According to Ryan Certeza, a researcher with Trend’s AsiaPac operation, current reports suggest that online shopping is growing near exponentially and, alongside desktop online shopping, mobile shopping is also increasing.
In fact, he says in his latest security posting, with 43% of all smartphones users saying they are planning to use their mobiles to help them shop, he expects online shopping to become the primary means of purchasing items in the near future.
As a result, he notes, online shoppers are also going to become preferred cybercriminal attack targets.
“Cybercriminals are continuously launching attacks, any or all of the following shopper information: credit card credentials, online banking personal identification numbers, and other personal data”, he says,
The attack types seen so far, he adds, include:
Blackhat SEO attacks – search results for hot items such as gadgets and others can be poisoned to lead users to malicious sites.
Scams – coming off as online promos, scams trick users into becoming victims of their malicious schemes that can lead to information and financial theft.
Session hijacking – users who do their shopping while connected to insecure networks put themselves at risk of this attack, which involves sniffing through networks for certain kinds of information such as account credentials, and using the said information to impersonate the users and execute actions
Sounds pretty bad, doesn’t it, Infosecurity notes, but Certeza advises that shoppers needn’t be helpless against these attacks, as it is possible to implement a number of security measures and use security software to help ensure you do not become a victim.
Certeza says that his guide - Online Shopping Safety Made Easy – and infographic - Online Shopping Tips - will help online shoppers understand the security measures they need to take in order to protect themselves from online shopping-related attacks.