Authenticode Stuffing: Emerging Cybersecurity Threat Cybersecurity experts have uncovered a concerning trend in malware distribution: the misuse of trusted software installers through a technique known as Authenticode stuffing. This sophisticated method manipulates legitimate, digitally signed installers to bypass traditional antivirus defenses. How the Technique Works Hackers exploit legitimate ConnectWise Screen Connect installers, inserting malicious configurations into the certificate table while keeping the original file signature intact. This deceptive modification allows the installer to retain its trusted status, effectively slipping past many security controls. Real-World Exploits According to cybersecurity firm G DATA, this method has been spotted in phishing campaigns delivering malicious documents. These documents execute trojanized versions of Screen Connect that display fake Windows Update screens, masking unauthorized remote access. The malicious variants have been dubbed: Win32.Backdoor.EvilConwi Win32.Riskware.SilentConwi A similar exploit has also targeted SonicWall’s Net Extender VPN installer, enabling attackers to steal credentials from unsuspecting users. These tactics highlight a dangerous shift in cybercrime, where trusted, signed binaries are weaponized for stealthy malware delivery. Why It Matters The use of trusted, digitally signed binaries makes detection by signature-based antivirus increasingly unreliable. Organizations that fail to adapt risk falling prey to highly effective and difficult-to-detect attacks. Recommended Security Measures To counter this growing threat, security professionals should: Thoroughly inspect configuration data embedded in signed binaries. Limit the use of remote access tools whenever possible. Adopt layered defenses beyond signature-based antivirus. Continuously monitor for abnormal activity within IT environments.   Stay Ahead of Advanced Threats As cyber threats evolve, organizations must strengthen their defenses against increasingly subtle malware deployment tactics. For proactive cybersecurity solutions and expert consulting, partner with Velvot Nigeria Limited. Contact Velvot 📍 24, Bode Thomas, Surulere, Lagos State, Nigeria 📞 09111315822 🌐 www.velvot.com  

Veeam 5-Star Partner Program Recognition Veeam Earns 5-Star Rating in 2025 CRN® Partner Program Guide Veeam, a global leader in data protection and ransomware recovery, has once again demonstrated its commitment to empowering partners by receiving a 5-Star rating in the 2025 CRN® Partner Program Guide. The CRN Partner Program Guide, published annually by The Channel Company, serves as a trusted resource for solution providers seeking technology vendors with world-class partner programs. This prestigious 5-Star recognition is awarded to vendors that deliver exceptional value and comprehensive support within their partner programs. Veeam’s Partner Program continues to stand out by offering flexible, scalable tools, training, marketing resources, and profitability structures that enable partners to meet and exceed their business goals. By prioritizing collaboration, innovation, and customer success, Veeam helps its partners navigate today’s dynamic IT landscape with confidence. Whether managing complex hybrid cloud environments or enhancing data resiliency strategies, Veeam remains a reliable partner for service providers, resellers, and system integrators around the globe. This accolade reinforces Veeam’s unwavering focus on channel excellence and its ongoing investment in the success of its partner ecosystem. For more insights and solutions on how Veeam can transform your data protection strategy, contact Velvot Nigeria Limited: 📍 Address: 24, Bode Thomas, Surulere, Lagos State, Nigeria 📞 Call: 09111315822 🌐 Website: www.velvot.com

