Cyber Threats Are In Season
Christmas season is finally upon us with just another week left to go and while most of us are scrambling to find last minute gifts for our loved ones, we might be overlooking a very important matter. I’m not just referring to the difficult decision of which family to spend Christmas day with, because let’s be honest, no one really seems to win that battle. But rather, I am talking about a battle that can be won, the prevention of cyber attacks this holiday season. With the prevalence of online shopping in recent years, it is now more important than ever that cybersecurity should be a priority for any business who does their sales online. Tom Kellermann, a leading cybersecurity strategist, notes that internet-based retailers could face a 20 percent increase in cyber attacks this holiday season compared to last year. An increase that can be attributed to the aforementioned growth of online shopping use as well as the multitude of capabilities that hackers now have to steal our data.
How This Will Affect Both Businesses and Consumers
The rising threat of cyber attacks this season is one that would of course affect the business doing the online selling, but also the consumers buying from the websites. This is due to a form of cyber attack known as “island hopping.” Island hopping, not to be mistaken with the military strategy employed in WWII, is a style of attack used by hackers in which they seek to attack not just the singular business but also all networks associated with their supply chain. This means that the very same sites that consumers use to buy gifts for their family and friends could be used to steal their data. On the other hand, for businesses the damage is quite clear: Almost 40 percent of surveyed retail organizations said they have already lost revenue as a result of a cyberattack this year. This percentage is further exacerbated when you consider the fact that more than 60 percent of all leaked records in 2019 were exposed by financial services organizations according to the 2019 Financial Breach Report. Despite these percentages being so drastic, it is possible to mitigate the damage done to these businesses. Kellermann goes on to state that there are two main ways that businesses can protect themselves this holiday season and more importantly in the next year. One way is by focusing on improving application security and the other is to regularly test their websites. Though these may seem daunting for some smaller businesses, Tirosec is able to help in both areas.
Be Secure This Holiday Season and the Next
As of today, at least 10 percent of U.S consumers have not bought a gift yet for the holidays. This statistic might not seem much at first but is greatly magnified when you consider the hundreds of millions of adults that are in the U.S. One of the best gifts that anyone can get is peace of mind and security. If you are a retail company worried about your security or part of the supply chain and do not want to be the weak link that causes a breach, Tiro Security can use a variety of ways to lower your risks. Our seasoned Tiro Security team with over thirty years of IT experience are able to assist with website and penetration testing among a host of other ways to keep your business protected this holiday season and future ones to come. For more information on how we are able to be of assistance, call (424) 216-8476 or continue visiting our website for more information.