MEDIA ALERT: Merry Malware: How to Avoid Holiday Phishing Scams
Tripwire security researcher offers practical advice to protect
consumers from cybercriminals
PORTLAND, Ore.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Phishing scams are a persistent problem for businesses and consumers.
The Verizon
2015 Data Breach Investigations Report revealed that at least one in
10 people fall for phishing attempts.
During the holiday season, inboxes everywhere are flooded with e-cards
and messages from relatives, friends and well-wishers. Unfortunately,
some of these emails may include nefarious software.
“Around the holidays, a very common ploy for cyber criminals is to send
fake e-greeting cards with malicious files attached,” said Craig Young,
security researcher at Tripwire. “It’s easy for busy, distracted
consumers to become victims of these schemes, but armed with a few basic
security practices, they can drastically reduce their chances of being
victimized.”
Young recommends consumers take the following precautions during the
holiday season:
-
Ignore and delete messages with poor grammar or formatting,
particularly ones that include file attachments or links, as these are
indicative of phishing or spam emails. Also be suspicious of emails
that are missing names or use nondescript greetings, such as “Dear Mom
and Dad.” -
Never open emails from unknown addresses with undisclosed recipients,
especially if the message contains attachments. -
If you receive an e-greeting card, consider calling the sender first
to confirm if they sent one, and if they didn’t, don’t open it. -
Always run anti-virus software and keep the signatures up-to-date. If
you click on something inappropriate, anti-virus software may prevent
a malware infection. -
Apple devices aren’t immune to malware or phishing. As the number of
Apple users has continued to grow, there has been a corresponding
increase in malicious software targeting OS X platforms.
“Many people look forward to connecting with friend and family during
the holidays and cyber criminals take advantage of that,” said Young.
“Consumers who take basic precautions are far less likely to be
victimized during the busy holiday season.”
Resources:
Blog
Post: Merry Malware: How to Avoid Holiday Phishing Scams
About Tripwire
Tripwire is a leading provider of advanced threat, security and
compliance solutions that enable enterprises, service providers and
government agencies to confidently detect, prevent and respond to
cybersecurity threats. Tripwire solutions are based on high-fidelity
asset visibility and deep endpoint intelligence combined with
business-context and enable security automation through enterprise
integration. Tripwire’s portfolio of enterprise-class security solutions
includes configuration and policy management, file integrity monitoring,
vulnerability management and log intelligence. Learn more at www.tripwire.com,
get security news, trends and insights at http://www.tripwire.com/state-of-security/
or follow us on Twitter @TripwireInc.
Contacts
Tripwire
Shelley Boose, 408-398-6987
sboose@tripwire.com
