Every year around this time, our thoughts turn to great gifts, holiday shopping lists, and other seasonal fun. Cybercriminals are thinking about their seasonal fun too. And they’ve picked out some exciting gifts. Except you don’t want what they’ve got for you – a great big sack of holiday phishing scams to deliver to your door. Alas, these don’t just prey on your employees, they also endanger your business.
Your a mean one, Mr. Grinch.
While we all like to think that during the workday our staffers are so focused on their jobs that they wouldn’t even think of doing their holiday shopping. We also know the truth. Many employees are online shopping at work. They’re doing even more online shopping this year with COVID-19 risks keeping many holiday shoppers at home. And that leaves plenty of opportunities for cybercriminal Grinches to steal your holiday joy via phishing scams.
You might be wondering how holiday shopping scams could possibly be a danger to your business. But there are two big reasons why holiday phishing scams could leave your business with a stocking full of coal. Let’s take a look at those gifts that keep on giving delightful treats.
Malware: The Three Words that Best Describe You Are “Stink, Stank, Stunk”
Malware including ransomware is the proverbial three-decker sauerkraut and toadstool sandwich with arsenic sauce that can be served to your business through online shopping. Especially now in the work from home era, staffers tend to play fast and loose with email addresses, passwords, and devices this time of year as email activity grows. They’re probably getting emails from retailers or charities in their work inboxes. However, they could also be getting emails from cybercriminals posing as retailers and charities in their work inboxes. And that’s a problem for your business.
Are your staffers ready to handle an influx in phishing messages, and quickly distinguish legitimate communications from cybercriminal tricks? They are if you’re conducting regular security awareness and phishing resistance training. We offer this training! We have more than 80 plug and play phishing simulation training kits available now, with four new kits added every month including COVID-19 threat content. Every business of any size is at risk from phishing. Regular phishing resistance training is a must-have to keep your employees ready to spot and stop phishing threats before they damage your business or your budget. And now more than ever, you and your employees should be aware of these holiday phishing scams.
Credential Compromise: You Have All the Tender Sweetness of a Seasick Crocodile
Wait, is she using the same password for O365 and Etsy? The answer is probably yes. Most people use the same passwords across multiple sites. Employees are notoriously sloppy with passwords, whether it’s making bad ones, sharing them, or recycling passwords at work that they’re using somewhere else. That means that even if they fall for a cybercriminal trick that gets them to give up their password in a totally non-work-related scheme, your business is still in danger.
One of the many reasons why secure identity and access management is a top priority for 2021 is that it protects your business from this kind of danger. We recommend a combo of security tools including multifactor authentication, single sign-on, secure shared password vaults, and simple remote management. Our Enhanced Cybersecurity product is the multifunctional solution that your business needs to reduce the risk of damage from password compromise at a price that won’t break the bank.
Don’t End Up on the Naughty List
Contact the experts Rent-A-Nerd, Inc. today to protect your business from visits by the cybercrime Grinch. It pays to be realistic about the fact that your staffers will be doing online shopping using company devices, work email accounts, and potentially recycled passwords. Avoid holiday phishing scams. And get the protection that your business needs to avoid an unwelcome holiday gift from cybercriminals at a price that will leave you room to celebrate.
