10 Essential Cyber Security Measures to Protect Online Business from Cyberattacks this Holiday Season

In the holiday season, especially black Friday sales, we see an increase in shopping and online digital transactions. Unfortunately, it is also the peak period for cybercriminal attacks. This customer paid billions during this time, and businesses faced the risk of cyber-criminal attacks, which also led to vulnerabilities. According to recent data, during Black Friday week (25th to 29th November 2024), attempted Christmas-themed phishing attacks leaped 37% worldwide. At the same time, the ransomware attacks were over USD 5.2 million.

Cybercriminals use advanced level of methods for spamming emails, especially during the holiday season, by sending malicious links and fake websites, which mostly target businesses and customers. Because of this, it may cause our brand reputation, data loss, and financial status.

Another report from Checkpoint Research releases new data for Q2 2024 on cyberattack trends. This report measures the global volume, industry, and geography of cyberattacks. Cybercriminals' attack numbers are driven by many reasons, such as using AI and machine learning.

This Checkpoint research also warns that these factors will accelerate a number of cyberattacks in 2024; because of this reason, it tends a need for a robust cybersecurity shield.

Below are the key statistics: -

For Q2 2024, Check Point noticed a 30% hike in cyberattacks worldwide, hitting 1,636 weekly attacks per organization.

The top 3 most attacked industries were Education/Research (3,341 attacks per week), Government/Military (2,084 attacks per week), and Healthcare (1,999 attacks per week).

Latin America (+53%), Africa (+37%), and Europe (+35%) had the highest growths in cyberattacks in Q2 2024 versus YoY.

Africa had the highest number of attacks, with 2,960 weekly attacks per organization.

Here are the top 10 cyber security precautions for avoiding cyberattacks throughout the holiday season.

1. Security Audit/Security Monitoring

Security audits are an essential foundation of cyber security strategy. They help detect weaker sections of IT infrastructure and identify vulnerabilities, ensuring that your system remains protected from evolving threats. Complementing auditing and continuous security monitoring ensures real-time detection of malicious activity, allowing continuous response to potential attacks. You can also deploy advanced tools like Artificial Intelligence and machine learning to detect threats by identifying patterns before they escalate.

2. Implement Strong Encryption Protocols

Encryption is a way to protect sensitive information from unauthorized parties. The encryption layer is critical for protecting customers' payment transactions or log in details. Similarly, you can encrypt all sensitive information to communicate with the organization.

Here are some examples of encryption security protocols: -

Database encryption: - It uses algorithms to secure the data without impacting the performance, such as logs, backups, etc.

Symmetric encryption: - It uses the secret key to encrypt and decrypt the cipher text. Both the sender and receiver have access keys.

Asymmetric encryption uses a pair of public and private keys. Only one public key is visible, but the private key is required to decrypt the data.

TLS: It encrypts all the parties' data and the traffic.

3. Backup Critical Data Regularly

Regularly keeping the backup for the business is the most essential way to keep data secure from ransomware attacks. This will ensure the backups are automated, encrypted, and stored in secure, isolated environments, such as cloud storage or offline servers.

Also, you can periodically test your backup or processes to make sure the data can be restored in case of an attack or system failure. A well-planned backup strategy will safeguard your businesses from data loss and downtime during the holiday season.

4. Employee Awareness Training

Human errors are among the most critical issues leading to cybersecurity breaches. Regular employee training programs will be most advantageous in helping employees understand fake links, malicious attacks, and phishing attacks and adhere to cybersecurity practices. This will help to identify the authenticity of emails and websites, especially during the holiday season when phishing attacks are on the rise. Provide the employees with a real-use case scenario to improve their responsive skills.

5. Strengthen Access Controls

To restrict the sensitive information and the systems based on the roles and responsibilities reduced the risk of insider threats and the unauthorized access. Also, Implementing the MFA, i.e., Multi-Factor Authentication, adds an extra layer of security to all the user accounts. It regularly checks access permissions to ensure employees only have access to the resources they need based on their roles. You can also adopt a Zero-Trust Security Model, which assumes no user or the device is trustworthy by default; it requires continuous verification before granting access to particular resources.

6. Patch Management

Outdated software is a very common entry point for cybercriminal attackers. Needs to ensure all software, operating systems, and applications are updated with the latest security patches. Regular patch management will address vulnerabilities that hackers try to attack during high-traffic periods like the holiday season. Automate the updated patch where possible and prioritize patches for systems that protect sensitive customer or financial data.

7. Secure online payment system

Online payment systems are always the prime targets for cyberattacks during the holiday season. Protect your business with secure payment gateways with SSL/TLS certificates to encrypt your customer's transaction details. You can also use the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards to ensure your payment processing meets the highest standards of security layers. Moreover, payment methods such as digital wallets use tokenization to add extra security layers.

8. Monitor Third-Party Vendors and Supply Chain Security

Cybercriminals often target third-party vendors to gain access from larger organizations. Ensure that you access and monitor all the third-party vendors and the service provider for your business. Vendors are required to follow cybersecurity policies to ensure they safeguard their business. You can also define contractual agreement to responsibilities in case of cyberattack incidents.

9. Deploy Advanced Endpoint Security Solutions

When employees access the computer system from various devices, endpoint security is more crucial than ever. Set up Endpoint Detection and Incident Response tools on all your devices - desktops, laptops, and mobile phones. These systems spot real-time threats and fight against malware and ransomware attacks that target your devices.

Additionally, Endpoint is more critical in hybrid or remote work environments.

10. Implement a Zero-Trust Security Framework

Putting a zero-trust security framework into action ensures that every user, device, and application undergoes constant checks before accessing sensitive data. Unlike old-school security models, zero-trust gets rid of trust within the network, which means every request needs to be authenticated and authorized.

Stay Secure This Holiday Season

The holiday season is critical for businesses to protect their online operations against cyber threats. Implementing the above 10 cybersecurity measures will protect your company from phishing attacks, ransomware, and other attacks while maintaining consumer confidence and operational continuity.