As the Holidays Approach: IT Security Risks to Watch For
The holiday season is a time for celebration, reflection, and—if you’re in IT—heightened vigilance. While employees are wrapping gifts and finalizing travel plans, cybercriminals are wrapping up attack strategies and finalizing phishing campaigns. At Logic Speak, we know that downtime costs money, and the holidays are a prime time for unexpected disruptions.
Online Shopping & Employee Behavior
Cyber Monday and year-end sales mean employees may be browsing from work devices. Whether it’s tracking a must-have toy or snagging a last-minute deal, personal browsing on company hardware opens the door to malware, phishing, and data breaches. While policies may prohibit personal use, enforcement is tricky—and unrealistic. Instead, protection is key.
What to do:
– Block access to suspicious e-commerce sites.
– Monitor for unusual activity on work devices.
– Educate employees on safe browsing practices.
Skeleton Crews & Reduced Oversight
With many team members on PTO, IT departments often operate with reduced staffing. This creates gaps in monitoring and response, which attackers are eager to exploit. Studies show a 30% spike in incidents during major holidays.
What to do:
– Automate threat detection and response.
– Use AI tools to monitor for anomalies.
– Set stricter authentication policies during off-hours.
Identity & Access Management Risks
Temporary role changes, third-party access, and privilege escalations are common during the holidays. These shifts can lead to mismanaged credentials and unauthorized access.
What to do:
– Automate onboarding/offboarding for seasonal staff.
– Set temporary access windows that expire post-holiday.
– Monitor third-party behavior for anomalies.
Holiday-Themed Scams
From fake shipping notifications to bogus gift card offers, phishing scams surge during the holidays. These emotionally charged messages prey on urgency and distraction.
What to do:
– Train employees to spot phishing attempts.
– Use anti-phishing tools and URL defenses.
– Encourage reporting of suspicious emails.
Remote Work & Travel
Employees working remotely or traveling may use unsecured networks or outdated devices. This increases the risk of breaches via compromised endpoints.
What to do:
– Enforce VPN usage and endpoint encryption.
– Provide travel-safe loaner devices.
– Limit access to sensitive systems from personal devices.
The holidays are a time to recharge, but they’re also a time to reinforce. At Logic Speak, we’ve partnered with Datto and Microsoft to ensure our clients have robust backup, recovery, and connectivity solutions in place. Whether it’s a fire, a flood, or a phishing email, we’re here to help minimize the impact and keep your business running smoothly. Let’s make this season joyful—and secure.
For more insights on building a resilient team against digital threats, check out our post on “Cybersecurity Awareness Month: How to Stay Safe Online.”
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At Logic Speak, our core values shape how we lead, how we work, and how we serve our clients. They’re not words on a wall, they’re filters for decisions and expectations for how we show up every day.
But here’s something we’ve learned the hard way: even good values have a shadow side.
Values, when taken too far or applied without self‑awareness, can create unintended consequences. What starts as a strength can quietly become a blind spot. And if we’re not careful, the very things we pride ourselves on can work against us.
So today, we want to talk honestly about our values, not just the best of them, but the risks of overusing them.
We Care for You
The strength:
Caring for others is foundational to who we are. It means treating people with dignity, empathy, and kindness. It means remembering that coworkers, clients, and partners are humans first, not just roles or tickets or invoices.
The shadow side:
When care goes unchecked, it can turn into avoidance. We may hesitate to give hard feedback because we don’t want to hurt someone’s feelings. We may tolerate behaviors longer than we should because we empathize deeply with circumstances. Over time, clarity suffers, and ironically, so does trust.
Care without courage isn’t actually care.
We Lean In
The strength:
We lean in when there’s a need. We take ownership. We step up when things are unclear or uncomfortable. This value fuels responsibility, initiative, and teamwork.
The shadow side:
Leaning in too much can become overfunctioning. We jump in to fix things that aren’t ours to fix. We take on too much instead of letting others wrestle and grow. Eventually, this can lead to burnout, resentment, or invisible bottlenecks where “that person always handles it.”
Sometimes the most responsible thing to do is not lean in, but step back.
We Love Our Craft
The strength:
We take pride in doing things well. We pay attention to details. We care about quality, process, and doing the right thing, even when no one is watching.
The shadow side:
At its extreme, loving our craft can turn into perfectionism. We may over‑engineer solutions, delay decisions, or become critical when others don’t meet our internal standards. What was meant to produce excellence can unintentionally slow momentum or make collaboration harder.
Excellence should serve the outcome, not replace it.
We Keep Improving
The strength:
Growth matters here. We believe learning never stops and that feedback, when handled well, is a gift. This value keeps us curious, hungry, and moving forward.
The shadow side:
Constant improvement can quietly create the feeling that “where we are is never enough.” Wins may go uncelebrated because we’re already focused on what’s next. People may feel like they’re always being evaluated instead of occasionally being affirmed.
Improvement without appreciation can feel exhausting.
Why This Matters: Blind Spots Are Part of Being Human
None of these shadow sides mean our values are flawed. They mean we’re human.
Every person, every team, and every organization has blind spots. Often, they’re not found in our weaknesses, but in our strengths, overused or unexamined. The danger isn’t having blind spots, it’s assuming we don’t.
That’s why self‑awareness matters so deeply to us. It’s why feedback matters. It’s why we believe asking questions like “How is this landing?” and “What might I be missing?” is a leadership responsibility, not a sign of insecurity.
Living Our Values With Humility
Our goal isn’t to live our values perfectly. It’s to live them thoughtfully.
That means holding our values firmly, but ourselves humbly. It means inviting perspective, welcoming challenge, and remembering that good intentions don’t eliminate unintended impact.
When we name the shadow side, we don’t weaken our culture, we strengthen it.
Because the best teams aren’t made of people without blind spots.
They’re made of people willing to look for them.