The holiday break is a time for celebration and relaxation, but it can also open the door to cyberattacks. With reduced staff and less attention to operations, vulnerabilities increase, making companies more susceptible to cyberattacks. Cybercriminals know this and often step up their activities, exploiting the gaps that open up during this period.

In this guide, we'll explore best practices for protecting your business during the holiday break, using powerful tools like Sketch, Privacy21 and Sophos, in addition to security strategies to minimize risks and ensure business continuity.

Understand the risks of cyberattacks during the end of the year

During the holidays, many businesses face significant headcount reductions, especially in IT teams. This means that ongoing cybersecurity vigilance is reduced, creating opportunities for attacks such as phishing, malware and ransomware. Additionally, remote working becomes more common, which can increase exposure to risks due to insecure networks and personal devices used to access corporate systems.

Phishing attacks and other cyber threats tend to increase significantly during the holiday season. This is because cybercriminals take advantage of distractions and reduced staffing levels in businesses, making attacks harder to detect.

Tools to protect your business during the recess

Continuous Monitoring with Eskaller

One of the best ways to mitigate risk is to ensure that your network is monitored 24/7, even during downtime. Sketch, with its robust network monitoring solution, offers the protection your business needs. With intrusion detection and prevention systems (IDS/IPS), it ensures that cyber threats are detected and blocked before they can cause damage.

During downtime, when IT staff may not be available to respond quickly, Eskaller continues to proactively detect suspicious patterns and prevent attacks from spreading across your company’s infrastructure. This helps keep your network secure and your IT environment protected.

Data Protection with Privacy21

Another crucial tool is the Privacy21, which provides an extra layer of protection for sensitive data, especially important during remote work. Privacy21 helps ensure that your company complies with data privacy regulations such as LGPD and GDPR by preventing unauthorized access to sensitive information.

Even when your employees are working from home or in different locations, Privacy21 offers additional security for devices, preventing data leaks and ensuring that company communications are carried out securely, regardless of location.

Next-Generation Firewall with Sophos 

Advanced firewalls also strengthen network security, such as Sophos. This next-generation firewall not only protects against external intrusions, but also performs deep traffic inspections, blocking malicious content before it can enter the corporate network.

Sophos automation is also a plus during the downtime, as it allows the system to react quickly to threats without requiring manual intervention. This ensures an efficient response even when IT staff are stretched thin.

Minimize the impacts of cyber threats

With staff reductions and increased remote work, the number of devices connected to the network increases considerably. This can open up new vulnerabilities, making your business more susceptible to cyberattacks. To minimize these impacts, here are some essential strategies:

• Cyber Awareness Training: Phishing and social engineering attacks tend to increase during the holidays. Quick training and phishing simulations can help your team identify and avoid these attacks. Even remotely, you can apply these trainings efficiently, preparing employees for the most common threats.
• Data Backup and Recovery: While prevention is key, it’s also important to have a well-structured data recovery plan in place. Tools like those integrated into Eskaller ensure that your data is protected and ready to be restored quickly in the event of an incident. This ensures that your business doesn’t suffer long periods of downtime, even after an attack.
• Response Automation: Incident response automation, like that offered by Sophos, can be a game-changer during downtime when your IT team isn’t fully operational. This allows your organization to quickly respond to threats and minimize damage before an attack can spread.

The importance of continuity during recess

While the focus is on protecting your business from cyberattacks, it’s equally important to ensure business continuity. So make sure your business has backup and data recovery solutions in place, and that critical systems remain operational regardless of the number of people in the workplace.

Therefore, invest in integrated security solutions to keep operations running without interruption, ensuring that business can continue safely, even during the holiday break.

Uninterrupted security against cyberattacks

The holiday break can be a great opportunity to rest and recharge, but for IT professionals and business owners, it’s also a time for constant vigilance. That’s why, with the right tools and a well-planned security strategy, such as those offered by Eskaller, Privacy21 and Sophos, your company can maintain active protection, even when teams are outnumbered.

Don't wait until it's too late to protect your business. After all, cybersecurity doesn't take vacations, and with the right preparation, your business can enjoy the break with peace of mind, knowing that your systems are protected. Access fortesecurity.com.br/ and learn about our solutions.