The constant growth of cyber attacks has generated apprehension in users of various sectors. The increasing complexity of cybercriminous strategies requires extra attention, especially during the holidays. In this article, we will explore nine essential tips for strengthening digital security during this festive period, protecting your company against threats that can irreparably damage the good progress of business.
Although technological advances have enabled the development of increasingly efficient resources to optimize our work routine, vulnerabilities through this technology were also favored . Cybercriminals find increasingly sophisticated ways of improperly accessing the networks and devices of a business, and thus causing immeasurable damage to companies.
In this sense, it is essential to find solutions and tools that help optimize your business safety and avoid problems caused by these threats. Equally important is to ensure an awareness process among all users of your company, considering that most threats are favored by behaviors established by users themselves , such as access to insecure pages, low security passwords and also by downloading attachments and applications indiscriminately.
During the holidays, numerous cyber attacks are directed that use vulnerability and lack of attention from users. Considering the large amount of purchases that are made during these periods, cybercriminals end up creating false emails disguising out known companies, and even creating false pages to collect financial data from the victims. For this reason, it is essential to redouble your attention to stay safe in the face of these threats.
Why do cyber attacks increase at holidays?
The growth of cyber attacks during the holidays is a reality and not recent. We know that the last quarter of the year is one of the periods where there is a substantial increase in cyber crimes , seeking to explore the vulnerability caused by the growth of e -commerce and financial transactions that are performed in the online environment. Only in 2022 was there a 24% growth in the number of consumers in Brazil , therefore increasing the number of potential victims for cybercriminals.
According to a study of the “2023 purchasing season expectations”, about 64% of customers research and buy their products in e-commerce. With this we can understand why cybercriminals redirect their attacks on this audience.
See this article on the subject, which details the growth of cyber threats through social networks during the holidays:
Focused on obtaining financial data, cybercriminals use the phishing scheme to collect data from unsuspecting users and apply scams that cause huge losses. According to the report by AppGate , a company that monitors cyber incident access worldwide, about 66% of financial fraud incidents in 2022 were favored by phishing, demonstrating an increase of 44% compared to the last period.
These scams and attempted financial fraud are expected to show a record growth in 2023. Based on this, we can understand why it is so important to establish practices and adopt tools that ensure more security for your devices and networks.
Although phishing is a cyber scam that has been applied since the emergence of the internet, this is one of the threats that most at risk for companies. Although it does not need sophisticated tools and resources to apply , this threat can cause major damage to the company and generate irreparable damage.
Unauthorized brand use is also a major concern during this period. Often becoming phishing strategy to collect information, cybercriminals offer products and services disguising well -known brands, often causing the user to make deposits or financial transactions based on contact legitimacy.
Since these cyber threats have been increasingly applied intelligently, the better your business is to deal with these problems, the better your digital security strategy at holidays.
Dangers of cyber attacks that customers suffer
There are currently various types of cyber attacks, each being applied to different goals. One of the greatest risks presented by digital threats is in the loss and leak of sensitive information . After the emergence of the General Data Protection Law, the concern with the privacy of information became even greater.
LGPD has brought in its content several rules and protocols that should be followed with the main objective of ensuring the protection of information that is stored, manipulated and used by companies . Your security strategy should focus on maintaining the confidentiality of this data, avoiding not only the punishments that are applied by the LGPD regulatory agency, but also the commercial losses that can be suffered.
Although data leakage has been due to a cyber attack, your company's image may be seriously impaired in the market. Consumers will think twice before hiring a company that has suffered a data violation in the past.
Another major problem that can also be caused by cyber attacks is improper access to cybercriminals to business networks and devices. In addition to exposing confidential information, this improper accesses may favor the installation of malicious software and files , which can cause damage to the devices or function as a spy application, monitoring all activities performed on your company's network.
These applications can also arrive via email based on a phishing strategy. We need to remember that even more experienced users can end up being victims of these cyber threats like this, considering that they have been using increasingly sophisticated tools and strategies to circumvent their digital safety and make users download dangerous applications.
The Denial Attack of Service (DDOS) is also an approach that can greatly undermine the profitability and reliability of your business in the market. Using several previously infected devices, cybercriminals perform high -scale requests for your business pages and services.
Excessive traffic ends up making legitimate customers impossible to use their services and purchase products through their page. In addition to impairing its profitability, DDOS attack has a negative impact on your image to consumers.
Your company's confidential information can also be intercepted by a cyber attack known as Man and the Middle . Through your company's network, cybercriminals can position themselves and intercept the communication made between users and other people or companies.
This attack allows not only the visualization of content, but also the injection of new data within this information exchange flow . This type of attack can be extremely harmful among companies that need to keep confidential data out of reach of unauthorized users.
