The same week that Black Week becomes increasingly important for Swedish businesses and consumers, the accompanying cyberthreats are also rising. “An attack occurs every eleven seconds,” warns Henrik Hammarström of GlobalConnect, who offers practical advice for both companies and consumers to protect themselves from hackers.
With an expected turnover of SEK 8.7 billion, Black Week is one of the most critical shopping periods for Swedish retailers, consumers and cybercriminals. For retailers—many of which have faced a challenging year—the week represents a crucial opportunity for recovery. That also makes them attractive targets for hackers who demand ransom to regain control of compromised websites. Just minutes of a compromised, crashed or slow site can lead to significant financial losses and damage to a brand. This year has seen an increase in IT attacks against Swedish companies compared with previous periods.
“Black Week is peak season for hackers and fraudsters. They know customers are hunting for deals and flood the market with fake offers. It’s a real threat, and unfortunately many fall victim,” says Henrik Hammarström, head of the IT and telecommunications company GlobalConnect.
Despite considerable investments in security systems in recent years, companies remain vulnerable. One of the fastest‑growing causes of cybercrime is human error. Henrik Hammarström therefore stresses the importance of staff training.
“Being human is both an advantage and a weakness. Many people use the same password across accounts, use work devices for private activities and quickly dismiss security warnings. Companies have a responsibility to reduce the chance that an individual employee exposes the organization to risk,” says Henrik Hammarström.
Online shopping has become increasingly common, and according to PostNord, 77 percent of Black Week purchases are made online. That creates more opportunities for cybercriminals. A common tactic is sending emails with enticing offers. A good rule of thumb is to be extra cautious if an offer seems too good to be true.
“The offers often appear to come from trusted senders, but if you give away your account details it can become an expensive mistake. If you use your work email, the risks are even greater because hackers could gain access to your employer,” warns Henrik Hammarström.
Ahead of this year’s Black Week, Henrik Hammarström and GlobalConnect have compiled practical tips for both businesses and consumers to reduce the risk of falling victim to cyberthreats.
5 Tips for Businesses:
- Prepare for Peak Traffic — Well in Advance: Ensure your infrastructure can handle the load when shopping activity spikes.
- Test Continuously: Regular testing reveals system limitations and weaknesses.
- Secure Third‑Party Integrations: External solutions in your ecosystem can introduce vulnerabilities; vet and monitor suppliers carefully.
- Implement Robust Backups: Use modern backup solutions that cannot be easily deleted to simplify recovery and server cleanup after an attack.
- Train and Prepare Your Team: Attacks often succeed through unaware employees, so ongoing training and clear procedures are essential.
Tips for Consumers:
- Use a Password Manager or Unique, Regularly Changed Passwords: Passwords should include letters, numbers and symbols and not be reused across accounts.
- Keep Your Antivirus Software Updated.
- Be Cautious with Email Offers: During shopping events many offers arrive by email. Rather than clicking links in messages, visit the retailer’s site directly and look for the deal yourself.
- Shop on Sites with Trusted Payment Methods: Be wary of sites that ask you to store payment details for “next time.”
- Be Skeptical of Extremely Low Prices.
- Avoid Using Your Primary Bank Card: Use a card with limited funds and avoid linking it to your main salary account.
- Research the Seller: Read customer reviews and check for complaints before buying.
- Block Your Card and Report to the Police Immediately if You Are Scammed.