{"id":13648,"date":"2020-12-28T10:00:14","date_gmt":"2020-12-28T10:00:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.openbusinesscouncil.org\/?p=13648"},"modified":"2022-05-04T21:37:26","modified_gmt":"2022-05-04T21:37:26","slug":"cyber-criminals-leverage-the-spike-in-online-sales-during-holiday-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.footballthink.com\/cyber-criminals-leverage-the-spike-in-online-sales-during-holiday-season\/","title":{"rendered":"Cyber Criminals Leverage The Spike In Online Sales\u00a0During Holiday Season"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
Computer hacker or Cyber attack concept background<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Expert identifies 4 cornerstones of retailer\u2019s cyber security<\/strong><\/p>\n

PwC\u2019s 2020 US Holiday Outlook indicates that 61% of those surveyed<\/a> will do most of their shopping online, as 55% mentioned the pandemic being the biggest concern preparing for Christmas this year. Accenture provides similar estimations with 75% respondents<\/a> claiming\u00a0 they would at least partially shop for Christmas online.<\/p>\n

Ecommerce vendors aim to grow their profits due to increased traffic in online stores, but this puts them in the spotlight of cyber criminals, who use similar tactics every year. If the website goes down for a day, retailers lose as much as \u00a319,000 of revenue<\/a> (\u00a3134,850 per week) and in the midst of the holiday shopping spree the numbers are supposedly higher.<\/p>\n

\u201cDue to more people shopping online, the number of cyber attacks are projected to increase. 57% of retailers say<\/a> the surge in online sales has made cyber security especially difficult and 83% of the top US retailers<\/a> have connections to vulnerable third-party assets. Hackers try to take advantage of increased traffic in the online stores to trigger the Denial of Service (DoS) attack and temporarily shut down the website or gain access to user account information. They may, for example, utilize bots, some of which are programmed to snatch the best deals, while others try to break into the user\u2019s account and obtain sensitive data\u201d says Juta Gurinaviciute, the Chief Technology Officer at NordVPN Teams<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Last year, Magecart group managed to implant a card-skimming code on Macy\u2019s website<\/a> and leak crucial payment information, including, but not limited to, name, address and credit card number.\u00a0 This year, Magecart attacks are also considered as one of the most dangerous<\/a> client-side vulnerabilities.<\/p>\n

Hackers also leverage social engineering techniques<\/a> as the online communication in holiday time surges. \u201cUsing hijacked vendors\u2019 emails, criminals can distribute scams through reputable and trusted channels and acquire sensitive client data. Remote work also multiplies the risk.\u201d warns NordVPN Teams<\/a> expert.<\/p>\n

Think about private information. <\/strong>Employees should only be able to access the internal systems through two-factor authentication and guest checkouts shouldn\u2019t be allowed. \u201cSome of the hackers use so-called \u2018friendly fraud\u2019. They purchase the products and then require a refund after the items have reached their hands. More sophisticated ones make use of traditional social engineering practices and attempt to breach ecommerce websites\u201d says Gurinaviciute.<\/p>\n

Be careful with third-party solutions.<\/strong> Many smaller retailers depend on the content management systems (CMS) and various ecommerce plugins. They require some degree of system integration, which can become a gateway for criminals in the event of cyber attack. It is thus wise to limit third party access to any consumer\u2019s private and payment information, a policy known as a \u201cleast privilege\u201d. However, third-party solutions are indispensable while handling the payments, as established providers ensure trustworthy encrypted tunnels for financial operations.<\/p>\n

Take a good look at your website.<\/strong> There are various signs that websites can be trusted and one of the most important is the presence of a secure socket layer (SSL) certificate, which safeguards any data that flows in and out of the website. It is indicated by the \u2018https\u2019 at the beginning of the URL or a lock icon in some of the browsers. Don\u2019t forget that the website theme and general appearance are also telling.\u00a0 Updating a website\u2019s plugins is also relevant as cyber attackers try to leverage their bugs to infiltrate web pages. Important data on servers has to be backed up every once in a while or an automatic backup has to be set, preferably on the offline storage.<\/p>\n

