Cyber Security is an ever-changing landscape that requires constant monitoring and adaptation. Hackers and malicious users are always looking for new ways to gain access to your sensitive information, and some of these newer methods may be ways you’ve never considered before. Here are 8 cyber security tips to keep you and your business safe this holiday season.
1. Never Post Financial Details on Social Media
It’s not uncommon for companies to give out year-end bonuses, or donate money to non-profit organizations, and posting about this on social media is a good idea, however you should refrain from sharing any financial information in these posts. Social media platforms to hackers are essentially giant databases full of information that can be used to exploit individuals for their personal gain. For example, if a hackers knows that your company just gave out holiday gift cards, they can easily find your employees on social media and attempt to use phishing techniques on them to steal said gift cards, or other information.
2. Take Some Time to Review the Marketing Data You Collect
Collecting information about your customers to market to them better is an essential part of business today, however it’s important to make sure that the data you collect abides by privacy laws and is important in your business processes. Holding personal information like this is legal, however, it also is a liability. If a hacker were to gain access to this personal information, your company could be in a world of hurt with high costs to resolve this issues and potentially a shattered reputation. The holiday season is a great time to review the data you collect and decide on what’s required or not for your business operations. It’s also a great time to review how you handle the security of this information such as whether or not the system you use encrypts the data collected and so on.
3. Make Sure Donations Are Going to Legitimate Organizations
As stated earlier, the holidays are a great time to give back to the community, and many businesses do this by donating to non-profit organizations. During this season, you can expect your inbox and social media feeds to be full of these kinds of organizations requesting donations or other aid. It’s important to make sure that these organizations are legitimate. Similar to during world events or crises, hackers set up fake websites and social media accounts that request donations in the hopes they can convince people they are real and get some money out of it. Be sure to do your research before donating to any organization or cause, or stop into them in person to see what the best way to give back is.
4. Look Out for Phishing Scams
Although this one doesn’t necessarily fit under cyber security tips you may not have heard of, it’s still very relevant and important. Phishing, according to The Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report, leads to 82% of data breaches, and accounts for 68% of all social engineering techniques used. This number increases during the holiday season as people’s inboxes are full of shipping information, order confirmations, deals you can’t miss, and much more. Phishing is becoming more and more prevalent and it’s up to everyone to be on the lookout for it and report it if possible. Here are some techniques you can expect to see during the holiday season.
Holiday E-Cards
During the holiday season it’s not uncommon to receive electronic cards from vendors, customers, or partners rather than physical cards. Although these cards typically contain warm regards thanking your for your business or for what you do, they can also be a great place for hackers to attempt to gain your information. The best way to avoid being caught by this tactic is to never click on any links. This goes for any email or text message you receive as well. You should always be checking with the sender prior to clicking any links or downloading any files that were sent your way to ensure the legitimacy of the message received. It’s best to do this in person or over the phone if possible.
Online Orders
If you’re anything like me, your inbox is probably full of order confirmations and tracking information for all the online orders you’ve placed. The ease of online shopping has taken over when it comes to purchasing gifts for the holidays, and you and I aren’t the only ones that know that. A very common form of phishing is using popular ecommerce websites’ names in the headlines of emails to try and get you to click links or download files so be sure to always double check the email address of the sender before responding or clicking anything.
Prize and Gift Notifications
This is a very common form of phishing where the hacker sends you a popup message, email, or text message that says you’ve won something or received a gift and makes it feel urgent by using messaging that suggests the gift or prize is going to expire. I’m sure we’ve all seen this type of scam before, and it’s safe to assume that any message you receive with this type of wording is likely a scam. If you did sign up for something or some kind of giveaway however, it’s always safe to try and contact the company that’s reaching out to you to confirm whether or not the message is legitimate.
5. Always Pay Attention to Who is Delivering and Picking Up Packages
This is something that you should be training your employees to always do, however it becomes more important during the holiday season as many delivery services hire seasonal staff during this time to help out with their large volume of deliveries. Be sure to always ask them questions such as whether or not you can expect to see them again, or what their route looks like. If you don’t already, you should invest in cameras for both your reception area and loading dock to make sure you’re covered in case of something going missing.
6. Ensure Your Employees are Using Approved Technology
New technology makes for very popular gifts during the holidays, and it’s important to enforce what technology employees are allowed to use in the workplace and which devices should be allowed to connect to the network. Smart assistants such as the Amazon Echo or Google Home are constantly recording information to “hear” whether or not you’re asking them a question, and because of this violate HIPPA and other privacy laws. Smartphones are very powerful tools and it’s going to be difficult trying to prohibit them, however, make sure that your employees are following best security practices with them and ensure that they’re keeping them off of the company network. Other devices, such as digital picture frames and other “harmless” ascetic devices, can actually have spyware installed on them, so it’s best to just keep them out of the office altogether.
7. Be On the Look Out for GPS Tags
GPS tags, such as Apple’s AirTag, can be very useful pieces of technology that allow you to find something you may have otherwise lost. People use them for their cars, luggage, expensive technology, and so forth. However, they can also be used by cybercriminals to track you in real-time. It’s important to always keep an eye out for them, and if you find one that you’re unfamiliar with you should report it to the police. Usually, the targets of this tactic are people such as the owner of a company or someone on the executive team that has a lot of money or something that the criminal wants to steal. They can be used to track where you are, or when you go to work, and can be used to gather information about physical security or information that can be used for blackmail.
8. Stay Informed On AI
Artificial intelligence, or AI, has been booming recently, and it has all sorts of uses from generating pictures from a prompt to creating a fully functional application just from provided images and text. Although AI proves to be useful in a lot of scenarios, it’s also something that can be used by a cybercriminal to improve their tactics. For example, the messaging in a phishing attempt can now feel more realistic, even more so if the criminal has an image of you with something in the background that can be used to tailor the message to you. AI can also generate audio from videos and recordings which means that even phone calls could sound like someone you know if the cybercriminal has access to an audio recording of said person. Although AI is very powerful and is likely going to become a major part of the future, it’s still very new and there is a lot more to be learned from it, so stay skeptical and always ask questions.
Although these security practices seem like a lot, incorporating them into your daily life and maintaining practice of them is important. With the shape of the digital world always changing it’s important to know about and look out for the types of attacks that cybercriminals can use to gather information or steal from you. The holidays are meant to be a time of happiness and joy, but unfortunately there are people that will try and take advantage of that. If you want to learn more about how you can be more cyber secure, click the link below:
Source: Collabrance