The holiday season is a time for rest and celebration, but for cybersecurity teams, it also signals a heightened risk of cyberattacks. Threat actors often exploit the reduced staffing and slower response times that come with holidays, launching opportunistic attacks on vulnerable organizations.
The Holiday Cyber Threat Landscape
Cybersecurity experts warn that the holiday period often sees a spike in phishing attempts, ransomware deployments, and other malicious activities. Threat actors take advantage of reduced monitoring and stretched resources to infiltrate systems, steal sensitive data, or disrupt operations.
An essential part of holiday cybersecurity planning involves assessing vulnerabilities, implementing automated defenses, and ensuring continuity of monitoring through outsourced Security Operations Centers (SOCs) or on-call staff. Organizations that fail to prepare for these scenarios risk facing costly breaches or operational downtime.
Strategies for Staying Secure During the Holidays
- Proactive Planning: Establish a holiday-specific security strategy, complete with escalation procedures and designated points of contact.
- Automated Systems: Implement automated threat detection and response tools to handle potential incidents while teams are away.
- Employee Awareness: Train all staff to recognize phishing attempts and report suspicious activities.
- Outsourced Monitoring: Leverage external SOCs or Managed Detection and Response (MDR) services to maintain 24/7 security oversight.
Ascend’s Perspective: Preparing the Next Generation of Cyber Defenders
At Ascend Education, we understand that cybersecurity isn’t confined to a 9-to-5 schedule. The need for robust, always-on defense capabilities is vital, especially during periods of reduced staffing.
Ascend’s courses equip learners with skills in automated threat detection, incident response planning, and system monitoring. Through interactive virtual labs, students practice managing high-pressure scenarios, such as holiday-specific attack surges, ensuring they’re ready to protect organizations even during critical times.
By focusing on resilience and preparedness, Ascend Education aims to cultivate IT professionals who can anticipate and mitigate threats—no matter the time of year.
