Feranmi Akeredolu, Author at The Dark Web Journal

Careful! WeTransfer Virus Emails May Arrive in Your Inbox

5 years ago in Hacking by Feranmi Akeredolu

WeTransfer virus emails leverage the popularity of the file-sharing platform, WeTranfer, to spread malware.

In this article, you will learn about WeTransfer virus emails and how to protect yourself against them.

How WeTransfer Virus Emails Work

The WeTransfer virus email appears in your inbox with the company logo deceiving you into thinking it is coming from the company itself. These emails contain download links that seemingly point to WeTransfer.

If you open such an email and click on the download link, a message indicating that your session has expired pops up. This message then requires that you enter the password of your email address after which you are either provided with a download prompt or asked for more personal information.

Neither of these two options are good for you because the download prompt exposes you to malicious contents, and you providing more personal information puts you at risk.

Email password or other personal information that you provide on these links go to scammers and online criminals. They make use of your email account and personal information to defraud you or others on your email list.

How to Address WeTransfer Virus Emails

An example of a WeTransfer malware email received by our editor.

Do Not Open Suspected or Irrelevant Emails

The best way to not become a victim is to avoid opening emails that look illegitimate. Emails that do not come from a brand or person that is familiar should go into the recycle bin. When you receive an email with attached files or links, be careful before opening them.

Always carry out the three effective steps of ‘STOP – REFLECT – VERIFY’ before opening.

Do Not Enter Your Email Address Anywhere Without Verifying

Many hackers that use WeTransfer as cover to send virus emails accessed these emails from sites or links. Download sites are the leading sites where these email addresses are extracted from in bulk.

When these addresses are gotten, the third party, through the medium of email marketing, sends continuous virus emails to individuals. You can avoid this by limiting how and where you enter your email address.

Make Use of Email Spam Filters

These days, for many individuals and brands, their inboxes are just as busy as their day. Hundreds of emails – known and unknown – come in every day. Therefore, it can become overwhelming to manage these emails and to filter the legitimate from the illegitimate ones.

To manage your emails and quickly identify spam emails, you can make use of spam filters. These filters help you identify spam emails and flag them to prevent you from interacting with such emails. While this may not be 100% reliable, it is a good way to avoid emails that contain malware.

Change Your Email Password Regularly

The more personal information you have on your email account, the higher the need to regularly change passwords. Hackers work tirelessly to break into accounts and will do so at all cost. Therefore, you have to keep your password strong by combining numbers, letters and symbols. Moreover, refrain from telling others your password and change it when you suspect any irregularity.

WeTransfer virus emails may arrive in your inbox. These emails are often carefully crafted to deceive you into thinking it is from WeTransfer.

Do not open these emails. Instead, delete them immediately!

Who Are the Shadow Brokers?

5 years ago in Hacking by Feranmi Akeredolu

The Shadow Brokers are a mysterious group of hackers that stole sensitive data from the National Security Agency (NSA) in 2013 and dumped these secrets online.

Identity of the Shadow Brokers

The Shadow Brokers appeared in August 2016, when they leaked several hacking tools and computer exploits from the National Security Agency (NSA). The group released documents that were gotten from a server connected to the NSA. The U.S. reportedly owned, leased, and controlled the server. But it had no connection to the agency.

The group wrote in broken English on their blog posts. That suggested they might have not been from an English-speaking country. But security experts have dismissed that, saying the language hackers use could be an OpSec tactic.

Based on speculations, this group could be disgruntled NSA insiders. That is because of their strong familiarity with the National Security Agency’s Tailored Access Operation (TAO). That is similar to disgruntled insiders who became whistleblowers in recent years, like Edward Snowden, who worked as a government security contractor.

Another speculation is that the files came from Hal Martin. He’s an NSA contractor arrested in August 2017 for hoarding agency secrets in his house. It is possible that the Shadow Brokers received the records from Martin. However, in the public indictment against Martin, there was nothing that came up regarding selling secrets to a group.

