Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals: warnings on cyber criminal and hacker threats ahead of Christmas retail rush

Consumers warned 'too good to be true' offers are likely to be ploys by cyber criminals and hackers to steal data

Black Friday and Cyber Monday, two of the biggest retail events of the year, are just days away and will see consumers rushing to stores - of both the high street and online varieties - in order to grab time-sensitive discount deals.

However, while the two events - Black Friday on Friday 28 November and Cyber Monday on Monday 1 December - represent two of the biggest opportunities for the general public to grab bargains, security experts have warned that they also offer cyber criminals the chance to steal huge amounts of personal data from both businesses and consumers.

Consumers have therefore been warned to remain vigilant and on the lookout for cyber criminals trying to steal their data, be that through phishing-based email attacks or fake websites with offers that seem too good to be true.

Businesses will also need to ensure that they keep a tight grip on the personal information of customers, especially following last year's Target hack – one of the biggest thefts of customer data ever seen, with the number of victims thought to be over 70 million.

The fallout from the Target data breach was so severe that CIO Beth Jacobs was forced to resign from her position at the US retailer. But that's far from the end of it, as experts have warned that cyber criminals will once again target retailers in the run-up to Christmas.

"The online shopping events of Black Friday and Cyber Monday potentially present cyber criminals with an opportunistic chance to get their hands on a payload of sensitive data," said Paul Ayers, VP EMEA for data security firm Vormetric.

"Given 2014 has already been marred as the year of data breaches at big name retailers, sellers worldwide will find themselves under intense pressure this week, not only to ensure their websites cope with the surge in demand, but also to ensure that the influx of payment data and personally identifiable information crossing their networks is kept well protected from cyber criminals," he added.

With both reputation and profit on the line in the event of a Cyber Monday-related hack or data breach, Ayers warned that retailers must ensure they have the proper data storage and - in the event of a cyber attack - backup plans to ensure that if data is accessed, it's stored in such a way that cyber criminals can't use it.

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Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals: warnings on cyber criminal and hacker threats ahead of Christmas retail rush

Consumers warned 'too good to be true' offers are likely to be ploys by cyber criminals and hackers to steal data

"The best way to mitigate the impact of data loss, which is becoming an increasingly likely scenario, is to make sure that all data amassed is stored in obfuscated form so that it is useless to any would-be hackers," he said.

"Though some may say it will be harder to ensure nothing slips through the data security net during the frenzy, consumers will not be best pleased to find that the deals they secure come at the expense of their personal data," Ayers added.

Stuart Fuller, director of commercial operations at NetNames, the online brand protection and domain name management specialist, warned consumers to be wary of Black Friday or Cyber Monday deals that seem too good to be true, because they're unlikely to be from an actual retailer, but a cyber criminal trying to take advantage of the consumer rush.

"Whilst many retailers will slash their prices to attract bargain hunters in the run-up to Christmas, consumers may be caught out by cyber criminals," said Fuller.

"Consumers must therefore remain wary of too good to be true offers for the must-have festive gifts. To avoid falling victim to the latest online scams, consumers need to remember that if the price seems too good to be true, it probably is," he warned.

Fuller also argued that it isn't just consumers who need to be wary of cyber crime during the Black Friday and Cyber Monday rush, but that businesses must also do all they can to ensure that cyber criminals aren't flourishing on the back of their successful retail brands.

"Whilst the internet provides an unrivalled opportunity for businesses to grow online, it also provides a fantastic opportunity for criminals to prosper from your brand value by using your intellectual property and trademarks for their own gains," he said.

For online retailers and brands, safeguarding your genuine customer traffic and protecting your legitimate route-to-market is of paramount importance to maximise the opportunities that the online channels offer to grow sales at Christmas," Fuller added.

But despite the constant threats posed by hackers, organisations have failed to give cyber security the high priority it warrants and are thus leaving themselves vulnerable to the increasingly sophisticated methods used by cyber criminals, an expert recently told Computing.