As the year winds down and employees head out for the holidays, some to their homes, others across the country, remote work becomes more common than ever. But while flexible schedules and mobile access are great for morale, they can be risky for security.
Increased travel, distracted employees, and unsecured home networks create the perfect storm for cybercriminals. And with major holidays like Christmas and New Year’s Day, many IT support teams are understaffed or on-call. That means businesses, especially small to medium-sized ones (SMBs), must be extra proactive about cybersecurity.
At TechGN, we specialize in IT support, cybersecurity, hardware, and business software solutions for Alaska-based SMBs and beyond. We understand how downtime or data breaches during the holiday season can impact your business. So, we’ve created a complete remote work security checklist to help your team stay safe, even when working from home, or from grandma’s house.
Why Holiday Security Matters More Than Ever
The holidays are a favorite time for hackers and cybercriminals. Here’s why:
- Fewer IT staff on duty: Reduced availability means slower response times to threats.
- More devices offsite: Laptops, tablets, and phones are taken home or used on-the-go.
- Unsecured Wi-Fi networks: Coffee shops and homes often lack strong encryption.
- Phishing & social engineering attacks spike: Fake holiday emails, gift card scams, and urgent IT requests fool distracted users.
A 2023 study by IBM Security revealed that cyberattacks rose 28% during the holiday season compared to the rest of the year. Don’t let your business be part of that statistic.
Remote Work Holiday Security Checklist
Use this security checklist to protect your business, data, and employees while they work remotely during the holiday season.
Secure All Devices
Ensure that every employee uses company-approved devices. Avoid allowing staff to access sensitive business apps from personal phones or tablets.
- Install up-to-date antivirus and anti-malware software.
- Require endpoint protection that includes real-time monitoring.
- Enforce device encryption (especially for laptops).
- Enable firewalls on all machines.
TechGN Tip: We offer managed endpoint protection solutions tailored for remote teams.
Patch Systems Before Everyone Leaves
Cybercriminals love unpatched vulnerabilities. Before the holiday season begins:
- Apply all operating system updates (Windows, macOS, Linux).
- Patch your business software (e.g., CRM, accounting tools).
- Update firmware on routers, firewalls, and VPN servers.
Make this a routine pre-holiday task. Schedule patches well in advance to test for compatibility issues before everyone logs off.
Use Strong Passwords + MFA
Weak passwords are still a top cause of data breaches. Here’s what to do:
- Require complex passwords for all business apps.
- Set automatic password rotation (every 60-90 days).
- Enforce Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) for email, cloud storage, and remote desktop access.
TechGN Insight: SMBs who implement MFA reduce the risk of credential-based attacks by 99%, according to Microsoft.
Enable Secure Remote Access
How are your employees connecting to the office network?
- Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) should be mandatory for all remote access.
- Make sure VPNs use AES-256 encryption.
- Avoid outdated remote desktop protocols (RDP) that lack security.
TechGN provides managed VPN solutions that ensure secure connections without slowing down productivity.
Monitor Admin Access
During the holidays, it’s tempting to let more people “just have access” to systems. Avoid this.
- Review admin and elevated privileges across cloud platforms, servers, and apps.
- Follow the Principle of Least Privilege (PoLP): only grant access to what’s necessary.
- Audit any shared passwords or admin credentials.
Red flag: If your employees are using the same password for multiple platforms, it’s time for a password manager.
Educate Staff on Phishing Risks
Phishing emails spike during the holidays. Cybercriminals send:
- Fake Amazon or USPS delivery notifications
- “IT Help Desk” password reset requests
- E-gift card scams from spoofed executive email addresses
Train employees to:
- Verify senders
- Hover over links before clicking
- Report suspicious emails
TechGN provides seasonal security awareness training tailored for SMBs and includes holiday-specific phishing simulations.
Secure Your Home Office Network
Employees working from home should take steps to protect their internet connection.
- Change default passwords on home routers.
- Enable WPA3 encryption or WPA2 at minimum.
- Disable guest Wi-Fi networks when not needed.
- Avoid using public Wi-Fi (even with VPN).
Router security matters. Many home routers are outdated and easily exploitable.
Back Up Data Before the Break
Don’t let a ransomware attack ruin your holiday.
- Perform a full backup of critical business data before holiday closures.
- Test restore points to ensure backups are working.
- Store backups in multiple locations: cloud + local drive.
Pro tip: TechGN offers automated, encrypted backups that meet compliance standards and can be monitored remotely.
Schedule After-Hours Monitoring
Your business doesn’t sleep, even when your staff does.
- Set up automated alerts for suspicious login attempts.
- Configure real-time server and app monitoring during off-hours.
- Enable intrusion detection systems (IDS) to flag abnormal traffic.
Consider using a managed IT provider like TechGN to monitor your systems 24/7 over the holidays.
Create a Holiday Incident Response Plan
If a cyber incident happens while key personnel are on break:
- Who do employees call?
- What is the escalation process?
- Are vendors or partners affected?
Build and share a simple holiday-specific incident response checklist that includes emergency contacts, steps to take, and fallback procedures.
Make sure it’s printed and emailed, some issues might affect access to cloud documents.
Why SMBs Can’t Afford to Ignore This
According to a 2025 report by Cyber Readiness Institute:
- 43% of cyberattacks target SMBs.
- 60% of SMBs go out of business within 6 months of a data breach.
- The average cost of a breach for an SMB is $120,000.
And yet, many small businesses lack dedicated IT security teams.
That’s why TechGN is here to help. We provide affordable, tailored cybersecurity solutions that don’t require you to hire a full in-house IT department.
Stay Secure This Holiday Season with TechGN
Don’t let downtime, data loss, or ransomware ruin your holidays. Contact TechGN today to schedule a free holiday cybersecurity review or learn more about our remote IT support, endpoint security, and cloud solutions.
Visit techgn.com to get started.
Reviews
Tailoring Solutions
