By Owais Sultan
The world of eLearning has seen tremendous growth in recent years, with more and more organizations turning to…
This is a post from HackRead.com Read the original post: Maximizing Roi With The Best LMS For Elearning

The world of **eLearning** has seen tremendous growth in recent years, with more and more organizations turning to online platforms to deliver training to their employees, customers, and partners.

Choosing an all-in-one learning platform such as **Work Ramp** can make a big difference in an eLearning program’s return on investment (ROI). One key factor in the success of any eLearning program is the Learning Management System (LMS) used to deliver and track the training.

In this article, we will explore the role of an LMS in maximizing ROI in eLearning and discuss key factors to consider when selecting the best LMS for your organization.

**What Is An LMS?**

A learning management system, or LMS for short, is a software program that offers a platform for managing every aspect of the learning process. It is where you store, present, and track your instructional content.

LMSs can be used for various purposes, including training employees, delivering customer education, or providing continuing education to professionals. They can deliver content in multiple formats, including text, audio, video, and interactive elements.

**How Does An LMS Assist In Maximizing ROI?**

An LMS is an essential tool for maximizing ROI in eLearning for several reasons:

*   **Efficiency:** An LMS streamlines the delivery of training, allowing organizations to reach a larger audience in a shorter amount of time. This can be particularly important for organizations with a large employee base, as it reduces the need for in-person training sessions.

*   **Cost savings:** An LMS can also help organizations save on training costs by reducing the need for expensive in-person training sessions and materials. In addition, an LMS can allow organizations to reuse training materials, further reducing costs.

*   **Tracking and reporting:** An LMS allows organizations to track learners’ progress and assess the training’s effectiveness. This can help organizations identify areas where additional training is needed or changes to the training program may be necessary.

*   **Flexibility:** An LMS allows learners to access training materials at their own pace and on their schedule, which can be particularly useful for organizations with employees working in different time zones or varying schedules.

*   **Improved learning outcomes:** By providing a structured and engaging learning experience, an LMS can help enhance the learning outcomes of learners. This can lead to increased productivity and improved performance in the workplace, resulting in a higher ROI for the organization.

**How To Choose The Best LMS For eLearning?**

There are many different LMS options on the market today, so it is essential to carefully consider the needs of your organization and the goals of your **eLearning program** when selecting an LMS. Some key factors to consider when choosing an LMS include the following:

*   **Cost:** Determine your budget for an LMS and consider options that fit within that budget.
*   **Scalability:** Consider the size of your organization and the number of learners using the LMS. Choose an LMS that can scale to meet your organization’s needs as it grows.
*   **Features:** Look for an LMS that offers the needed features, such as tracking and reporting capabilities, support for multimedia content, and integration with other tools and platforms.
*   **Ease of use:** Choose an easy LMS for learners and administrators with a user-friendly interface and intuitive navigation.
*   **Support:** To make the most of the platform, look for an LMS that provides helpful customer support, including training and tools.

**Bottom Line**

An LMS is a critical tool for maximizing ROI in eLearning. By streamlining the delivery of training, reducing costs, and providing tracking and reporting capabilities, an LMS can help organizations ensure that their eLearning programs are successful and effective.

Nevertheless, carefully consider your organization’s needs and your eLearning program’s goals when selecting an LMS to ensure the best fit for your needs.

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Owais takes care of Hackread's social media from the very first day. At the same time He is pursuing for chartered accountancy and doing part time freelance writing.

Maximizing Roi With The Best LMS For Elearning

By Habiba Rashid
The new feature is specifically meant to help people maintain access to WhatsApp even if they are living in a repressive regime where internet shutdowns are common.
This is a post from HackRead.com Read the original post: WhatsApp Subverts Censorship with New Proxy Feature

The Meta-owned firm also stated in its blog post that connecting via a proxy will maintain the “high level of privacy and security” that is provided to other users. 

As some of you may have already noticed on your WhatsApp, Meta introduced a new feature on 5th January 2022, allowing all WhatsApp users to connect to the messaging app using a proxy and bypass censorship in the countries.

This feature is specifically meant to help people maintain access to WhatsApp even if they are living in a repressive regime where internet shutdowns are common.