According to another speculation, a rival country orchestrated the hack against the U.S. But there’s also no proof for any of these claims.

Alleged Activities of the Shadow Brokers

The Shadow Brokers started with dumping bugs in many common firewall products. Then they followed up with releasing the exploits of the Solaris operating system, and more detailed information on Equation Group, a hacking group connected to the US National Security Agency.

Early 2017, after been active for months, the group released exploits for Windows systems. At that time, the materials put lots of computers in danger. Another group of anonymous hackers repurposed some of those materials. That enabled the spread of destructive ransomware known as WannaCry.

Other dumps included code names for cyber-weapons and prospective targets of hacking operations. Parts of the data indicated Equation Group had targeted several mobile service providers around the world.

However, the biggest dump from the Shadow Brokers featured Windows exploits like EternalBlue. It also had tools to access the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) messaging system. Added to that, the dumps contained a substantial amount of information about hacking operations. It included PowerPoint presentations, un-redacted metadata, and the names of Equation Group members.

The group continued to dump more information in what most people saw as an attempt to gain attention. Some experts believe the Shadow Brokers became frustrated because the level of attention given did not meet the group’s expectations. Instead, they started monetizing their materials.

Financing & Funding

The Shadow Brokers introduced a monthly subscription service to sell the stolen information and cyber-weapons. They initially asked for one million bitcoin (around $600 million at the time). However, no one paid that amount. According to Wh1sks, they netted around $88,000 in Monero and a little over 10 BTC (worth around $35,000 at the time.)

It is impossible to know exactly what the Shadow Brokers have been sending around but most speculate it is hacking tools and ransomware for evil hackers. These could include highly valuable exploits for Windows systems and other systems hacking tools.

What we know is that some of those materials the Shadow Brokers dumped had been used by other black hat hackers.

The WannaCry ransomware, for example, spread rapidly across a number of computer networks in May of 2017. It hit a number of high-profile systems, including many in Britain’s National Health Service.

Top 10 Cybersecurity Companies in the World

5 years ago in Cybersecurity by Feranmi Akeredolu

Cybercrime is on the rise. As a result, so is global spending on information security. According to Gartner’s Information Security and Risk Management forecast, the cybersecurity sector could reach $175.5 billion in value in 2022.

In this article, we have listed ten leading cybersecurity companies that you could hire to help you with your security needs in 2020.

Microsoft

As one of the biggest companies in the world, Microsoft said it would continue to invest over $1 billion annually on cybersecurity research and development. The company is also working with other cybersecurity companies to advance research.

Microsoft has bought three security firms over the past few years: enterprise security startup Aorato, cloud security firm Adallom, and Secure Islands. They are integrating their protection technology into cloud service Azure Information Protection and other Microsoft products, like Windows Defender.

The software company has also invested in Team8, an Israel-based startup developing advanced security technology products.

Accenture

This Fortune Global 500 company provides services in strategy, consulting, digital, technology and operations. It provides cybersecurity services to companies to help them build cyber resilience from the inside out.

Accenture is involved with cyber defense, applied cybersecurity, managed security and custom industry solutions. To expand its solutions and continue innovating, the company bought Deja vu Security, iDefense, Redcore, Maglan, Arismore, and FusionX.

The cybersecurity consulting is in partnerships with other sector specialists like Microsoft, ENDGAME and Splunk technology.

Cisco Systems

Cisco Systems is involved with networking hardware, telecommunications equipment, and other high-technology products.

It ventured into cybersecurity in 2013 buying Cognitive Security, SolveDirect, and Sourcefire that same year. Two years later, Cisco acquired Portcullis Computer Security, another business that provides cybersecurity services to organisations and governments.

Through its numerous acquired subsidiaries, the networking giant has focussed on enterprise security strategy, Internet of Things, domain security, and energy management.

IBM

IBM has about 50% of its cybersecurity revenue coming from providing services to other businesses and governments.

In 2018, the company received about 1,400 cyber-security related patents. One of the patents includes stop-voice phishing attacks and another approach on how to detect potential threats.

