WITH year end-end sales such as Cyber Monday today and 12.12 around the corner, we are entering a high-risk period for cybersecurity.
A recent report highlighted that malicious emails were the second most common root cause of ransomware attacks in critical sectors, responsible for 25% of cases. During peak shopping days, this threat intensifies.
Here is why – as Malaysians eagerly hunt for online bargains, more people are shopping using their own devices. This increases the risk of them clicking more freely and potentially exposing the organisation to malicious links or phishing attacks. To keep your organisation safe, encourage your team to follow these simple tips:
• Use an ad blocker
Advertisements are not only tracking your every movement and collecting information on your habits to make the FBI blush but they are also a major source of malicious links and deceptive content on the internet. Not only is your browsing safer, but also faster and uses less bandwidth. Two of recommended ad blockers are uBlock Origin and Ghostery.
• Use private browsing or incognito mode
To prevent your shopping habits and interests from following you around from site to site (and potentially revealing what gifts you might be purchasing to others using your device – a bonus!), you should enable private browsing or incognito mode. This will block tracking cookies and help the internet forget your travels as the waves wash away your footprints in the sand.
• Make your browser “privacy smart”
The Electronic Frontier Foundation provides a browser extension called Privacy Badger designed to automatically make all the right choices around browsing while maintaining your privacy and blocking invisible trackers.
• Avoid using one account on multiple services
When logging into an e-commerce site it is often tempting to use the “Sign in with Facebook” or “Sign in with Google” button. While it takes a few more minutes to create a new login, it will provide more privacy as you are not sharing all of the sites you shop at with these tech giants.
• Use guest login when available
In addition to letting you use an account from other websites, many have an option to use a guest login instead of creating a new account. This is an ideal option if you do not need technical support or to do business on a recurring basis. Fewer passwords, fewer personal details and fewer problems if they get hacked.
• Do not save card details
Many e-commerce sites will default to storing your credit card information in your profile for your “convenience” (in hopes you will shop there again). They cannot lose what they do not have, so tell them not to store your credit card unless it is absolutely necessary.
• Use temporary card numbers
Many financial institutions now offer temporary or one-time use credit card numbers. You can open the app on your phone or in your browser and get a single-use disposable credit card number preventing card fraud and tracking when merchants share card processors. Sometimes you are even able to specify a card limit per temporary number to further protect your account.
• Use credit, not debit
All of us need to be wary of overspending during the holidays but it is best to leave the debit card at home. Credit cards offer significantly more protection against online fraud and you are in the power position in a dispute. You can simply not pay your bill while disputing the charge, rather than having criminals directly drain your bank account of your hard-earned cash.
• Beware of direct messages via social media/chat apps
With modern generative artificial intelligence technology it is almost trivial to create an entire fake online store and lure people to share their personal information and payment data with you. It is safest to shop at established sites or those personally recommended to you by friends and family. Many unsolicited messages lead to data collection or theft.
• Do not click deals in email that look too good to be true or are from businesses you do not have accounts from
These could be phishing emails hoping to bait you into clicking links to bogus, malicious web sites.
This season, small steps can make a big difference in protecting against cyber threats.
This article is contributed by Sophos.