Using a proxy would enable them to connect to WhatsApp through servers set up by volunteers and organizations around the world. To this end, the company also linked a guide designed to help users set up their own proxy servers. They also compiled a separate guide to show how users can connect to existing proxies.

Proxy server providers and virtual private networks (VPNs) have long aided people living in areas of state-sponsored internet control. (VPNs and proxy servers both protect your IP address but only VPNs hide your online activity using encryption.) 

These proxies can be used on both Android and iOS devices. Here’s how to do it:

The Meta-owned firm also stated in its blog post that connecting via a proxy will maintain the “high level of privacy and security” that is provided to other users. 

“Your personal messages will still be protected by end-to-end encryption — ensuring they stay between you and the person you’re communicating with and are not visible to anyone in between, not the proxy servers, WhatsApp, or Meta,” they wrote.

Iran, along with its struggles against internet shutdowns, was explicitly mentioned in the blog post as an example of how a country’s access to the internet is deterred through a brutal security crackdown. 

“Our wish for 2023 is that these internet shutdowns never occur,” the company said in a statement, adding that it was hopeful its solution would help in the event of shutdowns.

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I’m a student and cybersecurity writer. On a random Sunday, I am likely to be figuring out life and reading Kafka.

WhatsApp Subverts Censorship with New Proxy Feature

By Owais Sultan
There are certain degrees to which digital security matters for your digital signs. This article is going to…
This is a post from HackRead.com Read the original post: The Importance of Data Security for Digital Signage

There are certain degrees to which digital security matters for your digital signs. This article is going to cover some of the most common. Do try to use a secure Wi-Fi network, use a secure digital signage app, and make sure your hardware is protected from tampering. Do these simple things and you make it difficult for nefarious parties to ruin your digital signs.

**Digital Signage**

Digital signage is a type of electronic display that can be used to communicate information to customers or visitors. It is typically used in public areas such as retail stores, corporate offices, schools, and hospitals. Digital signage can be used for a variety of purposes including providing directions and advertising products or services.

Digital signage consists of hardware such as LCDs, projectors, TVs, or video walls which are connected to a media player. The media player is responsible for displaying content on digital displays which can include images, videos, web pages and text messages.

Further, the Content can also be updated remotely via an internet connection allowing it to be changed quickly and easily from anywhere in the world. Digital signage also offers businesses the ability to gather analytics about their customers such as how long they view certain content or what content they interact with most often.

**A Hard Wired Digital Sign**

Let’s say you have a digital sign that isn’t connected to a network. It runs its content because you have loaded it into the device, or it is on a hard drive being played on a loop. In these circumstances, all you have to do is secure your digital sign hardware from anybody trying to turn it off or trying to add a different hard drive to change your content.

**A Digital Sign With Poster Images**

Let’s say that you have a digital sign, but you use it to replace your paper posters. As a result, you have still images, perhaps running on a PowerPoint display, and your digital signs are not in very high traffic or notable areas. This is another low-security situation where you will probably not be targeted.

**A Digital Sign in a High-Traffic Area**

Let’s say your digital sign shows video content in a pretty high-traffic area. It may be at a vital point in a mall, or perhaps somewhere important over a busy highway. In these cases, you are at risk from people tampering with the hardware, and from people trying to hack the system to gain access to your signs.

In these cases, they want access so they can display their content. If their content is in some way damaging, then you can be criminally charged if you do not take all care and due diligence to secure your devices and your network.

**A Digital Sign That Accepts Customer Information**

As they say, “if you are not paying for a product, then you are the product.” If people are entering their information into your digital signs, perhaps to sign into your system or use your signs to make orders or get directions. In these cases, you are at very high risk from hackers.

They probably won’t bother tampering with your hardware and will work more on hacking your systems or your network. They want the email addresses and personal details of the people using the digital signs, so you will need to protect your network and their information within the boundaries of the law under the data protection act.

**Digital Signs That Accept Payments**

Outside of the digital signs that are famous in the USA, like Time Square, and the large popular ones in China, Hong Kong and London and the USA, outside of those, the most highly targeted digital signs are the ones that take payments.

They are vulnerable simply because hackers and tamperers are so eager to gain access to the money being spent, to the bank information being passed across and so forth. Digital signs that receive payments will be attacked from all angles.

People will tamper with the hardware and may even place cloning devices on the digital signs. People will attack the network and try to hijack it, and they will try to hack the systems themselves. They will install malware on the digital sign, on its streaming device, and on the PCs of whoever is controlling the digital signs.

