Holiday Season is Hacking Season

Happy Thanksgiving! We hope you and yours are finding comfort with family and friends this year. We wish you all peace, health, and happiness during the holiday season. 

Turkey, pies, being thankful for those around us - what could possibly go wrong? Quite a lot, actually. While many of us enjoy the bounty of harvest time, people interested in hacking into your sensitive data may be doing just that. After Thanksgiving begins the biggest shopping holiday of the year, Black Friday. With so many purchases and plans being made, hostile actors know that people are too busy to double-check for fraudulent charges. Likewise, many businesses are taking time off and don't have anyone watching their servers for unusual activity and breaches that could happen while they're away. 

The iTecs team also enjoys a good piece of pumpkin pie and coffee, but we're eating it at our desks. We're still watching your business while you're away, and we'll keep pushing updates, strengthening the firewalls, and resetting passwords until you return. We know that the holidays are a time of reduced vigilance and higher threat, so we take the time to redouble our efforts to protect you from cyber attacks. For those that don't yet have protection from digital threats, here are a few reasons you may want to reconsider. 

Major Ransomware Attacks Occur More Frequently on Holidays and Weekends

With fewer staff on-site, businesses can be slow to respond to evidence of a breach. Businesses are also more vulnerable to certain hacking techniques, such as phishing. The holidays are an ideal time for a phishing attack because many people leave the office and delegate tasks to someone unfamiliar with how things are ordinarily run. This can be an issue because these folks are less savvy to unfamiliar emails coming in and are much more likely to click a suspicious link in hopes that it's a document they might need. 

New Package, Who This?

According to Check Point, this year, hackers impersonating DHL and Amazon made up roughly 20% of Q2's brand phishing attempts. During this holiday season, there's likely to be a surge of hackers using these brand templates to sneak malicious links into your email. Organizations are no less vulnerable to this technique; with more packages coming in and out for the holidays, one misclick on a tracking number can become a serious threat. The stress of the holidays can lead to increased panic should you find yourself compromised and hackers rely on this. Make sure your company has a response plan in case of a breach. If you know what to do in case of an attack, you'll be less likely to commit a critical error. 

Case of the Fridays

With the end of the year holiday season, people let exhaustion seep in and may be lax about double-checking security measures, such as logging off a terminal when they aren't at their desk. We get it; everyone is bringing in potluck dinners and cakes, and it's hard not to doze off at your desk (or elsewhere) once the carbs fully set in. Hackers plan for this behavior and use this time to launch attacks on critical infrastructure. If you don't have someone ready to respond with a patch or an update, you could risk your business. 

A Little Help From Your Friends

Everyone needs a little support during the holidays. Your network is no different. Give the gift that keeps on giving, and enlist iTecs for your IT Support this year. By allowing us to guard your servers, you'll be able to enjoy the festivities without worrying about your data being stolen. Take your well-earned turkey nap without the fear of being woken up with a downtime notification. We've got comprehensive solutions for your organization that will keep the lights on while you're away. 

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