For those of us that follow the world of cybersecurity – you will know that October is all about celebrating the Month of Cybersecurity Awareness. It happens every year and although, in my humble opinion – every month is Cybersecurity Awareness Month – It is not a bad idea to dedicate this time of the year to getting some awareness out into the public domain.
October is also a good month if you celebrate witchcraft and other ghoulish pastimes as it’s time to carve a pumpkin and dress up as your favourite monster.
I know some people that do this throughout the year also – but that is another story.
Back, when I was a lad we didn’t go Trick or Treating on Halloween – we just got up to no good around the village and generally made a noise until your Mum called you in for your tea.
Trick or Treating was very much an American thing that Charlie Brown and his friends did – however, the craze soon found it’s way to our shores and is now a staple part of the year. It has now become a very British tradition.
Kids dress up and go knocking on doors, hoping for a treat and in the main they probably end up with a treat as, in my experience it is a far quicker way of getting back to watching the telly. It is a lot easier to simply open the door, entertain the kids with a look of shock horror and then dish out the goodies (especially if you are busy making the tea or watching Strictly Come Dancing).
But sometimes the little ghosts are not just happy with you opening the door and giving them what they want and you end up with an egg on your door or some other nasty surprise. And the perpetrators are long gone before you even know it. That’s all part of the fun of Trick or Treat.
Most of the time it is just an annoyance that you can deal with quickly but sometimes it ends up more malicious and every time you open the door you run the risk. Is it going to be a trick or treat (or both)? You might not even know that you have been tricked until later on and then it’s too late.
SPAM emails are just an annoyance that you can deal with quickly but sometimes it ends up more malicious and could be a phishing attack. As soon as you open the link you run the risk. Is it going to be a trick or treat (or both)? You might not even know that you have been tricked until later on, and then it’s too late.
My guess is that it is going to be a trick in most cases!
Carve Pumpkins and Prosper!
