It’s that time of year! As staff become distracted by annual deadlines, office parties, their Christmas preparations and so on, they’re more likely to make mistakes. In their haste, they might open a link in an email that they would normally have checked, open a fun ecard from a co-worker or try and help their CEO with their last-minute gift card needs. Before you know it, you can end up with a nasty malware problem.
It’s a horrible thought, but the reality is that cyber-attacks tend to peak around holiday periods. Do they know it’s Christmas? Yes, but they just don’t care. Cybercriminals go where the money is. While your chestnuts are roasting on an open fire, they are finding their inner grinch, exploiting vulnerabilities.
Don’t Let Cyber Grinches Turn Merriment Into Mayhem
Shopping online this holiday season? Follow these simple cyber security tips and practices before and while you do.
Use Secure Wi-Fi – Using free public Wi-Fi to shop online while at your favourite coffee shop is tremendously convenient, but it is not cyber safe. Don’t make purchases while connected to public Wi-Fi; instead, use a virtual private network (VPN) or your phone as a hotspot.
Multi-Factor Authentication – Use multi-factor authentication wherever possible. Multi-factor authentication will enhance your online accounts by enabling the strongest authentication tools available, such as biometrics or a unique one-timecode sent to your phone or mobile device.
Be Wary Of Offers Too Good To Be True – No matter how tempting an offer might be, think before you click that offer. Buy only from trusted and established online retailers and avoid websites of retailers you’ve never heard of.
Think Before You Click – Pay attention to the emails you receive. Don’t open emails from unknown senders or click on links in suspicious messages.
HTTPS Is Key – This holiday season make sure to shop securely by checking to make sure you’re shopping on a site that uses SSL protection. The easiest way to tell is to check your browser’s address bar and look for https in the URL. Sites without the s are not safe to submit payment information or other personal details.
Monitor Your Accounts – Check your online financial accounts regularly for suspicious spending. Also, take advantage of text and email alerting services that many banks and credit card companies now offer.
Staying Festively Secure
Although employees may be distracted and less available during the holidays, organizations need to proactive to ensure their employees and networks are merry and bright, as well as secure. First and foremost, conduct some necessary security training. Put every employee through security training courses so they’re aware of the risks of public Wi-Fi and are reminded to be extra vigilant of phishing emails during this time. Make sure all holes are patched, every update has been made and your backups are working properly before everyone turns their attention to yuletide festivities.
The Cypfer Advantage
Organizations of all size struggle to effectively secure against constantly changing hacker techniques. Cypfer is your solution. We are a dedicated, around-the-clock team focused on catching breaches and rapidly responding to the newest strains of ransomware. Our elite force is made up of former military, police and global intelligence cyber experts with real-world experience. Their only mission is to ensure your business is prepared for an attack and/or respond to emergency breaches with military precision throughout the entire lifecycle of an incident. Rest easy knowing you’re in good hands.
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