6 Recommendations for a Secure Easter Week

The Easter holidays are starting and, like every year at this time, cybercriminals will try to take advantage of the relaxation of internet users, the tourist flow and the focus on leisure and relaxation.

They will try to scam the unsuspecting, steal their personal information and take their money.

“During the holidays we always tend to use our smart devices more, whether it’s checking bank accounts or surfing the internet, among other things,” notes Marc Rivero, senior security researcher at Kaspersky.

“That’s why,” he says, “it’s vitally important to be aware of all the cyber threats out there to stay safe from attackers and avoid being their next victim.”

Kaspersky itself offers six basic tips for staying safe from cybercrime over the next few days.

The first is to learn to recognise phishing scams by verifying the identity of the sender of emails and the spelling of the URLs to which they send their messages, especially when they offer great deals on activities that require online booking, such as national park visits and entrance tickets.

“When we travel, we tend to surf the internet more frequently,” the security company says.

“An important factor to bear in mind, and one that many people are unaware of, is that when you visit any website an analytics code is activated to count the number of visitors,” they add. “These are usually owned by companies such as Google or Facebook, who then use this information to serve you interest-based ads. However, these ads can also be hacked.”

To prevent the collection of personal information, it is advisable to activate incognito mode in your browser or install a protection product with private browsing.

Thirdly, always try to use a reliable connection for sensitive activities, such as purchasing goods or accessing banking applications. In other words, avoid public access networks in airports, hotels or cafés and use data. Or, in any case, use a reliable private network to encrypt data.

Another important step is to enable two-factor authentication to shield internet service accounts.

In addition, there is a need to choose strong passwords (“unique, strong and complex”) and to change them frequently. A password manager will help to create strong credentials. On the other hand, storing data in the cloud is useful when travelling, but in this case it is best to “use services that offer encryption and are accessible only through secure authentication”, as recommended by Kaspersky.

In addition, travellers should regularly back up and update the firmware and software on their devices.