Hackers connected to the Russian government that waged last year’s infamous SolarWinds cyberattack targeted 609 companies with a total of 22,868 hack attempts between July 1 and Oct. 19 of 2021, according to a study from Microsoft.

The surge in attacks highlights what cybersecurity experts say is a grim reality of the digital age: Hack attempts, by highly skilled digital predators, are on the rise – a trend that’s only expected to accelerate.

According to Microsoft, the hackers’ intended victims in a campaign that dates to May 2021 have included 140 technology companies that manage or resell cloud-computing services. The hackers executed successful attacks with as many as 14 of these companies. They did so through relatively low-tech techniques, such as phishing scams or guessing user passwords to gain access to systems.

“This recent activity is another indicator that Russia is trying to gain long-term, systematic access to a variety of points in the technology supply chain,” Tom Burt, Microsoft’s corporate vice president for customer security and trust, wrote in a blog.

The Russian government denies any connection to the hackers.

A U.S. government official told The Wall Street Journal that the successful attacks in the latest spate of hackings “could have been prevented if the cloud service providers had implemented baseline cybersecurity practices, including multifactor authentication,” which requires account features that require verifying a login with a code sent to another source, such as one’s smartphone.

Here are 7 tips (in under 60 seconds) on how to enhance your cybersecurity. #cybersecurity #ransomware #ASIMedia #promoproductshttps://t.co/UEYNVbPmBv pic.twitter.com/gvAlE0MW7s

— Theresa Hegel (@TheresaHegel) June 4, 2021

Word on the hacking activities by cyber criminals with alleged ties to Russia comes as promotional products companies have been increasingly targeted by scam attempts and cyberattacks. During a session at the recent 2021 ASI Power Summit, ASI tech experts Seth Kusiak and Jason Kuttner provided strategies for protecting company data.

The first step, and perhaps the most crucial, is to enable multifactor authentication (MFA, sometimes called two-step authentication) for email, social media, VPN, cloud services and more. Many insurance companies have already mandated MFA as a prerequisite for obtaining coverage.

“Both Google and Microsoft agree that MFA stops 99% of account takeovers,” said Kusiak, vice president of infrastructure and security at ASI.

ASI tech experts Seth Kusiak and Jason Kuttner delivered strategies for helping to keep your company safe from cyber threats during an ASI Power Summit discussion.

Companies also need to install antivirus and antimalware software, stay on top of regular updates, and implement vulnerability and patch management. Additionally, you want to maintain inventory of all your systems, software and cloud services. “Make sure you have a plan to replace or remove software that is no longer receiving security updates,” Kusiak said.

It’s also pivotal to provide ongoing cybersecurity education to employees. That education should include helping employees to spot phishing attempts – a process that can include testing workers on their knowledge.

The SolarWinds hack gets its name from the software company where a cyber breach occurred that ultimately affected thousands of organizations, including the U.S. government. It’s reportedly considered among the worst cyber-espionage incidents ever suffered by the U.S.