**Many Different Signs**

In many cases, the dangers posed to your signs are relative to how much impact they have on the public, or how much data they collect on the public. A hard-wired sign, possibly controlled by a hard drive, is of little value to a criminal.

But, even under those circumstances, what if you had 200 hard-wired signs set to create a massive cinema screen? In that case, criminals will target your signs because of the impact they have on the public. 

Your single sign, controlled by a computer over a wireless network, may not generate much interest from criminals. However, if you have ten signs in each of your ten stores across the country, then your signs become a big target again. Under most circumstances, the more signs you have, the more digital security/data security matters.

The Importance of Data Security for Digital Signage

By Deeba Ahmed
The attacks, according to Reuters' report, happened between August and September 2022. 
This is a post from HackRead.com Read the original post: Russian Hackers Targeted Three US Nuclear Research Labs

The Russian hackers from the Callisto group used fake login pages for each lab and sent emails to nuclear scientists to trick them into divulging their passwords.

In its latest report released this Friday, Reuters revealed surprising details of how a group of Russian hackers targeted three high-profile nuclear research laboratories.

As per Reuters research, the hacking group is known as Callisto (aka Cold River), and they managed to target the Argonne, Brookhaven, and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories. On the other hand, at least five prominent cybersecurity experts second these findings.

It is worth noting that in December 2020, a group of Russian hackers were also blamed for targeting 40 agencies including US Nuclear Agency.

**When and How the Attacks Occurred?**

The attacks, according to Reuters’ report, happened between August and September 2022. That’s when Russian president Vladimir Putin claimed Russia intended to use nuclear weapons for its defence. So, it seems likely that the three labs were targeted to steal crucial information.

During their attack, the hackers used phishing techniques by creating fake login pages for each lab and sent emails to nuclear scientists to trick them into giving away their passwords. Researchers couldn’t determine why Callisto targeted these three labs and whether they succeeded in their attempts.

However, they did reveal that the attack occurred after United Nations (UN) experts entered Ukraine’s Russian-held territories to inspect the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant to assess the extent of fallout that could be caused by excessive shelling in its vicinity.

Malicious PDF files sent by Calisto (Image credit: Sekoia)

**About Callisto**

This hacking group first surfaced on the internet in 2016 when Britain’s Foreign Office was targeted. The group is known for targeting Western allies of Ukraine and has stepped up its hacks after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

The same group was also pointed out for targeting and leaking the emails of the former head of the British intelligence agency MI6. You can also read the group’s activities, analyzed by cyber security researchers at Sekoia, in their blog post.

Recently, Callisto has been involved in many prominent hacking incidents. Reuters connected the emails used by this group between 2015 and 2020 to Andrey Korinets, a Syktyvkar-based bodybuilder and IT expert.

However, when Reuters interviewed him, Korinets admitted using those emails but denied any connection with Callisto. Nonetheless, Billy Leonard from Google Threat Analysis Group claims they have verified Korinets as an active member of Callisto.

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Russian Hackers Targeted Three US Nuclear Research Labs

By Waqas
Hackers are using ChatGPT to develop powerful hacking tools and create new chatbots designed to mimic young girls to lure targets, claims Check Point.
This is a post from HackRead.com Read the original post: Hackers Exploiting OpenAI’s ChatGPT to Deploy Malware

In one instance, a hacker shared an Android malware code written by ChatGPT, which could steal desired files, compress them, and leak them online.

Cybercriminals have a new trick up their sleeve involving the abuse of an artificially intelligent (AI) chatbot from OpenAI called ChatGPT. ChatGPT app has become popular since its launching at the end of November 2022, so naturally, scammers are eyeing it for exploitation.

**ChatGPT Abused to Build Hacking Tools**

According to a new report from Israeli security firm Check Point, hackers are using ChatGPT to develop powerful hacking tools and create new chatbots designed to mimic young girls to lure targets.

ChatGPT can also code malicious software that can monitor users’ keyboard strokes and create ransomware. For your information, ChatGPT has been developed by OpenAI as an interface for its LLM (Large Language Model).

However, cybercriminals have somehow figured out a way to make it a threat to the cyber world since its code generation capability can easily help threat actors launch cyberattacks.

