How to Protect Against Ransomware: Everything You Need to Know

Posted on September 30, 2022September 26, 2022 by Shield Insurance Agency

Ransomware attacks are the most common attack-type targeting businesses. In fact, 21% of total cyberattacks are caused by ransomware. So learning how to protect against ransomware attacks is crucial to protect your business from ransomware infection.

Published: Sep 22, 2022 | by Sandeep Babu In Technology Trends

In this article, you will explore proven tips to prevent ransomware attacks. Also, you will learn about the best tools you can use to enhance ransomware protection. Let’s dive in:

What Is Ransomware?

Ransomware is a type of malicious software or malware infection that restricts your access to the infected system or data until you pay a ransom in exchange for the access. What’s worse, in some ransomware attacks, hackers threaten to publish data or sell data on the dark web.

Can You Learn How to Prevent Ransomware Attacks?

Yes, you can learn how to prevent ransomware attacks in a suitable cybersecurity workshop or training course. Installing anti-ransomware protection on your system and mobile device, using a quality VPN, and following the best cybersecurity practices are proven ways to prevent ransomware attacks.

Why Is It Important to Protect Against a Ransomware Attack?

Ransomware attacks can affect businesses drastically, resulting in downtime, loss of essential data, money, and reputation. According to The State of Ransomeware, 66% of organizations surveyed were attacked by ransomware last year. And a successful ransomware attack can cost your business dearly. The same report stated ransomware attacks cost, on average, $1.4 million to recover.

Top Tips to Provide Ransomware Protection

The following tips will help you keep your IT infrastructure safe from ransomware infection:

1. Keep Your Systems Up-To-Date

Viruses and ransomware typically look for vulnerabilities in operating systems and software applications to infect. So you should ensure that everyone in your company installs the latest security patches and regularly updates their systems.

It is a good practice to turn on automatic updates in all your company’s systems and software programs.

2. Strengthen Endpoint Security

Hardening endpoint security in your business is an effective way to limit your business’ threat surface. The stronger your endpoint security is, the harder it will be for threat actors to infect your systems with ransomware.

Your endpoint security tools should provide protection from:

Suspicious emails and attachments
Malicious web downloads
Exploits
Unauthorized access to devices and applications

When you are looking for tools to secure endpoints, consider tools that offer behavioral monitoring, rapid detection, and flexible deployment options.

3. Backup Critical Data

Your carry-on bag, according to the TSA’s rules

Posted on September 26, 2022September 26, 2022 by Shield Insurance Agency

What’s allowed in — and prohibited from — your carry-on bag, according to the TSA’s rules

By Kaitlyn McInnis | CNN Underscored | Updated 11:36 AM EDT, Mon September 19, 2022

Packing for a trip can be a daunting experience. You want to streamline your stuff so as to travel light, but you also don’t want to be so bare-bones that you wind up shopping for the essentials you forgot when you should be enjoying your trip.

Maximizing your carry-on baggage allowance is a great way to ensure you’re packing light without skimping on the things you actually need, but you’ll want to ensure you’re packing items that won’t get you held up at the TSA security checkpoint. There are certain TSA carry-on rules and regulations you’ll want to be aware of when packing your carry-on bag, such as how much liquid you can actually bring on board or if your disposable razor is allowed through.

If you’re hoping to optimize the way you pack your hand luggage, you’ll want to read on. We’ve outlined everything you need to know about what’s allowed in a carry-on bag — and the best carry-ons to consider for your next trip.

What is a carry-on bag?

Carry-on luggage ranges in styles and sizes — from hard-shelled spinners to soft-sided weekender bags and even travel backpacks. But the bag will need to fit the size regulations of your airline. In fact, carry-on allowance isn’t determined by the TSA but instead by individual airlines. Generally speaking, most airlines implement a maximum size policy of 22 inches by 14 inches by 9 inches, including wheels and handles.

Your baggage allowance could also depend on your ticket type. Some basic economy tickets only allow for a personal item, such as a purse, rather than a piece of carry-on luggage. When it comes to the weight of the bag, you’ll want to ensure you can comfortably lift your carry-on up and into the overhead compartment efficiently. However, some airlines — particularly budget carriers — limit how much a bag can weigh.

Ultimately, if you’re planning to bring a carry-on bag on board, be sure to check your airline’s policies. Once you’ve determined your carry-on baggage allowance, you’ll then need to pack it with items that are permitted by the TSA.

What is allowed?

Click here for the rest of the story…

What is the value of having an auto insurance plan in Michigan?

Posted on September 21, 2022September 26, 2022 by admin

For anyone living in the state of Michigan, having a car can be a great idea. With a car, you will be able to get around all of the great parts of the state including large cities, small lake communities, and plenty of recreational activities throughout the area. If you are going to buy a car in this area, you will also want to know that you get the right auto insurance.

An auto insurance plan offers various forms of value:

Ensure You are Supported and Protected

If you do get an auto insurance plan, it will help to ensure you are covered as well as possible. With the right plan, you will get the support you need to replace or repair your car if you incur a covered loss. Further, you will have support if you cause an accident and need to cover the damage.

Remain in Compliance

You also will need to have an auto insurance plan so you can remain in compliance with any requirements you may have. Those that drive any type of car in this state will need to carry insurance to meet the state’s minimum liability coverage standards. You also will need to have coverage to meet any requirements that may be set by your auto loan provider.

Get Auto Insurance Today

If you would like to purchase a car in Michigan, it is very important that you get proper insurance. As you are looking for coverage, it would be wise for you to call the team with the Shield Insurance Agency. Those that do work with the Shield Insurance Agency will get a lot of help in deciding what the right policy is for their situation. This will help give you comfort that you are selecting the right policy.

