Cybersecurity During the Holidays: Stay Secure While You Celebrate

By Sydney Hillard, BSS Staff

The holiday season is here! We’re busy attending festive gatherings, shopping for the best deals, exchanging gifts, and spending quality time with loved ones. However, while we celebrate, cybercriminals are looking for opportunities to steal your data and compromise your security. Statistics show that cyberattacks increase significantly during the holidays, emphasizing the importance of protecting your data.

Why Cybercriminals Target the Holiday Season:

Cybercriminals thrive during the holiday season due to increased online shopping, reduced staffing, and end-of-year fatigue. Here’s why these factors make businesses more vulnerable to cyberattacks:

Increased Online Traffic: With an increase in online purchases during the holidays, cybercriminals have more opportunities to exploit shoppers. There’s more sensitive data that can be compromised, such as credit card numbers, addresses, and login credentials. High online traffic also makes it easier for fake websites and phishing emails to blend in and go unnoticed.

Reduced Staffing or Temporary Employees: Many employees are out of the office for the holidays or seasonal workers are brought in to help. These temporary employees may lack proper cybersecurity training, while permanent staff may be stretched thin as they finish their work for the year. Scammers exploit these gaps, targeting individuals who are unfamiliar with security protocols or are too busy to notice red flags.

End-Of-Year Fatigue: Employees often feel tired, rushed, and distracted at the end of the year. This exhaustion reduces caution, leading them to click on suspicious links without thinking twice or skipping necessary verification steps to save time. Cybercriminals expect this fatigue and use it as an opportunity to attack users.

Common Holiday Threats to Look For:

Recognizing these risks early can help you stay secure. Here are the most frequent threats:

Phishing Attacks: Beware of fake emails, texts, and social media advertisements offering deals that seem too good to be true, shipping updates, gift card requests, or sweepstakes scams. Always verify URLs and never click on suspicious links.

Ransomware Attacks: Hackers launch ransomware attacks through malicious links, software vulnerabilities, and phishing emails. To protect your data, avoid clicking or downloading anything from untrustworthy sources and ensure your software is up to date.

Travel & Remote Work Security: With employees traveling for the holidays and working remotely, devices often connect to unsecured networks. This enables hackers to access your systems and steal your information. To help prevent this, avoid public Wi-Fi or use a VPN, keep devices updated, and enable multi-factor authentication for your accounts.

Fake Charity Scams: It’s the season of giving, and hackers take advantage of those who want to give by creating fraudulent websites, emails, and text messages that appear to support charities. If you plan to donate, always do so through the official charity or organization website.

The Costs of Holiday Cyberattacks:

Cyberattacks during the holidays aren’t just an inconvenience, they can disrupt the connections and trust you’ve worked so hard to build. When systems are compromised or sensitive data is exposed, it can negatively affect your customers, team, and overall reputation. The consequences extend beyond immediate financial loss:

Operation Downtime: A cyberattack can halt business operations for several days, or even weeks. The average downtime is 7 to 21 days, resulting in missed sales and operational chaos during the busy holiday season.

Reputation Damage: Customers lose trust quickly after a data breach. Negative publicity and diminished confidence often remain well after systems are restored, affecting future partnerships and customer relationships.

Business Closures: For some businesses, the impact of a cyberattack can be devastating.  Financial losses, downtime, and reputational harm may be too severe, forcing them to temporarily or permanently close.

How to Stay Safe This Holiday Season:

Don’t let cybercriminals ruin your holiday cheer! Stay safe this season by following these best practices:

Verify Before You Click: Always double check links and sender addresses. If you’re uncertain, visit the website directly rather than clicking on any provided links.

Use Strong Passwords: Avoid reusing passwords across accounts. Consider using a password manager to generate and store strong, unique passwords.

Enable Multi-Factor Authentication: Adding this additional layer of security can help protect your data, making it more difficult for hackers to gain access.

Update Software & Devices: Before you leave for the holidays, make sure your systems and devices are fully updated to prevent vulnerabilities.

Connect Only to Secure Networks: Unsecured networks can expose your information to hackers. Whenever possible, connect to secure networks and utilize a VPN when working remotely on public Wi-Fi.

Quick Holiday Cyber Safety Checklist

To further emphasize staying safe and secure this holiday season, below is a simple checklist to keep in mind:

  • Confirm website URLs before shopping
  • Back up important data
  • Avoid public Wi-Fi for sensitive transactions
  • Report and delete suspicious emails immediately
  • Educate staff members regarding cyber threats and attacks
  • Update your systems before leaving for the holidays

For more information, feel free to take advantage of our resources. We send weekly tech tips, monthly newsletters (just like this one!), and post updates on our LinkedIn and Facebook pages.

Be cyber-smart and keep the festivities stress-free! Apply these tips, share them with others, and have peace of mind so you can focus on what matters most this holiday season. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

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