Teach and learn. <\/strong>Cyber security and tech landscape changes quickly and constant learning is necessary to keep up with the advancements. The best way to avoid a disaster caused by cyber attack is to ensure businesses have an up-to-date and functioning crisis management strategy and all workers are instructed about necessary actions they should take in the case of emergency. Risk and security awareness training\u00a0 is crucial, especially if they work remotely.<\/p>\n

About NordVPN Teams<\/strong><\/p>\n

NordVPN Teams is a cloud-based VPN for business <\/a><\/strong>from the world\u2019s most advanced VPN service provider, NordVPN. NordVPN Teams has a full range of features to ensure convenience and powerful digital protection for organizations of all sizes, freelancers, and remote teams. NordVPN Teams offers advanced 256-bit encryption, secure remote access, malware blocking, two-factor authentication, unsecured traffic prevention, automatic connection on Wi-Fi networks, and 24\/7 customer support. NordVPN Teams is available on all major platforms.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Expert identifies 4 cornerstones of retailer\u2019s cyber security PwC\u2019s 2020 US Holiday Outlook indicates that 61% of those surveyed will do most of their shopping online, as 55% mentioned the pandemic being the biggest concern preparing for Christmas this year. Accenture provides similar estimations with 75% respondents claiming\u00a0 they would at least partially shop for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":13649,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":""},"categories":[3585,3666],"tags":[3711,6684,3799],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nCyber Criminals Leverage The Spike In Online Sales\u00a0During Holiday Season - OpenBusinessCouncil Directory<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.intelligenthq.com\/hacking-christmas-cyber-criminals-leverage-spike-online-sales\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Cyber Criminals Leverage The Spike In Online Sales\u00a0During Holiday Season\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Expert identifies 4 cornerstones of retailer\u2019s cyber security PwC\u2019s 2020 US Holiday Outlook indicates that 61% of those surveyed will do most of their shopping online, as 55% mentioned the pandemic being the biggest concern preparing for Christmas this year. Accenture provides similar estimations with 75% respondents claiming\u00a0 they would at least partially shop for […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.intelligenthq.com\/hacking-christmas-cyber-criminals-leverage-spike-online-sales\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"OpenBusinessCouncil Directory\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-12-28T10:00:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-05-04T21:37:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.footballthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Hacking-Christmas-Cyber-Criminals-Leverage-The-Spike-In-Online-Sales-.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"677\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Hernaldo Turrillo\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Hernaldo Turrillo\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.intelligenthq.com\/hacking-christmas-cyber-criminals-leverage-spike-online-sales\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.footballthink.com\/cyber-criminals-leverage-the-spike-in-online-sales-during-holiday-season\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Hernaldo Turrillo\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.footballthink.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b9610afd0759dc701187a7f622375c23\"},\"headline\":\"Cyber Criminals Leverage The Spike In Online Sales\u00a0During Holiday Season\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-12-28T10:00:14+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-05-04T21:37:26+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.footballthink.com\/cyber-criminals-leverage-the-spike-in-online-sales-during-holiday-season\/\"},\"wordCount\":763,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.footballthink.com\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"business resources\",\"business tips\",\"cybersecurity\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Business Resources\",\"Entrepreneurship\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.footballthink.com\/cyber-criminals-leverage-the-spike-in-online-sales-during-holiday-season\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.intelligenthq.com\/hacking-christmas-cyber-criminals-leverage-spike-online-sales\/\",\"name\":\"Cyber Criminals Leverage The Spike In Online Sales\u00a0During Holiday Season - OpenBusinessCouncil Directory\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.footballthink.com\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2020-12-28T10:00:14+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-05-04T21:37:26+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.intelligenthq.com\/hacking-christmas-cyber-criminals-leverage-spike-online-sales\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.intelligenthq.com\/hacking-christmas-cyber-criminals-leverage-spike-online-sales\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.intelligenthq.com\/hacking-christmas-cyber-criminals-leverage-spike-online-sales\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.footballthink.