Deer Brook Consulting

Happy Statehood Day, Maine! 🌲 On this day in 1820, Maine became the 23rd state to join the Union. Today, we celebrate the vision, resilience, industries, and traditions that have shaped our great state’s legacy!

🥳 Please join us in welcoming the latest addition to Deer Brook's professional services team! Tracie Bradbury recently joined Deer Brook as Vice President of our Audit & Advisory practice. Tracie will lead an experienced team of cybersecurity practitioners who are dedicated to providing practical, repeatable and scalable solutions in support of unique business drivers. Tracie brings a proven track record to Deer Brook, and is known for her personalized approach and ability to communicate across business functions and disciplines. Welcome to #DeerBrook!

The game's always the same. But the tactics evolve with the times. We're no strangers to unsolicited phishing texts. That's why when you get a message from a new number, Apple's iPhones disable links from them by default. But there's a catch: if you add that number as a contact, or reply to them, links will be enabled. That's why scammers are starting to add "opt-out" prompts to their initial messages: to lure victims into responding and making it easier for them to click phishing links the next time around. But even if the tactics change, the way to win is always the same. 𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝘁𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻? 🔹 Don't respond. Don't click on any links provided. 🔹 Block and report any suspicious numbers. 🔹 Navigate to any websites or call the organization using your saved information, not the information provided by the attacker. Stay alert and stay aware. #DeerBrook #scamalert #phishing #smishing #textingscams

This Quitter's Day, don't give up on good cyber habits. We've curated some articles that dive into common phishing tactics, ways you can stay safe, and more. Download the attached carousel or check out the article links in the comments below. #DeerBrook #cybersecurity

All it takes is 1️⃣ moment to unravel years of cyber safety. Any time you get an email or a message that makes you spring into action, 🛑 STOP and ask yourself: 🔹 Was I expecting this notification? 🔹 Is this how this person/organization usually contacts me? If you answer 'no' to either, don't engage. Don't click on any links, don't respond. You're probably moments away from being scammed or having your account information stolen if you do. When you get a message and you're in doubt: 🔹 Navigate to official websites yourself or contact the person/organization using information you've stored. 🔹 Run phone numbers through online searched for any user-reported history of scam calling or phishing. 🔹 NEVER click on any links, view any attached files, or download anything they give you. Don't let one lapse in judgement undo years of good habits. #DeerBrook #cybersecurity #cybersafety #scamalert

As 2024 wraps up, we'd like to wish you and your family a happy new year and great things to come for 2025! #DeerBrook #HappyNewYear

❄️ Season's greetings from all of us at Deer Brook! We wish you and your family a great holiday season and a happy new year. 🌠

As you wait for your final packages and gifts to arrive, don't let one mistake cast a dark cloud over the rest of the year. 🚫 Don't click on any unannounced emails prompting you with package or shipping updates. 🚫 Especially don't click any attachments on these emails. ✔️ Navigate directly to your account in the official app, or navigate to the official website to track your packages instead. Fraudsters are in full-force this holiday season, packing emails full of malicious attachments and website links. They're hoping that you have a lapse in judgement and click on links within their emails. Malicious attachments are gateways for hackers to establish backdoors on your devices and steal your personal and financial information. Other malicious emails include links to legitimate-looking login pages that are designed to harvest your account info and send it straight to the scammers. Stay on alert: report and delete any suspicious emails you receive. #DeerBrook #holidayshopping #scamalert

Buying gift cards as part of your holiday shopping? Avoid this mistake and play it safe. 🚫 Don't take the first gift cards you see on the display rack. ✔️ Go a few layers deep and pick out a gift card deeper in the display. Fraudsters have been known to steal gift cards and stick barcodes on them that are tied directly into their bank accounts. That way, when the cashier scans the code on the card to transfer funds, the money goes straight to them instead. 💡 If you can, only purchase gift cards that are stored securely, such as behind a cash register or inside a locked display case. Stay safe and make smart purchasing decisions this holiday season. #DeerBrook #holidayshopping #scamalert

If you've been experiencing Microsoft outages lately, you're not alone. Two weeks ago a worldwide service disruption took down Outlook, Teams, SharePoint, and more. Things were looking good since, but today users reported outages once again. The scope of today's outage wasn't as prolific, but affected users were still unable to access services like Outlook and OneDrive. The company said an unforeseen bug in an update was to blame for today's mishap. Next time you can't connect to Microsoft services or open any apps, check these websites first: 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵: https://lnkd.in/g6WnH7i 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘁𝘂𝘀: https://lnkd.in/eENtPTuX 𝗡𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘁𝘂𝘀: https://lnkd.in/e3h6Gr6M Check these sources first, so you don't waste time troubleshooting your computer in case there's a larger service outage going on. #DeerBrook #tipsandtricks #Microsoft365