Businesses warned of elevated cybersecurity threat level over the holidays

Officials from the Biden Administration today warned the business community that there was an increased risk of cyberattacks throughout the upcoming holiday season.

With high profile data breaches costing companies millions, the U.S. is facing a host of cyberthreats with increasing risks for businesses that fall victim to the latest attacks.

National Cyber Director Chris Inglis along with Anne Neuberger, sent letters to business leaders and corporate executives to warn them they need to be on alert in the coming weeks.

As Christmas approaches, many businesses can fall victim to cyberhacking threats with lower staff levels over the holiday period. This can be exacerbated when key technical teams are away while a business can be facing a stronger threat level than normal.

Following a host of attacks over the past year, the average cost of data breaches has been rising.

David Tucker, President of Verity Systems, a leading manufacturer of data degaussers and destroyers, urged businesses this week to protect and securely erase data ahead of the holidays. “For businesses that are in the process of upgrading IT systems, or have legacy systems with sensitive data, they should ensure they have securely erased this information from their hard drives. Data degaussing guarantees data can’t be recovered or used by cyber criminals or state actors,” noted Tucker.

As the U.S. continues to shore up its cyber defenses, there has been a concerted effort by the Biden Administration, the tech community and cybersecurity experts to beef up security across the board.

Heading into 2022, businesses in a variety of industries remain vulnerable to cyber hacking and data theft.

Is your business taking extra precautions to protect employee and consumer data?

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