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Cyber Criminals Leverage The Spike In Online Sales\u00a0During Holiday Season\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.footballthink.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.footballthink.com\/\",\"name\":\"OpenBusinessCouncil Directory\",\"description\":\"Openbusinesscouncil\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.footballthink.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.footballthink.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":[\"Organization\",\"Place\"],\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.footballthink.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"openbusinesscounsil\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.footballthink.com\/\",\"sameAs\":[],\"logo\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.intelligenthq.com\/hacking-christmas-cyber-criminals-leverage-spike-online-sales\/#local-main-organization-logo\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.intelligenthq.com\/hacking-christmas-cyber-criminals-leverage-spike-online-sales\/#local-main-organization-logo\"},\"openingHoursSpecification\":[{\"@type\":\"OpeningHoursSpecification\",\"dayOfWeek\":[\"Monday\",\"Tuesday\",\"Wednesday\",\"Thursday\",\"Friday\",\"Saturday\",\"Sunday\"],\"opens\":\"09:00\",\"closes\":\"17:00\"}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.footballthink.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b9610afd0759dc701187a7f622375c23\",\"name\":\"Hernaldo Turrillo\",\"description\":\"Hernaldo Turrillo is a writer and author specialised in innovation, AI, DLT, SMEs, trading, investing and new trends in technology and business. He has been working for ztudium group since 2017. He is the editor of openbusinesscouncil.org, tradersdna.com, hedgethink.com, and writes regularly for intelligenthq.com, socialmediacouncil.eu. Hernaldo was born in Spain and finally settled in London, United Kingdom, after a few years of personal growth. Hernaldo finished his Journalism bachelor degree in the University of Seville, Spain, and began working as reporter in the newspaper, Europa Sur, writing about Politics and Society. He also worked as community manager and marketing advisor in Los Barrios, Spain. Innovation, technology, politics and economy are his main interests, with special focus on new trends and ethical projects. He enjoys finding himself getting lost in words, explaining what he understands from the world and helping others. Besides a journalist, he is also a thinker and proactive in digital transformation strategies. Knowledge and ideas have no limits.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.footballthink.com\/author\/hturrillo\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.intelligenthq.com\/hacking-christmas-cyber-criminals-leverage-spike-online-sales\/#local-main-organization-logo\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.footballthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/logo_big.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.footballthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/logo_big.png\",\"width\":1161,\"height\":250,\"caption\":\"openbusinesscounsil\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Cyber Criminals Leverage The Spike In Online Sales\u00a0During Holiday Season - OpenBusinessCouncil Directory","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.intelligenthq.com\/hacking-christmas-cyber-criminals-leverage-spike-online-sales\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Cyber Criminals Leverage The Spike In Online Sales\u00a0During Holiday Season","og_description":"Expert identifies 4 cornerstones of retailer\u2019s cyber security PwC\u2019s 2020 US Holiday Outlook indicates that 61% of those surveyed will do most of their shopping online, as 55% mentioned the pandemic being the biggest concern preparing for Christmas this year. Accenture provides similar estimations with 75% respondents claiming\u00a0 they would at least partially shop for […]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.intelligenthq.com\/hacking-christmas-cyber-criminals-leverage-spike-online-sales\/","og_site_name":"OpenBusinessCouncil Directory","article_published_time":"2020-12-28T10:00:14+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-05-04T21:37:26+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1024,"height":677,"url":"https:\/\/www.footballthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Hacking-Christmas-Cyber-Criminals-Leverage-The-Spike-In-Online-Sales-.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Hernaldo Turrillo","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Hernaldo Turrillo","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.intelligenthq.com\/hacking-christmas-cyber-criminals-leverage-spike-online-sales\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.footballthink.com\/cyber-criminals-leverage-the-spike-in-online-sales-during-holiday-season\/"},"author":{"name":"Hernaldo Turrillo","@id":"https:\/\/www.footballthink.