Boost your cyber wellness
During the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a significant rise in phishing attacks, with many users falling victim to scams via phone, SMS and on social media. Knowing why this happened has taught us valuable lessons on how to be more prepared for the problem.
Many users were experiencing emotional fatigue during the pandemic due to feelings of isolation, multi-tasking, a lack of work/life balance, over-communication, digital distractions and a chaotic home life.
Phishing (emails or messages pretending to be from reputable companies to trick you into revealing personal information) triggers an emotional response so that you click on the suspect link without thinking clearly. The overwhelming stress and distractions during the pandemic heightened people’s emotional responses, making them more susceptible to phishing scams.
A presentation by Cyberlinx Security at the recent cybersecurity roadshow revealed that of people who clicked on phishing links during this period:
were distracted
51%
were stressed
50%
were burned out
34%
were tired
51%
were working too quickly
47%
Stress (less)
At the core of being emotionally overwhelmed is unmanaged stress. We’ve got a few tips to help you stress less and guard against being vulnerable to cyber criminals.
