Convenient
to your door delivery, multiple product reviews at your fingertips, and
the promise of grabbing that sale without having to compete in an
Olympic-sport-like wrestling match for the last of this season’s hottest
item? It’s no wonder more people are choosing to do their holiday
shopping online.
But
with large data breaches on the rise, like the recent breaches in
security with Equifax and Uber, consumers have the right to be concerned
about the safety of their information once it hits the internet.
So what are some steps online shoppers can take to help safeguard their data and protect against theft? We asked our Capitol cybersecurity professors for their thoughts:
Dr. William Butler, chair, DSc, cybersecurity program
Dr. Jason Pittman, DSc, professor, cybersecurity program
But
with large data breaches on the rise, like the recent breaches in
security with Equifax and Uber, consumers have the right to be concerned
about the safety of their information once it hits the internet.So what are some steps online shoppers can take to help safeguard their data and protect against theft? We asked our Capitol cybersecurity professors for their thoughts:
Dr. William Butler, chair, DSc, cybersecurity program
- DO: Use a card that has a good dispute resolution process.
American
Express, from what I hear, is one of the best – if you dispute
something, they’ll reverse it. Some people have a card that they use
specifically for online shopping, so that if there’s a dispute on the
charge, they don’t have to go through a lot of rigmarole.
- DON’T: Use websites that want to store your credit card information.
If
you have the option, don’t store your credit card information, unless
you really like that convenience, because that’s where most of them are
getting compromised during the breaches. It’s convenient to store your
credit cards on the websites you use the most, but then again that’s
where the compromises have happened. With sites like Uber, and others
that didn’t report breeches, people’s credit card numbers are out there.
Dr. Jason Pittman, DSc, professor, cybersecurity program- DO: shop online without fear.
Retailers
do their best to protect purchases and the probability of compromise is
low given the amount of companies and sales during this season
- DON’T: shop online by clicking on links in emails.
Browse directly to the retailers you want to visit to avoid phishing attempts. Yes, your coupon will still apply.
Professor Rick Hansen, cybersecurity program, Cyber Battle Team Coach- DO: Always look for the picture of a lock when you’re shopping online.
It
signifies a secure site. If you’ve never been to the site before, click
on that lock in order to find out more about the site’s security. When
you go to the shopping cart, you’ll see that lock. It ensures that
you’re on a site that has secure transmissions. If you’ve never been
there before, or if it looks sketchy, you can click on the lock and find
out more about the connection.
- DON’T: Click on the links if you receive an e-mail that looks legitimate but is from someone you don’t know.
Most
of the time you can hover over the links and see what URLs they
actually go to. Say you get an e-mail that looks like it’s telling you
about a special offer on Amazon. Don’t necessarily assume it’s really
from Amazon – check the identity of the sender. You can do this, on many
e-mail clients, with a right mouse click and see what the name is.
Sometimes you’ll get sent a link that’s tagged “Amazon.com” but when you
investigate the link, you see that it’s actually going to Bob’s Towing.
Keep these Do’s and Don’ts in mind for a safe, secure, online shopping experience this holiday season.
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