Staying Safe Online During the Holidays: Mitigating the Risks of Cyberthreats

According to a report by Gartner, cybercriminals often take advantage of the increased online activity during holidays to launch targeted attacks against individuals and businesses. With more people shopping and conducting transactions online, the potential for cyberthreats increases as attackers look to exploit vulnerabilities in systems and steal sensitive information. Common tactics used by cybercriminals during the holidays include phishing scams, ransomware attacks, and distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks.

To mitigate the risk of cyberthreats during holidays, businesses and individuals should ensure that their systems and data are secure, including regularly updating security software, using multi-factor authentication, and implementing robust password protocols. Additionally, businesses should provide employees with cybersecurity training and ensure that all devices and applications are secure and current. By being vigilant and proactive, businesses and individuals can minimize the risk of cyberthreats during the holiday season and protect themselves against potential losses and damages.

• Qakbot, Emotet, Agent Tesla, and Dridex are still the most used threat actors for the 2022 holiday season. 
• The most concerning threat actors this holiday are phishing and credential harvesting. 

• Flashpoint also found our targeted retailers leaking data about retail organizations. 

Account Takeover 

Account Takeover (ATO) is a main concern this holiday, as are many abuse accounts. These cyberthreats are carried out based on social engineering, dumpster diving, or shoulder surfing. People, mainly adults over forty, are more into sending holiday greetings over the internet as they feel it lets them connect with the world, but they are the main prey of hackers and attackers. Their usernames and passwords are easy to crack by getting a little personal information. 

Phishing 

Phishing emails include fake emails from websites you trust. The most common type of cyberthreat. The attacker modifies the email address, mail, and contents such that a non-tech person cannot differentiate between them. The holiday season dramatically boosts phishing attacks as people use Amazon and Apple to order Christmas gifts. People receive unsolicited mail about a discount prize, coupon, or gift card that prompts them to click on the link. That leads to the attacker getting access to your information. 

Return Fraud 

Return fraud is a broad term that covers different types of fraud. The attackers excessively abuse a retailer’s return policy. It includes receipt fraud, store credit fraud, wardrobing/renting, and brick-in-box. The attacker manipulates a retailer’s return policy to the extent that it is not even traceable at times.  

Conclusion  

The holidays are a time when people trick you into believing in the impossible. Appropriate security measures at your end can save you from getting defrauded. Change your passwords at regular intervals, create strong passwords, and, most importantly, don’t share your passwords with anyone. Clicking on any link won’t get you free coupons or gift cards. For more security-related issues, make sure to follow our blogs at Auxin.io