Security Tips to Help You stay Safe This Holiday Season

As a Managed IT Services Provider, it’s important to us that your network, data, and users are safe at all times. The holidays are a known time during which cyber criminals take advantage of the fact that people are away from the office in hopes that your guard will be down.

An Advisory issued by CISA and FBI this week gives this more weight as they recount past attack trends during holidays.

From the article:

CISA and the FBI strongly urge all entities – especially critical infrastructure partners – to examine their current cybersecurity posture and implement best practices and mitigations to manage the risk posed by cyber threats.

Specifically, CISA and the FBI urge users and organizations to take the following actions to protect themselves from becoming the next victim:

• Identify IT security employees for weekends and holidays who would be available to surge during these times in the event of an incident or ransomware attack.
• Implement multi-factor authentication for remote access and administrative accounts.
• Mandate strong passwords and ensure they are not reused across multiple accounts.
• If you use remote desktop protocol (RDP) or any other potentially risky service, ensure it is secure and monitored.
• Remind employees not to click on suspicious links, and conduct exercises to raise awareness.

Additionally, CISA and the FBI recommend maintaining vigilance against the multiple techniques cybercriminals use to gain access to networks, including:

• Phishing scams, such as unsolicited emails posing as charitable organizations.
• Fraudulent sites spoofing reputable businesses – it is possible malicious actors will target sites often visited by users doing their holiday shopping online.
• Unencrypted financial transactions.

An article issued by StealthLabs last year gives some great Cyber Security tips for Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

While the tips are geared towards consumers, remember that your users may be using their company issued devices when shopping online.

Some of the same tactics for taking advantage of individuals are also used to gain information about organizations and initiate ransomware attacks.

See the full article to details about the following:

• Fake Websites
• Secure Websites
• Phishing Emails
• Pop-ups and Ads
• Secure Payment Methods
• Secure Passwords
• Secure Networks
• Security Software
• Bank Accounts
• Social Media Scams

If Sequentur is managing your security, rest assured that our guard will be up as you enjoy your holiday with the peace of mind that we are on it. The same should be true if you are working with another reputable Managed IT Services Provider.

In an additional effort to help you stay secure, join us on Thursday December 2nd at 10:30 AM EST to talk about how you can keep your organization safe over the holidays.

Register here: No Days Off for Cyber Criminals: Tips for Staying Safe Over the Holiday Season

If you have questions or need support with managing and securing your network, reach out today.

Tampa Bay: (813) 489-4122 | Washington DC: (703) 260-1119

Nashville: (629) 895-4969 | Philadelphia: (215) 987-5199 | Atlanta: (404) 445-8415


Resources:
CISA and FBI: Advisory
CISA and FBI: Best practices and mitigations
CISA and FBI: Phishing scams
CISA and FBI: Fraudulent sites spoofing reputable businesses
CISA and FBI: Unencrypted financial transactions
StealthLabs: Article