Buckle up! It’s not just the Grinch who wants to steal your Christmas. Those pesky cybercriminals don’t suddenly find festive spirit and sign off for a season of peace and goodwill. In fact, they up their activity at times when businesses are distracted, on holiday and more vulnerable. Research shows a 30% increase in cyberattacks over the Christmas period.

Before you sign off to eat, drink and be merry, it’s important to put robust protection in place to secure your business assets. We’re not talking Home Alone style protective measures – although they might be fun to try. These 12 security tips will reduce your risk of cyberattack and minimise your vulnerability. And they’re not just for Christmas, they apply all year round.

12 ways to protect your business this festive season

An alarming stat shows that 76% of ransomware attacks start during downtime, be that a weekend or bank holiday. And what is the Christmas break other than one very long weekend and series of bank holidays?

1. Supercharge your system protection

If you want a belt and braces approach to security (and we’re all for that), then adding Managed Endpoint Detection and Response to your network is highly recommended. This innovative cyber security service is designed to protect businesses like yours from increasingly complex cyber threats. This all-encompassing management solution requires no in-house resources and provides your business with around the clock protection.

2. Control who and what can access your systems and data

Audit your identity platform. Check when every one of your accounts was last used and whether they’ve been breached. Find out if any account or email address has compromised information.

Make sure it’s only the right users that can access sensitive information. Don’t leave it open to everybody. And up the ante on the security of your accounts, starting with lessons on how to create a super safe password.

3. Raise awareness and empower your teams

Knowledge is power and you need to arm your teams with vital information that could protect your business from attack. Human error plays a part in 74% of security breaches, so it’s crucial to empower your teams with information that will reduce those mistakes.

Start training at your onboarding sessions but continue it on a regular basis. To make an impact, keep the details engaging and tangible. We recommend Know Be4, market leaders in this field, who create effective short form videos that really work.

4. Employ multi-factor authentication

A whopping 91% of successful cyber-attacks start with a phishing email. This Business Email Compromise (BEC) is a cyber-crime where scammers assume the digital identity of a trusted persona to trick employees or customers into doing something (like sharing data or making a financial transaction).

Multi-factor authentication (MFA) adds an extra layer of security. It makes it harder for attackers to access your systems even if they’ve got hold of stolen credentials.

5. Unleash the power of your intranet

There are many benefits to using a company-wide intranet and using it to its full potential [link to 5 ways to use your intranet blog]. It becomes a go-to hub for company information; a tool for collaboration and communication. On one level, this means that your teams are informed from a single source of truth which reduces the risk of misinformation.

Importantly, a unified SharePoint solution like Fresh Intranet which works within your existing Microsoft 365 environment, will be less vulnerable than having multiple platforms for information and communication.

6. Back up your data

Data breaches can cost businesses £1,100+, according to Statista, and that’s before you take reputational damage and data recovery into account.

Often, human error is behind the breach. Other times, it may be a software error or cyber attack. By regularly conducting a Microsoft 365 backup, you get a veritable safety net of extra protection for your data.

7. Automate carefully

Using Copilot is an absolute game-changer. It can save you so much time, reduce your daily grind and boost productivity. But it’s important to classify your information to prevent it landing in the wrong hands. You probably don’t want the everyone’s salary details shared amongst the entire company or sensitive details of HR conversations accessible to all. Ensure you classify documents to restrict access.

8. Level up your security

A worryingly high proportion of small to mid-sized businesses lack adequate security to prevent a cyberattack. 82% of SMBs’ antivirus solutions fail to stop malware from penetrating their systems. It’s worth investing in a solution that not only detects potential attacks but responds rapidly to shut them down. Huntress does just this, providing round the clock robust security and protection.

9. Pop on the latest patch

How up to date is your software and IT? SMBs often rely on older versions to cut costs, but they lack the latest security updates. Cyber criminals are well aware of this and will exploit vulnerabilities. By updating your systems and software with the latest security patches, you can stay one step ahead of the criminals.

10. Turn to Teams telephony

Do you still rely on a landline or legacy communications platform? These tools are coming to the end of their lives and won’t be as secure or supported as newer technologies. We recommend streamlining your communications and integrating Teams Telephony with your existing Microsoft 365 infrastructure. It comes with Microsoft’s best-in-class security frameworks, stringent security and compliance standards. That’s one less weak link for cybercriminals to exploit.

11. Be prepared with an incident plan

It’s important to plan for the worst case scenario, especially over a holiday period when less people are on duty. Create an incident response plan to follow in the event of an attack. And it’s not enough to simply write it down. Do a dummy run to check it works.

12. Ask for expert help

You don’t have to figure it out alone. Our friendly team is here with expert advice and tailored solutions to ramp up your security measures and reduce your business’ risks. It’s not too late to implement 24/7 protection before Christmas or to upgrade your current security solutions to make them more effective.

Don’t let the Cyber Grinches steal your assets this Christmas

Our 12 tips are here to help protect your business from attack over the festive season and beyond. Our knowledgeable team is here year-round to provide advice, support and solutions for you too. Get in touch to find out more