Summer is a popular time for vacation travel. If you’re looking to squeeze in any last-minute trips, there is a scam circulating that you need to be aware of. As costs for everything from food to travel continue to increase, the logical step is to search for the best deals online to book a memorable trip without breaking your budget. According to Booking.com, cybercriminals have decided to capitalize on this need and are now using one scarily convincing, AI-generated phishing e-mail that can cost victims way more than their vacation fund. Booking.com’s CISO, Marnie Wilking, shared that the organization has seen a 500% to 900% increase in travel-related scams in the past 18 months using this malicious tactic.

How Are These Scammers Doing It?

Phishing e-mails have existed since the dawn of the Internet, but AI tools like ChatGPT are making it increasingly easy to create realistic and professional scam e-mails that are more likely to trick readers. In the past, phishing e-mails were riddled with red flags such as spelling and grammatical errors. With the rise of AI, it’s easier for cybercriminals to pump out dozens of seemingly legitimate e-mails that often go undetected by software and readers.

Here’s how they work:

Scammers will use sites like Booking.com or Airbnb.com that allow people to list their places as short-term rentals. The scammers send out e-mails offering incredible rates or time-sensitive deals on nonexistent properties. After someone pays, the cybercriminals will either disappear with the money, leaving the renter without a place to stay, or use follow-up e-mails to collect additional “fees” or “charges” before vanishing.

To be clear, these vacation-focused phishing scams are NOT new. The problem now is that, with AI, more people are falling for them because these e-mails are becoming more convincing.

What Can You Do?

Vacationers can take several key steps to ensure they’re not being duped.

1. Use Two-Factor or Multifactor Authentication: Having a confirmation code sent to your phone every time you log in will help prevent phishing attacks and credential theft.
2. Avoid Clicking on E-mail Links: If you receive an e-mail promoting a too-good-to-be-true deal, remember, it is likely too good to be true! Go to the website and search for the special. If you can’t find it, there is a chance you will avoid a scam.
3. Verify Contact Information and Reviews: Before booking ANY property online, make sure contact information and reviews are readily available. Have other verified users stayed at the property? If so, it’s less likely to be a scam.
4. Use Credit Cards for Online Purchases: Using debit cards that are linked directly to your bank account is dangerous. When theft occurs from your debit card, it is difficult to get your money back – if you get it back at all. Using a credit card provides an additional layer of protection.

The most important thing is to stay vigilant. Analyze every e-mail offer you receive and follow cybersecurity best practices. Standard security software can help detect some of these scam e-mails, but often not all of them, so it’s important to be cautious and look for red flags.

Personal scams may ruin a vacation, but business breaches can cost you and your family their livelihood. To keep your network secure, call us at 214-550-0550 or click here to book a FREE 10-minute discovery call with our cybersecurity experts, who can help you create a plan that protects you. We are here to help! Enjoy a well-deserved break this summer and remember to be cybersmart.

Just when you think cybercriminals will run out of new ideas for how to scam people, they find a way to get creative and surprise you. Now they’re faking data breaches, hoping to steal money from unsuspecting business owners and dark web data buyers alike.

Earlier this year, Europcar, an international car rental company from France, discovered a cybercriminal selling private information about its 50 million+ customers on the dark web. The car rental company immediately launched a formal investigation, only to find that the data being sold was fake. The information was falsified, most likely done with the help of generative AI.

How Did They Do It?

With AI-powered tools like ChatGPT, it’s easy for cybercriminals to generate realistic-looking data sets quickly. Smart cybercriminals do their research and design data sets that look complete, with correctly formatted names, addresses, and emails, and can even include local phone numbers to match. They will also leverage online data generators that can quickly create large, fake data sets designed for software-testing purposes to develop authentic-looking data sets. Once they have these, hackers choose the target they claim to have stolen the data from and post the information on the dark web.

Why Are They Doing It?

Why would a hacker fake a data breach? There are a couple of reasons, besides reaping the same benefits without the work of hacking a network’s security system.

1. Creating Distractions: One of the best ways to get a company to let down its defenses is to focus on something else, like finding a breach in its system. The company will be so intent on finding where a hacker was already able to get into its network that it will likely miss an attack from a different angle.
2. Bolstering Their Reputation: Reputation is highly valued within the hacker community. Targeting a well-known brand publicly is a way for them to earn notoriety and get noticed by other hacker groups.
3. Manipulating Stock Prices: For publicly traded companies, a data breach can cause a rapid 3% to 5% (or more) drop in the stock. This can cause widespread panic, allowing cybercriminals to manipulate stocks for financial gain.
4. Learning Security Systems: Faking a data breach can allow cybercriminals to gain insight into the company’s security processes to prevent, detect, and resolve attacks. Knowing threat response time and security capabilities can help them fine-tune their attack strategy.

Why Is This Bad For Businesses If The Data Is Fake?

By the time the public is made aware that the information is fake, the damage is already done. For example, in September 2023, Sony was targeted by a ransomware group that announced it had breached the company’s network and acquired its data. The breach was all over the news, where reporters repeatedly dragged Sony’s brand through the dirt, and by the time the investigation concluded that the hacker’s claim was false, irreparable damage had been done to their name.

What Can You Do To Prevent Fake Data Breaches?

If you want to avoid being the victim of a fake data breach, these are good steps to follow:

1. Actively Monitor The Dark Web: You or your cybersecurity team should routinely monitor the dark web. If you encounter an attacker selling your data, investigate the claim immediately to prevent extensive damage.
2. Have A Disaster Recovery Plan In Place: Don’t let your team wonder what they should say if a data breach occurs. This communication plan needs to be developed in advance and fine-tuned if or when a breach occurs.
3. Work With A Qualified Professional: You are in business to do what you love to do, not deal with IT-related issues. Working with a cybersecurity expert who knows what to look for, how to resolve issues, and how to prevent breaches takes tasks off your plate and gives you peace of mind. They will ensure #1 and #2 are taken care of.

