Cyber Optimist Weekly: Special Holidays Edition

With Christmas around the corner and more people buying presents online, we are seeing the expected uptick in cyberattacks. Online shopping is convenient and is where the best deals are often found, but it is important to keep cybersecurity top of mind while doing so.

Although most of us are taking time off to be with our loved ones, hackers stay active. This week revealed that the shoemaker and retailer Ecco was exposed to exploits for over 500 days. Threat actors have also been using ad services to promote spoofed domains impersonating trusted services and load malware.

Our Tips for the Holidays

Seeing as online threats will remain and rise during the holiday season, consider the following tips to make sure you remain safe while online shopping:

• Keep an eye out for phishing scams; make sure not to respond to email, text messages, and phone calls purporting to come from services and websites you know and trust. Look for a sense of urgency in the message, a request for sensitive information, and that do not use your name.
• Stay on the safe side of the web; only visit or use websites that are secure. Look for URLs beginning with "https" and with a padlock icon on your browser top. This shows that the website is using a secure connection.
• Lock down your accounts; use strong and unique passwords for your online accounts and, wherever possible, activate multi-factor authentication. These steps will ensure that only you can access your accounts and that attackers will not be able to pass themselves off as you.
• Refer back to our top twelve: