It seems like there's a never-ending barrage of cyber threats to look out for. It can get tiring to keep your eye on your network at all times, constantly trying to keep up with the latest trends in cybersecurity.
If you run a business, you'll most likely have limited hours around the holiday season. This may seem like a relief from the seasonal frenzy, but hackers are unfortunately never off the clock.
In fact, cybercriminals take advantage of the holidays when they plan their attacks. They know the holidays can get hectic, and wherever there's chaos, there will be security mistakes. To help you get a handle on cybersecurity before the seasonal lull, here's how hackers capitalize on the holiday season and how to combat this.
Holiday OOOs=Stealthier Security Breaches
As expected, most professionals (including IT professionals) take time off around the holidays. It differs between businesses since some industries see more business during the holidays, such as retail or restaurants. For these businesses, hackers will carry out sneaky attacks while you're too busy managing the influx of business to properly monitor your network.
If your business shuts down for the holiday, you're even more vulnerable to these covert attacks. If your IT person is out for a week right before, during, or after a major holiday, hackers will capitalize on the lack of oversight.
Cybercriminals are often inside your system long before they are detected or can cause any real data loss. You might remain unaware of a successful attack for months. By then, the damage will likely already be done.
Although it seems baffling, many cyber attacks occur on days like Christmas or New Years Eve when businesses least expect them. This is a strong reason to invest in a solid IT and security strategy.
Fewer Network Administrators Available Means Less Network Monitoring
If you keep your IT in-house, you may experience more cyber risk. If you rely on constant vigilance and onsite presence to protect your business from cyber-attacks, the holidays will pose a significant network security risk.
This is especially true if when you have a small IT department. Your IT specialists need to take time off too, which creates gaps in cybersecurity oversight. Hackers are expecting this and will take advantage of it.
To read more about the work-life balance issues in-house IT departments can create, read our blog: How In-House IT Kills Your Work-Life Balance
Online Shoppers Hit with Cyber Threats
An emerging threat to consumers and businesses that purchase things online is the prevalence of AI bots that attack online retailers. They may try to gain access to user accounts on these sites, and during the busy season, they will automatically snap up high-value items at discounted rates at a large scale.
This can make holiday online shopping stressful, but more importantly, dangerous to data security. Ensure if you have a business account on any online retailer that you change your password frequently.
AI has made hacking unused accounts easier than ever without detection, so you must be hyper-vigilant during the holidays as these attacks ramp up.
How Can Businesses Bolster Data Security Before the Holidays?
Prior to the holidays, there are several steps you can take to improve your business's cybersecurity posture.
A few cybersecurity essentials include getting a network assessment, creating an incident response strategy, evaluating your network monitoring methods, and implementing recommended data security tools.
1. Getting Up-to-Date Network Audits
The first step in securing your business is becoming aware of any immediate issues that need attention. One way to get a sense of where your network security stands is by investing in network assessments.
These evaluations can give you insights into your current tools, cybersecurity strengths and weaknesses, software patches, and any contract issues. To read more about network assessments, here are a few resources about what they are, how they're helpful, and what you get out of them:
- Understanding Network Assessments: What to Expect & Examples
- Network Assessments: What Insights Do They Reveal?
- What Long-Term Value Does A Network Assessment Offer?
2. Creating Your Incident Response Strategy
Incident response is an important aspect of preparing for cyber attacks. As opposed to disaster recovery, incident response involves creating an action plan before your business suffers an attack rather than scrambling once it's happened.
It's also crucial to consider the experts on your team who will need to be looped into your response plan. Some of these key players include your cyber insurance providers, IT leaders, Virtual Chief Information Officer (vCIO) if you have one, and executive leadership.
Read more about how to create an incident response plan in our article: How to Conduct Incident Response Tabletop Exercises
3. Strengthening Your Business Network Security Monitoring
Modern cyber threats are more than just generic malware attacks. New types of attacks are discovered all the time, which experts call zero-day attacks. These are difficult for run-of-the-mill antivirus tools to detect, as they look different than known viruses.
This has led to the development of Endpoint Detection & Response technology, that can monitor your network for abnormalities, identify even brand-new attacks, and remediate the issue.
This tool does this by rebooting your device to a safe state once a threat is detected. In this way, EDR acts as not only a fire alarm but a sprinkler system to combat the fire and a cleanup crew to evaluate and report on what happened.
Read more about the surprising similarities and differences between EDR and traditional cyber monitoring tools in our blog: EDR vs Enterprise Antivirus: What’s the Difference?
4. Utilizing Proactive Cybersecurity Tools & Practices
Any cyber risk analyst would tell you that using proactive methods to mitigate the risk of cyber attacks is much easier than things like ransomware remediation after the fact. Data breaches can't be 100% prevented, but there are expert-recommended tools and practices you can implement today to prepare.
One of the biggest security vulnerabilities any business will face is human error. Phishing emails, fake texts from your CEO, and countless other social engineering tactics can lead to ransomware attacks that compromise your whole network.
This is why cybersecurity training is a critical part of your IT strategy, to educate staff on topics such as:
- Common social engineering tactics
- Creating strong passwords
- The dangers of malware and how to avoid it
- Email and online safety
- Proper data protection & security
How to Find Outsourced Network Security For Businesses
If you're in need of some upgraded security solutions to ward off the rampant malicious activity around the holidays, there are many places to find cybersecurity as a service.
You may look into "white hat hackers" or ethical hackers to perform penetration tests on your network. To learn more about what to expect if you hire hackers to test your network, read our blog: What Are White Hat Hackers, and Can I Hire One?
If you'd like a more all-encompassing look into your network and endpoint security standpoint, you might want to explore a managed security service provider (MSSP). These providers offer network assessments and penetration tests to evaluate the strength of your network infrastructure against cyber criminals.
If you're ready to find out whether your business is vulnerable to cyber attacks, click the button below to consult with an IT expert about your IT strategy.
