Vertical Markets

Click while you work

by Mark Rowe

According to a survey on online cybersecurity awareness of 2011 consumers from the US and UK, more than 40 percent believe emails from “trusted brands” are safe to click, and nearly a quarter of respondents (24 percent) anticipate doing at least part of their holiday shopping while at work. The consumer survey by One Poll and Dimensional Research was for the IT security product firm Tripwire.

Dwayne Melancon, chief technology officer at Tripwire, said: “Cybercriminals are very resourceful, and they know that the siren song of a good deal is almost always irresistible to bargain hunters. The number one reason to click is trust in a brand, which isn’t good – I have seen some very convincing phishing emails and bogus websites that look nearly identical to the real thing. Shoppers need to look beyond the facade of convincing branding to make sure they aren’t being conned into clicking on a bogus link.” Survey findings include:

Over a quarter of respondents (26 percent) believe links contained in subscription emails and newsletters are ‘safe’.
23 percent believe links sent from trusted associates are safe to click.
Only 28 percent of consumers believe it is never safe to click on email shopping links.
24 percent plan to do at least some of their holiday shopping at work.

According to a recent US survey from the National Retail Federation (NRF) some 56 percent of holiday shoppers will do some of their shopping on the Internet this year, and many will be using apps, newsletters and email notifications to find the best deals. Unfortunately, cybercriminal activity spikes during the holiday season, and the initial stages of a cyberattack often use malicious links in emails, texts, newsletters and online apps. These malicious links point users to fake websites.

Despite multiple warnings from the likes of the FBI, many consumers place too much trust in shopping links, it is suggested. Ken Westin, security analyst for Tripwire, said: “Employees need to be award that anytime their computer is on their corporate network, even if they logged in through a VPN, they can put their organization at risk by simply visiting the wrong website or clicking the wrong link in an email. Savvy attackers know that malicious links are effective, that’s one reason phishing attacks are so pervasive around the holidays. Employees should be particularly careful when checking personal email at work, or when clicking links in ads on social media sites.”

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