As the holiday season approaches, companies eagerly prepare for the surge in online shopping that accompanies Black Friday and Cyber Monday. However, with the increased digital activity comes a higher risk of cyber threats that can compromise sensitive information, damage reputations, and disrupt business operations. We’re shining a light on the diverse threats that companies may face during the holiday season while considering what general, yet important, preventive measures can be implemented to ensure a secure experience for businesses of every variety and their consumers.

Taking Advantage of the Deals

Thanksgiving marks the kickoff of the holiday gift-giving season for much of the retail industry. With that comes increased customer traffic and without fail, stress on a company and their business systems. Hackers and other cybercriminals are very aware of the weaknesses that can come to light during this period and won’t hesitate to make their moves. Are your defenses reinforced?

While cyber threats are prevalent for the entire year, the holiday season is a great time to reevaluate your systems and provide another round of employee training. Using an array of methods, hackers can gain access to a system through either missing controls or controls that are not operating as designed. It can be a lot to cover since cyber security is a vast landscape but we’ve outlined some simple key points any business can focus on, no matter what solutions you have in place, so you can address what really matters:

Many cyberattacks can be attributed to human error, such as stolen credentials from responding to a phishing email. So even if cybersecurity training is one of your pillars in employee training and onboarding, now is a good time for company-wide refresher training, so it can remain in the forefront of everyone’s minds.

This is also the time to review access controls and user permissions. The owner of your business system should periodically review user access to make sure that the information employees have access to is still appropriate for their job functions. If something requires an update, have these controls adjusted as needed so nothing is left to chance.

3. Communicate with Consumers

Phishing attacks, while many people are aware of them, become commonplace during the holiday season. Take the time to remind not only employees, but also consumers how, where, and why you will communicate with them as well as information you will and will not require.

4. Double Check Your Systems

Make sure all your systems are up to date with all available software updates, any necessary password changes are complete, and there are no signs of malware. While these should be routine checks for your team, it never hurts to check again.

Fortify your Solutions

The busyness of the holiday shopping season doesn’t end after this whirlwind of a weekend, it’s only the beginning. It can seem daunting while there’s so much else to do but now is the time to check your security from all angles. Look for potential control weaknesses, find opportunities to make changes around these controls, and reinforce the importance of vigilance to your whole team. Making the effort now will provide you with increased confidence throughout the rest of the year and give you the right footing, as we welcome the new year. Preventive controls are the key and it doesn’t have to be complicated.

Protect What Matters

If you're looking to fortify your security strategy and safeguard your organization's digital assets, Fastpath offers robust solutions that can help you achieve these goals. To explore our comprehensive suite of security tools and gain in-depth insights in the functionality Fastpath provides, please visit our website or connect with one of our advisors. Your path to a more secure future starts here. Protect what matters with Fastpath.