Why the Holiday Season is Also the Biggest Hacker Holiday

December 21, 2015 at 2:17 pm By

It’s not a surprise that during one of the biggest shopping seasons of the year hackers are lurking and ready to celebrate all of the stolen data that are able to get their hands on. In fact, you might think with so much credit card activity companies and mobile devices used to purchase items would have taken and increased amount of security precautions. Unfortunately there are just too many ways for hackers to steal information today.

“There’s lots of tricks and traps out there. Researchers at Zscaler discovered a malicious smartphone app that posed as Amazon but was actually trying to steal data. The app did its dirty work after users thought they’d already deleted it,” according to CNET‘s Laura Hautala.

“That’s just one example. A whopping 40 percent of each year’s online fraud happens during October, November and December, according to Rurik Bradbury, a marketing executive at e-commerce security company Trustev.”

Hautala simply points this influx of security breaches towards the holiday rush. Countless amounts of shoppers bring confusion and an overload of information. There are also the shoppers who don’t really know much better when it comes to going for all sorts of links promising the biggest and best sale prices as well as the ones who aren’t cautious enough to be sure to change their passwords or use different ones for all of their accounts.

“All hackers have to do is cook up an app or set up fake deal websites and then attract you with an email promising a bargain,” said Hautala.

“Click the link and — bam! — you’ve downloaded malicious software. Your computer or phone is now compromised by hackers. You don’t even have to hand your credit card number over to the criminal. Though if you do, it’s even worse.”

It would probably be in the consumers best efforts to do the proper research and protect themselves from these types of dangers. However, the argument here would be that the companies are responsible for ensuring proper security measures as well. That being said, somewhere along the way common ground must be found so that the holiday celebrations don’t got awry.

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