What are deepfakes?
Deepfakes are fake photos or videos that look remarkably real. Often, these photos and videos are virtually indistinguishable from the real thing, which means they can cause a great deal of harm. To create deepfakes, people use deep learning, a form of machine learning. They duplicate someone’s voice or facial expression and superimpose it onto another recording or photo. This makes it seem as though someone was present at a location where they could never have been. You can imagine that this can lead to a lot of deceptive practices, since many people cannot easily recognize deepfakes.
How do people create deepfakes?
There are now plenty of apps and other types of software available that let you create deepfakes, even without having to pay for them. In addition, there are websites that offer deepfake software, making it easy to create these kinds of videos. Currently, artificial intelligence is primarily used to create fake videos or photos. This technology is based on machine learning, and the computer model is constantly fed with data. As a result, it can sometimes be very difficult to spot deepfakes.
How can you spot deepfakes?
There are several ways to spot deepfakes and protect yourself from misinformation and manipulation:
- Unknown sender: If the video comes from a reputable organization, such as a newspaper or a local broadcaster, there’s a good chance the content is genuine and not a deepfake. If the video or photo comes from an unknown sender, don’t just assume that what you’re seeing is real. Do some research on the source first.
- Check out different sources on a topic: Is a photo or video about a topic that’s currently trending and about which people have strong opinions? Don’t base your opinion on just one source; instead, look for more information from various perspectives. This way, you’ll have a complete picture of the situation before forming an opinion. Can’t find any further information about the images in a video or what you see in a photo? Then there’s a good chance it’s a deepfake!
- It’s all in the details: It’s often extremely difficult to spot deepfakes because they differ very little from real footage. Still, there are a number of details that can give a deepfake away. For example, do facial expressions look unnatural or do they not match what is being said? Do people have extra fingers, or are fingers missing? Does the person in the video never blink? These are all details that can indicate that a video or photo is a deepfake.
- Using Google Images to verify: Want to check whether a photo or video is real? You can use Google Images for this. Take a screenshot of the image or video and run it through Google Images. This will help you identify the original source of the content, allowing you to verify whether the video or photo is the original. Google has also recently added features to its search engine to combat AI-generated images.
- Pixels and waves: Check for stuttering pixels or blurry waves in a video. If you see these, it’s likely a deepfake.
Conclusion
Spotting deepfakes isn’t always easy, but if you know what to look for, you can effectively protect yourself against misinformation. Pay attention to the source of the video or photo, to details that don’t add up or seem a bit off, to pixelation and blurring, and to facial expressions that don’t match. Finally, be sure to do your own research if something seems suspicious!
1. A secure connection
One of the biggest advantages of business fiber-optic internet over a traditional connection is that your network is more secure. Cable networks are easier to hack, and some Wi-Fi connections aren’t properly secured against intruders either. As a business, you naturally want to keep your data and your customers’ data securely locked away, so digital security is very important. Fiber-optic internet is very difficult to hack, since a fiber-optic cable must be physically cut to access the data. And if that happens, you’ll know immediately that something is wrong.
2. With business-grade fiber optic internet, you get a stable and consistent connection
When you choose business fiber optic internet, you’re always guaranteed a stable and consistent connection. This is because the performance of fiber optic cables degrades much more slowly than that of traditional copper cables. With a traditional connection, for example, you may experience issues due to bad weather, electrical interference, or the distance from a transmission tower. If your business is located in a more remote area, there’s a good chance you’ll have slow internet with a traditional connection. The speed and reliability of fiber optic internet are not affected by these factors, so you’re always guaranteed a fast and stable connection!
3. Faster internet speeds thanks to business fiber-optic service
Finally, business fiber-optic internet offers much higher speeds than a traditional connection. Business fiber-optic internet provides speeds of up to 1000 Mbps, which is about 20 times faster than a traditional connection. Not only is the overall speed of fiber-optic internet higher, but the download and upload speeds are equally fast. With traditional connections, you often see that the download speed is significantly higher than the upload speed. That might not seem like such a big deal, but it can mean that uploading data takes an enormous amount of time. Since more and more companies are using cloud solutions, it’s certainly nice when uploading is faster too. After all, sometimes a lot of data needs to be uploaded to the cloud.
