This Valentine’s Day Beware Of The Cyber Arrows
It may seem uncanny that Valentine’s Day and cyber fraud are inextricably linked. In actuality, cybersecurity research firms and analysts say that these two entities are far more closely bonded than the average person would like to think.
During Valentine’s Day, Cupid won’t be the only one shooting arrows at prospective romantic partners. There will also be cybercrooks on the prowl, on virtual wings, attempting to capitalize on love-seekers with bogus offers, non-existent gift cards, imaginary vouchers, and more.
As part of the Ministry of Home Affairs’ Cyber Dost Twitter handle, Cyberdost has already urged people not only to be wary of fraudsters on Valentine’s Day but to be aware of frauds throughout Valentine’s week as well. A similar alert was issued last year, and this alert serves the purpose of creating awareness of the various traps that cybercrooks set on social networks to target those who are planning to buy gifts or make vouchers as gifts to their loved ones.
Many online shoppers search for gifts online; this has contributed to the rise of phishing emails and malicious domains that pose as genuine gift sites and as well-known brands’ websites. Cyber security agencies said that these are in addition to Valentine’s Day online scams, such as offers with prizes or lucky number winners, or links to special discounts in star hotels to celebrate the day. It has become commonplace in recent years to find fake websites offering gift vouchers, huge discounts, or deals on Valentine’s Day products such as chocolates, jewellery, and roses, among others, they said.
Along with these, Cyber Dost has also cautioned the public about Remote Access Fraud and Online Fake Medicine fraud. The increase in the number of Covid cases across the country, many of whom are being treated at home, has increased online purchases of medicines, which are on the rise as cybercrooks use them, the report noted.
 
During Valentine’s Day celebrations in February 2021, Check Point researchers discovered something downright malicious, as people flocked to online stores to purchase flowers, chocolates, and other gifts. A weekly average of over 400 Valentine’s Day-themed phishing emails were launched by cyberattackers targeting innocent online shoppers and users every week before February 14, a 29% increase from last year.
Cybercriminals are now using a broader range of tricks to take advantage of Valentine’s Day, including phishing attacks and fake e-greeting cards loaded with malware, fake florist websites that steal credit card information, and dozens of other tricks. Cyber-safety and security awareness messages have been sent throughout the week leading up to Valentine’s Day by the Indian Home Ministry’s social media handle @CyberDost, which also advised the public not to share personal information with strangers online, especially during the week leading up to Valentine’s Day.
Your security knowledge will probably prevent you from being taken in. However, it’s impossible to make that guarantee about your staff.
Historically, cybercriminals have figured out that people are less guarded during special holidays when their spirits are high. It is even worse for bad actors who lure unsuspecting users into online frauds by sending them invitations to quizzes or links that offer discounts on Valentine’s Day or offer gift vouchers, high discounts, or deals on Valentine’s Day gifts such as chocolates, jewellery, roses, etc. The good news is that we can fight this back.
You can protect your business from Valentine’s Day heartache by following these five steps.
- Keep an eye out during your peak season
as you know when your business is most critical. Pool-cleaning companies experience their peak season during the summer months. In gold and silver jewellery shops and home decor shops, the weeks and months before Diwali can mean the difference between success and failure.
When these situations arise, your systems and data must work smoothly and efficiently. You already know this. Hackers know the same thing. To maximize the amount of money you receive from ransomware, they will target your business when it is most vulnerable. In the case of hacking attacks on flower chains, hackers know that if they choose a special day to attack the websites, the chains will have to pay a hefty price to get the systems back up and running because each minute lost translates into more money lost.
All businesses must remain vigilant during peak season. It is imperative that they ensure they have adequate security to keep hackers out and that they have strong defences when they need them most.
- Secure your data by backing it up and encrypting it
Keeping your organization’s data encrypted and backed up can prove crucial in protecting you from ransomware attacks. If your offline backups are good, you should quickly restore any compromised systems. Additionally, run-time backups should also be performed offline, since an attack on your online connected drives could lock them up.
Furthermore, encryption of sensitive information is highly recommended. Having your data encrypted will prevent an attacker from extorting you if they gain access to your critical assets.
- Make sure you educate your employees
that human error causes almost 90% of all security breaches. By contrast, security-awareness training can be an effective way for your employees to learn what they need to know to prevent breaches, such as how to recognize those phishing emails that are the opening mechanism for most ransomware attacks.
By reminding your employees to practice good cyber hygiene, especially since they are often working remotely, you will also be able to assist them. Basic data backup measures like storing data at multiple locations and on a consistent schedule are essential. Organize and back up data from workers’ USB drives onto hard drives or the cloud if most of their data is stored on a USB drive. Remember to remind them to save a copy of their data offline if they store a lot of data in the cloud.
- Install MFA on your systems
Here are two statistics to consider. Around 81 per cent of breaches are associated with stolen or weak passwords. There are one million stolen passwords every week.
Nonetheless, you can secure yourself against stolen passwords by enabling multifactor authentication (MFA). In addition to adding an extra layer of security to your systems, it’s one of the easiest as well as best ways to protect your company from a hack.
Your online accounts are far more secure if you add a second factor of authentication, such as Google Authenticator. It’s also recommended to use a password wallet where all your passwords can be stored, as well as creating long, complex passwords for each account. Always ensure that password wallet accounts are protected with two-factor authentication.
- Make sure your defences are strong
Although you should always have a strong backup, as mentioned above, it is just as crucial that you can restore your data quickly and completely. Do you have this capability? It is best to test. Ensure you are regularly testing your backup copies to make sure they can be reliably restored.
As well as testing your security regularly, you should also automate the process. Penetration testing can provide an excellent method of doing this. When you perform a pen test on your business, you test the security of your IT infrastructure through a simulated attack. A comprehensive, professional pen test costs between $10,000 and $30,000. That’s a lot of money. However, keep in mind that the average cost of a data breach now exceeds $4 million.
Most of us expect love and trust to go hand-in-hand because human nature generally lends itself to trust. Unfortunately, there are too many bad players on the internet who play spoilsport and undermine our trust. You must not allow them to do that to you or your business. Your February 14 should be spent reaching out to those you care about, not desperately trying to reestablish contact with lost data. Protect your business from cyberattacks and spend your February 14 interacting with those you care about.
edited and proofread by nikita sharmaÂ