On the other hand, Hold Security’s founder Alex Holden stated that he has observed dating scammers exploiting ChatGPT to create convincing personas. Scammers are creating female personas to impersonate girls to gain trust and have lengthier conversations with their targets.

**Potential Dangers**

Check Point Research’s researchers explained in their blog post that an attacker could create an authentic-looking spear-phishing email to run a reverse shell that can accept commands in English.

Many underground hacking forums have posted about incidents where cybercriminals used OpenAI to develop malicious tools, even those having no development skills. In one of the posts that Check Point reviewed, a hacker shared an Android malware code written by ChatGPT, which could steal desired files, compress them, and leak them on the web.

One user shared how they abused ChatGPT by using it to create code-up features of a marketplace on the Dark Web, like Silk Road and Alphabay.

Another tool was posted on the forum that could be used to install a backdoor on a device and upload more malware onto the compromised computer. Similarly, a user-shared Python code capable of file encryption using the OpenAI app.

Posting related to chatGPT on a popular hacker forum

Check Point researchers observed that this was the first tool this user had created. Such codes could be used for malicious purposes and modified to encrypt a device without involving user interaction, just like with ransomware. 

Moreover, scammers can also use ChatGPT to build bots and sites to trick users into sharing their information and launch highly targeted social engineering scams and phishing campaigns.

OpenAI is yet to respond to these findings.

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I am a UK-based cybersecurity journalist with a passion for covering the latest happenings in cyber security and tech world. I am also into gaming, reading and investigative journalism

Hackers Exploiting OpenAI’s ChatGPT to Deploy Malware

By Waqas
The data was collected through web scraping techniques however some sites are reporting it as a "Twitter data breach," or " Twitter being hacked." 
This is a post from HackRead.com Read the original post: Twitter Scraping Breach: 209 Million Accounts Leaked on Hacker Forum

The leaked Twitter data is now circulating on several hacking forums, including prominent Russian-language ones.

Personal data, including email addresses, of nearly 209 million **Twitter** users were scraped, stolen, and posted on an online hacking forum. As seen by Hackread.com, the database posted online contains 209,000,000 records, all belonging to Twitter users.

The database comprises usernames, follower counts, creation dates, and email addresses of Twitter users. The good news is that no passwords, phone numbers, IP addresses, or physical addresses were leaked.

Leaked data – Screenshot: Hackread.com

Although some reports claim that the total number of leaked accounts is 235 million, Hackread.com’s analysis suggests that the exact number, after deleting duplicate accounts, is 209 million.

This should not come as a surprise, as just a couple of months ago, a hacker **leaked 5.4 million account details** of Twitter users. This was followed by another incident in which a threat actor was selling scraped data of **400 million Twitter users**.

The data leak is currently being regarded as one of the most impactful and significant leaks he has seen so far because leaking such a vast amount of email IDs can expose the victims to a range of attacks, including doxing, hacking, and targeted phishing.

The information can expose the users’ real identities since people use their real names to create email addresses.

It is worth noting that the threat actor leaked the data on a hacker forum that surfaced as an alternative to the popular and **now-seized Raidforums**. In their post, they stated that the leaked data was collected through web scraping techniques however some sites are reporting it as a “Twitter data breach,” or ” Twitter being hacked.”

However, some are of the opinion that the leaked data is at least two years old. Ron Scott-Adams, VMware’s product line marketing manager, examined the data and claimed that it is at least two years old, and except for email addresses, it mainly consists of publicly available data.

Conversely, Synopsys’ associate principal consultant, Jamie Boote, stated that the data was collected through web scraping via a now-fixed **Twitter bug**.

“In 2021, people discovered that the Twitter API could be used to disclose email addresses that were provided from other sources and also leak some other semi-public info like tying a Twitter handle with that email address,” the email dumps were then used by different groups as seed material to look for handles they could exploit, added Boote.

This issue was fixed one year back so it seems that someone collected the data, combined it with new accounts, and leaked it online. HaveIBeenPwned’s Troy Hunt also assessed the data and stated that it is pretty much what it has been described as.

It is still unclear who hacked and leaked the data online. But security experts are sure that the breach occurred in 2021. Nevertheless, the incident reveals the **dangers of unsecured API**. Users must change their Twitter password and ensure the same password isn’t used for other sites.

