You Need to Upgrade Your Cybersecurity Strategy this Summer: Here’s Why

Is your cybersecurity strategy ready for the summer heatwave?

Summer months in the modern workplace are changing. If you plan to spend your weeks working from a sunlit patio, or dialling into Zoom calls from home – you’re not alone. In 2024 alone, millions of UK employees were planning on taking advantage of flexible working opportunities in summer.

They’re not just looking for a way to earn a living while they’re on vacation – many employees rely on flexible work to ensure they’re around for their kids when they’re not at school. It makes sense.

Unfortunately – cybercriminals are aware of this trend. As businesses ease into summer mode- with IT teams running on reduced capacity and staff rotating through vacation schedules – attackers ramp up. In some industries, cyber attacks can increase by up to 40% in summer.

Malicious actors know you’ve got fewer team members in office – and the ones working remotely often let security best practices slip. That’s why now is the perfect time to update your cybersecurity – and make sure you’re really prepared (and protected).

The Seasonal Shift: Why Summer Months Bring Extra Risks

Let’s break it down – why exactly does your cybersecurity strategy need an upgrade in summer? Simply put – it’s because people work differently through the summer months.

Between June and August, remote logins increase across nearly every industry. Employees take extended trips, relocate temporarily to be closer to family, or just work from vacation homes. These sessions often happen on personal laptops and unsecured Wi-Fi, without firewalls, encrypted routers, or endpoint protection.

Even if your people aren’t technically supposed to be working when they’re on vacation – many will still log onto collaboration platforms, check emails, and handle the occasional piece of admin work (or the odd emergency) when they’re clocked off.

During this time, Shadow IT issues amplify too. When they travel, your employees don’t always have access to their official work devices – and all the secure applications that come with them – so they improvise. They download unmanaged tools that can expose them to new threats.

All the while, there are fewer people “watching the shop”. You might not have every member of your IT and security teams ready to go at any moment – they could be elsewhere, meaning that incident response times increase, and threats fester for longer.

Studies actually show that summer holidays lead to reduced security oversight – allowing breaches to sometimes go unprotected for weeks.

Exploitable Summer Habits & Behaviour

The people in your team might be essential – but they’re also responsible for a lot of cybersecurity risks. Summer habits lead to an increase in risky behaviours, such as:

• Using Personal Devices: BYOD policies are pretty common among companies with hybrid work policies. But during the summer, employees often forget to follow security rules and best practices. They start using apps and features that might be restricted at work, ignore patches and updates, or skip certain security steps.
• The Network Problem: If you don’t have a strong SASE strategy in place, your employees might still be relying on VPNs for secure network access – and during summer, they might forget to use them. They might even end up using public internet connections to update their calendar, or check out a file from a colleague.
• Phishing Increases: Cybercriminals are incredibly good at social engineering. During the summer, phishing emails often disguise themselves as out-of-office alerts, vacation policy updates, or travel notifications. These attacks don’t just trick new hires. With the rise of generative AI and tools that mimic writing styles, even experienced team members can fall for legit-looking requests from fake “executives”.

Then there’s the rising issue of deepfakes to think about too. Attackers can mimic voices and even video feeds to impersonate real people. That fake “CEO” asking for urgent fund transfers over a video call? It might not be your CEO at all.

In summer, when urgency and distraction levels are high, people are even more likely to fall for these sophisticated traps.

Attack Vectors to Consider for Your Summer Cybersecurity Strategy

It’s not just your people causing problems.

Attackers don’t take summer off. In fact, they tend to get more aggressive when they know your team is out of office or operating with reduced coverage. And what’s changed in the last few years isn’t just how they attack – but how fast and smart those attacks have become.

Ransomware is becoming industrialized

Ransomware gangs don’t just encrypt your data anymore. Many now run like full-blown businesses. They exfiltrate sensitive files, threaten to leak them, and demand payment in crypto.

And they’re choosing moments when businesses are least able to respond – like long weekends, public holidays, or peak summer months. According to MSSPAlert, ransomware attacks are disproportionately likely to hit during periods of limited IT availability.

Cloud systems are a magnet

Cloud platforms are especially vulnerable in summer because they’re often accessed from everywhere. But if those logins aren’t protected by strong authentication or activity monitoring, a compromised set of credentials could give attackers access to entire collaboration ecosystems.

The threat is even greater now that companies are connecting more of their cloud platforms. Business leaders aren’t just linking UCaaS and CCaaS platforms anymore. They’re infusing CPaaS into the mix, experimenting with API connections for project management tools, HR systems, CRMs, file storage platforms, and AI tools.

Poorly secured APIs can act like a backdoor into your entire cloud ecosystem. And in summer, when audits and monitoring are often scaled back, those vulnerabilities are less likely to be caught in time.

Automation accelerates everything

It’s not just human hackers businesses need to deal with anymore. Attackers use automated scripts to scan for vulnerabilities 24/7. Once a misconfigured endpoint or out-of-date plugin is found, the rest of the attack can unfold in minutes.

That’s why even a short staffing gap during summer can leave the door wide open for criminals. If criminals are using systems that allow them to be “always on” and always monitoring for opportunities – and your team is taking breaks, you’re going to end up with a serious problem.

