Residential Homes and Home Offices

Cybersecurity for Residential Homes and Home Offices

USA Cybersecurity is a veteran owned small business located in Washington, D.C. certified to deliver cybersecurity and digital forensic services to government agencies, government contractors and commercial businesses.  

Residential Homes and Home Office Cybersecurity for as low as $499 Per Month*

Residential Homes and Home Offices are vulnerable to cyberattacks because they store personal and sensitive information for customers through digital access points within their home networks. Although many types of cyber crimes are perpetrated against residential properties,  home based businesses and employees of home based businesses are most vulnerable to social engineering attacks and ransomware: 

• Software virus that damages or disables computers
• Email phishing scams, resulting in financial or information loss
• Human error by a well-intentioned employee
• Ransomware incident
• Electronic fraud or misrepresentation of information for financial gain

Don't become a victim: Secure your networks today

Our managed services and regulatory compliance offerings include using the brightest security-cleared minds and the most sophisticated equipment available. Our primary focus is to secure the infrastructure of the Continental United States (CONUS). Our secondary focus is to secure the infrastructure of our allies and friends Outside Continental United States (OCONUS). All services are provided remotely or in-person.

USA Cybersecurity provides  network security for Residential Homes and Home Offices. Our services protect your network, Wi-Fi, and all connected devices. Homes and home offices are especially vulnerable for cyber attacks. 

Every single item connected to or that has the capacity to connect to the internet in your home and home office represents another opportunity for cyber criminals. Here is a (very small) list: Computers and mobile devices, televisions, refrigerators, garage doors, microwaves, mobile devices, nanny cams, security devices, temperature controller, dolls and toys, animal control collars, water, air conditioning and heating

Avast Software, in collaboration with researchers from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and Stanford University, recently analyzed data from 83 million Internet-connected devices in some 16 million homes globally to better understand how they are deployed, as well as how secure they are. According to the study, one-third of the homes has at least one IoT device. In North America, the number is double, at 66%. The research shows that one in four homes in North America have three or more IoT devices, and 9% have six or more.

Media devices, such as smart TVs and streaming devices, are by far the most common IoT devices in a majority of geographies. However, beyond that, the types of IoT devices installed in home networks tend to vary widely by region.

For example, Internet-connected home surveillance equipment is the most common IoT device across several parts of Asia; work appliances, like printers, are more prevalent in Africa; and voice and home assistant devices, such as those from Amazon and Google, are substantially more common in North America than anywhere else.

An example of an internet connected device is the Ring doorbell and the Amazon Sidewalk project that will create entire smart neighborhoods by connecting your wifi signal to your neighbors. Launched June 8, 2021 on Echo speakers, Ring products, Tile trackers and more, Amazon's low-bandwidth internet-of-things network lets your smart home stretch beyond Wi-Fi range. By default, this is another common product and access point to the networks of the home offices that support American businesses. Amazon sidewalk represents another access point on your network that needs to be secured.

Managed Network Security
Our services provide complete and comprehensive protection for home, office, and home-office business networks.

• Secures your network, including WiFI and all internet-connected devices.
• Protection is layered and intelligent drawing on six information engines.
• Bandwidth is managed and optimized automatically to provide a seamless end-user experience under all demands.
• USA Cybersecurity supports American small businesses and provides free consultations and no-obligation quotes.

Setup and installation (if needed) is simple, and we assist from ordering to setup and optimization, perfect for working at home and smart-home security.

How We Do It
Smart, experienced technicians are on the job every day using the latest defense technology and threat intelligence to protect all your information, devices, and everything you do online. Protection works in real-time. 

• Complete and comprehensive cybersecurity systems monitoring, management and optimization 24/7/365.
• Protection can be provided remote and if needed by installing an appliance as part of the service, replaced routinely as technology advances.
• Advanced cybersecurity technology is delivered automatically and seamlessly across all of the devices connected to your ethernet LAN and WiFi networks with "smart" and "aware" preemptive protection.
• Advanced encryption of outgoing information using commercial-class firewalls; bandwidth management and optimization

Enterprise-grade protection for home, office, and business coupled with bandwidth management for real speed and functionality

Router, Network, and Wi-Fi Cybersecurity
Network security isn’t just a concern for large enterprises with a huge digital footprint. Smaller businesses, organizations, and even individuals share the responsibility of securing their networks so they can be safe and successful both now and in the future. USA Cybersecurity offers home and office network security and business network security solutions for any size home, office, organization, or business - delivered to your door and/or connected to our "IT department in the cloud."

