The busiest time of the year is challenging not only for you, but for the bad actors who want to harm you and your customers by stealing personal data or interfering with your business practices. 

There is never a good time for this to happen, but the holiday rush can cause your team to let suspicious activities occur and that has consequences. Whether it is running credit cards or phishing attempts, prepare now to prevent problems from occurring. 

There is no doubt that cyber fraud in on the rise and experts say it will only increase. A shocking static is that 1 in 2 American internet users had their accounts breached in 2022 and over 53M Americans were affected by cybercrime in the first half of 2022. The AAG provides an informative report about the latest crime statistics and an overview of global cybercrime in 2023. 

Here are five practical suggestions in the face of the onslaught of threats that you can do to protect your business: 

• Enable automatic updates for workstations and servers operating systems. Old, unpatched systems and be exploited and cause problems for you. 

• Review your Antivirus and Firewall solutions, make sure they are up to date and enabled on all workstations & servers. 

• Change passwords, enforce a policy that changes all passwords regularly and of course, never keep passwords on public display 

• Train your staff to avoid phishing emails, in any of the variety of ways they arrive. This is an ever-changing environment so engage with firms that can train your staff. 

• Review policies frequently with your IT team or third-party contractor, do not assume that what worked yesterday will work tomorrow. 

Forbes also offers detailed tips and cybersecurity protocols to keep your organization safe. 

By following these steps and proactively preventing security issues, you can keep your organization and your customers safe. Take time now to assess your current state and start making the necessary changes before your busy holiday season.