Twitter is yet to comment.

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I am a UK-based cybersecurity journalist with a passion for covering the latest happenings in cyber security and tech world. I am also into gaming, reading and investigative journalism

Twitter Scraping Breach: 209 Million Accounts Leaked on Hacker Forum

By Deeba Ahmed
In total 22 proprietary software vulnerabilities were identified in the firmware, which Qualcomm addressed in its January 2023…
This is a post from HackRead.com Read the original post: Chip Vulnerabilities Impacting Microsoft, Lenovo, and Samsung Devices

In total 22 proprietary software vulnerabilities were identified in the firmware, which Qualcomm addressed in its January 2023 security bulletin.

Firmware attacks are increasingly common nowadays as cybercriminals are focusing more on the lower-level embedded code, which supports hardware. **Qualcomm**’s hardware is the latest target in this regard.

Reportedly, the company was notified about the presence of nearly 2 dozen security vulnerabilities in its flagship chipset suite, Snapdragon.

**Vulnerabilities Details**

These vulnerabilities were discovered by Binarly AI-powered firmware protection company. In total 22 proprietary software issues were identified in the firmware, which Qualcomm addressed in its January 2023 security bulletin.

These include 2 bugs in automotive tracked as CVE-2022-33218 and CVE-2022-33219 and one bug in powerline communication firmware tracked as CVE-2022-33265. These bugs were rated critical or high severity and their patching was quite complex.

Additionally, five major vulnerabilities in UEFI firmware on ARM were identified and tracked as CVE-2022-40516 to CVE-2022-40520. These vulnerabilities impacted the whole infrastructure of ARM-based devices and laptops.

Binarly discovered two types of vulnerabilities, including out-of-bounds read issued and stack-based buffer overflows. Both were connected to the DXE driver and could be exploited by whoever gained elevated privileges.

The company has released patches for the vulnerabilities in its latest security advisory, including patches for five connectivity and boot issues.

**Which Devices are at Risk?**

Devices made by Lenovo, Microsoft, and Samsung are at risk due to using Snapdragon chipsets. However, the scope of impact is highly diverse as the vulnerabilities may affect vehicles to powerline communications. For your information, the Snapdragon CPU uses the ARM architecture.

Therefore, apart from Lenovo and other manufacturers, ARM-based Microsoft Surface and Windows Dev Kit 2023/Project Volterra computers were also affected by the vulnerabilities. Some vulnerabilities could lead to arbitrary code execution and be exploited for a Secure Boot bypass, allowing an attacker to gain persistence on a device by gaining privileges to write to the file system.

**How the Flaws Were Discovered?**

Binarly founder and CEO, Alex Matrosov revealed that they discovered around nine security vulnerabilities while examining the Lenovo Thinkpad X13s firmware powered by the Snapdragon system-on-a-chip.

Further probe revealed that some vulnerabilities were specific to Lenovo devices and five impacted Qualcomm reference codes. This means the vulnerabilities were impacting laptops and all other devices having Snapdragon chips installed.

Matrosov clarified that this was the first time UEFI firmware vulnerabilities connected to the ARM device architecture were disclosed at such a scale. The CEO also noted that the number of affected chipsets is “massive.”

The good news is that Lenovo has addressed the issue and its advisory is available here.

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Chip Vulnerabilities Impacting Microsoft, Lenovo, and Samsung Devices

By Owais Sultan
An insider threat has emerged as one of the most significant threats to all types of businesses and organizations.
This is a post from HackRead.com Read the original post: Preventing Insider Attacks on Your HR System

Insider attacks can come from a variety of sources, including current and former employees, contractors, and third-party vendors.

Insider attacks on HR systems can be devastating for any organization. Not only can they lead to the loss of sensitive information, such as employee records and payroll data, but they can also erode trust and damage the company’s reputation.

Whether it be employee negligence, credential theft, or a criminal insider, the average cost of such a data breach is estimated at $484,931 per incident. That’s why it’s crucial to take steps to prevent these types of attacks from happening in the first place.

So, how do you do that? It all starts with identifying potential insider threats and implementing strong security measures to protect your HR systems.

**Identifying potential insider threats**

Insider attacks can come from a variety of sources, including current and former employees, contractors, and third-party vendors. This is why it is vital that you are aware of all individuals who have access to your HR systems and that you regularly review and update access permissions to ensure that only those who need access have it.

