Cyber Safety for Employees and Businesses
Hacking is one of the fastest-growing criminal activities, and when the holiday season is upon us, it only gets worse. The hackers are out with their eyes on personal and business data. Seasonal employees and interns are a major threat – used by cybercriminals to infiltrate your business from the inside.
Holiday season is rich picking for cyber criminals. Which is why you must not let your cybersecurity guard down.
The Biggest Cyber Threats of the Holidays That You Should Be Prepared For
It’s the holidays! What could go wrong?
Cyber criminals take advantage of the holiday season to spread malware by creating holiday-themed content, using emails as a vehicle for malware distribution under the guise of well-wishes or even gifts.
Hoaxers and scammers can take advantage of people’s generosity and willingness to give. Phishing emails often start with “Happy Holidays,” or “Have a Great Thanksgiving,” or “Merry Christmas”. Such emails often contain links or attachments in an email that will install malware on your system.
While it may not be too difficult to spot these phishing emails, people who are constantly checking their inboxes may not notice the difference in wording from a genuine email and a fraud.
Your business and staff are vulnerable to spam and malicious software, identity theft, social engineering, and fraud.
Protect Personal Data from Cybercrime This Holiday Season
It’s crucial that you coach your employees to protect their personal data. A straightforward way to help ensure this is to distribute a list of cybersecurity tips, to in-office and remote employees. You might include:
- Protecting your devices by using strong passwords.
It may sound like common sense, but using long, strong passwords is one of the simplest ways to protect your home network this holiday season.
- Making sure you don’t forget to turn off your computer.
Leaving a computer logged in and unattended is an invitation for hackers.
- Ensuring antivirus software is running on all your devices.
Antivirus software can help protect against ransomware attacks.
- Changing default passwords on your devices.
Regular password changes help to protect individual and company-wide system integrity.
- Not sharing personal information
Cyber criminals will try to attack you online, via email, or over the phone. Be wary of sharing any personal information.
Finally, though some people may find it harsh at this time of year, make it a company policy that no online shopping is conducted by your employees on company devices.
Protect Your Business Data This Holiday Season
To avoid malicious attacks and cyberattacks during the holiday season, businesses need to follow a few tips. For instance, you should always have a back-up plan and always update your software if there is a security patch. You should use firewalls, anti-malware software, and make sure that your staff are well-trained on the latest cybersecurity protocols.
Secure and monitor your employees’ devices, and make sure all your employees and visitors know and follow your security policies. Also, stay informed on cybersecurity threats – keep up with recent cybersecurity news so you can identify potential attacks before they happen to you.
Finally, you should create a backup of all devices, data, and databases so that you can restore them in the event of any problems.
The Importance of Cybersecurity During the Holidays
The cyber world is always changing, and the holidays are no different. Holiday season is a time when people let their guard down. It’s a time that is particularly lucrative for cyber criminals to exploit. Consequently, there is greater risk of data breaches.
This means that companies must focus on improving their cybersecurity strategies during this busy time, including reinforcing policies and procedures to be followed by all employees.
For help with protecting your business and your people during the holiday season, or for more information about these cybersecurity tips, please contact Tiro Security. We’ll be happy to help you.