For Hackers, the Holiday Shopping Season is the Biggest Celebration of the Year

During the advent period, retail sales increase significantly both in physical stores and online. Cybercriminals take advantage of this, as shoppers focus on the best deals and prices and are less aware of potentially harmful content. In addition to individuals, organizations also become more vulnerable to hackers due to the year-end rush and holiday leaves.

For most people, the holiday season is about relaxation and spending time with family and friends. Unfortunately, hackers do not take a break but instead invest even more effort into exploiting people’s lack of attention. Since many people do their gift shopping online—63% of Christmas purchases are made via webshops—the holiday season is the perfect opportunity for cybercriminals to launch attacks. The number of ransomware attacks, for example, increases by 30% during advent compared to the rest of the year. Consumers are less alert during this time, focusing on finding the best offers and completing their holiday shopping while also dealing with increased workloads at their workplaces due to year-end closings.

Phishing attacks are more likely to be successful during the holiday season, as users enter their personal data into multiple webshops without checking the legitimacy or reliability of the sites. During the Christmas shopping period, people receive far more promotional emails, making them less selective, allowing cybercriminals to more easily disguise themselves as legitimate retailers to steal victims’ data.

Businesses are also at greater risk during the holiday season. Due to the year-end rush and the need for replacements during holiday leaves, employees focus on completing their tasks on time and are less likely to notice warning signs of potential damage. Companies in the retail sector are even more affected, as increased traffic places a heavy burden on information systems, and most businesses are not prepared to handle this, making them an easy target for hackers. It becomes easier to infiltrate networks unnoticed and launch attacks against the targeted organization.

To prevent such attacks, it is crucial to prepare for cyber threats in advance, both individually and at an organizational level. It is essential to keep systems up to date even during the holiday period (e.g., antivirus software, firewalls, etc.), and employee awareness should be ensured through continuous information sharing and year-round training sessions. ViVeTech remains available to its clients throughout the holiday season, helping them maintain secure operations with its up-to-date market insights.

Sources: thrivedx.com, bit-sentinel.com 

‍