The holiday shopping frenzy has already begun as people try to get out ahead of a supply chain crunch. This means that employees in Connecticut and throughout the country will be on their phones and computers buying gifts while on a company network and/or device.
Approximately 69% of all surveyed employees (and 81% of millennials) admit that they shop online during work hours. This is why companies need to take additional precautions to maintain their cybersecurity during the holiday season.
We recommend taking a two-pronged approach. One prong involves putting network safeguards in place to ensure that you are properly protected. Many phishing sites masquerade as retailers offering great deals on holiday gifts. Phishing email volume also increases during this time. The emails that we see the most often include fake shipment tracking notices and order receipts.
The second part of the approach is to provide your employees with online shopping tips that help them stay safe by adopting smart security practices.
We will give you some tips on both areas so that you can reduce your risk of an online breach or malware infection.
Network Safeguards to Reduce Risk During the Holiday Shopping Season
Add Web Content filtering
Web content filtering, also known as a DNS filter, helps protect you from malicious websites that might fool your employees into thinking they’re a legitimate shopping site.
Filtering can detect malicious sites when a URL is clicked and redirects users to a warning page. This avoids the malware or credential theft that can happen on these dangerous websites.
Web filtering also allows you to block specific websites from being reached from your company network (such as YouTube or another site that might be considered non-productive).
Use a Good Email Spam/Phishing Filter
Phishing volume has already been on an upward trajectory this year. It increased 281% in May and another 284% in June. It will likely go even higher during November and December.
Employees thinking about holiday shopping and getting work finished before their time off may not be looking as closely at incoming emails as they should. Putting an email filter in place can significantly reduce the amount of phishing that ends up in front of employees. This improves your IT security and lowers the risk of human error causing a breach.
If You Use Microsoft 365, Implement Some of the Phishing Safeguards
There are certain safeguards in Microsoft 365 that you can enable to beef up your defenses against phishing. Some are dependent upon the plan you have,. Others are available to all M365 business customers.
A few that you should look into are:
- Increasing the number of email attachment file types blocked by default
- Use of safe links to rewrite links that are found to be malicious
- Use of a warning that allows an employee to know when a message has originated outside of the organization
Safe Online Shopping Tips for Employees
Use a VPN When Shopping Online from a Public Network
A VPN will prevent your credentials or credit card details from being stolen by a hacker that is on the same public network that you’re connected to when shopping online. It is an important safeguard to use (especially for mobile devices). This is because you may be connecting to multiple public networks while you’re out and about.
Never Check Orders or Tracking from Email Links
Phishing emails that pretend to be UPS tracking notices or Amazon order receipts are filling up people’s email inboxes during this time of the year. It is easy to mistake one of these fake emails for a real tracking notice since you are expecting to see some.
Get in the habit of always going to either the retailer website or the shipper’s site directly and either typing in the tracking details or signing into your account to check up on shipment status. This helps you avoid falling for a spoofed phishing site.
Use PayPal or a Wallet App to Shop Online
Whether a person is buying presents from their own gift list or using the company payment details to buy client gift cards, this tip can help you avoid credit card fraud.
Use either PayPal or a wallet app like Apple Pay or Google Pay to make purchases online whenever you can. The retailer will not receive your payment card details and that protects you in case they have a database breach at some point in the future.
If a site doesn’t take these alternate methods of payment, you can also purchase a pre-paid Visa or MasterCard that is not attached to a bank account to make purchases online.
Need Help Putting Email Security & Web Protection In Place?
Sound Computers can help your Connecticut business increase your defenses against phishing and other online threats through simple solutions that automate your security.
Contact us today to schedule a free consultation. Call 860-577-8060 or reach us online.