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Why holidays are a cyberattack gold mine

Why holidays are a cyberattack gold mine

A holiday weekend is something people look forward to, including cybercriminals, but they aren't busy trying to relax like the rest of us. Instead, they like to target businesses during the holiday season. 

Read more: HIPAA compliant email: The definitive guide

 

Why do the holidays increase the chances of a cyberattack?

The biggest reason why hackers like to initiate cyberattacks during a holiday is that IT teams are shorter staffed. Businesses may be running on a minimally operational team since many employees take time off to enjoy the holiday.

For example, the July 4th weekend saw a huge surge of network disruption when Kaseya software fell victim to a ransomware attack. It caused hundreds of businesses to close and is considered the largest ransomware attack on record . The attack reportedly started on Friday afternoon as many employees logged off and headed into the holiday weekend.

While cybercriminals target all businesses during a holiday, they especially like to exploit the healthcare industry. The pandemic saw a significant increase in the number of ransomware attacks and difficulty treating patients due to network outages. Cybercriminals are aware that healthcare organizations depend on their network to treat their patients and may feel more pressure to pay a ransom to restore their operations.

 

What can you do to protect your healthcare business?

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) recently released best practices for ransomware awareness during holidays. Some of their recommendations include:

 

Read more:  CISA reminds organizations to remain vigilant during the holidays

 

Consider email security with Paubox

Healthcare professionals need to ensure that they are sending HIPAA compliant email . The safety of their data depends on it. Paubox Email Suite automatically encrypts all outgoing emails and delivers them directly to a patient's inbox. You don't need patient portals to safely communicate with your patients.

Plus, patients prefer email communication. Our HITRUST CSF certified solution seamlessly integrates with popular email providers such as Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 . Your employees will be able to use Paubox with ease. 

 
Try Paubox Email Suite for FREE today.
 

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