The firm’s Security Operations Centres and Watson for Cyber Security are key to IBM’s move into the AI for the cybersecurity market. The company offers endpoint protection, data security, mainframe security, and more.

Some of IBM’s cybersecurity solutions include Security Information and Event Management (SIEM), cloud security, orchestration, and incident response platform.

Splunk

Splunk is also a big deal in security and operations management. Many organizations use the platform to perform security analytics.

The company also have a security platform for big data. It is for detecting patterns of fraud and identifying malicious behavior and attacks bypassed by signature and rule-based systems.

McAfee

McAfee is a global player in securing business networks and individuals online and staff using corporate networks.

Governments around the world also rely on McAfee Global Threat Intelligence to keep corporates, governments, and consumers a step ahead of hackers.

McAfee also has mobile security products to protect end-user devices from threats. Its network security products secure company servers, data centers, and databases.

Also, there’s the McAfee Total Protection and McAfee LiveSafe products that give individuals access to antivirus and antimalware protection.

Avast

Avast is a multinational cybersecurity juggernaut and one of the leaders in the computer security software industry.

It has developed next-gen technologies for fighting cyber attacks in real-time. One of its product that sends alerts if unusual behavior is detected and blocks access to potential threats was named a Best of Innovation Honoree in the CES 2020 Innovation Awards.

This cybersecurity company also has lots of investments in cloud-based machine learning engines that are collating streams of data from hundreds of millions of users. The company has more than 435 million people across the world.

Fortinet

Fortinet is a cybersecurity public company that helps to secure large businesses, service providers, and government organizations around the world.

It has a product, Fortinet Secure SD-WAN, that has been able to scale up to 100,000 SD-WAN sites and adopted by more than 21,000 organizations. It bought the security company CyberSponse that provides Security Orchestration, Automation and Response (SOAR).

Fortinet has over 450,000 customers. It is one of the leaders in most security appliances shipped worldwide. The security company has been issued 662 patents and 175 patents are pending.

KnowBe4

KnowBe4 is an integrated platform for security awareness training coupled with simulated phishing attacks. Today, the platform has more than 30,000 customers.

KnowBe4 has risen from a small player to being number one in security training, according to Gartner. It is one of the fastest-growing companies in security, well-known for its security training programs and content.

The security company has lots of on-demand, engaging and interactive training combined with unlimited simulated social engineering attacks through email, phone, and text. Its training spans across the globe to educate users on phishing and other online threats.

Sophos

Sophos is a security software and hardware company has built lots of security products for businesses around the world. It has products for Endpoint Protection, Network Protection, Cloud Protection, and Server Protection. It also has a few home products for individuals to protect their personal computers.

Additionally, the company has harnessed artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud computing. It has built security software for Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform.

Credit Card Leaked on the Dark Web? Here’s What You Can Do!

5 years ago in Dark Web by Feranmi Akeredolu

It is an unfortunate reality that there is a chance that you could have had your credit card leaked on the dark web. When this happens, the most important thing to focus on is ensuring that your account is protected.

In this guide, you will learn what you can do if your credit card details are leaked onto the dark web and what you can do to prevent that in the future.

How Your Credit Card Details Can Get Leaked

Some of the likely places hackers can gain access to your credit card details include:

making financial transactions on unsecured internet access like free public Wi-Fi
leaving your card details on a merchant site without logging out,
making use of weak passwords for your transactions
making purchases on untrusted websites and platforms
And some times, some financial or government institutions get hacked, with hackers stealing people’s credit card details to sell on the dark web.

What Do You Do?

If your credit card details end up online, what you need to do is immediately freeze your credit card account with your provider.

Don’t think about this twice. You might be running the risk of losing all your savings and finances if you don’t act swiftly.

The operators in that world are as ruthless as they come. It wouldn’t take them a long time before they do irreparable damages to your account if you were to dither.

How to Prevent Your Credit Card Details from Ending Up on Carding Sites

There are several basic steps you can take to reduce the change of your credit card details ending up on so-called “carding sites” on the dark web.

