Canadian-based Terranova Security, the global leader in cybersecurity awareness and education, is conducting a free live webinar on Thursday at 11:30am EST that is specifically focused on COVID-related scams.
With millions of Canadians suddenly thrusted from their comfortable office confines to hectic home environments, cyber criminals are taking full advantage of COVID-19 confusion to trick employees with online phishing e-mails and text messages.
In fact, the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre has received 43 reports of pandemic-related scams in the past two weeks alone. According to the FBI new, cyber attackers are creating phishing scenarios around charitable contributions, financial relief, airline carrier refunds, and fake cures, vaccines, and testing kits. In January 2020, over 4,000 coronavirus-related web domains have been registered of which 3% are malicious and 5% are suspicious.
To help protect Canadians (and their employers) from phishing attacks, which account for more than 80% of reported security incidents and cost the nation’s businesses an average of $12.4 million a year, Terranova Security has also created a 100% free and downloadable Protect Yourself from COVID-19 Cyber Scams Kit that includes tips and insights.
Ten Ways To Protect Yourself While Working From Home
- If you don’t recognize the email sender, don’t open the email.
- If the email or text message sounds too good to be true – it is.
- Be aware of cyber scams about COVID-19 treatments, vaccines, quarantine measures, and information from government officials.
- Pay attention to the spelling of email addresses, subject lines, and email content.
- Be wary of emails using urgent language or that ask you to share your confidential information.
- No health agency or government department will email you asking for your health details or sell you a COVID-19 vaccine or test.
- Do not click on links in unsolicited emails or text messages.
- Never send confidential information in an email – The Red Cross, World Health Organization, and your government health department will never ask for your confidential information in an email.
- Do not accept social media followers or friends from accounts you do not recognize. If an account that you do not trust follows or friends you, block the account.
- Do not trust social media posts promising COVID-19 cures, tests, vaccines, or selling masks and gloves.
Bottom line, when in doubt, do not click. This includes downloading attachments, clicking links, and filling out web forms. Contact your IT department whenever you have doubts about an email. And if you receive a phone call from a health official, colleague, or government employee about COVID-19 – do not interact with the caller – hang up immediately and if possible, block the number.
Marriott Pwned Again… Over 5 Million Affected This Time
Posted in Commentary with tags Hacked on March 31, 2020 by itnerdIt seems that Marriott is unable to keep itself out of the news for all the wrong reasons. CNET among others is reporting that they’ve been hacked again. This hack affects at least 5 million guests. This follows a hack of Marriott property MGM Resorts back in February which leaked the details of 10.8 million guests. And that was on top of this absolutely epic hack from 2018. Here’s what happened this time around:
At the end of February, Marriott international said that it spotted an “unexpected amount” of guest information may have been accessed with the login credentials of two employees at a franchise property. The exposed information may include names, addresses, emails, phone numbers and birthdays. Loyalty account details and information like room preferences may also have been breached. This is the second major incident to impact the hotel over a two year period.
Clearly Marriott can’t get its act together when it comes to cybersecurity. It’s time that this hotel chain get slapped silly so that they get the point that they have to take cybersecurity seriously. Because they clearly don’t based on how often they get hacked.
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