Last week, Brian Krebs reported on a disturbing trend in federal (.gov) websites having “open redirects” enabled, allowing scammers to delivery content from seemingly legitimate (government) websites. So why do these open redirects even exist in the first place? Simply put, they are a convenience for website developers. Many websites will offer links to other websites, sometimes, but not always, displaying a warning that you are leaving their page, after which you are taken to the destination. These are quite popular in financial websites, with institutions who are concerned about their own reputation and do not want to be seen as giving “advice” that came from someone else.
Does your business have a website? Of course it does. Does it have any open redirects? Check with your web designer today and find out. If so, see if they can be disabled or properly secured so that you don’t become the next site that gets hijacked to redirect your customers to a shady site.