How to Upgrade Your Summer Cybersecurity Strategy

So, what can you do? Simply put, start shoring up your defences before the temperatures start to rise. Our best advice? Start with a comprehensive risk assessment – particularly if you haven’t conducted one in a while. Every new system you introduce, every time you shift a process to the cloud, and whenever you update your hybrid work policy, your risk landscape will change.

If you don’t have the resources to conduct this assessment in-house – get some support and fast. Reach out to Tech Grants if you need help finding a company that can help you conduct your audit, map out your risk areas, and implement innovative solutions.

Beyond that, start investing in:

Zero Trust Architecture

Zero Trust has gone from buzzword to baseline for a summer cybersecurity strategy. When your employees are working from different locations, devices, and networks, assuming trust is a risk. Across your UCaaS, CCaaS, and other platforms, constantly implement role-based access controls – so you’re only giving employees what they really need.

Use micro-segmentation to stop attackers from moving laterally if they do get in, and monitor device health and insights before you grant access. A recent Microsoft report showed that organizations using Zero Trust frameworks are 50% less likely to suffer major data breaches.

SD-WAN and SASE

Legacy networks weren’t built for hybrid work, or summer cybersecurity strategies, when your team works remotely. If you’re still routing everything through one central location, you’re creating bottlenecks and blind spots. Switch to SD-WAN and SASE.

SD-WAN optimizes traffic and prioritizes voice, or video calls on platforms like Zoom or Teams. SASE (Secure Access Service Edge) combines networking and security in the cloud, making it perfect for distributed teams. If you’re not taking advantage of these options already now is the time to start really exploring your options.

Security Awareness Training

Even the best tech can’t stop a click on a fake vacation policy email. People are your first and often weakest line of defence. So, when you upgrade your cybersecurity strategy for Summer, start by training your team. Run summer-themed phishing tests: fake travel reimbursements, updated PTO forms, or security “reminders” from HR.

Experiment with AI deepfake detection modules to help employees recognize voice and video scams. Make sure you prepare your employees for all the various threats they might face – even if they’re not supposed to be logging into business tech while on vacation.

MFA and Contextual Authentication

Multi-factor authentication (MFA) is still one of the easiest ways to block attackers. But not all MFA is created equal. SMS-based codes might not be the best bet – as they’re vulnerable to SIM swap attacks. Authenticator apps and biometrics are usually a safer option.

Layer in contextual access controls, like geo-location alerts or time-of-day login policies. Google reports that using MFA can block up to 99.9% of automated attacks, that’s a huge ROI for something so simple.

Patching and Vulnerability Scanning

Summer is a great time to catch up on updates while usage is lower. Unpatched systems are low-hanging fruit for attackers.

• Use a vulnerability scanner to flag outdated software or misconfigurations.
• Prioritize UC platforms, VPNs, collaboration tools, and cloud integrations.
• Track and reduce Shadow IT – rogue apps and tools often go unnoticed.

During this time, it might also be a good idea to check on your cloud systems. Make sure they’re secured from end-to-end, and that any APIs you’re using don’t have any risky gaps. Speak to your cloud vendor about potential security upgrades.

AI for Threat Detection & MDR

Attackers are already using AI and automation to level-up their game – so why not fight fire with fire? Intelligent tools can give you a head start on potential threats. They can analyze patterns and data at scale, detect anomalies instantly, and even sometimes implement fixes.

AI-driven managed detection and response (MDR) tools can automatically apply containment methods, like freezing accounts or quarantining devices when suspicious activity is detected. Tools like these can significantly reduce your response time, even when human team members are on vacation.

Vacation Coverage Plans & Escalation Trees

You don’t want to realize during a breach that your security lead is on a beach in Crete. If you can’t leave all of the work to AI and automated tools – make sure someone is around. Rotate on-call cybersecurity leads, and share clear escalation procedures and contact trees.

If you’re introducing a new plan – or any new technology for that matter – test it in advance. While you’re at it, review your compliance standards and make sure everything is up to date. Conduct internal audits for HIPAA, GDPR, PCI-DSS, and anything else relevant toy our business.

Upgrade Your Cybersecurity Strategy and Avoid Summer Risk

Cybersecurity isn’t seasonal – but cyberattacks can be.

The summer months create the perfect conditions for breaches: more remote access, fewer eyes on systems, and a more relaxed workplace mindset. At the same time, newer risks – like AI-powered phishing, API vulnerabilities, and deepfake impersonation – are turning even simple mistakes into serious breaches. It’s time to update your cybersecurity strategy, and fast.

If you’re getting ready for the summer months – or even if you just haven’t made an update in a while, now could be the perfect time to make sure your ready for a new wave of threats.

Fortunately, you don’t have to do it alone. Whether you’re modernizing your network with SASE, rolling out AI-based detection tools, or simply updating your MFA policies, Tech Grants can help you get there faster. We can help guide you through the best cybersecurity solution vendors based on your needs. Even better, we can give you the funding you need to invest in a better toolkit.

Our digital transformation grant funding is the easiest way to find the finances you need for new technology, upgrades, or even just employee training.

Ready to get started before summer really heats up? Contact our team today.