Software Updates and Security

Want to ensure your computers are secure from government malware, criminals, and bored teenagers?

Stop using Adobe Flash!

Adobe released CVE-2018-4877 and CVE-2018-4878 for Flash on Feb 6^th, 2018 for Windows, Macintosh, Linux, and Chrome OS to stop hackers from exploiting a “zero-day” vulnerability in the Flash browser plug-in. Which brings me to the point of this article: you and your staff need to find out if you are vulnerable to hackers. Fortunately, there’s an easy way for you to do it.

The U.S. government puts out a report on vulnerabilities which have been identified through the United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (“US-CERTS”). You can find them www.us-cert.gov. Every dealership should have at least one person assigned to sign up with and receive updates from this agency. You’ll see which of your systems are vulnerable, and you can make informed decisions about your computer and network security. While US-CERTS is a good first step, it is just a first step.

You should also be working with your software venders and employees to develop a report process to share information. If you learn of an issue, you can report it to ProMax by contacting your trainer or account rep at 844-322-9034. As we learn of new threats, you’ll hear about them from us in this newsletter, or by direct contact if the threat is imminent. 

There are thousands upon thousands of hackers; it’s a really large team.  The only true way to combat it is to start building our own team. When we work together, we are stronger than when we work alone.