Conclusion
Business fiber-optic internet offers many advantages over a traditional internet connection. As a business, you naturally want a stable and fast internet connection that is also reliable.
1. Opt for a separate infrastructure
People often underestimate how important it is for redundancy to set up a physically separate infrastructure. Many organizations believe they have already achieved redundancy simply by using two different infrastructure providers. Unfortunately, this is not the case, because the connections from both providers could very well run through the same conduit. That means that if something goes wrong there, it will impact both providers. There goes your backup. Physically separate infrastructure is and remains a better way to implement redundancy. After all, if something goes wrong at one location, the other location remains intact.
2. Back up critical systems
To achieve redundancy as an organization, it is important to identify the critical systems and processes within your company so that you know what needs to be backed up. These are the systems and processes that are essential for keeping your daily operations or services running. Ensure that you always have a second instance of these components, preferably at a different location, so that you have a backup if a system or process fails. This could include, for example, a second hard drive, a backup of software or hardware, backup servers, or a copy of critical processes. To achieve optimal redundancy, ensure that the backup automatically takes over in the event of a malfunction or failure.
3. Conduct a comprehensive risk analysis
If your company wants to successfully implement redundancy, it’s important to have a clear understanding of the risks relevant to your processes and systems. After all, these are the risks you want to minimize through redundant systems. Before you get started, it is therefore wise to conduct a comprehensive risk analysis. This will give you a clear picture of the most relevant risks for each process or system and how you can avoid or minimize them.
4. Choose redundancy measures that are appropriate for the analysis
A thorough risk analysis like this should identify measures you can take to ensure that critical systems and processes are always backed up. Examples include setting up a backup server or using redundant power supplies and network connections.
5. Continue to test and monitor the backups
Always continue to test and monitor the redundancy solutions you implement to ensure that everything is working as it should. Especially when you’re about to implement new measures, it’s important to test them thoroughly at the outset. For example, simulate errors or outages to see if the backups are doing their job. Keep testing and maintaining all solutions regularly to ensure your redundant system is always up to date!
As you can see, redundancy doesn’t mean you no longer have to worry about your systems and processes. Redundancy measures will always require testing and monitoring to ensure they continue to function properly. Of course, the goal of redundancy isn’t necessarily to take work off your hands, but rather to provide systems and processes with greater reliability and availability.
Which internet service providers are available at your address?
First of all, it’s obviously helpful to know whether fiber-optic service is even available in your neighborhood right now. You can easily find this out by using the online ZIP code checker. This will let you know right away if fiber-optic service is available in your neighborhood and which providers offer plans in your area. It’s possible that the fiber-optic cabling is already in place, but hasn’t yet been extended to your home. In that case, you’ll need to have that connection installed. In most cases, you’ll have to pay for this yourself, since you didn’t opt for a connection to your home when the network was initially installed. This is therefore important to consider if you’re planning to sign up for a fiber-optic subscription.
Just internet, or TV as well?
These days, fewer and fewer people are signing up for TV subscriptions. This is mainly due to the rise of streaming services. Why pay for a TV subscription if you never watch TV anymore? If you do want a TV subscription, you can also get one through the fiber-optic network. With fiber optic internet, it’s possible to separate your internet and TV services, which is often more difficult with cable. If you have fiber optic internet, you could therefore choose to sign up for your TV subscription with a different provider than your internet subscription. A combined fiber optic subscription is often cheaper than signing up for two separate subscriptions, but that naturally depends on your specific needs.
How much are you willing to pay for your fiber-optic subscription?
People usually choose a fiber-optic plan because they want faster internet or a more stable connection. In most cases, fiber optic is indeed faster, but it may not make a difference compared to your cable connection. This depends on the download speed you choose. If it’s no higher than that of your current cable subscription, your internet connection won’t be faster with fiber optic. In most cases, however, stability does improve, and upload speeds will match download speeds. Before signing up for a plan, determine what speed you really need so you don’t end up paying more than necessary. Do you live in a single-family home? Then an internet speed of 500 Mbps is already more than sufficient, so it would be a waste to choose a higher-speed plan. For businesses with employees, a plan exceeding 500 Mbps is often recommended.
