The holiday season is a time for celebration and relaxation, but it also brings increased cybersecurity risks for businesses. As employees travel to spend time with family or take well-deserved vacations, they often find themselves in less secure environments. Unsecured hotel Wi-Fi, unattended devices, and the increased use of remote access tools create a prime opportunity for cybercriminals to exploit vulnerabilities. With businesses often understaffed and distracted, this time of year is an ideal moment for attackers to breach systems or intercept sensitive data. 

In this blog, we’ll explore the top cybersecurity challenges posed by holiday travel and provide actionable strategies for businesses to protect their employees and networks during this high-risk period.

1. Unsecured Hotel Wi-Fi

During the holiday season, many employees travel and rely on hotel Wi-Fi, which presents significant cybersecurity risks. When connected to hotel Wi-Fi, data is transmitted through the hotel’s network, which may expose sensitive information if not encrypted. Additionally, hotel networks often use outdated security protocols like WPA2-PSK, leaving them vulnerable to common hacking methods. This makes hotel Wi-Fi a prime target for cybercriminals, especially during the holidays when employees are distracted and less vigilant.

Solution:

• Require employees to use a company-approved Virtual Private Network (VPN) for secure internet access.
• Educate staff to avoid accessing sensitive systems or data over public Wi-Fi.
• Provide portable Wi-Fi hotspots or enable tethering from secure devices as an alternative.

2. Limited Staffing and Year-End Rush

As employees take time off for the holidays, teams are often left short-staffed, and those who remain are focused on wrapping up critical year-end tasks such as payroll, vendor billing, and other financial or administrative duties. These tasks typically involve sensitive data, which makes them prime targets for cybercriminals. Meanwhile, security teams are also operating with reduced capacity, increasing the likelihood of delayed responses to potential threats. For example, phishing attempts may go unnoticed or flagged vulnerabilities may remain unpatched for longer than usual.

Solution:

• Partner with a 24/7 Managed Security Operations Center (SOC) for continuous monitoring and rapid response to threats.
• Automate vulnerability scans and patch management to reduce manual workloads.
• Pre-schedule high-priority tasks and implement robust incident escalation protocols.

3. Lost or Stolen Devices

The holiday travel hustle—rushing through airports, navigating crowded tourist attractions, and juggling luggage—greatly increases the chances of losing or misplacing a device. Forrester Research’s 2023 State of Data Security report reveals a surprising gap: while lost or stolen devices account for 17% of data breaches, only 7% of security decision-makers consider them a major concern. Employees are distracted and less cautious, leaving laptops and smartphones vulnerable to theft. With these devices often containing sensitive business data, cybercriminals take advantage of the distractions.

Solution:

• Require device encryption and enable remote wipe capabilities to protect data in case of loss or theft.
• Enforce multi-factor authentication (MFA) to prevent unauthorized access.
• Encourage employees to store devices in secure locations and use tracking tools for quick recovery.

4. Use of Personal Devices for Work

During the holiday season, employees are more likely to leave their work devices behind and use personal devices, such as smartphones, laptops, and tablets, to check emails or complete tasks. These unmanaged devices typically lack enterprise-grade protections, such as endpoint detection, encryption, and consistent security updates, making them prime targets for attackers. According to Microsoft’s 2023 Digital Defense Report, 80-90% of compromises originate from unmanaged devices, as they have fewer security controls. Cybercriminals, particularly ransomware operators, target these devices to gain access to work systems.

Solution:

• Implement strict Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policies.
• Require secure VPN usage on all employee devices.
• Enforce multi-factor authentication (MFA) on personal devices used for work.
• Limit access to sensitive resources during the holidays.

5. Malicious Charging Stations (Juice Jacking)

Holiday travel often involves heavy device usage for navigation, communication, and entertainment, leading many employees to rely on public charging stations in airports, hotels, and other public places. However, these USB charging stations can pose significant cybersecurity risks. According to the FBI, malicious actors have figured out how to use public USB ports to introduce malware and monitoring software onto devices, a method known as “juice jacking.” This type of attack can compromise sensitive data or install malicious software without the user’s knowledge.

Solution:

• Pack portable power banks to avoid relying on public charging stations.
• Use personal chargers and USB cords plugged into electrical outlets.
• Invest in USB data blockers to protect devices from malicious USB ports.
• Include these practices in holiday-specific cybersecurity training to help employees stay vigilant during travel.

By taking these precautions, businesses can better protect themselves and their employees from the increased cybersecurity risks that come with holiday travel. Ensuring staff are aware of these vulnerabilities and how to address them can help reduce the likelihood of a breach and safeguard sensitive data during this high-risk season.