Check Your Credit Card Bills

Check your credit card bills regularly. Even after you might have changed your details and got a grip on your account again. The reason is, once hackers have a record of an account, it is possible for them to take further advantage.

That is why you need to always keep an eye on your credit card bills. You should be able to notice any unauthorized or irregular payments. The earlier you discover, the better the chances of rescuing your account.

Avoid Public Wi-Fi Networks

Using public Wi-Fi may be one of the first reasons why your credit card details are on the dark web in the first place. One of the first measures to take is getting secured internet to use for communication rather than public Wi-Fi.

Make Use of the Two-Factor Authentication

One of the best security measures you can give your account is to set up the two-factor authentication. It always comes with a password that is different from what is on your account and it would always be required by any merchant or financial institution before a transaction involving your account can be approved. If you have this in place, it could go a long way to protect your account even when your card details find its way unto the dark web.

It’s a scary experience to have your credit card details leaked to the dark web. But if it ever happens, you should know it is not the end of the world.

You freeze your card as quickly as possible and talk to your credit card provider to receive a new card. Additionally, you should take steps to reduce the likelihood of it happening again.

SIM Swapping: What is it And What Can You Do to Prevent It

5 years ago in Hacking by Feranmi Akeredolu

SIM swapping refers to a hacking technique where a malicious actor tricks a mobile phone operator to change their victim’s number to a SIM card they control. Then, they use the SIM card to reset passwords that use SMS verification and gain access to your online accounts.

In this guide, you will learn how SIM swap attacks work and how you can protect yourself against them.

How Does SIM Swapping Work?

It is possible for a hacker to contact and convince your wireless provider to pass your phone number onto a SIM card they control by using personal information they have gathered about you. If successful, they can then reset passwords for your email and other online accounts, and potentially steal money from you.

Data breaches or visiting and leaving your information on malicious sites can allow these online miscreants access to information. Once they have this access, they quickly replace your SIM card with theirs to gain access to your incoming calls, text messages, email messages, and social media accounts.

SIM swapping is a nasty experience. Hackers can be merciless with their victims’ data. The primary goal to gain access to your bank account or cryptocurrency accounts to steal funds from you.

Additionally, hackers may try to scam people you know by impersonating you. Moreover, they could also use your digital identity to defraud businesses under your name.

Despite all these scary details, you can keep yourself from falling victim to SIM swapping.

How to Prevent a SIM Swap Attack

There are two main actions you can take today to reduce the chance of a SIM swap attack.

Add a Pin Code

You can minimize your SIM card’s chances of getting swapped by adding a pin code or password to all your wireless accounts.

Companies like Verizon, T-Mobile, AT&T, and Sprint, require you to create a pin code when you register with them.

For AT&T:

visit your account profile, log in and click on the sign-in button
select your wireless account
if you have multiple accounts, you can choose “manage extra security”
input your password and save

For Sprint:

you can go to your account on Sprint.com
proceed to “my sprint” profile and security
under security information, update your pin and security questions

For Verizon Wireless:

call *611 and request for a Port freeze on your account
you can visit their webpage to find out more information about enhanced authentication on your account

For T-Mobile:

set up a pin or passcode at the point of registering with the My T-Mobile account

Set Strong Passwords

People love to use their birthdays, anniversaries or child’s birthdays as passwords. Unfortunately, those can easily be guessed. What you need to do is to create a very strong password that will be impossible to guess and save it in your password manager.

You should also avoid the use of SMS as a means of communication when asked for a medium to convey your pin code or authentication code, select email and not SMS.

Generally, you should refrain from sharing too much personal information online and only use SMS verification where it makes sense. Authenticator apps are arguably a safer option for two-factor authentication.

Is the TutuApp Safe to Use?

5 years ago in Privacy by Feranmi Akeredolu

The TutuApp is a platform that enables you to get games and download apps for free. Since it was launched in 2012, the TutuApp has been made available for Android and iOS users all over the world to get their favorite games and apps. However, there have always been questions on online forums and communities about the legality and safety of the app.