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b9610afd0759dc701187a7f622375c23"},"headline":"Cyber Criminals Leverage The Spike In Online Sales\u00a0During Holiday Season","datePublished":"2020-12-28T10:00:14+00:00","dateModified":"2022-05-04T21:37:26+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.footballthink.com\/cyber-criminals-leverage-the-spike-in-online-sales-during-holiday-season\/"},"wordCount":763,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.footballthink.com\/#organization"},"keywords":["business resources","business tips","cybersecurity"],"articleSection":["Business Resources","Entrepreneurship"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.footballthink.com\/cyber-criminals-leverage-the-spike-in-online-sales-during-holiday-season\/","url":"https:\/\/www.intelligenthq.com\/hacking-christmas-cyber-criminals-leverage-spike-online-sales\/","name":"Cyber Criminals Leverage The Spike In Online Sales\u00a0During Holiday Season - OpenBusinessCouncil Directory","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.footballthink.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2020-12-28T10:00:14+00:00","dateModified":"2022-05-04T21:37:26+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.intelligenthq.com\/hacking-christmas-cyber-criminals-leverage-spike-online-sales\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.intelligenthq.com\/hacking-christmas-cyber-criminals-leverage-spike-online-sales\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.intelligenthq.com\/hacking-christmas-cyber-criminals-leverage-spike-online-sales\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.footballthink.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Cyber Criminals Leverage The Spike In Online Sales\u00a0During Holiday Season"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.footballthink.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.footballthink.com\/","name":"OpenBusinessCouncil Directory","description":"Openbusinesscouncil","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.footballthink.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.footballthink.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":["Organization","Place"],"@id":"https:\/\/www.footballthink.com\/#organization","name":"openbusinesscounsil","url":"https:\/\/www.footballthink.com\/","sameAs":[],"logo":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.intelligenthq.com\/hacking-christmas-cyber-criminals-leverage-spike-online-sales\/#local-main-organization-logo"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.intelligenthq.com\/hacking-christmas-cyber-criminals-leverage-spike-online-sales\/#local-main-organization-logo"},"openingHoursSpecification":[{"@type":"OpeningHoursSpecification","dayOfWeek":["Monday","Tuesday","Wednesday","Thursday","Friday","Saturday","Sunday"],"opens":"09:00","closes":"17:00"}]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.footballthink.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b9610afd0759dc701187a7f622375c23","name":"Hernaldo Turrillo","description":"Hernaldo Turrillo is a writer and author specialised in innovation, AI, DLT, SMEs, trading, investing and new trends in technology and business. He has been working for ztudium group since 2017. He is the editor of openbusinesscouncil.org, tradersdna.com, hedgethink.com, and writes regularly for intelligenthq.com, socialmediacouncil.eu. Hernaldo was born in Spain and finally settled in London, United Kingdom, after a few years of personal growth. Hernaldo finished his Journalism bachelor degree in the University of Seville, Spain, and began working as reporter in the newspaper, Europa Sur, writing about Politics and Society. He also worked as community manager and marketing advisor in Los Barrios, Spain. Innovation, technology, politics and economy are his main interests, with special focus on new trends and ethical projects. He enjoys finding himself getting lost in words, explaining what he understands from the world and helping others. Besides a journalist, he is also a thinker and proactive in digital transformation strategies. Knowledge and ideas have no limits.","url":"https:\/\/www.footballthink.com\/author\/hturrillo\/"},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.intelligenthq.com\/hacking-christmas-cyber-criminals-leverage-spike-online-sales\/#local-main-organization-logo","url":"https:\/\/www.footballthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/logo_big.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.footballthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/logo_big.png","width":1161,"height":250,"caption":"openbusinesscounsil"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.footballthink.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13648"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.footballthink.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.footballthink.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.footballthink.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.footballthink.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13648"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.footballthink.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13648\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14910,"href":"https:\/\/www.footballthink.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13648\/revisions\/14910"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.footballthink.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13649"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.footballthink.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13648"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.footballthink.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13648"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.footballthink.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13648"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}