How Hackers Target HVAC & Field Service Companies | 5 Real Stories

A shared login called "technician1." A fake work order on a field tablet. A $300,000 payment sent to the wrong bank account. In this Halloween-themed session, Jeremy Kennedy, Director of IT Technology at Sabre IT, shares five real cyber attacks on field service and HVAC businesses, what went wrong in each one, and the simple fixes that would have stopped them. He also covers how AI is making phishing and voice scams far more convincing, and walks through CPCSC, Canada's new cybersecurity certification, including the 13 Level 1 controls every business should aim for. What you'll hear: • How a temporary remote access login turned into a permanent back door • Why a casino got hacked through its fish tank, and how the same thing almost happened at a site Jeremy supports • What happens when your dispatch board goes dark and your backups don't work • How hackers sat inside two companies' email for months and redirected $300,000 • The verification rule that stops gift card and payment scams • 5 practical steps to a stronger cybersecurity setup Chapters: 0:00 Intro 0:57 Why field service businesses are targets 2:07 Story 1: The remote service demon stayed open 4:00 Story 2: The haunted technician tablet 6:11 Story 3: The gremlin in the sensors 11:12 Story 4: The day the dispatch board stood still 12:42 Story 5: The haunted mailboxes 15:48 How AI makes attacks more convincing 18:03 Five steps to stronger cybersecurity 21:05 CPCSC: Canada's cybersecurity certification 22:30 The 13 Level 1 controls 25:45 Share your spooky stories Recorded at the Service & Rental Innovation Summit at Microsoft Canada in Toronto. Sabre IT provides managed IT and cybersecurity services for Canadian businesses. https://www.sabreit.ca #Cybersecurity #FieldService #HVAC #CPCSC #Phishing