Examining cybersecurity before holiday shopping

While October is Cyber Security Awareness month, it turns out November 30 was Computer Security Day.  As the holiday season now coming upon a quarantined populace, it can be useful to examine how things stand in the field of cybersecurity, since few things have such an impact on consumer shopping online.

According to a study from the University of Maryland, hackers attack users with internet access every 39 seconds on average, around 2,200 times per day, affecting one in three US citizens each year.  A vast majority of these (95%) are caused by human error, claims Cybint Solutions.  Honestly, though, even if it sometimes seems like a fruitless endeavor to try to sufficiently educate and prepare employees about phishing schemes, the data still maintains it as the best defense against such infiltrations.  There’s really no shortcut around keeping the workforce aware and invested in the issue.

Concomitant with that, PhishMe demonstrates how in recent years around 90% of incidents begin with phishing attacks.  The FBI has also reported a 300% increase in cyber attacks since the COVID pandemic forced companies to work remotely.  And if the data is anything to go by, nearly 80% of organizations lack a response plan in the event of a breach.  These are yet more contributing factors to the modern cyber risks we all face, and why it’s imperative to stay vigilant and take any necessary steps.

For small-to-midsize businesses (SMBs), which generally range from 100 to 1,000 employees, the costs of a data breach continue to be even more significant than for larger firms with more resources.  The average cost for businesses of these sizes is around $3.9 million globally, states IBM.  In the US, that average soars to about $8.6 million.  When they come up against an effective phishing campaign or stumble into internal error, the price to recover data can severely damage a smaller business — especially in pandemic times, and especially without a cohesive plan in place.  With 43% of cyber attacks targeting SMBs, the investment in protecting sensitive data can be a critical one.  If a delay in detecting a breach occurs, it can further complicate matters.

It’s good to keep statistics like these in mind as we approach a time where, more than ever perhaps, payment card data is going to be flying through online transactions, and, if measures aren’t in place, potentially making vulnerable their owners.  So watch where you shop, and as always, monitor your accounts.