Cipher, Prosegur's cybersecurity division, warns of increased cyberattacks during peak shopping dates

Madrid, November 26, 2025 - Cipher, the Prosegur Group’s cybersecurity unit, warns of a rise in digital attacks coinciding with Black Friday (November 28) and Cyber Monday (December 1). Bad actors are focusing on SMEs, the self-employed and consumers, taking advantage of the increase in online commerce  and the hunt for discounts. Cybercriminals are employing increasingly sophisticated and automated techniques such as phishing emails, fake websites passing as legitimate stores, along with ransomware attacks  capable of paralyzing business activity in minutes.

Black Friday and Cyber Monday are a critical period for retailers, as high traffic makes e-commerce sites prime targets of distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks, which can lead to major disruption and financial losses. According to INCIBE, the Spanish government’s national cybersecurity agency, 97,348 cybersecurity incidents were handled in 2024, 16.6% up on 2023, affecting 67.6% of the population and 32.4% of companies, including SMEs and the self-employed.

Increase in cyberattacks, from phishing to data hijacking

Hackers and organized crime groups take advantage of key shopping dates throughout the year to attack e-commerce sites. The high volume of legitimate traffic already puts a strain on servers, and a DDoS attack adds to this pressure, making it difficult for security teams to distinguish between real buyers and malicious traffic. In addition, many attackers resort to extortion, launching or threatening DDoS attacks to demand a ransom, trusting that companies will pay to avoid catastrophic losses in sales.

Privacy issues, digital reputation and account theft on social networks are increasingly common among young people. For adults, the main threats are vishing (telephone scams impersonating companies or banks), smishing (deception through SMS with fraudulent links) and fraud in online purchases that lead to the theft of data or the payment of products that never arrive. Companies suffer from corporate identity theft, duplication of websites and BEC (Business Email Compromise) fraud.

These threats are real: throughout 2024, Spain recorded 42,136 malware incidents, including 357 ransomware attacks. Online fraud continues to increase, with more than 38,000 cases managed, led by phishing, with 21,571 attempts to deceive users through fake emails and messages that impersonate trusted banks or companies. In addition, Cipher stresses that Black Friday and Cyber Monday not only bring commercial opportunities but also significantly elevate risk: DDoS attacks on e-commerce increase by more than 70% during these dates and intensify further on Cyber Monday. Among the most serious risks are data breaches caused by weak passwords, misconfigurations, or the use of public networks, all of which can expose personal and financial information and lead to GDPR penalties.. 

Preventative cybersecurity measures during the shopping season

Cipher, the cybersecurity unit of the Prosegur Group, recommends that companies and consumers take extreme precautions during these important dates to avoid fraud and digital attacks. Key measures include monitoring bank accounts and credit reports, keeping devices and apps up to date, and making purchases only at recognized stores and secure connections. Additionally, it's critical to verify the authenticity of websites and emails and be wary of offers that appear unusually attractive

Enterprises must strengthen their defensive strategy with solutions that ensure service continuity and data protection, such as cloud-based DDoS protection services, content delivery networks (CDNs) to absorb traffic spikes, web application firewalls (WAFs) that filter malicious access, as well as monitoring systems that detect attack patterns in real time. It is also essential to have an incident response plan that defines the steps and those responsible in the event of an intrusion. A DDoS attack can result in losses of between €7,400 and €111,600 per hour, as well as damaging customer confidence, potentially pushing clients to competitors.

Once these technologies have been deployed, it becomes clear that a high percentage of cybersecurity incidents are due to configuration errors or unmitigated vulnerabilities, which can be anticipated through a proper preventive program that continuously identifies and corrects weaknesses, thereby strengthening overall cybersecurity. 

Cipher therefore recommends complementing these measures with security audits prior to periods of increased activity, robust protocols to protect user information and personalized, modular tools tailored to the needs of each company or individual. Similarly, consumers should use secure networks and specialist tools to protect their data and transactions. Adopting preventive cybersecurity measures makes it possible to anticipate possible attacks, thus avoiding economic losses, operational interruptions and reputational damage. In this way, companies and users can take advantage of seasonal offers with greater confidence and security.