How to Choose the Right Processes to Automate First With so many possible use cases, one of the biggest questions we hear from business leaders is: “Where do I even start with automation?” The answer isn’t “everywhere” it’s strategically. Not all processes are ready for automation, and automating the wrong ones can backfire. Let’s walk through a simple, effective framework to help you prioritize automation efforts and see quick wins. Start with the ‘Low-Hanging Fruit’ Before you attempt to automate complex decision-making or interdepartmental workflows, look for tasks that are: Repetitive Rule-based Time-consuming Low risk if something goes wrong These are prime candidates because they deliver fast ROI and require minimal disruption to current operations. 5 Criteria for Selecting the Right Processes to Automate First 1. Frequency How often is the task performed? A daily or weekly task provides more value over time than one performed once a year. Example: Sending welcome emails to new customers. 2. Volume Does this task affect a lot of people or involve large amounts of data? Example: Generating monthly invoices for 500 clients. 3. Standardization Is the process predictable and rules-driven, or does it require human judgment? Automate: Updating CRM recordsDon’t (yet): Writing custom proposals. 4. Impact on Business Goals Will automating this process improve efficiency, reduce costs, or enhance customer experience? Example: Automating complaint handling workflows in customer service. 5. Current Pain Point Is this task already a bottleneck or causing errors? Example: Manual inventory updates leading to overselling or stockouts. Use This 4-Quadrant Priority Grid   High Impact Low Impact High Effort Automate Later Avoid Low Effort Automate First Optional Velvot Quick-Start Automation List To get you thinking, here are 5 processes we often recommend automating first for Nigerian businesses: Staff leave request approvals Customer feedback collection Inventory reorder alerts New employee onboarding Monthly sales reporting Each of these can be implemented within 2–3 weeks and pays for itself fast. Let Velvot Help You Prioritize with Precision At Velvot Nigeria Ltd, we don’t just install automation tools  we partner with your team to map out your workflows, identify priorities, and implement what matters most first. Get a free “Automation Readiness Assessment” by emailing gtm@velvot.com The best way to start automating is to start smart. Let’s do it together.

Everyday Tasks Your Business Should Automate Right Now Business automation is no longer a luxury for large corporations — it’s a survival tool for businesses of every size.Whether you run a start-up or an established company, countless hours are lost each day to tasks that could easily run on autopilot. Here’s a list of 10 everyday tasks that businesses like yours should automate immediately and the tools that make it possible. 1. Customer Enquiries & Chat Responses Instead of responding manually to each customer message, use a chatbot or automated email sequence to: Answer FAQs instantly Route serious issues to the right agent Collect customer details for follow-up Example: Velvot helped a logistics client reduce response time from 7 hours to under 30 minutes using automated chat routing. 2. Invoice Creation & Payment Reminders Stop manually preparing invoices and chasing payments. Automation tools can: Generate invoices based on project milestones Send reminders before due dates Auto-reconcile payments with your accounting system Impact: Cash flow improves and your finance team spends more time on analysis, not paperwork. 3. Employee Onboarding Hiring a new team member? Automate: Sending welcome emails Sharing training documents Creating user accounts for tools like Microsoft 365 or Slack Velvot Insight: Our HR automation package reduces onboarding time by up to 60%, improving new employee engagement from Day 1. 4. Task & Project Notifications Whether it’s reminding a sales team to follow up or nudging your IT department about a software update, workflow automation ensures: No task is forgotten No one is over-reminded Everything is trackable in real time 5. Social Media Posting Use automation platforms to: Schedule posts weeks in advance Auto-share blogs across platforms Monitor engagement metrics Spend less time clicking “post” and more time analysing results. 6. Customer Feedback Collection After a service is delivered, use automation to: Send a feedback form Record satisfaction scores Trigger escalation if the review is negative Result: You never miss an opportunity to improve or retain a customer. 7. Email Campaigns With platforms like Zoho, Mailchimp, or Dynamics 365, you can automate: Welcome series for new leads Abandoned cart reminders Event invitations and follow-ups Bonus: You can personalize emails based on user behavior without lifting a finger. 8. File Backups & Data Syncing Protect your work without having to think about it. Schedule: Automatic backups to the cloud File syncing across team devices Version history creation for easy rollback. 9. Lead Routing Tired of manually assigning leads to your sales team? Set up rules based on: Region Product interest Industry Automated routing ensures hot leads reach the right salesperson instantly. 10. Report Generation Generate daily, weekly, or monthly reports without manual effort.Whether it’s sales performance, attendance, or service requests,tools like Power BI or Excel automations can do the heavy lifting. Start Automating with Velvot Nigeria Ltd At Velvot, we design automation systems tailored to your team’s real-world workflows so you can work less and achieve more. Want to find out what’s automatable in your business? Email gtm@velvot.com and request a free “Automation Discovery Call.” Small automations. Big impact. Let’s begin.