It’s also important to be aware of any individuals who have access to sensitive HR information, even if they don’t have direct access to the systems themselves. For example, a receptionist with access to physical employee files could potentially steal sensitive information and pass it along to someone else.

 This is why you must have strict protocols in place for accessing and handling sensitive information, regardless of whether it is stored digitally or in physical form.

**Implementing security measures**

Once you’ve identified potential insider threats, it’s time to take action to protect your HR systems. Some key measures to consider include:

**Using strong, unique passwords for all HR system accounts.**

Avoid using the same password for multiple accounts and consider using a password manager to generate and store secure passwords. It’s also a good idea to regularly update passwords and encourage employees to do the same.

**Enabling two-factor authentication for HR system accounts.**

This adds an extra layer of security by requiring users to enter a code sent to their phone or email in addition to their password when logging in. Two-factor authentication can help prevent unauthorized access, even if an attacker manages to obtain an employee’s password.

**Regularly reviewing and updating access permissions for HR systems**

Make sure that only those who need access have it and remove access for anyone who no longer needs it, such as former employees. It’s also a good idea to periodically review access permissions to ensure that they are still appropriate for each individual.

**Monitoring HR system activity and flagging any suspicious behaviour**

Use tools such as intrusion detection systems and log monitoring to identify and alert you to any unusual activity. This can help you catch potential insider attacks early on and take action to prevent further damage. Different HRIS systems have different security features, so be sure to review the available options and choose one that offers the right level of protection for your organization.

**Implementing security training for all HR personnel**

Make sure that everyone who has access to HR systems and sensitive information is aware of proper security practices and knows how to identify and report potential threats. Training can help employees understand the importance of protecting sensitive information and give them the tools they need to do so.

**Responding to an insider attack**

Despite your best efforts, it’s still possible that an insider attack could occur. In the event of an attack, it’s important to act quickly to minimize the damage. Some steps to take include:

*   Disconnecting affected HR systems immediately to prevent further access can help prevent an attacker from doing further damage and give you time to assess the situation.

*   Conducting a thorough investigation to identify the source of the attack – This may involve working with cyber security experts and law enforcement to track down the perpetrator. It’s important to understand how the attack occurred and what information may have been accessed or compromised.

*   Implementing additional security measures to prevent future attacks – This may include strengthening passwords, enabling two-factor authentication, and conducting regular security assessments. It’s also a good idea to review your current security protocols and see if there are any areas that need improvement. This could include strengthening access controls, increasing monitoring of system activity, or implementing additional training for employees.

*   Communicating the incident to relevant parties, including employees and authorities if necessary – It’s important to be transparent about the situation and to take steps to restore trust and prevent similar attacks from happening. This may involve informing employees about the attack, explaining what steps are being taken to address it, and offering resources for any affected individuals. Depending on the severity of the attack, it may also be necessary to inform authorities and take legal action against the perpetrator.

**Final word**

Preventing insider attacks on HR systems is a continuous process that requires regular attention and updates. By being proactive and taking steps to identify and mitigate potential threats, you can protect your organization’s sensitive information and maintain the trust of your employees.

It’s also important to have a response plan in place in case an attack does occur so that you can act quickly and effectively to minimize the damage and prevent future attacks. By following these best practices, you can help ensure that your HR systems are secure and that your organization’s sensitive information is protected.

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Owais takes care of Hackread's social media from the very first day. At the same time He is pursuing for chartered accountancy and doing part time freelance writing.

Preventing Insider Attacks on Your HR System

By Owais Sultan
Do you run a Product as a Service business? Use the powerful advertising strategies in this article to…
This is a post from HackRead.com Read the original post: Advertising Strategies for PaaS services

**Do you run a Product as a Service business? Use the powerful advertising strategies in this article to succeed with your business & reach a wider audience.**

**Advertising Strategies For PaaS Services**

Businesses nowadays are increasingly turning to **PaaS services** to power their applications and services. They need an effective advertising plan to get the word out about their offer and attract new customers.

Have you ever considered using Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) services to help promote your business? PaaS is a cloud computing platform that provides software tools, technologies, and resources needed to build applications.

It allows developers to quickly deploy applications and manage their infrastructure without worrying about the complexities of hardware or servers.