The contract term of the fiber-optic subscription
When you sign up for your new fiber-optic service, you’ll choose a specific contract term. In most cases, you’ll save money overall if you opt for a term of two years or more. In this case, make sure to check whether the contract can be transferred if you move. If not, you’ll have to terminate the contract when you move, and you may have to pay a penalty for early termination. Also, check whether or not connection fees will be charged when you sign up for a subscription. It’s possible that another provider has an offer that waives these fees. Always compare several providers to ensure you get the best price!
You regularly hear in the news about ransomware attacks on businesses or individuals. Whether you know what this entails or not, you’d prefer to simply prevent a ransomware attack—especially if your business handles sensitive data. Cybercriminals can hold your systems hostage using a specific type of software, rendering them unusable. They often demand a ransom to release the system. Both small and large companies face these kinds of attacks, so it’s always good to know how you can protect yourself against them!
What is ransomware?
Research by the British security firm Sophos shows that a ransomware attack costs a company an average of $1.82 million. But what exactly is ransomware? Ransomware is another term for malware, and it refers to malicious software that takes computers and files within the system hostage. Cybercriminals use it to encrypt your system or computers, rendering them unusable. They often threaten not to release the systems until you pay a ransom. And, of course, we’re not talking about a few dozen dollars.
How does ransomware get onto your computer?
There are several ways ransomware can infiltrate your system or computers. People often say that the system has been “infected” with the malware. After all, it is a type of computer virus. You can accidentally download ransomware through links, emails, email attachments, and online ads. Additionally, cybercriminals can launch targeted attacks on a company’s servers to try to get the malicious software into the system. Once the ransomware is inside, it blocks access to the computers, the system, or specific data. This can cause companies to come to a complete standstill.
5 Tips to Protect Your Business Against Ransomware
If your system gets infected with ransomware, it can have a lot of serious consequences for you and your business. Naturally, you want to prevent that at all costs. Below, we’ve listed 5 tips to help you protect your business against ransomware!
1. Back up your data regularly
If you ensure that your systems and data are properly backed up, you’ll be less affected if cybercriminals encrypt your computers. After all, you’ll have all your data and systems stored in an external location. This makes it easy to restore your files and get back to work. Many organizations use this method as a safeguard against cyberattacks.
2. Never wait too long to update
Software vendors are often the target of ransomware attacks. That is why they are constantly searching for vulnerabilities in their software and working to fix them. They implement the improvements they find in the form of updates or patches for the software. The sooner you install updates as a user, the better, because it means you’re less vulnerable to cyberattacks. Companies often tend to delay installing such updates, since they usually require a system restart. This can lead to delays in the production process. Nevertheless, we always recommend that you install updates immediately. After all, a ransomware attack will cost you far more than a 15-minute downtime!
3. Try to minimize human error as much as possible
Ransomware attacks are often the result of human error. For example, cybercriminals try various methods to obtain employees’ login credentials in order to gain easy access to the system. This is why it is crucial that your employees’ accounts are properly secured with more than just a password. For instance, implement MFA throughout the entire organization as an additional layer of security. Also, make sure to keep your employees constantly informed about the tricks cybercriminals might use and test them occasionally if necessary. Companies often do this by sending out a suspicious email and seeing how many employees still click on the link in the email. Providing training on cybersecurity never hurts either 😉
4. Antivirus software doesn't block everything
Many smaller businesses believe they are sufficiently protected if they use antivirus software. Unfortunately, this is far from always the case. If you use a good antivirus program that detects ransomware, you are largely protected, and the risk of infection is lower. However, we always recommend taking additional measures, as antivirus programs unfortunately cannot detect all malicious software. After all, many cybercriminals take this into account when developing malware.
5. Establish a clear protocol
Make sure you have a clear protocol in place for your employees so they know what to do in the event of a cyberattack. This will enable them to respond quickly—for example, by restoring data from external backups or calling a contact person who can assist with the situation!