Creating an IT environment to ensure digital security of your business at holidays
Now that we understand how these cyber attacks can considerably harm your business, you need to talk about protection strategies for your digital security. As we said earlier, it is not enough to adopt solutions and tools that help keep the digital environment more protected: it is also necessary to ensure that all employees and users are aware of the type of access that can be performed and how improper behaviors can harm the organization.
Creating a robust IT environment for the holidays is a strategy that should be implemented considering several factors:
- Implementation of firewalls;
- Implementation of intrusive detection systems;
- Network monitoring;
- Access policies;
- Between others.
The training of your employees is an indispensable process to ensure a safer IT environment and to keep your business away from cyber attacks during the holidays. Here are nine tips that we separated to increase your digital security:
1. Keep your devices up to date
Update Applications and Devices is an essential process for such equipment to be safe in the face of the evolution of cyber threats. The updating of these devices should be done according to the specific schedule, as required updates.
It is important to remember that not only should applications stay up to date. Cell phones, tablets, computers, among others, should be updated whenever possible. These updates are developed for the correction of vulnerabilities to strengthen the digital security of your business.
2. Use strong and unique passwords
It is not today that we talk about the importance of creating robust and complex passwords to avoid cyber attacks. Although it is easier to manage, the use of a single password for multiple applications pose a real risk to data security.
Your team must be prepared to deal with this type of access and find a way to ensure memorization of these passwords without having to use the same standard in all accesses. Easy passwords or repeated passwords may favor the creation of vulnerability points and facilitate the work of Cyber Criminals.
3. Be cautious with the email suspects
As we have seen, one of the oldest threats on the internet, the phishing blow can make its victims through fake emails . Cybercriminals disguise you from well -known companies and recipients to make users access malicious links or download suspicious files
For this reason it is very important for your employees to be aware of emails considered suspicious, especially those who request personal information or financial data. Unknown links should not be accessed, as in most cases they are related to an attempted fraud.
4. Use a safe connection to make online shopping
We know that at holidays online shopping, it increases considerably. To avoid the main cyber blows, it is essential that there is extra care during these operations.
The use of a virtual VPN private network can be of great help for those seeking to make their purchases in a safer environment. This type of network ensures a safer environment for information exchange and financial transactions, as it makes unauthorized access difficult.
5. Monitor your accounts regularly
The lack of information and the lack of control of your information and financial transactions is a real risk. You can only notice an attempt to fraud quickly if there is a clear knowledge of everything that is done in your accounts and financial applications.
During the holiday season it is essential to monitor and continuously monitor your accounts , so if a threat is identified, the problem can be corrected faster. Suspected transactions should be notified immediately to the financial institution, facilitating the identification and blocking of new attempts.
6. Strengthen Wi-Fi Safety
The network used for transactions and access made should also be protected against unauthorized threats and attempts. Just as passwords of your applications should be safe and difficult to deduct, the Wi-Fi password should also be equally robust.
It is necessary to regularly change the Wi-Fi password and ensure the use of WPA3 encryption to increase network safety.
7. Back up your data regularly
We know that because cyber threats are increasingly sophisticated, it is possible that even implementing all security measures to your company undergo such an attack . In this case, your company needs to have a recovery plan that helps maintain the activity even after a digital attack.
Creating a backup will help your business recover after such an attack and avoid the definitive impairment of your important information. Thus, if there is a loss of data during a cyber attack, your business will be prepared to recover and maintain its operation.
8. Be aware of the privacy settings
Cybercriminals use a strategy called social engineering to create increasingly specific threats and traps. These data are extracted from social networks and platforms such as LinkedIn, where much personal information is inconsequentially available.
To prevent Cyber criminals from using your information against you, it is important to limit the privacy of your accounts. Limitation on personal data will impair cybercriminals' access and prevent this data from being used to apply scams of all types.
9. Educate continuously on digital security
Using sophisticated protection tools is a strategy that can help your business stay protected from major cyber attacks. However, none of these tools is 100% effective as cyber threats evolve along with new technologies. In 2022 alone, Brazil suffered more than 103 million cyber attacks , demonstrating an exponential increase, and it is very important that all users are prepared to deal with these threats and prevent the creation of vulnerability points.
For this reason, it is essential to establish a continuous education process that helps you prepare your team to deal with the main safety problems present in the digital environment. For this, it is necessary for your entire team to remain informed about the main cyber threats and the practices that are used to divert information and cause problems for companies.
Guarantee your digital security at the holidays
New Year's Eve parties are a period of celebration and joy, avoiding cyber threats during this phase will allow everyone to have a great holiday without worrying about cyber blows that can damage the good progress of the business. Preparing against this kind of threat is a smart strategy that will avoid the main problems caused by these approaches.
Educate your team to identify and avoid cyber threats and ensure the use of quality tools to keep your digital environment safer . Your digital holiday safety strategy should take into account that even if most people are in a festive mood, there are still several cybercriminals who are prepared to use their vulnerabilities and cause immeasurable damage to your business.
