{"id":11242,"date":"2022-02-09T03:03:09","date_gmt":"2022-02-09T03:03:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2022\/02\/09\/its-always-the-most-wonderful-time-of-the-year-for-hackers\/"},"modified":"2022-02-09T03:03:09","modified_gmt":"2022-02-09T03:03:09","slug":"its-always-the-most-wonderful-time-of-the-year-for-hackers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2022\/02\/09\/its-always-the-most-wonderful-time-of-the-year-for-hackers\/","title":{"rendered":"It\u2019s Always the Most Wonderful Time of the Year – for Hackers"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The year 2021 ended up with the highest holiday retail sales on record, with companies ramping up their efforts to capture consumers\u2019 attention, dollars \u2014 and data. And it worked!
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Ecommerce retail sales grew from <\/span>11% to 15% in the 2021-2022 holiday season<\/span>. That\u2019s an estimated $210 billion in eCommerce sales tied to personal information, banking credentials, corporate financial accounts, and even employee health records.<\/span><\/p>\n

The total number of cyberattacks resulting in compromised data increased by <\/span>27% this year compared to 2020<\/span><\/a>, showing businesses are more vulnerable than ever to security risks.<\/span><\/p>\n

To counteract this rising threat and avoid exposing data to hackers, businesses need to identify and address weak security points and increase end-user education.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

People are the weak point you can\u2019t patch<\/b><\/h2>\n

Imagine you get an urgent email from your boss to review an attached PowerPoint deck before you take time off this summer. The sender\u2019s name looks right, you know the presentation deck like the back of your hand, and you\u2019re eager to hit the road and wrap up your workday. <\/span><\/p>\n

A word of advice: Think twice before you click.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Businesses often get hacked for two reasons: software vulnerabilities or flaws in human behavior. Even the most robust corporate security infrastructures can be brought down by an employee falling for seemingly innocent emails, texts, or even voicemails. <\/span><\/p>\n

Phishing attacks have grown more sophisticated over time, with hackers using unique subject lines, sender\/IP addresses, URLs, and images that are indistinguishable from the software your employees use regularly.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If you think your team will never fall for a fake email or text message \u2014 think again. With more than 258 million corporate users, the Microsoft 365 platform is a breeding ground for sophisticated phishing attacks. <\/span><\/p>\n

Attackers can mimic the protocols and appearance of Office 365 messages and interfaces to trick even the most astute users into downloading malware or disclosing their business login credentials.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Hackers build credential-stealing pages into the same platform used by the recipient, taking advantage of Microsoft Azure to build landing pages with Microsoft-signed SSL certificates. Some fraudsters even create a windows.net domain that is almost indistinguishable from the actual interface.<\/span><\/p>\n

Given a <\/span>300% increase in <\/span>cybercrime<\/span><\/a> since the beginning of the pandemic, businesses need to examine the innate vulnerabilities in human nature to face the unexpected.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

While threats vary depending on the size, sector, and type of organization in question, businesses have many weak points that are exacerbated over the holiday season or summer holidays.<\/span><\/p>\n