The holiday season is a time for celebration, travelling, and shorter work schedules. However, for cybercriminals, it’s peak season. With reduced staffing, relaxed routines, and increased online activity, businesses become especially vulnerable during the holidays.
As we near the end of 2025, keeping your business data safe is more essential than ever. This practical cyber checklist will help ensure your organisation stays safe while your team enjoys a well-earned break.
Why Holidays Becoming a High-Risk Period for Cyber Attacks
Cyber attackers often strike when defences are weakest. During the holidays:
1. IT teams may be understaffed or on leave.
2. Employees are more likely to click on phishing emails that appear as offers or greetings.
3. Remote access and personal devices are used more often.
4. System updates and monitoring may be delayed.
5. Without preparation, even a short break can cause long-term damage.
2025 Holiday Cybersecurity Checklist
1. Lock Down Access Before the Break
- Review and restrict system access
- Remove unused or temporary user accounts.
- Enforce strong password policies and multi-factor authentication (MFA).
- Limit access to critical systems to essential staff only. This lowers the chance of unauthorised access when teams are not present.
2. Watch Out for Holiday-Themed Phishing
- Holiday emails are a best trap for attackers in 2025: Fake delivery updates, gift cards, invoices, or festive greetings.
- Impersonation of vendors, managers, or HR.
- Educate employees to check emails, avoid unknown links, and report suspicious messages right away
3. Secure Remote and Mobile Work
- Many employees work from home or travel during the holidays.
- Ensure VPNs are enabled and updated.
- Prohibit public Wi-Fi access without secure connections.
- Enforce device encryption and screen locks.
- One compromised device can expose an entire network.
4. Patch and Update All Systems
- Before the holiday period: Install all pending security updates and patches.
- Update antivirus, firewalls, and endpoint protection tools.
- Disable unnecessary services and open ports.
- Unpatched systems are easy targets for automated attacks.
5. Back Up Data and Test It
- Backups are your safety net: Perform full data backups before the holidays.
- Store backups safely offline or in encrypted cloud storage.
- Test restoration to ensure backups actually work.
- In a ransomware attack, a clean backup can protect your business.
6. Monitor Systems Even When You’re Away
- Security doesn’t take holidays: Enable real-time alerts for suspicious activity.
- Use automated monitoring and AI-driven threat detection.
- Assign an on-call contact for security incidents.
- Quick responses can prevent minor issues from becoming major breaches.
7. Prepare an Incident Response Plan
If something goes wrong, clarity matters:
- Define who to reach out to and what actions to take.
- Ensure leadership and IT teams know their roles.
- Keep emergency contact details updated.
- A prepared response minimises downtime and data loss.
Final Thoughts: Celebrate Safely, Secure Smartly
Cybersecurity in 2025 is not just an IT issue, it is also a business priority. Taking a few proactive steps before the holidays can protect your data, reputation, and customer trust as we enter the new year.
By following this holiday cyber checklist, your business can stay secure while your team
focuses on what truly matters: rest, celebration, and starting the next year strong
