Why you should speak to your staff about Cyber Monday
Posted 10th November 2020
With non-essential shops closed until at least 2nd December this year, it is likely that many shoppers will flock online on Cyber Monday on 30th November. For those not in the know, Cyber Monday is the online equivalent of Black Friday, where online sellers offer deals to entice sales. Traditionally the busiest online day for sales, this year it could be even bigger with Amazon announcing that they will begin their Cyber Monday event 4 days earlier.
So, why do you need to talk to your staff about Cyber Monday? Firstly, there is a chance that they may try to make online purchases using company equipment. While most websites are safe, cybercriminals have become increasingly sophisticated at designing fake emails and websites that look just like the real thing. This means that a click through on an offer link, could lead someone to a fraudulent website, designed to gather information and sell it on the Dark Web.
Linked to this is the danger of phishing emails, which could compromise the security of your network. Phishing emails are one of the easiest tools hackers can use for breaching your IT security, and what can be an innocuous click can lead to data loss or a cyberattack.
With staff members increasingly using their own devices, ensuring that they are properly trained in Cyber Security awareness can help them to spot the risks.
At this point, it’s also important to mention password management. Regularly checking passwords and ensuring that they haven’t been duplicated for different accounts (for example, is your Microsoft Teams login the same as your eBay login) helps to maintain high levels of security. Ensuring that team members have different passwords for everything keeps not only your company’s data safe, but their data and information safe too.
At the end of the day, we all love a bargain, especially with December festivities just around the corner, but it is important to always ask “how much will this bargain item actually cost me?” If it looks like it’s too good to be true, it probably is.