The Lighthouse IT Podcast - June 5th, 2020

Matt and Griffin are back as they discuss how Sign-in with Apple was much easier than we all thought, why it may be a good reason to upgrade to the dreaded Android 10,  and what updates Google has been making to the world of SEO.

Listen here!

Security News  

Apple Security News 

We’ve all used the log-in service on a website or app by supplying our Facebook or Google credentials. Just like these providers, the sign-in with Apple allows site visitors to use their Apple ID credentials to sign-in to other websites. 

A security research from Delhi, India has discovered an account takeover flaw in Apple's Sign-in with Apple system. These systems work by allowing you to login to a popular service and receiving a "token" that authorizes you access to the websites that use the login service. 

The security researcher discovered if he could identify a valid email address of an Apple ID (which was openly contained in an initial login request), he could pass the email address to a publicly accessible web service and retrieve a valid token. No password was required to do this. 

Luckily, because of the bug report being completed properly, Apple was able to very quickly patch the open flaw and states that its investigations did not show any misuse or compromise. Which is good news for services such as Adobe, Airbnb, Dropbox, eBay, Grindr, Medium, Strava, Tik Tok, and even WordPress that utilize this log-in method. 

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In this week's podcast Matt brings in Lighthouse IT Solutions’ marketing specialist, Griffin! 

Together they encourage bringing business to normalcy within the COVID-19 crisis. What “normal” stands for may not have the same definition as it did earlier this year. In order to come out on top, an adaptable mentality will be key.  

To learn more, listen to the last podcast here!

Many of us have now experienced what it’s like to work remotely. There is a surplus of tools like video conferencing, VoIP phone systems, and cloud-based document management; these make remote working easily successful. If you have any troubles or want more information, be sure to reach out to your IT source or Lighthouse IT Solutions!

Cyber security is a vital component of any company, no matter the size or what products/services they provide. Cyber security is important for every business and individual. While antivirus and firewalls are a good start, they cannot protect a business from all the digital threats it will face. As the already massive and turbulent nature of the digital space continues to expand, cyber security needs to keep up with it. In order to provide a greater presence Lighthouse IT Solutions is happy to announce that it has partnered with Defendify to make Cyber Security easy to understand and implement.

Defendify is an all-in-one cyber security platform that has been specifically designed for small businesses. It focuses on creating a strong foundation to foster a culture of security within a company and uses its own technologies to expand a company’s existing cyber security setup.

Chances are that you have heard about the factors of making a strong password, like how the longer it is the better and how the use of upper-case and lower-case letters, numbers, and symbols protects you against brute force attacks. But what if I told you there was a way to make an account protected by “drowssap” or “qwerty” exponentially safer than an account protected by more complex passwords like “Th15_1$_@_P@55w0rd”? Multi-factor authentication (MFA) to the rescue! Also known as two-factor or two-step authentication, this is one of the more secure (and quite easy to implement) methods of securing your accounts. MFA can be considered a few different things. The most common form is an algorithm that generates random temporary passwords that must be entered in addition to your standard password. It could also be push notifications from third party apps that manage these MFA communications like Duo Security. This is nice because out devices all have the capability to be only unlocked through certain means like facial recognition, voice recognition, fingerprint scanners, pin numbers, or even retinal scans. What that means for you is even if your first password is compromised you have a second method of identity verification protecting your account. We here at Lighthouse IT Solutions care about your cyber security; our series of posts and webinars espousing its benefits probably convey that just fine.