Check out more blog articles by Shield Insurance

Ransomware attacks against schools could rise

Posted on September 20, 2022September 16, 2022 by Shield Insurance Agency

Federal agencies warned ransomware attacks against schools may increase this school year, in a joint cybersecurity advisory issued Tuesday.

BusinessInsurance.com | Judy Greenwald | September 07, 2022

Attacks may increase as the school year begins “and criminal ransomware groups perceive opportunities for successful attacks,” said the advisory issued by the FBI, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center.

“School districts with limited cybersecurity capabilities and constrained resources are often the most vulnerable; however, the opportunistic targeting often seen with cyber criminals can still put school districts with robust cybersecurity programs at risk,” the advisory warns.

“K-12 institutions may be seen as particularly lucrative targets due to the amount for sensitive student data accessible through school systems or their managed service providers,” it said.

Ransomware Attacks

Click here for the rest of the story…

Visit other Shield Insurance Blogs!

Nordic Walking Can Improve Your Heart Function.

Posted on September 16, 2022September 16, 2022 by Shield Insurance Agency

A recent study found people with coronary artery disease saw improved health outcomes after committing to the nordic walking workout for 12 weeks.

HuffPost | By Jillian Wilson | Sep 8, 2022, 05:45 AM EDT | Updated Sep 8, 2022

It’s widely known that walking is great for you. Research shows that walking can cut your risk of heart disease, reduce joint pain and naturally relieve stress.

A study published in the Canadian Journal of Cardiology in June also found that a specific kind of walking can be beneficial for people with coronary artery disease: Nordic walking. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, coronary artery disease “is the most common type of heart disease in the United States.” The study results suggest that people with the disease saw improved heart function after committing to Nordic walking for three months.

Nordic walking involves using poles similar to ski poles as you move. Unlike a regular walk, this kind of walking incorporates your upper body muscles in addition to your lower body muscles. According to the International Nordic Walking Federation, Nordic walking began as an off-season workout for skiers and has been around since the mid-1900s.

For the study, 130 people with coronary artery disease were randomly split into one of three groups. The first group followed a 12-week high-intensity interval training program; the second group followed a 12-week moderate-to-vigorous intensity training program; the third group followed a 12-week Nordic walking program.

After the workout program, participants were observed for 14 weeks, and their functional capacity ― or their ability to exercise or perform daily activities that require physical effort ― was tested by measuring how far they walked in six minutes.

Additionally, the researchers had participants fill out a heart disease-specific questionnaire and a 36-question health survey. Depression levels were also measured using the Beck Depression Inventory-II, which is commonly used to measure depression after heart attacks. Participants were tested at the beginning, the middle and the end of the study.

Nordic walking yielded the best results.

While all participants saw favorable health outcomes, those in the Nordic walking group experienced the largest increase in functional capacity compared to their baseline level at the start of the study.

In other words, those who committed to the 12-week Nordic walking program were most able to show increased exercise capacity during the six-minute walk test. And one’s functional capacity is “an important predictor of future cardiovascular events in patients with [coronary artery disease],” the study stated.

Click here for the full story…

Visit more blog articles from Shield Insurance Agency

Lower Prescription Drug Costs - Shield Insurance Blog

Drug Costs Lowered By States

Posted on September 16, 2022June 14, 2023 by Shield Insurance Agency

The sweeping federal bill aimed at cutting prescription drug costs follows years of action at the state level

AARP | by Emily Paulin, AARP, August 18, 2022 | Drug Costs | Health Insurance |

En español

Congress’ passage of a sweeping bill that will help millions of Medicare enrollees better afford life-sustaining medications was fueled by a blizzard of recent legislation to make prescription drugs more affordable at the state level. State lawmakers have introduced hundreds of bills aimed at lowering prescription drug costs in the past five years, with more than 230 measures enacted across all 50 states.

The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 will allow Medicare to negotiate prices of some high-cost drugs for the first time, put an annual limit on Medicare Part D beneficiaries’ out-of-pocket costs, and impose tax penalties on drugmakers that increase prices more than the rate of inflation, among other things.

The move follows decades of advocacy for drug affordability by AARP and others, which until recently yielded progress mostly at the state level. “States are the laboratories of democracy,” says Jonathan Bartholomew, a government affairs director at AARP. “They’ve come up with really creative ideas to dissect, legislate and regulate this complicated and confusing marketplace, and I think that progress has really helped build federal momentum around this issue.”

AARP CEO Lauds Activists for Fighting for Rx Bill

Though states are restricted by federal law in how far they can go in directly reducing drug prices, they’ve worked to improve transparency around drug pricing, cap costs for consumers, bolster their drug-purchasing power and more. And collectively, they’ve spotlighted drug affordability as a national issue that calls for federal solutions.

Here are some key state initiatives that advanced prescription drug affordability in recent years.

Increasing price transparency

For states to pinpoint what’s driving price hikes in prescription drugs, it helps to have access to pricing data across a drug’s often long and convoluted supply chain. It’s why 14 states have passed drug price transparency laws that order manufacturers, wholesalers, pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), insurers and others to share cost information.

What pharmaceutical companies must report about their products differs between states, but common requirements include advance notice and justification of the initial price of a drug and when prices increase above certain thresholds; summaries of the state’s most prescribed and costly drugs; and rebate and reimbursement amounts for PBMs, which health insurers use to manage their prescription drug benefits.

Most of the data collected is made public, which can help doctors, consumers and other health care stakeholders. Advance notice of price hikes gives doctors and patients time to analyze patient care plans and adjust as necessary. Summaries of the most prescribed and costly drugs can show state officials where to focus reforms.

Click here for the full story…