The Festive Surprise No Business Wants: A Cyber Attack

There’s a particular kind of quiet that settles in as the festive season approaches.

Out-of-office replies multiply. Desks empty. Decision-makers won’t be fully active until January. Emails are answered between shopping trips, school plays, and half-finished to-do lists.

Everything slows down.

Just a little.

Except cyber crime.

While most businesses switch into festive mode, cyber criminals switch into opportunity mode. Year after year, December remains one of the most active months for cyber attacks, particularly ransomware and phishing attacks targeting UK businesses.

Not because organisations are careless.  But because they’re human.

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The One Click That Changes Everything

Most serious cyber attacks don’t start with complex hacking scenes from films. They start quietly. With something ordinary:

• A delivery notification

• A supplier invoice

• A Microsoft 365 password alert

• A “quick request” from the managing director

• A shared document link

All it takes is one tired click during a busy December afternoon

Attackers don’t rush. They wait. They explore. They learn how your systems work. And days or even weeks later, the real damage begins.

This is how many ransomware attacks quietly prepare themselves.

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Why Festive Season Is So Attractive to Cyber Criminals

Hackers love patterns. And December is full of predictable ones:

• Slower response times

• Reduced IT cover

• Increased remote working

• Higher volumes of financial activity

• More email traffic

• More distractions

Phishing becomes easier because fake emails blend seamlessly with genuine ones. Ransomware becomes more effective because fewer people are watching closely and recovery takes longer when key staff are on leave.

It’s not personal.  It’s timing.

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Your Data Doesn’t Power Down for the Season

Even if your office closes for a week, your business still holds:

• Customer records

• Email systems

• Financial data

• Cloud platforms

• Backup archives

• Access credentials

That responsibility doesn’t pause for the festive season and neither does the risk. A cyber incident on 27th December doesn’t politely wait until 2nd January to cause damage.

And customers rarely see “we were closed” as a reason to be relaxed about lost data.

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Why Ransomware and Phishing Still Dominate

Despite new cyber security buzzwords appearing every year, these two threats remain the most dangerous:

Phishing is still the front door.

 It’s cheap, scalable, and frighteningly effective.

Ransomware is the hammer once attackers are inside.

 It locks systems, halts operations, and forces impossible decisions under pressure.

Together, they remain the most common cause of serious, business-stopping cyber incidents across the UK.

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Being Secure Isn’t About Fear. It’s About Quiet Confidence

Good cyber security shouldn’t feel dramatic. In fact, the best protection often feels invisible.

Systems just work.

Emails arrive safely.

Backups restore when needed.

Threats disappear quietly in the background.

That’s the goal.

At Intouch Tech, we help businesses move from reactive thinking

 “What happens if we’re hit?” to confident control “We’re covered.”.

Especially during high-risk periods like the festive season, that quiet confidence makes all the difference.

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A Simple Festive Season Question Worth Asking

Before offices close and routines shift, it’s worth asking just one question:

If something went wrong tomorrow, would we know what to do within minutes or hours?

If the answer isn’t clear, now is exactly the right time to look at it.

Not because something bad will definitely happen.

But because if it does, preparation is what decides whether it becomes a minor inconvenience or a major business crisis.

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Run a Free Penetration Test This Festive Season

One of the most effective ways to understand your real cyber risk is to see what attackers would see.

A Free Penetration Test helps identify:

• Hidden vulnerabilities

• Weak access points

• Misconfigurations that attackers exploit

• Risks that automated tools often miss

It’s a practical, no-obligation way to check where your business may be exposed before it becomes a real incident.

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Be Secure This Festive Season with Intouch Tech

Cyber threats don’t pause for Christmas.

Your protection shouldn’t either

And the best time to think about security is always before you need it.

Secure IT. Smarter Growth.