When we talk about ‘bots,’ you might think of the amazing AI chatbots that have been making headlines recently.
However, this is not a good news story. Bots are simply automated programs, and bot malware is a concerning new security risk that your company must guard against.
Malware bots are particularly dangerous because they steal entire user profiles, which include your ID and settings. This could allow cybercriminals to circumvent strong 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 because they do not have access to your MFA authentication method. However, with access to your entire profile, including cookies and device configurations, they can fool security systems and effectively disable MFA.
Once stolen, profile information is sold on the dark web for as little as $5.
This technique isn’t even being used by highly skilled cybercriminals. Anyone can obtain your information and use it for phishing emails, scams, and other criminal activity.
Since 2018, 26.6 million usernames and passwords have been stolen 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 protect your profiles and your business from bot malware.
- Keep your antivirus software up to date 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 anyone does gain access to your profile, there will be very little to steal.
Every day, we assist our clients with these issues. If we can help you, just get in touch.