Cyberattacks increase by more than 30% during the holiday season, with phishing and ransomware emerging as the most common threats.
With just a few days remaining until large proportions of our workforce sign off for extended holiday breaks, we’ve taken a moment to compile a quick list of some of the key dangers to prepare for.
Don’t Lower Your Guard
Remind your teams that, far from taking a break over the holidays, criminals capitalise on our appetite for a bargain and eagerness not to miss out. Expect a surge in phishing emails, text messages, and even phone calls. The rules remain the same. Don’t disclose information, click links, or open attachments if you receive unsolicited contact. Ensure multifactor authentication is enabled for everything that supports it to reduce the risks of an account being compromised further.
Incident Reporting
Stress the importance of reporting suspicious activity promptly, even when away from the office. Nobody wants to spend their holiday in incident response mode, but our teams must quickly report anything unusual to minimise potential impact.
Be Incident-Ready
Skeleton staff and remote work can make holiday incidents more challenging to handle. Brief incident response team members on their roles and responsibilities during this period. Update on-call schedules to ensure sufficient coverage. Include third-party providers in your planning, ensuring you have up-to-date contact details and processes for escalation in case of unexpected issues.
Prepare for Increased Remote Working
More employees may work remotely as they travel to spend time with friends and family, taking advantage of the improved remote working capabilities. Ensure your remote workforce understands the unique risks in their environments. This includes being mindful of working in public areas, protecting devices from theft or unauthorised access (i.e. criminals and relatives), and avoiding unsecured networks or those shared with family members and hotel guests.
Contact us today to discuss how we can help you navigate these seasonal risks and ensure your workforce remains secure wherever they are.
