Shopping online? Make sure cybersecurity clicks

Shopping online? Make sure cybersecurity clicks

Consumers that are planning to shop for themselves and their loved ones during this holiday season should educate themselves on the various ways that scammers are looking to take advantage of their shopping habits, experts have said.

Werno Gevers, cybersecurity specialist at Mimecast, explained that the retail sector continues to be an attractive target for cybercriminals due to the strong financial motivation, increased e-commerce activity in light of the pandemic, and the potential to steal data or credentials.

Online shopping, he said, has steadily grown in recent years, but 2020 saw a significant increase due to the Covid-19 pandemic, as more people are staying home, spending time online, and avoiding venturing to physical stores if they can avoid it. Cybercriminals know this and are therefore likely to be out in full force this holiday shopping season.

Mimecast's Threat Intelligence Centre found that, between January and October this year, Mimecast had detected and blocked more than one billion malicious threats, a more than 34 per cent increase over 2019. Cyberattacks in October were up 22 per cent over September, with retail and wholesale being the most targeted industry sector.

Similarly, Satnam Narang, principal