The research firms Expanse and 451 research found some pretty troubling news. A two week test revealed that more than 53% of Fortune 500 companies are leaving themselves vulnerable to hackers through open RDP. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Simply put, RDP<\/a> is a way to share information. An IT director can use RDP to look through a computer not in the same room as them and diagnose a problem. It’s helpful for tech support, those of us who need tech support, and IT managers. However, RDP can also be used a backdoor that gives a hacker access to a machine. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Earlier this year, we wrote a post on how to close those RDP ports<\/a>. It’s pretty easy for a hacker to manually place ransomware and\/or malware on a machine through an open port once inside. Making sure those ports are closed is a step in the direction of better security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The two research agencies found even the most tech savvy industries to have the same likelihood of exposure as the less tech savvy. Around 80% of the hospitality industry and just under 80% of defense and aerospace companies had at least one exposure. Defense and aerospace are among the most security conscious industries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It seems that IT professionals just aren’t looking for open RDP ports. There doesn’t seem to be enough of a push to make exposure something regularly monitored. <\/p>\n\n\n\n More education and awareness is the key to closing up these security gaps. <\/p>\n\n\n\nFor a list of ransomware attacks that have already taken place in 2019, you may click here<\/a>. We have also created a map, see below, of the ransomware attacks that have taken place in the U.S.\nWho’s at risk?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
But why?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n