Hikvision Cybersecurity Director: Cyber Monday Shopping Tips to Reduce Threats
More than 78 million Americans are expected to shop on Cyber Monday according to the National Retail Federation (NRF) and as more people shop online, cyber threats become more common.
Reports detail more than 500 data breaches and more than 1.2 billion records stolen in 2017. And Cyber Monday in 2016 involved more than $3.6 billion online transactions, according to Idan Udi Edry, CEO of Trustifi.com on KSNV News3 Las Vegas.
“Cyber threats increase at times like this, but there are steps you can take to shop online with caution to protect yourself,” said Hikvision’s director of cybersecurity, Chuck Davis.
Davis, together with the Hikvision Security Lab at Hikvision headquarters, is leading the cybersecurity program for Hikvision North America, overseeing all internal and external cybersecurity initiatives and programs in the region.
Davis offers these tips to reduce cyber threats, breaches, cybersecurity risks and security concerns when shopping online this holiday:
- Be very cautious when opening email. Phishing attacks become more prevalent and successful around the holidays.
- Don’t use debit cards online or in stores. It’s easier to recover money from credit cards in the case of a fraud investigation. “If someone empties your bank account using your debit card, it could take weeks to get that money back,” said Davis
- Try to be home when packages are delivered. Alternatively, have them delivered to your work, a relative's home or neighbor’s house, or a package-delivery location.
- Do not shop online using free public Wi-Fi that does not require a password.
Davis also recommends that consumers only purchase goods online from reputable retailers with secure URLs.