The present-day internet is a hotbed of spammers and hackers, and you need to secure your email address. Hackers often scan websites and web pages to extract genuine email addresses and exploit them to attack users with spam messages.
\nThis should really concern you because many of these spam emails carry potential malware. When you open your mail or click on a link that contains it, the malware gets naturally downloaded to your system.
\nFor example, let's assume you have entered your email address on a website's contact page, then there's a big chance the email harvesting bots have found it. Thereafter, they start flooding your mail-box with spam emails.
\nLuckily, there are a few ways to hide your email address from such spammers and hackers who constantly mine for the same. One way is through email harvesting.
\nLet's talk about what it is and then explore the various ways to secure your email address.
\nEmail harvesting is the process of collecting lists of email addresses via different methods. Generally, it is used for bulk emails or spam. Hackers use \"harvesting bots,\" which crawl multiple sites, chat rooms, web forms, etc., in a few seconds to extract a list of email addresses.
\nOther techniques include:
\nThese methods allow spammers to gather email addresses and use them to send unsolicited bulk messages to the recipient's inbox.
\nOne of the major mistakes committed by beginners is that they display their email address. If you are tensed and stressed about online hackers and threats, there is one solution you can always opt for.
\nYou can always avoid listing your email address on various vague websites. Instead, you can use contact information through which genuine users can contact you.
\nAdd an obfuscate plugin puzzle to your email address so hackers cannot identify it. With the help of such plugins, you can replace your email address with codes. These plugins secure your email address from hackers and do not affect the user's usability.
\nUse a reliable password manager to change and replace all your passwords with solid, unique ones. We cannot sufficiently stress the importance of using strong passwords to secure your email address.
\nHackers use credential stuffing where they literally jam previously stolen usernames and passwords to break into accounts on various services.
\nThis is possible because a huge proportion of online users still use the same username and passwords across multiple accounts.
\n\nWhen you set up your account passwords, look out for two-factor authentication (2FA)/ MFA as well. They are additional security layers that you can apply to prevent resets of unauthorized passwords significantly.
\nWhenever a hacker attempts to break into your email, you are notified and control the authority to accept or reject such attempts.
\nIf you are not satisfied with any of the above solutions to secure your email address, you can always replace it with \"\". This would take the user directly to your contact page when they click on the email. This not only prevents tons of spam but also protects you from hackers.
\nThe following techniques can be used to prevent email harvesting:
\nHarvesting bots are here to stay; thus, you must take appropriate measures to secure your email address. You can implement the above methods so that you don't become a victim of spammers and hackers in the long run.
\nAlthough it may take a while to get the hang of them, the results are worth spending time on.
\n\n","frontmatter":{"date":"January 22, 2021","updated_date":null,"title":"How to secure an email address on your website","tags":["all, Security"],"coverImage":{"childImageSharp":{"fluid":{"aspectRatio":1.7857142857142858,"src":"/static/b6b491c10267c056d5f47298092a1c5b/14b42/secure-email-address-website.jpg","srcSet":"/static/b6b491c10267c056d5f47298092a1c5b/f836f/secure-email-address-website.jpg 200w,\n/static/b6b491c10267c056d5f47298092a1c5b/2244e/secure-email-address-website.jpg 400w,\n/static/b6b491c10267c056d5f47298092a1c5b/14b42/secure-email-address-website.jpg 800w,\n/static/b6b491c10267c056d5f47298092a1c5b/47498/secure-email-address-website.jpg 1200w,\n/static/b6b491c10267c056d5f47298092a1c5b/ec6c5/secure-email-address-website.jpg 1280w","sizes":"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px"}}},"author":{"id":"Rakesh Soni","github":"oyesoni","avatar":"rakesh-soni.jpg"}}}},{"node":{"fields":{"slug":"/identity/what-is-formjacking/"},"html":"There has been a significant surge in formjacking attacks recently. It has been affecting organizations that mostly accept online payment from consumers.
\nIn recent times, cryptocurrencies have progressed in both popularity and technical improvements. However, the radical decrease in the value of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Monero has led to cybercriminals looking elsewhere for fraudulent profits.
\nThat being said, what better place to steal your financial information than a product order form on online shopping websites before you even hit the submit button—that's formjacking!
\nTo understand what other threats formjacking pose, let's get to the basics by exploring this unique kind of cyberattack.
\nFormjacking is a type of cyber attack in which hackers insert malicious JavaScript code into the target website, most often to a payment page form.