Email Bomb Attacks: How to Stay Protected with Microsoft Defender As businesses grow increasingly dependent on email, cyber attackers have become more creative and aggressive. One emerging tactic is the email bomb attack, where your inbox is flooded with thousands of messages in a short time, effectively locking you out of important communications and masking other targeted attacks like password resets or fraud. What Is an Email Bomb? An email bomb is a type of denial-of-service (DoS) attack on your inbox. Attackers send thousands of messages from legitimate but compromised sources to overwhelm your mailbox. While seemingly random, the real objective is often to distract, disrupt, or conceal more harmful activity such as unauthorized logins, wire fraud, or identity theft. Microsoft Defender for Office 365 to the Rescue! Microsoft has introduced powerful mitigation tools within Defender for Office 365 to detect and respond to such attacks. Some of the intelligent features include: Automated inbox clean-up of bomb messages Mailflow monitoring to detect abnormal spikes User protection by pausing delivery when attacks are detected Threat Explorer & real-time hunting tools to identify compromised accounts or patterns   Why This Matters for Nigerian Businesses At Velvot, we’ve seen first hand how even reputable companies are caught off guard by these attacks. Whether you’re in finance, oil & gas, education, or security, email remains a mission-critical channel and a major vulnerability. If your team uses Microsoft 365, Defender for Office 365 offers the kind of proactive protection modern businesses need.   How Velvot Can Help Velvot Nigeria Ltd is a certified Microsoft partner. We help organizations: * Deploy Microsoft Defender for Office 365 * Set up automated policies to prevent and respond to email threats * Train employees on identifying and reporting suspicious email behaviours * Monitor your systems in real-time with advanced threat protection dashboards   Ready to Secure Your Inboxes? Let’s run a free security assessment to see if your mail environment is exposed and how we can strengthen it with Defender for Office 365. Contact Us @gtm@velvot.com or visit www.velvot.com Based on insights from Microsoft Tech

From Bottlenecks to Breakthroughs: How Process Automation Supercharges Business Efficiency Every business has them, Good  those slow repetitive tasks that consume hours of valuable time. Manual invoice approvals, back-and-forth HR onboarding paperwork, customer service requests processed across disconnected systems. It’s not just inconvenient it’s costly. But there’s good news: process automation can turn these bottlenecks into breakthroughs. The Real Cost of Manual Processes Repetitive tasks may seem trivial on their own, but they compound quickly. In finance departments, for example, manual invoice handling is prone to human error, lost paperwork, and delayed approvals. In HR, onboarding new employees can stretch over days due to redundant data entry. Customer service teams spend time on routine inquiries that could be handled by automated workflows. This not only wastes time it drains morale and distracts your workforce from high impact activities. Automation in Action: Key Areas of Transformation Finance Automate accounts payable, expense reporting, and reconciliations. With automated workflows, approvals are faster, errors are reduced, and data becomes more transparent. Human Resources Streamline hiring, onboarding, and benefits administration with self-service portals and automated document management. HR becomes more efficient and new hires feel welcomed right away. Customer Service Empower your support teams with chatbots and ticket routing systems that handle routine inquiries, freeing agents to focus on complex customer needs and relationship-building. Why Now Is the Time to Automate Faster Turnaround: Automated processes work 24/7 with no coffee breaks Improved Accuracy: Fewer human errors = higher data integrity Scalability: Handle more volume without scaling up headcount Happier Teams: Employees can focus on creative, strategic tasks that matter Ready to Break Through the Bottlenecks? At Velvot, we specialize in building intelligent automation solutions tailored to your unique workflows—whether it’s in finance, HR, or customer service. Our platforms are scalable, secure, and designed to grow with your business. Unlock the efficiency your team deserves. Reach out to Velvot today and let’s automate your success. At Velvot, we specialize in crafting intelligent automation solutions that are tailored to your business. Whether you’re looking to streamline finance, HR, customer service, or operations, our tools help you move from manual madness to measurable momentum. Ready to reclaim your time and turbocharge your processes? Connect with Velvot today and let’s build smarter together. Visit www.velvot.com or send a mail to gtm@velvot.com to book a meeting.

