When we talk about ‘bots,’ you might think of the incredible AI chatbots that have been making headlines recently.
However, this is not a positive news story. Bots are just automated programs, and bot malware is a concerning new security issue that your company must guard against.
Malware bots are particularly hazardous since they steal whole user profiles, which include your ID and information. This could allow cybercriminals to circumvent stringent security measures such as Multi-Factor Authentication. (MFA).
Even if a criminal obtains your username and password, they will typically be unable to access your account since they do not have access to your MFA authentication technique. However, with access to your entire profile, including cookies and device preferences, they may fool security measures and effectively disable MFA.
Once stolen, profile information is sold on the dark web for as little as $10.
This strategy isn’t even being used by highly skilled cybercriminals. Almost anyone can access your information and exploit it for phishing emails, frauds, and other criminal activity.
Since 2018, 26.6 million usernames and passwords have been taken from 5 million people, allowing access to accounts such as Microsoft, Google, and Facebook.
All of this means that there are things you need to do right now to safeguard your profiles and your business from bot infection.
- Keep your security software up to current and running at all times.
- Protect your login credentials by using a password manager and Multi-Factor Authentication.
- Also, encrypt all of your files so that if somebody does gain access to your profile, there will be very little to take.
We help our clients with these issues every day. Get in touch if you would like us to help you, too.