even the most security conscious people off guard. We have become aware of [...]
Ebay Password Change
If you have an Ebay account, it is advisable to change your password as soon as possible to ensure your accounts are secure. It is also advisable to change your PayPal password as well, after [...]
Windows XP D-Day April 8, 2014
April 8, 2014, TODAY... this is D-Day for Microsoft end of Support for Windows XP and Office 2003. If you still have Windows XP computers or Office 2003 products at home or in your office, [...]
Windows XP… An end of an Era
April 8, 2014, that’s the date on everyone’s minds and if it’s not and you are still using Windows XP computers and/or Office 2003, then it should be. That’s the date that Microsoft will cease [...]
Don’t let yourself be scammed
We're sure that you've all heard about the Internet "Scams"? There have been a number of television and print media articles highlighting victims stories and warning people to not become a victim themselves. There are [...]
IT’s a Good Day for Consulting IT
Welcome to Tuesday... we've had a big couple of weeks here at Consulting IT! We've welcomed a new addition to the Consulting IT team, Kami McLeod. Kami has recently moved to Brisbane from Canberra and [...]
Are you addicted to your Smart Phone?
When was the last time you went out to dinner and simply sat and talked to your partner, friends or colleagues? When was the last time you sat on the beach and watched the waves [...]
It was on Wikipedia, it must be correct!
The Internet and Social Media has become the mouthpiece for just about everyone with a computer or smart phone, including those people who may have never had a voice. It’s (usually) completely up to you [...]
Is it the end for the once irreplaceable desktop computer?
Few people will remember a time when they didn’t have a computer in their office, they used devices like typewriters, appointment books and the “good old fashioned” pen and paper to manage their businesses and [...]
Exciting News
There's some exciting changes at Consulting IT that we thought you'd be interested in! We're happy to announce that during the course of winter, we've been expanding and we've welcomed 3 new employees. Maria has [...]
Netflix Scams target “work from home staff”
With people spending a lot more time at home sheltering we are finding entertainment online. Google searches for Netflix jumped 142% since the advice to stay home became serious. The criminals as usual take note [...]