\nOnce the malicious code is in operation, when a consumer enters their payment card information and hits submit, the compromised code sends the payment card number and other sensitive information like the consumer's name, address, and phone number to the hacker.
\nHackers send this stolen information to a server for reuse or even sell the personal details on the dark web. While all this happens, the victim is blissfully unaware of their payment details being compromised.
\nAccording to the authenticated Symantec Internet Security Threat Report 2019, formjackers hacked 4,818 unique websites each month in 2018. Symantec blocked more than 3.7 million Formjacking attack attempts in that year alone.
\nIt is quite complicated for security researchers to pinpoint a single attacker or attack style considering so many unique sites are being attacked simultaneously. However, the majority of formjacking attacks are known to originate from Magecart groups.
\nMagecart is a club of hacker groups that have been behind the attacks on various websites. Attacks on Ticketmaster, Feedify, British Airways, and Newegg are only some of the Formjacking examples done by this consortium.
\nThe group injects web-based card skimmers onto eCommerce sites to steal payment card data or credit card information and other sensitive information right from online payment forms.
\nMagecart group started hacking into Magneto online stores; however, they have now altered their strategies and are increasingly using formjacking attacks to steal payment card details.
\nThe latest Formjacking campaign conveys that attackers are constantly changing and enhancing their malicious formjacking code and discovering innovative delivery mechanisms to infect users. By the time people even understand formjacking, hackers flee with the information.
\nFor example, Symantec has been digging into telemetry and examining the technical aspects of formjacking attacks to find that 248,000 formjacking attempts were blocked in 2019. But the worrying thing is that such activities are increasing continually as over one-third of those blocks were encountered between September 13 and 20.
\nMagecart has been targeting eCommerce giants such as Ticketmaster, Newegg, and British Airways to gain larger profits.
\nSymantec's data showcases that the impacted websites are mostly online retail sites, including small niche sites, to more extensive retail business operations. Websites impacted ranged from a fitness retailer to a supplier of outdoor accessories.
\nOther online retailers affected included suppliers of parts for vehicles and portals selling gifts or kitchen accessories.
\nTherefore, it is safe to assume that any company that processes payments on the internet is a probable victim of formjacking attacks.
\nHow formjacking attacks can impact your business depends on the type of information the identity thief captures. \"There is some data that can ruin your current day; however, there is some confidential information that can even ruin your complete life,\" says Alex Hamerstone, Practice Lead: Governance, Risk and Compliance at TrustedSec.
\nYou must monitor your bank and credit card statements and keep an eye on your credit scores. Unfortunately, it is almost impossible for victims to identify formjacking attacks, considering most still do not understand what is formjacking, let alone knowing how to detect it.
\nSo, it is solely upon the IT professionals to keep a constant check on their systems to detect and eliminate it, if such a specific threat were to occur.
\nYou may not be able to stop Formjacking before it attacks your system, but you can take steps to protect your personal details.
\nUse credit cards instead of debit cards while shopping online to reduce financial risks. The reason behind this is simple.
\nIf someone uses your credit card information deceptively or indulges in card fraud, they will be exhausting the funds of the credit card companies. In the case of debit cards, the funds are directly tied to your checking account balance.
\n\nVictims don't realize that they have fallen prey to formjacking attacks easily as websites prolong to operate as usual, and Magecart formjacking attackers take steps to stop their detection.
\nEven with all preventive measures in place, it can still be exceedingly difficult to spot formjacking attacks. However, as an online business, you must have all the protocols in place to quickly alert consumers in the case of such attacks.
\n\n","frontmatter":{"date":"January 15, 2021","updated_date":null,"title":"What is Formjacking","tags":["all, Security"],"coverImage":{"childImageSharp":{"fluid":{"aspectRatio":1.408450704225352,"src":"/static/fdccc143a05e8d7762360472dedb082a/9a31d/what-is-formjacking.jpg","srcSet":"/static/fdccc143a05e8d7762360472dedb082a/f836f/what-is-formjacking.jpg 200w,\n/static/fdccc143a05e8d7762360472dedb082a/2244e/what-is-formjacking.jpg 400w,\n/static/fdccc143a05e8d7762360472dedb082a/9a31d/what-is-formjacking.jpg 767w","sizes":"(max-width: 767px) 100vw, 767px"}}},"author":{"id":"Rakesh Soni","github":"oyesoni","avatar":"rakesh-soni.jpg"}}}}]}},"pageContext":{"tag":"all, Security"}},"staticQueryHashes":["1171199041","1384082988","2100481360","23180105","528864852"]}