PaaS services are becoming increasingly popular for smaller and larger organizations looking for secure, reliable, cost-effective ways to manage their infrastructure. PaaS provides a range of features that can be used to create web applications quickly and efficiently without worrying about maintenance or server configuration.

However, **top PaaS providers** are also looking for some strategies that can help to attract more customers and stand out from the competition. This blog post will look at some of the best advertising strategies for PaaS services. Let’s dive in. 

**Set The Right Goals**

Setting goals for developing an advertising strategy for a Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) company is essential to success. Every PaaS app will have different goals; the more your team can find out about the desired result, the more effective your plan can be. 

Whether you want to build brand awareness or directly increase conversions and revenue, define those objectives, so you know where to focus your efforts. Once you’ve done this, create a comprehensive, creative advertising plan that meets your goals and budget. 

Support it with data and analytics so you’re always aware of what strategies are succeeding, where you need improvement and any changes in consumer attitudes or behaviours. 

Advertising your PaaS product effectively means constantly adapting and refining processes, but with strong objectives in place, this should never feel intimidating.

**Improve Your Customer Experience**

When it comes to your PaaS services, the customer experience should always take priority. Therefore, crafting ads, and highlighting your services’ quality and convenience is critical. Your goal should be to convince customers that making the switch to you is worth it. 

To do so, an advertising strategy needs to focus on showcasing how customers will benefit from using your service, think of fast delivery times, improved efficiency, and access to exclusive features. It also helps if your visuals are attractive and upbeat; after all, creating ads with a touch of wit is guaranteed to draw attention. 

**Explain The Benefits, Not The Features**

When advertising PaaS services, a surefire way to get your audience interested is to focus on the benefits of the services instead of the features. Put simply; you want to explain why these services are unique and valuable for your target audience. 

Narrate a story that speaks directly to each member of your customer base, so they understand how the service fits into their needs and lifestyle. Boldly communicate what can be accomplished thanks to this PaaS offering and highlight the difference it makes or can make.

Speak in an attractive, knowledgeable way and sprinkle creative content throughout your advertising strategy, don’t underestimate the power of visuals and videos. Keep it brief but convincing, showcasing plenty of use cases and powerful testimonials devoted customers have shared about using the services.

**Don’t Underestimate Your Marketing Efforts**

Every business has to market itself to be successful, which goes for Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) services. Many organizations need to pay more attention to their need to market themselves, not realizing its impact on their success. To build a foundation of promotion and recognition among the wider public, it’s important to develop a comprehensive advertising strategy. 

This would include carefully selecting appropriate channels, such as **search engine optimization** and content marketing, in addition to paid ads or promotions. Finding the right combination will work wonders in helping your PaaS services gain more visibility while creating trust and loyalty with potential customers. 

Remember to consider how far good marketing can take you. Investing in your advertising efforts will help you see a great return on investment in no time. Just like a prototype in **Figma** aids developers in bringing their ideas to life, well-crafted advertising strategies can similarly jump-start your PaaS services and get them off the ground.

**Ensure Customers Don’t Leave**

Optimizing your advertising strategy for PaaS Services is important to ensure customers stay. This can be achieved by bringing in new customers and emphasizing keeping existing ones. 

You should focus on developing tailored experiences that cater to the needs of existing customers and include provisions for feedback to iron out any issues or flaws that arise quickly. 

Furthermore, discount or loyalty initiatives such as offering coupons, exclusive loyalty cards, or referral programs could help you retain users. Also, ensure your advertising strategies constantly evolve with the markets, so your services remain competitive and interesting for customers.

**Offer Free Trial Period**

Businesses can benefit from offering a free trial period for their PaaS services. Free trials allow potential customers to test the services for a certain time and can be limited or unrestricted depending on the company’s advertising strategy. This is an effective way to get people on board with no obligations, as people are likelier to take advantage of something offered for free. 

Furthermore, providing free trials makes it easier for customers to decide whether or not they would like to commit to a specific service, as it allows them to experience what your company offers. 

In addition, a free trial encourages word-of-mouth marketing since satisfied customers will likely recommend the service, increasing brand awareness and lead generation significantly.

