This article originally appeared in Journal of Cyber Policy on November 28, 2018.
Black Friday and Cyber Monday are big targets for cyber attackers – but they’ll also ramp up their efforts throughout December.
Mike Bittner, digital security & operations manager at The Media Trust, provided news insights:
“If the deal seems too good to be true, it probably is and, given how sophisticated cyber scammer’s methods have evolved, it’s probably also a ruse for you to part with your credit card information.
“The holidays are not just a time of good cheer, but also of spikes in cybercrime as bad actors go into overdrive. Knowing consumers will be on the hunt for deals and doing their shopping online, bad actors are finding ways to steal payment information. Their methods are legion—from taking over payment pages, to siphoning payment information in transit, to phishing schemes via apps and digital wallets previously considered secure. We see similar trends around sporting events with an international following and vacation season. Consumers should be wary of deals and go directly to sites they trust. Companies that want to protect their brand should continuously monitor all the code that executes on their sites and mobile apps to ensure none violate their digital policies. Chances are high that they only know a small fraction of the 50-95% code in their digital assets provided by third parties.”
