The hacker who stole Christmas

Unlike the Grinch who had a change of heart at the end of the book, a hacker who takes advantage of this busy time, has a one-track mind, and that is to take as much as possible.

You need to be on guard for both your actual and virtual world. Just like Black Friday and Cyber Monday, understanding that to participate in the festivities, you need to be equipped for the threats that cybercriminals plant for unsuspecting victims to fall for. The month of December is the busiest shopping time of the year and the biggest cybercrime hotspot.

Online shopping has become so much more accessible and convenient. With multiple devices to choose from to do your shopping; laptops, tablets, cellphones and desktops, this leaves you more vulnerable to cyberattacks. Managed encryption is crucial to have on all your devices, especially if one is stolen. With J2 managed encryption, your data will be kept safe and inaccessible to cyber criminals.

The cyber criminals are after your credit card information, your usernames and passwords for the sites you use regularly. Therefore, you need to make sure you have strong passwords in place and that you do not use the same one for multiple login’s, I’ve said this before and I will say it again, if one password is breached and you have it for multiple platforms, all of them are breached.

You need to make sure that whatever network your device is connected to is secure and not taking data that can be used in an attack. Never do any transacting on a free WIFI spot or an unknown network. Wait until you get home and do it on your network which is safe and has J2 Home Secure.

During this time, two-factor authentication is a must, having this enabled is another layer added to your multilayered security system.

Remember to be vigilant and alert when swiping your card at stores, cyber criminals are not only hackers behind another computer screen, they can also be the teller at your favourite shop and have the card machine modified to copy your credit card or walk away with your card and copy it out of sight.

Cybercrime is at an all-time high and this December is going to be the most dangerous yet. Stay focused and get in touch with J2 Software today to get yourself, your company, friends and family, ready for this silly season. There is nothing silly about protecting yourself from the hacker trying to steal more than just your Christmas! 

‘Tis the season for Visibility and Compliance.

Let’s get real.

Olivia-Hannah