Hey everyone — with the holidays coming up, it’s a good time to double-check that your business network is ready for the seasonal rush. More online shopping means more traffic, and unfortunately, more people are trying to take advantage of it.
In 2024 alone, the retail and small-business sectors saw a major jump in cyberattacks. Nearly 80% of retailers experienced at least one cyber incident, and the average cost of a breach reached $3.48 million — an 18% increase from 2023. According to RH-ISAC, ransomware made up about a quarter of all retail-focused attacks last holiday season, and fake merchant sites grew by more than 280%. That’s not abstract — those numbers represent small shops, local service providers, and online sellers who were just trying to meet customer demand.
Why Holiday Cybercrime Spikes
The holiday months are when businesses are stretched the thinnest — managing higher sales volumes, temporary staff, and tighter timelines. That makes it the perfect window for threat actors. Phishing scams get more sophisticated, payment systems face heavier traffic, and fraudsters look for weak spots anywhere data moves. In fact, reports from Imperva showed retail websites were being hit by over half a million automated attacks per day leading into December 2024.
All that to say — the risk is real, but managing it doesn’t have to be complicated. Most successful attacks still start with small oversights. A missed software update. An open guest Wi-Fi. A payment terminal running outdated firmware. These aren’t advanced hacking scenarios — they’re the digital equivalent of leaving the door unlocked during your busiest season.
A Quick Security Checklist for the Holidays
A few simple steps can dramatically reduce your exposure.
- Update everything. Make sure routers, POS systems, firewalls, and servers are running current software and firmware.
- Tighten Wi-Fi security. Keep customer and staff networks separate. Never process payments over public connections.
- Review PCI compliance. Don’t store cardholder data, ensure encryption is enabled for every transaction, and limit who can access sensitive systems.
- Back up critical data. Test your recovery process before the rush hits.
- Train seasonal staff. Make sure they know how to spot phishing attempts, refund scams, and suspicious customer behavior.
These steps might sound basic, but they’re often what make or break a business’s resilience during the holiday rush. PCI compliance in particular is more than a checkbox — it’s the foundation for protecting your customers’ trust. A single payment breach doesn’t just risk fines; it can lead to chargebacks, frozen merchant accounts, and a serious hit to your brand reputation.
Don’t Wait Until Peak Season
The goal isn’t to scare anyone — it’s to make sure businesses are ready. Cyber threats aren’t seasonal, but they absolutely ramp up when money and attention are flowing online. Just like you prep your store, inventory, or website for the holidays, your network deserves that same level of attention.
The bottom line: you don’t need to overhaul your entire IT strategy to stay safe — you just need to make security part of your holiday prep checklist. Taking a little time now to patch, encrypt, and verify compliance can save you from a lot of disruption later.
Andrew Bolton, Business Sales Engineer and Operations Manager
Sources:
Chambliss, A. (2024b, November 19). New Report Analyzes Cyber Threats Facing Retail and Hospitality Industry During Holiday Season. Retail & Hospitality ISAC. https://rhisac.org/press-release/holiday-threat-trends-2024/
