Experts urge caution when shopping online during DSS

Experts urge caution when shopping online during DSS

Retailers and customers need to stay alert when they are shopping online during busy holiday periods and festivals such as the ongoing Dubai Summer Surprises (DSS 2021), security experts warned. Busy holiday periods that are characterised by a large number of deals and sales are active grounds for cybercriminals, experts explained. Tactics most commonly used by cybercriminals during this period include impersonating popular brands to dupe shoppers. "With the UAE in the middle of its annual peak shopping season - the Dubai Summer Surprises - online retailers and their customers need to remain on high alert for cyberattacks," said Werno Gevers, cybersecurity specialist at Mimecast. Based on Mimecast's threat monitoring, global brand impersonation e-mails directed at Mimecast customers rose by 44 per cent in 2020 to reach an average of nearly 27 million e-mails per month. Since this only accounts for Mimecast customers, the actual scale of the problem is likely far worse, Gevers pointed out. "The more popular the brand, the more likely it will be co-opted into cybercriminals' nefarious plans," he explained. "Companies on the Brandz Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands 2020 index experienced a massive 381 per cent increase in brand impersonation attacks during the two