Happy holidays from your international cybercriminal syndicate
The 4th of July is one of the nation’s largest celebrations. As many Americans and non-Americans come together to enjoy this time off, reconnect with family and friends, and perhaps share a beer or two, cybercriminals are in the wings waiting for their moment to shine.
Most companies have come to expect phishing schemes and cyber attacks around holidays such as Thanksgiving and Christmas, but all-to-often, we ignore and overlook the other holidays. Criminals see time away from your computer as an opportunity to explore and exploit your unattended network.
The facts are clear, the vast majority of breaches occur because someone let the wrong person in the virtual door. Once on the other side, hackers will spend time going through your data, watching interactions and transactions, and deciding on what you need most. It may be months before you are made aware of their presence, and the more time away from your systems, the less likely you’ll catch them before it’s too late.
Some key reasons holidays are great opportunities for criminals…
- Employees are usually thinking about other things during holidays, and a preoccupied mind is more apt to slip up and click on the wrong thing.
- Less eyes inside the network means more free time for criminals to snoop around. Long periods of being offline make it harder to track suspicious activity.
- When purchasing on a budget or under time constraints, sometimes better judgment takes a back seat to what appears to be a great deal.
- A limited staff or a staff that doesn’t usually work with your systems (but is covering it while you’re away) could be the gate keeper a seasoned hacker is looking for.
- With lots of emails from family and coworkers being circulated around the holidays, criminals will exploit your trusting nature and pretend to be someone you know.
- Working remotely can be dangerous. Public hotspots are a prime access point for tech savvy criminals to obtain access to your data.
It only takes a few extra moments to prevent someone from gaining access to your digital assets. Stop and inspect any emails or text messages you receive. Even if the message appears to be from a familiar source, take a second to double check. Use your known means of contact to reach out to the sender, and get confirmation the email or text was sent from them. If it’s coming from an address you recognize but the content seems suspicious, don’t interact with the message. Wait till you have a chance to speak with the sender directly. If you’re working remotely, try to avoid public hotspots, and if you have to use unsecure networks, make sure your antivirus software is current. Remember all it takes is one mistake and everything you’ve worked for could suddenly be up for ransom or worse, erased forever.
IF your company should find itself under attack with a data breach or compromised security, contact Betterchips immediately. The quicker Betterchips can get involved, the more likely your company’s digital assets can be saved or restored. Don’t let precious time go to waste, contact Betterchips now… Yes, we work holidays.
