Introduction:

It may seem as if the ending goal to information security is out of reach, but security truly focuses on two key points. Security begins with people. Human beings as users represents the front line of defense, and devices have a better chance at dodging security threats simply from humans taking initiative and doing what is right when it comes to security. It is important to know how to keep yourself safe during the holidays.

What is Social Engineering?

Social Engineering is type of information security attack that is successful through human interaction.

The web browser is your main access to the internet. It must be secured as much as possible. Many threats continue to pose a problem for those who depend on the internet.

Most shopping websites allow you to save your personal information and credit cards for easier checkout in the future. This may be convenient, but it is not safe for all shopping websites. Although information may seem secure, hackers are still able to steal information through web-skimming, spyware sent to emails, and e-skimming.

Quotes

“Social Engineering – The art of replacing what works, with what sounds good.” – Thomas Sowell

Use Your Web Browser as a Defense

Online shopping has become the norm in today’s society. With the rise of COVID19 cases and the spread of Coronavirus, consumers have preferred online shopping for the holidays. Use pop-up blockers to prevent potentially dangerous pop-up ads. Take notice of unsafe site warnings, update your browser, and be cautious about saving personal information on shopping websites.

Conclusions

Typically, the scammers exploit weak links in a company’s e-commerce platform. In many cases, a consumer can be re-directed to a malicious domain where the skimming code can capture the customer’s information from the checkout page.

The skimming code would capture your information in real time and send it to remote server where the data is collected by the criminals behind the scene. The consumer’s credit card data would either be sold or used to make fraudulent purchases.

Tompor, S. (2019, October 23). Hackers hover near online shopping carts, too. It’s called e-skimming. Detroit Free Press.

References

Oriyano, S.-P., & Solomon, M. G. (2020). Hacker Techniques, Tools, and Incident Handling. Burlington, MA: Jone & Barlette Learning LLC.