Stay Secure During the Holidays: Tips and Tricks
As the holiday season approaches, it's important for businesses and individuals to be aware of the increased threat of cyber attacks. Hackers tend to ramp up their efforts during this time, taking advantage of online consumers who may be more focused on shopping and holiday plans than cybersecurity. Additionally, with many organizations winding down operations around the holidays, attackers may see this as an opportunity to launch more serious hacking efforts.
One of the most common types of attacks during the holiday season is phishing. Hackers will impersonate online marketplaces and charities, sending emails with holiday deals or requests for donations. These emails may contain links to fake websites or ask for personal or payment information. It's important for individuals and organizations to proceed with caution and pay attention to detail when shopping online, looking for misspellings, bad grammar, and suspicious deals.
But the risk doesn't end with online shopping. Hackers will attempt to leverage any initial point of compromise into a full-scale attack. A single set of compromised credentials could lead to a ransomware attack, unauthorized access to sensitive information, or a denial of service attack. This is why it's critical to address vulnerabilities in a timely manner and to have a response plan in place.
Enterprotect, a leading provider of cybersecurity solutions, has seen a significant uptick in active incidents during the holiday season in recent years. To prevent security issues, they recommend the following best practices:
Be cautious and pay attention to detail when shopping online.
Stick to websites that you trust and use regularly.
Avoid clicking on links that are sent to you.
Implement multi-factor authentication (MFA) for your entire organization.
Keep all systems up to date.
Educate users on these security risks to minimize the possibility of human error.
Leverage the protection of the Enterprotect XDR platform for 24/7 monitoring of your environment.
It's also important to note that critical vulnerabilities impacting major technology systems such as Fortinet and Citrix have already been published, and it is likely that additional vulnerabilities will be announced in the coming weeks. By reviewing your overall security posture and following these recommendations, you can reduce the risk of a cyber attack and have a happy and secure holiday season.
References
https://www.cisa.gov/shop-safely
https://www.axios.com/2022/11/22/retailers-holiday-shopping-cyberattack-phishing-scams