Enterprise-grade Cybersecurity
Enterprise quality protection means a solution that incorporates cutting-edge knowledge and systems. Often, these enterprise-level solutions require extensive planning, significant capital, and high-level technological expertise to implement properly. USA Cybersecurity meets the highest United States Government standards to include the required reporting needed for government contracting and regulated-industry compliance. We offer the highest-caliber security network services available -- security on par with the systems of Fortune 500 companies -- to small, medium, large organizations and families. 

A Comprehensive Approach to Security
Our network security system is applied to the entire network, so that all of its settings are inherited by any devices connected to it. In this interconnected ecosystem, all of the network protections work to complement each other, adding convenience and ease of use. These network security systems are managed and automatic, providing around-the-clock monitoring and protection.

Preemptive and "Smart" Protection
While the concept of a wireless network has become as familiar as televisions and computers, the ins and outs of privacy and security associated with wireless data transmission are not only less familiar, but also constantly evolving. Most of us simply don’t have the time or expertise necessary to ensure that the information we share over the internet is secure, or that the information stored in our devices cannot be accessed without our permission. Network security is dynamic and constantly evolves in response to recognized threats. USA Cybersecurity defends against the latest cyber threats as they happen.

Every home and every business needs the protection of a network security system provided by USA Cybersecurity 

What is Network Security?
Network Security is a comprehensive data protection system that constantly monitors and manages all of the data that travels to and from any devices that are connected to, or attempting to connect to a network. With a comprehensive wireless network security system, all elements of network and device security are managed and automatic:

• Computers
• Email
• Printers
• Scanners
• Televisions
• Credit card transaction and POS terminals
• Media players
• All internet-connected home devices

Comprehensive Multi-layered Cybersecurity System
Multiple layers secure your network from daily attacks and hacking attempts.

Firewall

• The first layer of network security is a commercial-grade firewall. This is how traffic is controlled coming into and leaving your devices.
• The firewall adds a layer of protection by preventing an unauthorized user from accessing a computer or network.

Automatic Encryption

• ·Requiring no additional action on the part of the user, all data traveling on the network will be automatically encrypted; jumbled and scrambled into unreadable code.
• No one from the outside can read a password, username, account number, credit card number, or any other personal information traveling through the network.

Web content filtering

• This system is applied across your network to prevent malicious websites from accessing your computer with harmful or aggressive systems for information gathering.

Advanced Threat Detection

• Content moving through your network is monitored in real-time.
• Smart" software to detect suspicious and malicious incoming information.
• Malicious information is blocked and quarantined, generating an advisory so that you can decide what to do next.
• Everything is automatic and seamless so that you’re only made aware when necessary.

Small, Mid Size Business Wireless Network Security Solutions
Daily stories about cyber crimes in the news demonstrate cyber threats are real and getting worse. Many business owners manage their networks internally, as the business grows, so does the potential for mistakes. Back-ups don’t get tested, old user accounts don’t get deleted, access to digital resources are left wide open, and the configuration of firewalls, servers, printers, or point of sale terminals gets lower priority on the list of things to do. A recent Executive Order on Improving the Nation’s Cybersecurity reiterates maintaining the confidentiality and integrity of your data should always be of critical importance.

Information is as valuable as the most precious diamonds. In the same way you keep your valuables in a safe, you need to keep your information safe too.

Business Network Security
Increasing cyber attacks and data breaches make network security for business more important Than Ever In the current environment of data security, even a brief lapse in security planning or execution can cost you dearly in terms of revenue and consumer trust. That’s why it’s imperative to understand the risks businesses face as well as the security infrastructures that mitigate threats and provide your business the best chance of being safe and successful for years to come. There are few investments you’ll ever make that will deliver as valuable a return – both for the short-term and long-term future of your business -- as a network security system.

Security threats are not new
In the year 2013 a Cybersecurity Graduate study research project found network security risks and breeches for small and mid-sized businesses

• 50% of confirmed data breaches targeted small businesses with fewer than 1,000 employees
• 31% of cyber attacks targeted small businesses with fewer than 250 employees
• 193 incidents targeted small businesses with fewer than 100 employees
• 60% of small businesses fail within 6 months of a cyber attack
• 60% of small businesses say they do not have a privacy policy that employees must comply with when they handle customer or employee information

Protect yourself, your business, and your professional reputation
Network security isn’t just a concern for massive enterprises with a huge digital footprint. Whether you have one computer connected to the internet or a dozen, the threat is the same. Smaller businesses and organizations are just as vulnerable to cyber threats, and secure networks are critical for success both now and in the future.

