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Keep Personal Date Safe At Christmas – And Beyond
November 2009 by Marc Jacob
While more consumers are aware they must be extra vigilant when buying goods online during the run up to Christmas, VASCO Data Security International, Inc, (www.vasco.com) is reminding consumers that the festive holiday period presents plenty of opportunities for them to still fall for a phishing or man-in-the-middle attack, when participating in any online activity that requires the use of a static password.
In addition to online shopping, VASCO has outlined the typical online activities that consumers might participate in during the festive period that could expose credit card details, digital assets or personal data to cyber criminals. VASCO urges customers to be cautious when:
Sending Christmas e-cards to family and friends from sites that require electronic payment
Updating password-protected social media sites to share Christmas greetings or family photos
Relaxing on e-gaming sites where members have built up a number of valuable game-play assets
Playing on e-gambling sites, where credits earned can be converted for cash
Thinking ahead to the summer holidays, and booking in advance to take advantage of early booking offers
Commenting on the advice, Jan Valcke, President and COO of VASCO Data Security, said: “Cyber criminals are smart. With more free time on their hands over the Christmas period, they know that many more consumers will be online, using the internet for entertainment or communication purposes. Most of the sites consumers visit are protected by vulnerable static passwords. VASCO advocates the use of one-time-passwords to help protect consumers against cyber criminals, not just at Christmas, but all through the year”. He added: “VASCO has an ongoing responsibility to educate consumers on the risks of conducting transactions on line, and help them to mitigate those risks, especially over the festive period when more people will be online.”
VASCO Data Security provides a wide range of solutions to secure online transactions. Whether it is for executing online bill payments with your bank or doing business online, VASCO provides tailored solutions to protect financial transactions online. For online retail, DIGIPASS® for Web provides a suitable solution to protecting the millions of Christmas shoppers from fraudulent intentions such as phishing and man-in-the-middle attacks.
VASCO’s DIGIPASS for Web is a software based strong authentication solution. It is ideal to replace static password-based security with a higher security level and well suited for users who do Internet banking, subscribe to online newspapers or users who occasionally do small purchases or transactions online. A level of security is offered which exceeds the security level provided by static password systems and it is extremely easy to use.
