Axient Blog

Nothing says “Merry Christmas & Happy New Year” less than the growing cybersecurity threats during the holidays. But why is this happening? After all, isn’t this the season of goodwill?

This time of the year may be all about spending time with loved ones. However, there is also a gigantic spike in online shopping. In fact, Australia’s eCommerce market is expected to grow by 13.4 per cent this year on the back of hefty gains in 2020 and is on track to break the US$70 billion barrier by 2025.

At this time of the year, more and more devices are revealing more personal information due to the increased consumer activities online. More vulnerabilities are being created by the increasing number of connected devices such as smart TVs. Cybercriminals take advantage of additional opportunities to target unsuspecting or unprepared consumers and retailers. As we know IT infrastructure is an important part of your company and cybersecurity breaches carry the risk of financial pain and fines. Perhaps more importantly, they also undermine your brand, reputation, and customer credibility.

For small and medium businesses, it is important to understand the additional seasonal cybersecurity risks or the results can be dire. The impacts of high-profile security breaches include loss of consumer trust and even business closure.

It is critical to ensure that you have taken all necessary measures to secure your IT environments and assets. From securing the website to protecting the customer service centre. Complacency can lead to disasters you do not want to deal with later.

Ensuring data security is an important part of a company’s customer responsibilities and services. Check out some of the steps you can take below:

• Establish an effective and proactive cybersecurity strategy.
• Identify network errors and vulnerabilities in connected devices.
• Keep all software up to date. Older technologies can pose a cybersecurity risk. Consider the benefits of using product lifecycle management software to keep your business safe.
• Add security to your organisation’s email account.
• Train employees to avoid human error.

Another reason that your business becomes more vulnerable to cyberattacks during the holidays could be also due to shortage of cybersecurity staff on duty in your organisation. This is when using a 3rd party Security as a Service (SECaaS) solution provider can help mitigate threats during the holiday period.

Find out more about how to protect your business during the holiday seasons, feel free to drop me a note!