Our Business Network Security System delivers a wealth of advanced security and networking services for small-to-medium sized businesses in one streamlined, cost-effective service. These services are managed and monitored 24/7 by a cloud-based management application, reducing the overall operations costs typically associated with a system providing this high level of security.

Our Business Network Security Protections:

• IPS - Intrusion Prevention System to block attacks
  An intrusion prevention system (IPS) is a system that monitors a network for malicious activities such as security threats or policy violations. The main function of an IPS is to identify suspicious activity, log the information, block the activity, and then report it. Intrusion prevention systems are also known as intrusion detection prevention systems (IDPS).
  
  
• Advanced Threat Protection against Advanced Persistent Threats: Advanced Threat Prevention (ATP) detects, analyzes, and prevents threats from malware that has evolved to bypass traditional security methods. ATP’s anti-malware solution addresses vulnerabilities in today’s networks.
  
  
• Point of Sale (POS) malware traverses network systems and searches for any weakness. Evidence of widespread malware targeting retailers can remain undetected, which can lead to online fraud.
  
  
• Malware involves a technique known as DNS cache poisoning that changes DNS settings to direct someone asking for a legitimate website to a fake site. DNS cache poisoning is a powerful attack.
  
  
• Ransomware is a rapidly growing threat used in extortion schemes. The malware locks systems by encrypting files and demanding ransom to obtain the decryption key.
  
  
• Botnet Defense System: Botnets are networks of compromised computers infected with malicious code. The computers are remotely controlled and used for starting distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks, sending enormous number of emails (SPAM) and other sorts of attacks.
  
  
• DDoS - Denial of Service volume-based attacks. A distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack is an attack in which multiple compromised computer systems attack a target, such as a server, website or other network resource, and cause a denial of service for users of the targeted resource. The flood of incoming messages, connection requests or malformed packets to the target system forces it to slow down or even crash and shut down, thereby denying service to legitimate users or systems.
  
  
• Data Loss Protection / Information leak prevention: DLP protects confidential and critical information so that unauthorized end users cannot accidentally or maliciously share data whose disclosure could put the organization at risk. For example, if an employee tried to forward a business email outside the corporate domain or upload a corporate file to a consumer cloud storage service like Dropbox, the employee would be denied permission.

USA Cybersecurity protects you against known threats, and against new threats as they develop, through sophisticated monitoring and managing of your network. An investment in security to protect yourself, your business, your clients, and your reputation is an investment no business should take the risk of avoiding.

Residential Home and Home Office Cyber Security
Even the most secure home is never completely safe. Intruders can find ways to break in, whether it’s through back doors or loose windows, or even through more malicious means. The same is true of your computer network. Hackers have ingenious systems that deploy agents or scanners to check every possible way in -- for open doors to nudge their way through -- specifically to invade your privacy and cause harm.

What is home and home-office network security?
Network security is makes it as difficult as possible for potential intruders to gain access to the valuable data traveling across your network. USA Cybersecurity offers home and office network security.

What makes my home or office a target?
No matter how large or small your home or office, or the amount of valuables inside it, if your home contains internet-connected devices, those devices are sending and receiving valuable data every day, all day. With the increasing presence of smart homes and the “internet of things,” where even your doorbell can be connected to the internet, safety-minded individuals know that a home security network is as important as the locks on your doors, and possibly even more so.

Hackers are the modern day playground bully, but worse.
Some pretty high profile hacking cases have occurred in recent years, the most infamous being the various celebrities who have had their pictures and videos stolen from their cloud accounts. Even worse, hackers can gain access to the camera on a computer, which can lead to dangerous invasions of privacy. These are the modern day bullying stories that make it to the headlines, but these incidents are nothing compared to the millions of attempts that occur every day, without our knowledge.

The unfortunate truth about modern day bullying is that much of it now occurs online, and it isn’t confined to the lives of teenagers. Without home network security, entire families have been victims of years-long harassment campaigns, harassed by internet trolls who found a way into unsuspecting American home networks. Police cars and fire trucks have arrived at houses in the middle of the night to respond to fake hostage calls. Bomb threats have been made under innocent victims names.Email and social media accounts have been hacked, and used to bring ruin to real-world lives. Victims lose friends, and relationships and jobs, not mention their security and peace of mind.