It has been especially important for lots of people as the app is not available on either the Google Playstore or AppStore. The app has to be downloaded as a third-party application – it is hard to differentiate clean third-party apps from those with malware. Also, you would have to be giving lots of control and data to this app, so you have to be sure it is legit.

In this article, we explain what the TutuApp is and assess how safe it is.

What is the TutuApp?

TutuApp claims to offer better game applications than the Android and iOS stores because it allows users to download premium games for free.

It is a Chinese App – for Android and iOS – that also launched in English. Popular games like Clash of Clans, Pokemon Go, Minecraft, Fortnite, and other premium games are available on the TutuApp.

To download the application on your Android device, you have to enable your phone to install applications from “Unknown Sources”. It is an option available under Security settings. It also means you are telling Google you understand the risk of downloading the application.

Features of the TutuApp

The app is free
Offers popular premium games and apps
Supports several Android versions, even the old ones
Supports iOS versions starting from 7.x
Users can upgrade their free app to TutuApp VIP, which offers more features
It is not available on the official application store of both Google and iOS.

Is TutuApp Safe?

There are risks when downloading third-party applications on your mobile device. Some of these applications contain malware. That could enable a hacker to take control of your device. It could also give them access to your contacts, financial accounts, and passwords.

Apple AppStore and Google Playstore are the two biggest official app stores. They follow strict development criteria and vet the applications for bad stuff like malware.

It’s smart to think twice before opening an email attachment from a complete stranger to buy an app. In the same fashion, it is also important you weigh your options carefully before downloading an app that is not on an official application store.

Some people have stated that the app requests unnecessary permissions on your phone. These include read/send SMS and calls. People argue that those have nothing to do with the actual functionality of the application.

The major thing to be wary of when using the app is your privacy. If you are conscious of your personal data or store sensitive financial information on your mobile device you might have to consider installing an antivirus.

Also, there’s the risk of violating copyright laws in your country if you are using a cracked version of paid games and music applications.

The TutuApp has grown to be one of the top third-party apps in the world. However, there are privacy, security, and legal issues you have to consider before making the decision to download the app.

Top 5 TorrentGalaxy Alternatives You Can Use in 2020

5 years ago in Guides by Feranmi Akeredolu

TorrentGalaxy (TGx) is a torrent site where users can search for and download content on a peer-to-peer basis. And as you’ll find with other torrenting platforms, it often has downtime. Below, you’ll find a list of the five top TorrentGalaxy alternatives you can use in 2020.

The Pirate Bay (TPB)

Is the pirate bay down — Broblike [CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)]

The Pirate Bay is the most popular torrent site in the world. The fact that it has managed to maintain its original name without having to change it as other torrent sites do also shows its reliability and focus on providing privacy.

The Pirate Bay has a massive collection of files for download. As of 2020, there are more than one million files across a wide range of categories available for download.

The interface is easy to use and the platform doesn’t require registration. It also features a trusted icon that makes it safe for downloaders and uploaders to use. Also, TPB has files with an abundance of seeds that ensure a faster download from the site.

1337x

1337x has a neat and well-organised user interface where files can be found quickly by either using its search tab or exploring the various categories. For instance, it has a ‘Trending’ category that lists the popular torrents for the day and week.

The site has connections with other proxy websites which help to tackle possible bans in some countries. It is rated as the most visually appealing torrent site due to its beautiful website layout.

Zooqle

Zoogle is a torrent indexing website that came into existence in 2008. It’s one of the popular alternatives to TorrentGalaxy. Formerly known as Bitsnoop, this site is particularly useful to gamers as it has a lot of games available for download. You can also find other types of content on the site.

Although fairly new to the torrenting space compared to others, Zooqle already boasts of over 3 million verified torrents with a huge variety of categories.

This site has an advanced search option where you can specify the size, language, category, and time of indexing of torrents making it easier to locate files. The homepage also has a list of the most seeded torrents which helps users find the popular torrents at the time.