 The Threat In the past few months, Google has warned that state-sponsored hackers, including the Russian-linked UNC6293 and Cozy Bear (APT29), have launched advanced phishing campaigns targeting Gmail users (atomicmail.io, as.com). These attackers are now bypassing traditional defences—even two-factor authentication—by mimicking official Google alerts such as: Fake legal subpoenas or “security threats” Emails signed with valid DKIM tokens and sent from no-reply@google.com Links that redirect to credential-harvesting sites hosted on sites.google.com (atomicmail.io) These highly convincing tactics make even technical and security-conscious users vulnerable.  Why This Matters for Businesses Credential theft can lead to full account takeover, exposing sensitive business data. Supply chain risk: compromised Gmail accounts can be leveraged to hack clients and partners. Compliance breaches: stolen data can result in GDPR, NDPR, or other regulatory violations.  Recommended Defences Adopt passkeys and passwordless login Google is pushing Passkey adoption to replace vulnerable traditional passwords (atomicmail.io, m.economictimes.com). Enforce 2-step verification (2SV) and app password hygiene Remove unused app passwords. Educate staff to disable them when unused. Perform regular security drills Simulated phishing campaigns and header analysis training. Teach employees to check URLs meticulously and avoid hovering over suspicious links. Audit account activity continuously Regularly review Gmail “last account activity” logs and remove unauthorized devices. Use advanced protection for high-value accounts Enroll executives and IT admins in Google’s Advanced Protection Program.  Tools & Tech You Can Integrate SIEM alerts: Automate suspicious login events from Google Workspace. Endpoint protection: Install tools that flag redirects from trusted domains like sites.google.com. Training modules: Integrate phishing awareness into your LMS or knowledge portal.  Real-World Case Highlight Senior fellow Keir Giles of Chatham House fell victim after attackers impersonated U.S. government officials over weeks—demonstrating how even seasoned professionals can be compromised, the CEO of Instagram Adam Mosseri almost feel to the same scheme recently.  (thetimes.co.uk, atomicmail.io, nypost.com). ✨ How Velvot Can Help We help enterprise clients implement: Passwordless and MFA solutions (Passkeys, hardware tokens) Regular phishing simulations and employee drills Security audits and endpoint monitoring Custom training modules, tailored to industry-specific risks and regulatory compliance This isn’t just another phishing wave—it’s a wake-up call. Businesses must assume trusted channels can be compromised, and implement stronger authentication, continuous defence, and proactive training to secure their people, data, and reputation. Book a free consultation or email us at gtm@velvot.com to get started. Don’t wait for a breach — protect your business today.  

Protect Your Business from Ransomware: A Comprehensive Guide Ransomware has become a pervasive threat to businesses of all sizes. This malicious software encrypts a victim’s files, making them inaccessible until a ransom is paid. The consequences of a ransomware attack can be devastating, including financial loss, data breaches, and disruption of operations. Understanding Ransomware Before we dive into prevention strategies, let’s understand how ransomware works: Infection: Ransomware often enters a system through phishing emails, malicious downloads, or vulnerabilities in software. Encryption: Once inside, the ransomware scans sensitive files and encrypts them using complex algorithms. Ransom Demand: The attackers then demand a ransom payment, often in cryptocurrency, to decrypt the files. Prevention Strategies Here are some essential steps to protect your business from ransomware: Regular Backups: Implement a robust backup strategy to ensure you have copies of your data stored offline or in a secure cloud environment. Regular backups allow you to restore your system and data even if a ransomware attack occurs. Patch Management: Keep your operating systems, applications, and software up to date with the latest security patches. These patches often address vulnerabilities that ransomware can exploit. Employee Training: Educate your employees about the risks of ransomware and how to identify and avoid phishing attempts. Teach them to be cautious of suspicious emails, attachments, and links. Strong Passwords and Multi-Factor Authentication: Encourage employees to use strong, unique passwords for all accounts. Implement multi-factor authentication (MFA) to add an extra layer of security. Network Security: Protect your network with a firewall and intrusion detection systems to monitor for suspicious activity. Antivirus and Anti-Malware Software: Use reliable antivirus and anti-malware software to detect and prevent ransomware infections. Incident Response Plan: Develop a comprehensive incident response plan to outline steps to take in case of a ransomware attack. This plan should include procedures for isolating infected systems, contacting law enforcement, and restoring operations. Additional Considerations Cybersecurity Insurance: Consider purchasing cybersecurity insurance to help mitigate the financial impact of a ransomware attack. Regular Security Audits: Conduct regular security audits to identify vulnerabilities and assess the effectiveness of your security measures. By implementing these preventive measures and staying informed about the latest ransomware threats, you can significantly reduce the risk of a successful attack and protect your business from the devastating consequences. #velvot #datasecurity #cybersecurity  

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