The holiday season is here once again, but just like everything else in today’s digital-first world, technology is changing the way things are done. While there are still those that do their shopping at physical stores and send holiday cards via the US Postal Service, an increasing number of people are now using a more convenient, digital approach.

In late October of 2016, a domain name service (DNS), host and Internet management company for 80+ major websites experienced several bouts of distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks by botnets (short for “robot network”). The end devices were being controlled by a Control Server (CNC Server) not unlike the Droid Control Ships controlling the Droid Armies in Star Wars. The FBI has stated that they do not have any confirmation of a specific group or groups claiming responsibility in the hacker community, but they believe the machines were infected with a variation of the Mirai malware.

In today’s busy marketplace, it’s no surprise that businesses everywhere are looking to gain a competitive advantage. As the competition continues to increase, many businesses have found a way to do just that by gathering information on consumer consumption and utilization patterns.

It’s almost Thanksgiving, which can only mean one thing; it’s time for some serious cybershopping! According to Adobe’s 2016 Holiday Online Shopping Predictions report, more than half of all online shopping will be done with mobile devices for the second straight year, accounting for approximately 53% of all online purchases. Online sales are also expected to top $91.6 billion across the US from November 1 through December 31, an all-time high for the holiday season. Clearly people enjoy getting to do the bulk of their holiday shopping without leaving their house or their Christmas ‘jammies! (For a hilarious distraction, check out Raleigh natives, The Holderness Family, in their Christmas 'Jammies Jingle!)

Recently I went to a popular home improvement store with the intention of purchasing a yard hydrant to provide water to various locations around my property. As I was searching the aisles looking for a product that fit my needs, I began to do what most customers with smartphones do when in traditional brick and mortar retail establishments; I went online and began to search for product ratings.

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