RARBG

RARBG is also one of the popular proxies for TorrentGalaxy. It gained its reputation from delivering high-quality videos and an impressive variety of both old and new torrents. The website’s interface is simple and user-friendly.

This site organizes torrents into useful categories such as Top Ten lists. The only downside to using this site is the presence of numerous ads.

TorLock

With over 4.8 million verified torrents to choose from, TorLock is one of the largest alternatives to TorrentGalaxy. The website provides files across a wide range of categories.

The advantages of using this site include the well-indexed torrents and the clean user interface. Also, TorLock has a strict privacy policy that some of the other torrenting sites do not have. None of your actions on the site are logged, and your movements on the web are not followed.

Disclaimer: Torrenting isn’t illegal. However, downloading copyrighted material may be illegal in your jurisdiction. Ensure you keep safe while using any of these TorrentGalaxy proxies.

Top 5 Cybersecurity Careers That Pay Well in 2020

5 years ago in Cybersecurity by Feranmi Akeredolu

The rise in cybercrimes and security breaches around the world have increased the need for cybersecurity experts. As a result, cybersecurity careers have become one of the most lucrative professional paths in today’s marketplace.

In this guide, you will find a list of high-paying cybersecurity careers you could move into in 2020.

Lucrative Cybersecurity Careers

The following are some of the highest-paid cybersecurity jobs in 2020.

Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs)

As far as cybersecurity is concerned, chief information security officers have a lot of responsibilities on their shoulders. Most companies now store important records and valuable data online. Hence, the need to ensure there are no security loopholes.

Chief information security officers inspect and confirm that the security framework for the organization is up-to-date and reliable.

In 2020, many employers are ready to pay huge sums to persons who can effectively carry out these duties. Te pay usually depends on the specific job description stated by the employer. However, CISOs would usually receive between $185,000 – $500,000 per annum.

Cybersecurity Systems Engineer

Cybersecurity systems engineering is another well-paid cybersecurity career path. A cybersecurity systems engineer has the responsibility of designing, developing, and installing security features and networks that can block off cyber attacks and online security threats.

With enough experience as a systems engineer, you develop specific transferrable skills. These skills can help you begin a career in cybersecurity engineer, security architect, cybersecurity analyst, and related career paths. Once you’ve got what it takes to do the job well, you’re likely to have many clients coming to you.

Their salaries are between $115,000 and $200,000.

Ethical Hacking (also known as Penetration Testing)

Companies with valuable data would stop at nothing to ensure that their information is safe. One of the ways to test the susceptibility of an online network to cyber thieves is to carry out several vulnerability tests.

The penetration tester carries out a thorough test of the entire framework and sees whether there are any features or modules that can be breached.

After successfully going through the training and becoming an ethical hacker, you could be earning around $75,000 to $130,000.

Cybersecurity Consultants

Cybersecurity consultants have multifaceted job descriptions and are one of the most potentially lucrative cybersecurity careers. Essentially, they carry out assessments of individual cybersecurity structures and compare them to benchmarks. They also give recommendations on the best line of action to take, in cases of existing or possible cybersecurity threats.

This consultant should be able to communicate cybersecurity ideas in a way clients and other professionals can understand and execute. Asides from communicating ideas, a cybersecurity consultant should be able to produce useful cybersecurity modules like data encryption and firewalls.

Cybersecurity consultants get paid between $81,000 and $120,000.

Software Security Engineer

The services of a software application security engineer are critical to companies that are primarily technology-based. The software security engineer basically would ensure that the applications consistently follow the latest security and privacy protocols.

If companies continue to build internet-based applications (which would most likely be), then more professionals in this niche are a necessity. Currently, a software security engineer takes home between $119,000 and $180,000.

Today, there are several opportunities for qualified individuals who take up any of the above-listed cybersecurity careers.

How to Respond to a Sextortion Email

5 years ago in Hacking by Feranmi Akeredolu

Sextortion emails have become commonplace as a way to blackmail people into parting with their money. Most people are unaware of what a sextortion scam is and how these tricksters carry out their operation.