Data breaches can create enormous problems for your organization. Get ahead of the issue and have someone proactively monitor your network and the dark web to keep you secure. If you want a no-obligation, third-party opinion on whether or not your network is vulnerable to an attack or properly secured, we’re happy to provide one for FREE. Call us at 214-550-0550 or click here to book your FREE Security Risk Assessment with one of our cybersecurity experts.

As a business leader, you’re always looking for ways to increase revenue, cut expenses and grow your bottom line. Implementing AI tools, shopping services and running a more efficient operation are great ways to do that. One place you do NOT want to cut corners is using free antivirus or firewall software.

In today’s blog, we’ll share why these seemingly helpful software solutions are a detriment to your business and why a 10-minute call with our team might just be the best investment you’ll make this year.

Free software often lacks necessary features and is limited in what it can detect.

Free antivirus software and firewall solutions can protect your business against some known viruses but not all of them, and they likely won’t have the ability to protect you against other comprehensive threats, like malicious files, unknown or unidentified threats and more. Cybercriminals are constantly rolling out new and “improved” viruses to trick even the most robust security solutions, which makes it difficult to believe that free, infrequently updated antivirus solutions could offer the level of protection needed to keep you secure.

There’s no such thing as a free lunch.

While free cybersecurity solutions sound like a good way to save a few bucks, you have to stop and realize these programs will make their money somewhere. The most common ways they make money are through ads, sponsored recommendations and collecting and selling user data. They collect and sell your personal information, like age and gender, and installed apps, to third-party advertisers.

Some free solutions are already infected with malware.

Ironically, these free cybersecurity tools can come with malware already installed to infect your computer upon downloading them. It’s also difficult to determine the difference between real free software solutions and fake ones created by hackers looking to trick unsuspecting business owners who hope to save a buck into downloading an infected version that immediately opens up your network to them.

Free antivirus software is mostly reactive, detecting infections after they’ve happened.

The point of having cybersecurity solutions is to try to prevent a data breach from occurring in the first place. Most free solutions are reactive and won’t keep unwanted intruders out; they simply alert you when one has already breached your network. If you’re going with a free solution, make sure you have a robust recovery plan in place. You’ll likely need it.

Cybersecurity solutions are not as expensive as most business owners think and are more cost-effective than dealing with a data breach. If you have been using free antivirus or firewall software in your organization, it’s time to level up. Our cybersecurity experts will provide you with a FREE Security Risk Assessment that will detail if and where you’re vulnerable and what to do about it. Schedule yours by clicking here or calling us at 214-550-0550.

In recent months, the alarming cybersecurity breach at Change Healthcare, the health care payment-processing company under the health care giant UnitedHealth Group, has thrown a spotlight on a chilling reality: cyberthreats can lurk undetected within our networks, ready to unleash chaos at a moment’s notice. The breach, executed by the notorious ALPHV/BlackCat hacker group, involved the group lying dormant within the company’s environment for nine days before activating a crippling ransomware attack.

This incident, which severely impacted the US health care system, a network with a large budget for cybersecurity, underscores an urgent message for all business leaders: a robust cybersecurity system and recovery plan are not optional but a fundamental necessity for every business out there.

The attack began with hackers using leaked credentials to access a key application that was shockingly left without the safeguard of multifactor authentication.

Once inside, the hackers stole data, locked it down, and then demanded a hefty ransom.

This action stalled nationwide health care payment-processing systems, for thousands of pharmacies and hospitals causing them to grind to a halt!

Then things got even worse!

The personal health information and personal information of potentially millions of Americans was also stolen. The hackers set up an exit scam, demanding a second ransom to not release this information.

This breach required a temporary shutdown, disconnecting entire systems from the Internet, a massive overhaul of the IT infrastructure and significant financial losses estimated to potentially reach $1.6 billion by year’s end. Replacing laptops, rotating credentials and rebuilding the data center network were only a few of the actions the UnitedHealth Group had to take. More than financial, the cost was deeply human – impacting health care services and risking personal data.

While devastating, it’s a powerful reminder that threats can dwell in silence within our networks, waiting for an opportune moment to strike.

It is not enough to react; proactive measures are essential.

Ensuring systems are secured, implementing multifactor authentication, regularly updating and patching software and having a recovery plan in place in the event of an attack are steps that can no longer be overlooked and are basic requirements for doing business in today’s world.

Also, the idea that “We’re too small to be a target” is false. Just because you’re not big enough to make national news, doesn’t mean you’re too small to be attacked!

Cybersecurity isn’t just an IT issue; it’s a cornerstone of modern business strategy. It requires investment, training and a culture of security awareness throughout the organization.

The fallout from a breach reaches far beyond the immediately affected systems. It can erode customer trust, disrupt services and lead to severe financial and reputational damage, and your business, will be the one blamed.

As we consider the lessons from the Change Healthcare incident, it’s your duty to make cybersecurity a top priority. Investing in comprehensive cybersecurity measures isn’t just a precaution – it’s a fundamental responsibility to our customers, our stakeholders and our future.

Remember, in the realm of cyberthreats, what you can’t see can hurt you – and preparation is your most powerful defense.

Is YOUR organization secure? If you’re not sure, or just want a second opinion, our cybersecurity experts will provide you with a FREE Security Risk Assessment that will detail if and where you’re vulnerable and what to do about it. Schedule yours by clicking here or calling us at 214-550-0550.