Christmas a high season for IT fraudsters – how to reduce the risk of attacks

Christmas is approaching and while most of us are looking forward to some relaxing time off, IT fraudsters are preparing for what is perhaps the busiest time of the year. If there’s anyone who doesn’t take a break during Christmas, it’s IT fraudsters. The number of phishing e-mails increases during the holiday period, and a full three out of four cyberattacks happen outside of office hours. Below, Dennie Karlsson, Group CISO of Dustin, shares some effective tips to prevent cyberattacks around Christmas.

From an IT fraudster’s perspective, Christmas is the perfect occasion for phishing attacks, which are also one of the most common attack methods. Phishing is designed to trick the receiver into opening a document, visiting a website or downloading a file by clicking a link. The aim is to gain access to money and passwords.

“A link offering a Christmas present, for example, is a perfect lure. The e-mails often look like they are from the company’s CEO, for example, and the recipient is also encouraged to act swiftly,” says Dennie Karlsson.

Remain calm
“Use caution if you receive an email or text message that urges you to click a link. It’s important to remain calm and to never click a link or respond to any urgent calls to action. Don’t act hastily, and think carefully before you act,” says Dennie Karlsson.

Use the STAR method
Another effective way to prevent cyber attacks is to use the STAR method – Stop, Think, Ask and Report.

“The STAR method is very effective. Stop –do not click the link, and ignore any other requests. Think carefully, and assess the risk based on what you know. Ask someone for a second opinion, and Report the suspected phishing attempt,” says Dennie Karlsson.

Multi-factor authentication and password management
Multi-factor authorisation (MFA) is also something that considerably increases protection and using MFA for company as well as private applications, such as Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn, is strongly recommended. Password Manager is also an application that Dennie Karlsson encourages people to use:

“Attackers are often looking for user credentials, so last but not least, I would like to recommend some kind of password manager to keep track of all passwords and ensure that no password is used for more than one place,” he says.