In this guide, you will learn what a sextortion email is and how you should respond to one.

What is a Sextortion Email?

A sextortion scam email is a threat made by a scammer who claims to have filmed you through your webcam while you were consuming pornographic content and claims to release that footage if they are not paid in bitcoin.

Here, you can see two examples of the sextortion emails that were sent to our editor-in-chief.

In the case of the sextortion scam, hackers will usually claim to have hacked your email account or gained access to your computer through other means. And these emails are sometimes sent randomly, even to those who have never visited a pornography site.

Anyone who believes these threats and sends money to these tricksters is falling victim to fraud. Now the question is, what can you do with such emails?

Simple. Ignore them!

Additionally, there are a number of safety precautions you can take when you receive such emails.

Avoid Attachments

Sextortion scam emails can come with a link to an attachment that you would be asked to click on. A mistake some people make is to open the link. That act can give hackers access to your computer, thereby putting them in a better position to blackmail.

Avoid opening the links or attachment sent to you because it will either redirect you to a fake website, which will make your system open to malware or you may end up giving them your personal information.

Don’t Comply With Their Demands

Sextortion scam emails don’t come without demands. These scammers will always request that you pay them a certain amount of money to keep them from spreading videos or images of you watching pornography.

Fortunately, these emails are empty threats. So, don’t give in to their demands and just ignore the email.

Do a Security Check

After receiving such emails, you could run a security check on your computer for peace of mind.

The check is to ensure you have not downloaded a file automatically when you opened the email. That could create a loophole for hackers to penetrate your computer. You should also immediately delete and ban the email address. You can also install security software on your computer or mobile device for added security.

Google the Email Sent to you

You can easily find out if such an email has already been identified as a scam. You can copy one or two sentences of the email sent and paste in the Google search box to search the web.

Usually, other people have gotten the same email and have reported it on social media or in forums.

Do Not Respond

The best way to respond to a sextortion email scam is for you not to respond at all. If you happen to get such messages, ignore them or delete them from your inbox.

Sextortion emails can be scary for first-time recipients. A threat to release embarrassing videos and images could negatively impact one’s reputation. But do not be deceived by these emails, they are only out to extort money from you.

The best way to respond to these emails is not to respond at all and delete them.

10 Entry Level Cybersecurity Jobs You Could Start in 2020

5 years ago in Cybersecurity by Feranmi Akeredolu

In this guide, you will discover a list of entry level cybersecurity jobs that you could apply for to start your IT security career in 2020.

A Rise in Demand for Cybersecurity Professionals

Information security is an important part of the operational infrastructure of any organization. Information security is the practice of defending data, networks, programs, and devices from malicious attacks.

Considering the growing number of digital threats, it is no wonder the field of cybersecurity is flourishing. It is one of the most in-demand careers today.

As predicted by the U.S. Department of Labor Statistics, entry-level cybersecurity jobs are expected to grow by 18% through 2024. This growth makes information security an interesting and lucrative career choice. The average annual salary for cybersecurity entry-level job in the United States is $74,324, according to ZipRecruiter.

Requirements for entry-level jobs and projected pay vary depending on the employer and the region. An individual is expected to hold at least a Bachelor’s degree in computer science or a related field to land an entry-level cybersecurity job. Most jobs also require one to three years of work experience.

Below, you will find ten entry-level jobs available for people looking forward to starting a career in cybersecurity.

Junior Penetration Tester

Often known as ethical hackers or pen testers, penetration testers defend the system or network against any vulnerabilities. They do this by trying to detect and exploit any vulnerabilities the threat might use.

Other roles include planning and conducting evaluation tests, reporting on actual or potential weak spots, keeping up to date with current cybersecurity threats, and programming software to help with penetration.

Information and Security Analyst

Information and security analyst is one of the most popular listings available for entry-level cybersecurity jobs. They are in charge of preventing and detecting cyber attacks.

