Cybercriminals target Super Sunday as their biggest game ever

Security experts predict record-breaking numbers of online threats and cyber attacks related to Super Sunday as compared to other holidays or events.

According to comScore’s survey last year, two-thirds of respondents intended to log onto the internet on Super Sunday as sports fans spend more time researching the players, teams and other game-related topics. This year, researchers expect the online numbers to increase.

With the masses of people online, cybercriminals target Super Sunday as more football fan-related ads, commercials and betting sites explode on the internet. People can expect more aggressive threats, scams and malware activity.

Ad Age predicts that advertisers will use social media at record levels to fan the flames of their ads. Increased numbers of fake ads targeting young males will appear in popular forums and sites.

These ads featuring attractive women or cheerleaders encourage people to click on the links which may take them to suspicious or malicious websites.

A “drive-by attack” can occur when a link is inserted onto popular video sharing websites that promise users access to Super Sunday commercials

If a user clicks on the link, they may be redirected to ads not related to Super Sunday or in more extreme cases, users’ personal information may be taken unknowingly through malicious system exploits.

In addition to attacking users, hackers are increasingly targeting legitimate fan and sports websites through redirected links or ads. A football fan scanning the latest sports updates may unknowingly have malware downloading through interactive animations on the page.

To protect users’ privacy and safeguard their personal information, leading web browser companies are developing new technologies to better restrict personal data and tracking cookies from online advertisers.

PC Tools also recommends running up-to-date anti-virus and security software for greater protection.