Cybersecurity Doesn't Take Holidays: Your Guide to Holiday Cybersecurity Threats

❄️The holiday season is a time for celebration, gift-giving, travel, and connection, but it’s also a peak season for holiday cybersecurity threats. While teams wrap up year-end goals and employees are distracted by travel or reduced staffing, cybercriminals are working around the clock to exploit increased digital activity and operational gaps. 

Holiday-themed phishing, urgent vendor requests, and spoofed communications can bypass distracted staff, leaving corporate systems vulnerable. A single compromised account during this period can result in data breaches, operational disruption, or financial loss. 

At RedHelm, we believe enterprise cybersecurity awareness and proactive controls are the first line of defense. This December, CIOs and IT leaders should focus on strategies to protect corporate data, secure devices, and maintain operational resilience during the holiday surge in cyber threats. 

Why Holiday Cybersecurity Threats Spike 

The holiday season creates a perfect storm for cyberattacks due to: 

• Employees shopping online more frequently → higher risk of credential theft and corporate account compromise 

• Distracted employees and reduced staffing → slower threat detection and delayed incident response 

• Urgent, emotional messaging → social engineering through fake delivery alerts, limited-time offers, and urgent vendor requests 
• Remote work and travel → expanded attack surface and weakened endpoint protection
   

Your December Cybersecurity Checklist 

1. Create Employee Awareness Around High-Risk Clicks

Holiday phishing attacks surge in December. Ensure employees know to recognize: 

• Fake “package delivery” or shipment notifications targeting corporate accounts 

• Password reset emails that could compromise company credentials 

• Urgent gift card, holiday sales, or invoice scams designed to bypass security controls 

2. Protect Corporate Credentials During Increased Online Activity

Increased digital activity increases organizational exposure: 

• Require unique passwords for all corporate accounts 

• Deploy a company-wide password manager 

• Enforce multi-factor authentication (MFA) across all critical systems 

3. Secure Corporate Devices During Holiday Travel

Travel and remote work increase the risk of device compromise: 

• Avoid logging into sensitive corporate accounts on public networks 

• Enforce VPN usage for secure connections 

• Keep all corporate systems patched and updated 

• Reinforce policies to prevent laptops or mobile devices from being left unattended 
   
   

4. Lock Down Enterprise Systems Before Year-End

Before teams take holiday leave, ensure operational resilience: 

• Complete all system updates and data backups 

• Activate security monitoring and breach alerts 

• Confirm employees know how to report suspicious activity 

• Verify the on-call schedule and escalation procedures 
   
  

A single successful attack can cause long-term financial loss, operational downtime, compliance issues, and reputational damage that lasts far beyond the holidays. RedHelm provides proactive cybersecurity monitoring, threat detection, compliance support, and strategic security planning to help organizations stay protected throughout the year. 

Stay Secure This Holiday Season 🎅

This December, give your organization the gift of cybersecurity confidence. Stay alert. Stay cautious. And remember, cybersecurity doesn’t take holidays, and neither do cybercriminals. 

If you’re ready to strengthen your enterprise cybersecurity posture before the new year, the RedHelm team is here to help.