Security on Althora

What Ransomware Actually Is, and What It Does to a Small Office

Mon, 10 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Most people picture ransomware as a virus that scrambles your files and puts a note on the screen asking for money. That was accurate around 2015. It is now the least dangerous part of what happens, and the gap between that picture and the current reality is exactly where small offices get hurt.

Here is the version worth carrying around.

What it actually is

Ransomware is not really a piece of software. It is a business model, and the encryption is only the last step in it.

Fake AI Tools Are Now a Top Malware Lure for Small Businesses

Fri, 07 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

There is a pattern in the 2026 threat data that is worth an office manager’s attention, because it targets a habit that spread across small businesses faster than any policy could keep up with: downloading AI tools.

Kaspersky’s SMB threat report for 2026 found over 33,300 attacks on small and medium businesses in the first four months of the year in which the malware was disguised as a popular AI tool — close to five times the figure for the same period in 2025. Researchers counted more than 1,100 distinct malware samples wearing the names of just five well-known AI applications (Securelist).

What 201 CMR 17.00 Actually Requires From a Small Massachusetts Office

Fri, 07 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

There is a Massachusetts regulation that applies to almost every business in the state, that most small businesses have never heard of, and that has been in force since 2010.

201 CMR 17.00 requires any person or business that owns or licenses personal information about a Massachusetts resident to develop, implement and maintain a written information security program — a WISP. There is no employee-count minimum. There is no revenue threshold. Sole proprietors are covered (Mass.gov).