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Advertising Strategies for PaaS services

By Waqas
Apparently, the server belongs to a company based in the US with offices around the globe including India.
This is a post from HackRead.com Read the original post: Top ERP Firm Exposing Half a Million Indian Job Seekers Data

At the time of writing, a misconfigured server belonging to an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Software provider based in California, United States was still exposing data to public without any security authentication or password.

An **Elasticsearch server** belonging to a major international IT recruitment and software solution provider is currently exposing the personal data of more than half a million Indian candidates looking for jobs.

However, the data is not limited to jobseeker as the server is also exposing the company’s employees’ data. Another important aspect of this data exposure is the fact that it also contains the company’s client records from different companies, including Apple and Samsung.

This was confirmed to Hackread.com by **Anurag Sen**, a prominent independent security researcher. What is worse, the server is still exposed and publicly accessible without any security authentication or password. Originally, the server was being exposed since late December 2022.

It all started when Anurag scanned for **misconfigured databases on Shodan** and noted a server exposing more than 6GB worth of data to public access. Anurag said that the server belongs to a company originally based in the United States with offices around the globe  
including India. Whilst the database contains details of job seekers in **India**.

Hackread.com would not share the name of the company in this article because the server is still exposed.

**Exposed Data**

Anurag’s analysis of the server revealed that the exposed records contain personal data of over 575,000 individuals, while the size of the data is over 6.3GB and increasing with new data with each day passing. This data includes the following:

*   Full Name
*   Date of birth
*   Email address
*   Phone number
*   Resume details
*   Employer details

The screenshot below shows the candidate details and client data that are currently being exposed:

Image credit: Anurag Sen – Hackread.com

The screenshot below was taken from the live server that shows the company’s client details. Some of these are top companies Apple, Samsung, Sandisk, Unilog, Moody, Intuit, NEC Corporation, Falabella and many more.

The company’s client list also indicates that its a high-profile business with a presence all over the globe.

Screenshot credit: Anurag Sen – Hackread.com

**Indian CERT Alerted**

Since the server is still live at the time of writing; Anurag alerted the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team over the weekend. However, there has been no response from the authorities yet.

**India and server misconfiguration**

India is home to almost 1.4 billion people. This makes the country a lucrative target for businesses as well as cybercriminals. The more the investment, the more widespread and vulnerable the IT infrastructure becomes.

Last year, several top data exposure-related incidents involving tens of millions of victims were reported from India. These included **Indian Federal Police and banking records**, **Covid antigen test results**, **MyEasyDocs**, online packaging marketplace **Bizongo**, etc.

**Impact**

It is yet unclear whether a third party accessed the database **with malicious intent**, such as ransomware gangs or threat actors. However, if it did, it would be devastating for the victim and the healthcare firm responsible for the server.

Furthermore, considering the extent and nature of the exposed data, the incident can have far-reaching implications, such as bad actors downloading the data, carrying out phishing scams, or identity theft-related fraud.

Hackers can hold the company’s server or **data for ransom** and leak it on cybercrime forums if their demands are not met. Nevertheless, the victims in this situation are the job hunters who trusted authorities with their personal information.

**Misconfigured Databases – Threat to Privacy**

Misconfigured or unsecured databases, as we know it, have become a major privacy threat to companies and unsuspected users. **In 2020**, researchers identified over 10,000 unsecured databases that exposed more than ten billion (10,463,315,645) records to public access without any security authentication. 

**In 2021**, the number increased to 399,200 exposed databases. The top 10 countries with top database leaks due to misconfiguration in 2021 included the following:

*   USA – 93,685 databases
*   China – 54,764 databases
*   Germany – 11,177 databases
*   France – 9,723 databases
*   India – 6,545 databases
*   Singapore – 5,882 databases
*   Hong Kong – 5,563 databases
*   Russia – 5,493 databases
*   Japan – 4,427 databases
*   Italy – 4,242 databases

1.  **Hackers claim to be selling 13TB of Domino’s India data**
2.  **Hackers leak data of 29 million Indian job seekers for download**
3.  **India’s COVID-19 surveillance tool exposed millions of user data**
4.  **Hackers leak millions of Airtel India user data with Aadhaar numbers**
5.  **9,517 unsecured databases identified with 10 billion records globally**

I am a UK-based cybersecurity journalist with a passion for covering the latest happenings in cyber security and tech world. I am also into gaming, reading and investigative journalism