We are only weeks away from the final quarter of the calendar year. It is a time that will begin ushering in cooler weather, as well as some of the year’s most intense challenges. Just as the flu season follows the calendar, so does cybersecurity. Here are the top 3 cybersecurty challenges you need to prepare for through the end of the year.
What are Some Risks During The Approaching Holidays?
The holidays are just around the corner, which means that millions will be preparing shopping lists, and cybersecurity teams will face a growing list of complexities that will make their job even tougher. Here are a few:
- Increased Time Off and Remote Work: Many employees take time off or work remotely, while security staff are also likely to be on vacation. Hackers are aware of this, which is why they take advantage of reduced coverage and response times. In fact, a recent report showed that 90% of ransomware attacks occur during periods of reduced IT security staffing, such as holiday seasons.
- Temporary Workforce: Many retailers hire seasonal workers to handle the holiday rush, introducing potential security risks due to an expanded attack surface, a less-vetted staff and an increased chance for errors or lapses in security awareness.
- Heightened Vulnerability to Scams: The stress of the holiday season makes employees more susceptible to phishing scams, deepfakes, and social engineering attacks, especially those tailored to holiday themes.
These and other factors are why more than half of all retailers say that they are more prone to cyberattacks during the holidays than at any other time during the year. In December 2024, Microsoft warned of heightened DDoS attack risks during the holiday season. These attacks disrupt normal business operations, such as preventing online shoppers from accessing retail websites.
Increased Online Transactions
Approximately one-fifth of retail transactions in the U.S. occur in November and December. That means that the volume of online transactions rises sharply. This surge not only broadens the attack surface for cybercriminals but also raises the stakes for retailers. During peak sales periods, the pressure to keep systems running without interruption makes businesses more likely to pay ransoms quickly rather than risk costly downtime. This is also when PCI DSS compliance becomes especially critical.
Greater AI Usage
Holiday-season cybersecurity threats are well-documented. The CISA has consistently warned about increased ransomware activity during this period and other studies have shown phishing attacks increase by over 250% during the holidays. However, there is a new element that introduces even greater risk for this year’s holiday season, that being the increased use of AI tools. In the same way that generative AI tools make tasks easier for employees, they also make things easier for attackers. Some of the ways include:
- AI can generate phishing emails and text messages that are even more convincing and can be created at larger scale
- Attackers use AI to create realistic audio and video deepfakes to impersonate executives or employees in social engineering attacks.
- AI helps attackers design malware that can adapt to avoid detection by traditional antivirus and endpoint protection systems.
- AI can rapidly scan public and private data sources to identify sensitive information, misconfigured databases, or exposed credentials.
AI also introduces new vulnerabilities. As employees rush to complete tasks before holiday breaks, they may be more likely to use unauthorized AI tools for efficiency or inadvertently expose sensitive data to AI platforms that retain user inputs.
Annual End of Year Activities
Most health insurance plans are set to renew on January 1, along with deductibles scheduled to reset. Thus, many people try to fit in their medical, dental, and all other health-related appointments, procedures, and tests. With the increased amount of patients at the busiest time of the year come in, with less staff due to the coming holidays, healthcare organizations need to be extra diligent when managing patient health information (PHI). Also, with the proposed HIPAA requirements of penetration testing and incident response plans (IRP), we recommend you assess your HIPAA compliance and ensure you have met all requirements to safeguard your networks and patient data.
How to Prepare for the Holidays from a Cybersecurity Perspective
The time to prepare for the holiday risk surge is now. That preparation should start with a comprehensive pen test conducted by a third-party expert. A proper pen test can show you the vulnerabilities that can be exploited this holiday season by attackers. By simulating real-world attacks, pen tests reveal weak points, such as outdated software or misconfigurations, allowing businesses to strengthen defenses. Other measures to be included in your preparation list include:
While the list may be extensive, all these items can be easily implemented with HALOCK Security Labs. With more than 25 years of experience, HALOCK’s penetration testing team delivers threat-based reports that categorize findings by risk, helping you prioritize your most critical vulnerabilities and take decisive action. We can also customize a risk-based threat assessment that uses multiple tools, including the use of intuitive heat maps that outline your threat level for each cyberattack type including ransomware. HALOCK then provides expert guidance and actionable insights to increase the security posture of your on-prem and cloud environments.
Our team also brings deep expertise in regulatory compliance, including the latest requirements under PCI DSS v4.0. This ensures your retail operations remain secure and fully compliant as you prepare for the upcoming holiday season.
We can reduce the risk to your business over the approaching season. Review your risk and compliance posture with HALOCK.
