papercut Archives - Planet IT

The Cloud: Your Ticket To Growth Or Your Ticket To Extinction?

June 23, 2023/in Backup, Cloud, data, datacentre, Education, IT Security, Latest Tech, Security, Software, windows 11 /by James Dell

The cloud is no longer the future of IT. It is the now of IT. Businesses that don’t embrace cloud computing are putting themselves at a serious disadvantage.

Here are just a few of the reasons why your business will be left behind if you don’t embrace the cloud:

You’ll be less competitive. Cloud-based businesses can be more agile and responsive to change. They can also scale up or down their resources as needed, which gives them a significant advantage over businesses that are still using on-premise solutions.
You’ll lose customers. Customers are increasingly demanding cloud-based services. If your business doesn’t offer these services, you’ll lose out on potential customers.
You’ll be more vulnerable to security threats. Cloud providers have a team of security experts who are constantly monitoring their systems for threats. On-premise solutions, on the other hand, are often more vulnerable to security breaches.
You’ll spend more money. Cloud computing can be more cost-effective than on-premise solutions, especially over time. This is because you only pay for the resources you use.

If you’re still not convinced, consider this: a recent study by McKinsey found that businesses that adopt cloud computing are more likely to grow their revenue by 20% than businesses that don’t.

So, what are you waiting for? Embrace the cloud and start reaping the benefits today.

Here are some specific examples of how businesses in the UK are being left behind by not embracing the cloud:

A medium-sized business in Swindon is struggling to compete with larger businesses that are using cloud-based marketing and sales tools.
A manufacturing company in Reading is losing customers because it can’t offer cloud-based customer service.
A financial services company in Oxford is at risk of a security breach because it is still using on-premise servers.

These are just a few examples of the many businesses in the UK that are being left behind by not embracing the cloud. If you don’t want to be one of them, then it’s time to start planning your move to the cloud today.

Don’t miss out on the benefits of cloud computing. Embrace the cloud and start growing your business today. Contact me directly if you have any questions – [email protected] or DM me on LinkedIn

Critical Vulnerability in Fortinet FortiGate Firewalls: Immediate Action Required

June 12, 2023/in Backup, Cloud, data, datacentre, Education, IT Security, Latest Tech, Security, Software, windows 11 /by Simon Williams

A critical security flaw was identified on Sunday 11th June 2023 in Fortinet FortiGate firewalls that could potentially be exploited by threat actors to achieve remote code execution.

IMPORTANT UPDATE from Fortinet June 12th: https://www.fortiguard.com/psirt/FG-IR-23-097

Details

This vulnerability, formally tracked as CVE-2023-27997, is reachable pre-authentication, on every SSL VPN appliance. In simple terms, this means an attacker could potentially execute arbitrary code on the system even without needing valid credentials. It is important to note that the details of this vulnerability are currently not fully disclosed, but Fortinet is expected to provide more information in the coming days.

Impact

The flaw could allow a malicious actor to interfere via the VPN, even if Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) is activated. This poses a significant threat as it could potentially allow unauthorised individuals to gain access to sensitive information, manipulate data, or disrupt services.

In recent years, vulnerabilities in Fortinet firewalls have become a lucrative attack vector for cybercriminals. If exploited, this could lead to severe consequences including data breaches, operational disruptions, and potential reputational damage.

Recommended Action

Fortinet has released patches to address this vulnerability in FortiGate versions 6.2.15, 6.4.13, 7.0.12, and 7.2.5. We strongly advise you to apply these patches immediately to mitigate any potential risks.

We understand that patch management can be complex and time-consuming. However, in this instance, the severity of the vulnerability makes prompt action essential.

It is essential that you act on this immediately. If you’re not sure what to do, or if you think you may already be a victim, call the Planet IT security team now: 01235 433900

URGENT ALERT: Papercut Vulnerabilities

May 10, 2023/in Backup, Cloud, data, datacentre, Education, IT Security, Latest Tech, Security, Software, windows 11 /by Simon Williams

Two vulnerability reports were recently made public regarding high/critical severity security issues in PaperCut MF/NG. (Latest update May 9th)

It has been observed that multiple threat actors including nation states are exploiting unpatched servers in the wild.

While initial attacks were targeting critical infrastructure (primarily in the US), current threat actor activity appears to be more opportunistic, affecting organisations across various sectors and geographies. We are aware that this has become a particular threat to the Education sector here in the UK.

The first vulnerability is a ‘Remote Code Execution vulnerability’.

This allows an unauthenticated attacker to get remote code execution on a PaperCut Application Server. This could be done remotely and without the need to log in.

The second vulnerability is a ‘User account data vulnerability’.

This allows an unauthenticated attacker to potentially pull information about a user stored within PaperCut MF or NG – including usernames, full names, email addresses, office/department info and any card numbers associated with the user. The attacker can also retrieve the hashed passwords for internal PaperCut-created users only (note that this does not include any password hashes for users sync’d from directory sources such as Microsoft 365 / Google Workspace / Active Directory and others). This could be done remotely and without the need to log in

As more threat actors begin to exploit these vulnerabilities in their attacks, organisations are strongly urged to prioritise applying the updates provided by PaperCut to reduce their attack surface:

URGENT | PaperCut MF/NG vulnerability bulletin (March 2023) | PaperCut