As 2021 edges towards the end and a new year beckons the standard process for many businesses is to close down and allow more staff time off for which ever holiday they wish to celebrate. However, the period of quiescence can provide a rich picking ground for hackers and scammers.
Where business are targeted, these malicious actors often seek to take advantage of short staffing. For both businesses and consumers, there is the invariable rush to make last minute purchases across multiple payment platforms. Unsupervised IT networks and systems during the holidays provide a great opportunity for cybercriminals to attack.
People also lower their defences, with many shoppers or employees switching their attention to other matters.
Weighing in on this threat landscape for Digital Journal is Jim Ducharme, COO of Outseer. Ducharme shares his thoughts about why and how hackers will be working overtime in coming weeks and what consumers and companies can do to protect themselves so they can enjoy themselves over the holidays.
According to Ducharme we can summarize the present by twisting a well-known Christmas phrase: “‘Tis the season for holiday fraud and cyberattacks” (and one deployed by Digital Journal a few months ago in a cybercrime overview article).
Ducharme analyses this as: “With bone-bare staffing all around and shopping surges putting extra strain on businesses, hackers are presented with the perfect opportunity to use any shortcomings and vulnerabilities to their benefit. Meaning both shoppers and retailers are at a heightened fraud and cyberattack risk this holiday season.”
So. what can companies do to address this shift in the level of cybercrime risk? According to Ducharme: “To protect themselves, shoppers should be hyper-aware of the risks present with online payments, ‘buy now, pay later’ (BNPL) and other forms of transactions when shopping for this year’s gifts.”
In particular, Ducharme recommends: “Shoppers also need to be weary of scammy offerings and websites that pose as popular brands selling trendy items or offering steep discounts.”
He additionally cautions: “Remember, hackers can imitate any website and any item you may be interested in purchasing without much effort, allowing them to draw you in and then steal your money and information.”
For the business world, Ducharme has the following advice: “Companies also need to be aware of the precautions they can take to protect themselves and, in turn, their customers. Investing in fraud solutions that will provide a layer of protection, especially during short-staffed holiday season, will not only lessen employee stress but also keep your business and customer information safe.”
