A Sysadmin’s Holiday Checklist: Keep Your Company Safe This Festive Season
As the holiday season ramps up, cybercriminals are taking advantage of reduced staffing, remote work setups, and a surge in online shopping—making businesses more vulnerable than ever.
Phishing scams disguised as holiday e-cards, fake e-commerce sites, and insider threats are just a few of the dangers lurking this festive season.
To help businesses stay secure, Alex Panait, a System Administrator for a leading cybersecurity company, shares a practical holiday cybersecurity checklist packed with actionable tips and insights.
The guide goes beyond basic tips, diving into the most common holiday scams and offering videos with real-life examples of Christmas cyber scams and prevention measures.
Key Tips to Protect Your Business This Holiday Season:
- Strengthen endpoints: Keep devices updated with antivirus and endpoint protection software; consider Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) and application whitelisting.
- Prepare for phishing spikes: Train staff to spot suspicious emails, enforce robust email filters, and encourage prompt reporting of anything unusual.
- Secure remote access: Mandate VPN usage, monitor unusual logins, and temporarily deactivate inactive accounts.
- Segment and shield your network: Isolate sensitive areas, deploy DNS security and advanced firewalls, and maintain full visibility over network traffic.
- Patch, patch, patch: Regularly update all systems and test patches in a controlled environment to avoid disruptions.
- Tackle supply chain risks: Vet vendors and limit their access to essential systems only.
- Have a response plan ready: Tailor incident protocols for the holidays, create an on-call rotation for your IT team, and enable swift action against suspicious activity.
"Cybercriminals thrive on holiday distractions, but with proactive measures like phishing training, secure endpoints, and network segmentation, you can stay one step ahead and keep your defenses strong," said Alex Panait, System Administrator at Heimdal Security.
Common Holiday Scams to Watch Out For:
Cybercriminals don’t just rely on general vulnerabilities—they exploit the festive season with tailored scams designed to catch businesses off guard.
Here are the most common holiday scams to be aware of:
- Spear phishing: Emails disguised as holiday bonuses or event invitations that steal credentials or spread malware.
- Malicious holiday E-Cards: Festive greetings that contain links deploying ransomware or spyware.
- Fake E-Commerce sites: Fraudulent websites offering discounts to steal payment information.
- Insider threats: Distracted or disgruntled employees mishandling or exploiting sensitive data.
- Corporate travel scams: Fake booking platforms targeting business travelers.
- Business email compromise (BEC): Fraudulent requests for urgent wire transfers during year-end financial rushes.
For more, read the full article here or watch the detailed video on YouTube to see how these threats unfold and learn how to stop them.
About Heimdal:
Established in Copenhagen in 2014, Heimdal® empowers CISOs, security teams, and IT administrators to improve their security operations, reduce alert fatigue, and implement proactive measures through a unified command and control platform.
Heimdal’s award-winning cybersecurity solutions span the entire IT estate, addressing challenges from endpoint to network levels, including vulnerability management, privileged access, Zero Trust implementation, and ransomware prevention.
For more information, visit Heimdal’s website.
For further press information:
Madalina Popovici
Media Relations Manager
mpo@heimdalsecurity.com
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