And with the growing number of internet-connected devices that we use every day, it’s easier than ever to lose sight of what’s running on our networks. The scary part is that many of these devices aren’t being developed with security in mind, which leaves lots of room for vulnerabilities. Forbes warns against some internet connected children’s toys. For an in-depth report on wireless network threats, read “Proximity Breeds Danger: Emerging Threats in Metro-area Wireless Networks.” This stunning report explains the increased threat caused by numerous wireless networks within a single location, such as in apartment buildings or condominium complexes.

Never be complacent about your home or home office network security.
Contact USA Cybersecurity

Router Hacks, the Russians, and If Your Alexa Wears a Babushka
Is your Alexa insisting you call her Olga? When you ask her about the weather at your summer home, does she reply using the word "dacha"? Recently, does she seem to be a little, say, blunt? Perhaps even icy? Well, according to the New York Times, maybe it's because the Russians are in your router! It's easy to make jokes about the headline, but it's dangerous to miss the message. There are some profound implications in the first of its kind agreement by the U.S. and U.K., reported by the Times, "The sweep and urgency of the statements from both sides of the Atlantic called to mind a computer-age version of a Cold War air raid drill, but asking citizens to upgrade their passwords rather than duck and cover." "In particular, both governments (the U.S. and U.K.) said, Russians were seeking to exploit ... internet-connected devices around homes and businesses — the so-called internet of things — the kind of thing you and I have in our homes,” The Times' report continues by quoting Ciaran Martin, chief executive of Britain’s National Cyber Security Center: 

"Russia has targeted millions of devices in both countries, often seeking to hack into individual homes or small businesses or to control their routers." 

And a quote from Howard Marshall at the FBI's cyber division:

“Once you own the router, you own all the traffic, to include the chance to harvest credentials and passwords. It is a tremendous weapon in the hands of an adversary.”

According to the joint warning, the Russians have methodically targeted routers and connected devices since 2015 and now they "own" and are monitoring millions of them. They're digitally inside private homes, offices and businesses across the U.S. and U.K., and sucking up every bit they can.

But, Why?
So why are foreign governments targeting private homes, offices, and businesses?

Data, it's the New Oil $$

After Snowden, Target, Experian, Facebook and the many other large breaches aimed at our personal information, it is clear to some that our everyday stuff is a big deal. Mundane, boring, and worthless as one may think their personal information may be, in the aggregate and with volumes of associated information, it is exceptionally valuable. And, unique to information,  the more stuff (data) you have, the more valuable the stuff you already have becomes. This data driven business model is what determines Facebook's equity valuation and explains how in the digital age a 25-year old can become a multi-billionaire seemingly overnight selling data.

Do cybercriminals own your devices?
When a cybercriminal hacks your router it is said they "own" it. When your device is "owned" the device becomes a slave and serves a new master - one now in control of all information in and out of the device, as well as all connected devices. In the case of foreign governments "owning" our devices, it means everything we do online is monitored, collected, stored, and analyzed. This includes all activities on connected devices; computers, phones, printers, security cameras, and smart TVs.

Yes, even your Alexa serves as a Slave
The Dark Web is full of resources for hacking devices, anyone from the professional criminal to the kid down the street can get them. Router serial numbers, default passwords, your detailed personal information - whatever they need to hack a router or device is readily available for a price. Hackers from around the world have been collecting and curating this stuff for years, and now with powerful big data software and algorithms, they can mine and exploit the information for whatever their ultimate agenda may be. Political, for profit, revenge, harassment, extortion, blackmail, any will or need can be furthered with enough information.

Hacker-for-hire
American routers and devices are easy to hijack, one at a time, or en masse. Most organizations make it easy for bad actors to access their data. If you use a network, transact anything online, or if anyone depends on you for influence or advice, you are increasingly in the queue for a bad actor to test your network. People want your intellectual property and access to your bank accounts, whether they're from the Russia, Africa, or Kansas.

Residential Homes and Home Offices Next Steps
As online usage in Residential Homes and Home Offices continues to gain momentum, users need to consider security threats coming from all endpoints and take steps to protect themselves from harmful and potentially life-threatening cyberattacks: Contact USA Cybersecurity