Securing Your Business on Black Friday/Cyber Monday
In 2022, Black Friday sales topped $9 billion. Cyber Monday sales surpassed that at over $11 billion. Worldwide, these represent two of the biggest shopping days of the year. Although that could be good for your business coffers, at the same time the traffic volume represents an opportunity for cybercriminals.rnrnThe shopping spike sees businesses handling more credit card numbers and confidential data. That's lucrative for the bad actors behind ransomware, malware, and phishing attacks.rnrnYou must follow cyber standards year-round when handling online payments and personal data, yet Black Friday and Cyber Monday require proactive measures to protect your business.rn
Be Ready for Ransomware
rnRansomware is already on the rise. Don't get caught off guard with your IT and security teams enjoying time off during the holidays. Set up reliable autonomous security to protect against the disruption of these attacks.rnrnOther proactive measures to support cybersecurity resilience include:rn- rn
- establishing reliable data backups to enable data restoration and cut productivity loss; rn
- segmenting your networks to prevent an attack from spreading throughout your IT environment; rn
- limiting access, giving users only the bare access permissions they need to get work done. rn
Set up Monitoring
rnStopping attackers from getting into business systems is increasingly difficult, but that doesn't mean you have to allow breaches to happen. Instead, focus on monitoring online activity and identifying threatening behavior.rnrnTake advantage of machine learning and artificial intelligence (ML/AI) solutions. These use strategic intelligence to continuously analyze and evaluate potential threats. They can watch your networks and endpoints for intrusion and malware attacks.rnReduce Attack Vectors
rnCybercriminals need access to your IT environment to attack successfully. They can use social engineering, compromised passwords, or unpatched systems to get in. It doesn't help that most businesses have an expanding attack surface. Your digital footprint grows with cloud-based systems and Internet of Things (IoT) tools. Plus, some employees bring their own devices to work.rnrnTake the following steps to reduce hacking risks:rn- rn
- Audit your security environment. rn
- Identify vulnerabilities. rn
- Lock down user permissions. rn
- Confirm your encryption protocols are robust and secure. rn
- Restrict direct access to infrastructure such as database servers. rn
- Use multi-factor authentication. rn
- Install software patches to ensure you're not running out-of-date software. rn