In today’s cybersecurity landscape, Black Friday represents a critical period when companies need to step up their defences against potential cyber attacks, taking a proactive approach to ensure the security of their systems.
Indeed, the human factor remains one of the critical points in the defence of corporate IT systems. Many security incidents occur due to carelessness, recklessness or lack of user awareness. In this context, it is crucial to minimise human errors and the risk of compromising corporate data and resources.
Black Friday and prevention
In these bidding days, the likelihood of being deceived by phishing or devious malware is higher. Resources need to be educated on cyber risks and best practices to avoid falling victim to attacks such as phishing. Here are some tips for users to avoid falling for fraudulent offers these days:
- Implement multi-factor authentication (MFA) to mitigate unauthorised access during Black Friday
- Keep all software and system patches up-to-date to reduce vulnerabilities exploitable by attackers
- Use a reliable VPN to encrypt traffic during online transactions during the event
- Avoid clicking on suspicious links or providing sensitive data in response to unsolicited emails
- Constantly monitor transactions and financial movements to promptly detect abnormal activity or fraudulent transactions.
Culture = time + dedication
We have to be aware that creating a security culture takes time and dedication, as it implies a behavioural change that does not happen overnight.
This is why one must secure one’s infrastructure from the outset to minimise any human error. So let’s see how companies can prevent any compromise:
- Configure an advanced monitoring system to detect and respond quickly to attacks during peak transaction times
- Implement detection systems that identify vulnerabilities and security patches that correct them
- Monitor the supply chain, assessing suppliers and verifying their security processes
- Train staff on computer security awareness to reduce the risk of unauthorised access or phishing
- Enter into incident response agreements with specialised providers to ensure effective response to breaches.
Security Policy
Information security policies are essential to protect companies and sensitive data. There are numerous security policies that should be scrupulously followed, such as firewall protection measures, which prevent unauthorised intrusion, adherence to standards such as ISO 27001, zero-trust strategies, the use of secure virtual environments, and the locking of external access to servers containing sensitive data.
In addition to these, there is the password policy, which regulates the complexity and frequent changing of passwords, the mandatory use of MFA (multi-factor authentication) to protect access, and the use of corporate VPNs to ensure confidentiality of communications.
Another key point concerns non-disclosure policies for personal information online. However, even if all these recommendations are followed to the letter, the risk remains high if the user is not careful and falls victim to a well-thought-out cyber attack.
All it takes is a single click on a suspicious link in a fraudulent offer e-mail, followed by the entry of one’s company credentials, to compromise the entire system.
No less dangerous is the installation of pirated software on corporate devices, an action that can lead to infection by a stealer (malicious software) that is invisible or difficult to identify by common antivirus software.
Stealers operate silently, collecting sensitive information from the user such as cookies, passwords, browsing histories, accesses to cryptocurrency wallets and even the contents of the Windows clipboard, often including seed phrases used to access cryptocurrency wallets.
Analysis by Vasily Kononov – Threat Intelligence Lead, CYBEROO
