Full Report
Learn why cybersecurity awareness should last all year round, and discover pro tips to keep you and your org secure, especially as we enter into the threat-filled holiday season.
Analysis Summary
# Best Practices: Holiday & Year-Round Threat Mitigation
## Overview
As organizations transition from Cybersecurity Awareness Month into the holiday season, the threat landscape intensifies. These practices address the "seasonal surge" in cybercrime—specifically phishing, ransomware, and remote-work vulnerabilities—caused by employee distraction, year-end deadlines, and increased online activity.
## Key Recommendations
### Immediate Actions
1. **Launch Holiday Phishing Simulations:** Deploy specific training modules focused on seasonal scams: fake shipping notifications, bogus charity drives, and gift card promotions.
2. **Enforce Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA):** Ensure MFA is mandatory for all remote access points and email accounts (specifically M365) to mitigate the risk of stolen credentials.
3. **Update Endpoint Protection:** Verify that Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) agents are active and updated on all corporate devices before the holiday break.
4. **Issue Travel Security Briefings:** Remind employees traveling for the holidays to avoid unsecured public Wi-Fi and use company-approved VPNs.
### Short-term Improvements (1-3 months)
1. **Password Policy Audit:** Transition away from weak passwords toward long, complex passphrases; audit M365 environments for legacy accounts with weak credentials.
2. **Firewall & Infrastructure Hardening:** Review and tighten firewall rules to ensure only necessary ports are open during periods of low staffing.
3. **Incident Response Readiness:** Update the "On-Call" roster for the holiday season to ensure a rapid response team is available during weekends and public holidays.
### Long-term Strategy (3+ months)
1. **Continuous Awareness Culture:** Shift from annual "Awareness Month" training to a year-round "Offensive-Minded" defense strategy that evolves with current threat trends.
2. **Managed Security Adoption:** Evaluate Managed EDR or SOC-as-a-Service to ensure 24/7/365 monitoring, especially during periods when internal IT teams are on PTO.
3. **Family/Home Security Education:** Provide resources for employees to secure personal tech and children’s devices, reducing the risk of "bridge" attacks from home networks to corporate assets.
## Implementation Guidance
### For Small Organizations
- **Focus on the Basics:** Prioritize MFA and automated backups. Since internal resources are limited, use simplified Security Awareness Training (SAT) tools that automate phishing simulations.
- **Guidance:** Use built-in security features in M365 or Google Workspace to their maximum potential.
### For Medium Organizations
- **Standardize Remote Access:** Mandate a single, secure VPN for all remote work. Implement a "clean desk" policy for employees going on extended leave.
- **Guidance:** Deploy a managed EDR solution to act as a force multiplier for your IT team during holiday shutdowns.
### For Large Enterprises
- **Enhanced Monitoring:** Increase logging and monitoring for "impossible travel" logins and unusual data egress patterns that may signal ransomware preparation.
- **Guidance:** Conduct a year-end "Threat Hunt" to ensure no dormant attackers are residing in the network before the office closes for the season.
## Configuration Examples
- **MFA Enforcement:** Configure Conditional Access policies to block logins from non-compliant devices or high-risk geographic locations.
- **VPN Configuration:** Set VPNs to "Always-On" mode with split-tunneling disabled for sensitive administrative tasks.
- **Defanged URL Check:** Before clicking, hover over links to verify the destination: `hxxps[://]shipping-update[.]bad-actor[.]com` vs. `hxxps[://]fedex[.]com`.
## Compliance Alignment
- **NIST CSF:** Aligns with "Protect" (PR.AC) and "Detect" (DE.CM) functions through MFA and continuous monitoring.
- **CIS Controls:** Aligns with Control 14 (Security Awareness and Skills Training) and Control 6 (Access Control Management).
## Common Pitfalls to Avoid
- **"Set it and Forget it" Mentality:** Assuming security tools are working without checking for failed updates or disconnected agents.
- **Ignoring Year-End Scams:** Failing to account for political donation scams or year-end "urgent" HR requests regarding benefits or bonuses.
- **Lack of Verification:** Allowing "urgent" financial requests (wire transfers, gift card purchases) to proceed without out-of-band (voice) verification.
## Resources
- **Managed EDR:** hxxps[://]www.huntress[.]com/platform/managed-edr
- **Security Awareness Training:** hxxps[://]www.huntress[.]com/platform/security-awareness-training
- **Phishing Verification Guide:** hxxps[://]www.huntress[.]com/blog/5-phishing-email-scams-and-how-not-to-fall-for-them