Phishing attacks have seen an enormous increase ever since the COVID-19 pandemic started. Most of the offline merchants started their business online and this shift created dangerous security concerns for businesses as well as web users. The different tactics that hackers used during the pandemic are as follows.
- According to a study by the security magazine, Barracuda Networks, a security expert recently revealed that email phishing spiked by 600% in the year 2020. And most targets were online sellers and buyers.
- Hackers purchased domain names and created actual websites to pose as online sellers of sanitizers. A rise in demand and the look of the malicious websites made it hard for customers to realize that the websites they were making a purchase from were actually malicious websites.
All these tricks affected businesses just as much as the users who ended up giving sensitive financial details while trying to make a purchase. And the worst thing is that the ongoing work from home culture is nowhere near the end since nobody really knows for how long the pandemic will continue. Some of the reasons that people being at home have increased financial theft via phishing are as follows.
- People have started watching TV at a pace like never before. Most TVs these days are smart televisions that run on the internet. So, whenever a user pays online to buy the subscription of a specific stream, they put their details at risk if the backdoor password of the device or streaming network is weak.
- Employees working from home are at risk since they do not understand the importance of router patching. If a router gets hacked, all smart devices at home will be hacked too.
This sudden conjure of millions of unprotected devices and uninformed users have given hackers a goldmine to exploit. So, if you really want to protect your devices/assets from these online threat actors, you need to follow the following protocols as laid by cybersecurity experts.
- Every device on the internet should have a different password.
- The password has to be worthy – long, strong, and unique. Only then it will offer real protection.
- Make a separate Wi-Fi access for guests rather than giving them access to your primary home network.
- Always install updates, patch the router, and debug your devices.
- Don’t reuse old passwords. It increases the risk of credential stuffing.
- Don’t click on links or attachments that come with emails that either look shady or are from unknown sources.
Following these few tricks will actually make your devices safer and reduce the risk of online thefts and fraud.
