It’s widely reported that the Christmas season is a peak time for cyber attacks. But are there really more attacks than usual? Or are the criminals simply more successful because we let down our guard?
‘Tis the season to be jolly — but don’t give attackers the advantage
However, Christmas is also a season of heightened cyber risks that can leave organizations particularly vulnerable to attack.
Skeleton crews leave organizations lightly defended
Even key personnel go on Christmas leave. In many organizations, the security teams that monitor networks and respond to threats may be reduced by 40-60%. CrowdStrike’s 2023 Global Threat Report found that organizations detect threats 156% slower during periods of reduced staffing.
Attackers know this and take advantage of it. The Travelex ransomware attack on New Year’s Eve 2019 is a case in point. With the critical systems managed by skeleton crews, the attack remained undetected and unmitigated for hours.
Unsurprisingly, IBM’s Cost of a Data Breach 2023 cites a shortage of skilled staff as a factor in the cost of a data breach.
Holiday stress and distraction create security blind spots
For many people, the run-up to Christmas is hectic. On top of their routine work, they have to deal with year-end deadlines, plus family commitments, shopping, and travel planning. This can fog their thinking, and make them more prone to fall for phishing emails and social engineering.
Research from the SANS Institute shows that stress can increase employee susceptibility to phishing by 35%.
Holidays can slow down response times and decision making
With key security personnel away, incident responses can suffer from:
- Unclear or broken chains of authority.
- Reduced technical expertise on-site.
- Communication breakdowns between skeleton crews.
- Delayed executive decision-making.
In normal times, organizations typically detect and respond to credential compromise within 72 hours. However, IBM has found that during holiday periods, this can extend to 168 hours or more. That gives attackers up to a week of freedom to establish persistence and move laterally through an organization’s networks.
The real-world impact of Christmas holiday security lapses
Recent studies from the Ponemon Institute found that, on average, at Christmas or in periods of reduced staffing:
- 68% of successful breaches go undetected for more than 30 days.
- Financial losses from incidents are 2.3 times greater.
- Recovery time is lengthened by 89 days from the detection of the incident.
Stop attacks before they happen with proactive threat intelligence
When people are distracted or absent, automated systems become even more critical.
Cyber threat intelligence solutions such as Cybercheck provide an early warning system. Our analysts infiltrate and monitor the criminal platforms, forums, and channels where stolen data is exchanged.
If cybercriminals are trading information about you or your organization, our credential monitoring solution detects it and alerts you. That means you can change your passwords, block your cards, and shut out potential attackers, before they make you their next victim.
This is especially valuable at this time of year, when your organization’s defenses may be thinly spread, but cybercrime remains a constant threat.