They also monitor the computer network of an organization regularly to ensure that no-one has infiltrated them. Analysts investigate any security incidents that occur and address them.

Security System Administrator

Data security administrators are primarily concerned with securing and protecting a company’s databases from unauthorized access.

They are responsible for network, mobile, and desktop security. They are also responsible for troubleshooting, administrating, and installing an organization’s security solutions.

Network and Computer Systems Administrator

Network and computer systems administrators are responsible for the day-to-day operation of computer networks. They fix malfunctions within computer hardware and software. Their role also involves making sure all equipment and software are up-to-date. That is to ensure the safety of the company’s network.

Junior Security Engineer

A security engineer is responsible for designing security systems. Unlike the security analyst whose duty is identifying issues within a system, it is the job of a security engineer to build a solution to the problem identified by the security analyst.

They are responsible for the design and implementation of the best strategies to prevent unauthorized access to a system’s internal network.

Security Architect

A security architect is responsible for testing, designing, implementing, overseeing and building security systems for an organization.

They anticipate feasible security threats and identify areas of weakness in a network system. Additionally, they ensure that those systems for combating hacker intrusions, DDoS attacks, as well as malware are working properly.

System Administrator

A system administrator is in charge of day-to-day operations and maintenance of an organization’s computer system.

These professionals also maintain networks, operating systems, security tools, business applications, web-servers, etc.

Network Security Analyst

Network security analysts monitor and protect a network from malicious attacks. They monitor networks to detect unusual or hostile activities and take actions to prevent malicious attacks on the system, such as the deployment of firewalls.

In addition, they design and implement safeguards and communicate security issues to management.

Cybercrime Analyst

These are security professionals employed to help counteract the activities of cybercriminals. These criminals include hackers and malicious software developers.

To be effective at their role, cybercrime analysts need an understanding of how malware can infiltrate a system. Similarly, there’s also the need to know methodologies behind digital forensics.

Security software developer

A security software developer is responsible for developing security software, as well as incorporating security into software during design and development. These developers ensure that the company’s network has security components. They do this by developing tools such as malware detectors, spyware, intrusion detection and more.

With the new variants of malware developed every year, employers are looking for staff who can help reduce risk, manage data safely and convey security needs to managers and other employees.

Feranmi Akeredolu - page 3

How WeTransfer Virus Emails Work

How to Address WeTransfer Virus Emails

Do Not Open Suspected or Irrelevant Emails

Do Not Enter Your Email Address Anywhere Without Verifying

Make Use of Email Spam Filters

Change Your Email Password Regularly

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Identity of the Shadow Brokers

Alleged Activities of the Shadow Brokers

Financing & Funding

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Microsoft

Accenture

Cisco Systems

IBM

Splunk

McAfee

Avast

Fortinet

KnowBe4

Sophos

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How Your Credit Card Details Can Get Leaked

What Do You Do?

How to Prevent Your Credit Card Details from Ending Up on Carding Sites

Check Your Credit Card Bills

Avoid Public Wi-Fi Networks

Make Use of the Two-Factor Authentication

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How Does SIM Swapping Work?

How to Prevent a SIM Swap Attack

Add a Pin Code

Set Strong Passwords

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What is the TutuApp?

Features of the TutuApp

Is TutuApp Safe?

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The Pirate Bay (TPB)

1337x

Zooqle

RARBG

TorLock

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Lucrative Cybersecurity Careers

Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs)

Cybersecurity Systems Engineer

Ethical Hacking (also known as Penetration Testing)

Cybersecurity Consultants

Software Security Engineer

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What is a Sextortion Email?

Avoid Attachments

Don’t Comply With Their Demands

Do a Security Check

Google the Email Sent to you

Do Not Respond

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A Rise in Demand for Cybersecurity Professionals

Junior Penetration Tester

Information and Security Analyst

Security System Administrator

Network and Computer Systems Administrator

Junior Security Engineer

Security Architect

System Administrator

Network Security Analyst

Cybercrime Analyst

Security software developer

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