Keeping your Business Safe This Holiday Season

With the holidays fast approaching, it is easy for our attention to shift toward personal plans like travel arrangements, decorating ideas, and family gatherings. But as business owners, it is just as important to take a moment to make sure our company technology is secure and running smoothly before we wrap up the year. Taking a few proactive IT steps now can go a long way in reducing stress and keeping things running smoothly during the busy season.

The holidays bring plenty of joy and celebration, but they also create opportunities for cybercriminals who know many businesses are operating with reduced staff or relaxed attention. Making sure your systems are protected before the festivities begin will set you up for a safe and productive start to the new year.

Below, we will cover five key IT tips to help keep your business secure and ready to take on 2026.

1. Review Your Cybersecurity Practices

Before everyone heads out for the holidays, take time to review your company’s security posture. This is the perfect time to confirm that your antivirus software, endpoint protection, and firewalls are updated and actively monitoring for threats. Many businesses delay updates or ignore notifications, which can leave systems vulnerable during the holiday downtime when IT support may be limited.

Ensure that all operating systems, applications, and browsers have the latest patches installed. This includes both company computers and any personal devices that employees use to access work data remotely. A single unpatched laptop or phone can be an easy entry point for attackers.

It is also wise to refresh your staff on common holiday scams. Phishing emails often increase during this season with messages that appear to come from shipping carriers like FedEx, UPS, or USPS, claiming there is a package delivery issue that requires you to click a link. Others may appear to be gift card requests from company leadership or fake charity donation drives. Encourage employees to take an extra moment to verify any unexpected email before clicking links or sharing credentials.

Another smart move is to review your MFA and password policies. Confirm that all users have multi factor authentication enabled and that weak or reused passwords are updated. If possible, use password management tools to make compliance easy.

Finally, perform a quick audit of who has access to critical systems. Remove inactive accounts and double check permissions for shared drives, email groups, and cloud applications. Even temporary access that was granted earlier in the year can become a liability if left unattended.

2. Check Your Backups and Recovery Plan

During the holidays, many offices operate with smaller teams or completely shut down for several days. This makes it especially important to confirm that your data backups are working correctly and stored in a secure location. Backups are your safety net against accidental deletions, ransomware attacks, or hardware failures that can strike when no one is around to respond quickly.

Start by verifying that your backups are completing successfully. Do not assume that “automatic” means “error free.” Log into your backup console or management system and check the most recent backup reports. If you are using cloud solutions like Microsoft OneDrive, Azure Backup, or Veeam, make sure the scheduled jobs have no failed or incomplete runs.

It is equally important to test your recovery process. Try restoring a small sample of files or even an entire virtual machine to confirm that the data is usable. Many companies discover too late that their backups were corrupted or incomplete. A quick test can confirm that you can recover your systems without losing critical information.

For local storage, ensure that backup drives are encrypted and stored in a secure, climate controlled environment. For cloud backups, review your retention settings so you know how long data is kept and how easily you can access it in an emergency.

You might also consider a 3-2-1 backup strategy: keep three copies of your data, store two on different types of media, and keep one copy offsite or in the cloud. This method ensures that even if a cyberattack or physical disaster affects your main systems, your business can recover quickly.

Finally, review who has access to your backup systems. Limit administrative permissions to trusted IT staff and protect accounts with multi factor authentication.

3. Prepare for Staff Vacations

The holidays often mean smaller teams and remote work, so it is important to plan ahead. Make sure everyone knows who to contact in case of an IT emergency, and confirm that backup contacts are available if your primary tech support is out.

Review user accounts and remove access for anyone who no longer needs it. Dormant logins are easy targets for attackers. For remote employees, verify that VPN connections are secure, multi factor authentication is active, and devices have the latest updates installed.

If staff will be out for extended periods, ensure shared mailboxes or client communications are monitored so nothing slips through the cracks. A few simple steps now can keep your business secure and running smoothly while your team enjoys the holidays.

4. Secure Your Office and Equipment

With many offices closing or operating on reduced schedules, now is the perfect time to double check your physical security. Start by ensuring that server rooms, networking cabinets, and workstations are locked and accessible only to authorized staff. If you have cleaning crews or maintenance personnel coming in, limit access to sensitive areas and equipment.

Use surge protectors or UPS battery backups to protect your systems from power spikes or outages, which are more common during winter weather. Unplug any non essential electronics such as printers, monitors, or chargers to save energy and reduce the risk of damage.

If your business uses security cameras, smart locks, or alarm systems, make sure they are online, recording correctly, and sending alerts to the proper contacts. It is also a good idea to verify that footage is being stored properly in case it is ever needed.

Finally, take inventory of your essential hardware before the holidays. Knowing exactly what equipment you have and where it is located helps prevent loss or confusion when your team returns in the new year.

5. Plan for a Strong Start to the New Year

The slower pace of the holiday season is the perfect opportunity to get organized and prepare your business for the year ahead. Use this time to perform some digital housekeeping—clean up old files, remove outdated software, and archive data that is no longer needed. A well-organized system not only improves performance but also makes it easier to locate important information when business picks up again in January.

Take a moment to update your IT asset inventory. Confirm that all company devices, licenses, and subscriptions are properly documented. This helps with budgeting, warranty tracking, and compliance, especially if your company plans to expand or refresh equipment in 2026.

You can also use this period to schedule overdue maintenance or review performance reports from your servers, network devices, or cloud systems. Check for signs of aging hardware or recurring issues that may need attention before they turn into bigger problems.

Finally, set technology goals for the new year—whether that means improving cybersecurity, migrating to cloud storage, or implementing automation tools. Planning early allows your business to start strong and avoid rushed decisions when the busy season returns.

Final Note:

The holidays are meant to be enjoyed, and a little preparation can go a long way in keeping your business safe while you do. By following these simple IT tips, you can relax knowing your systems are secure and your team is ready to start the new year with confidence.