The festive season is a time of travel, family gatherings, and much-needed rest. It is also one of the most active periods for cyberattackers. Digital transactions rise, and the number of personnel on standby dwindle. Hackers exploit unsuspecting consumers and weary employees, and these lapses in vigilance can lead to costly incidents.
Cybersecurity is an all-year responsibility, and we’d like to give you your December guide to keeping your business safe, no matter the season.
TL;DR:
Cyberattacks increase significantly during the festive season because organisations operate with smaller teams, employees are distracted, and online activity reaches its highest point of the year. Verified research shows that December creates ideal conditions for attackers, especially through phishing, API-based attacks, and unpatched systems.
Zimbabwean enterprises can reduce risk by conducting pre-holiday audits, improving monitoring, strengthening API visibility, training staff, and ensuring backups are complete. With proper preparation, teams can protect their operations and get some well-deserved rest and relaxation with peace of mind.
Why Attacks Increase During the Festive Period
We’ve alluded to the major culprits and vulnerabilities plaguing African businesses during the festive season. Now, we’ll take a more detailed look at where the chinks in your cybersecurity armour arise.
1. Reduced Staffing and Slower Response Times
Staff generally have their sights set on the long break, thinning the number of hands on deck. Security teams often operate with smaller numbers during the holiday season. According to Interpol, digital transformation and the increasing use of smartphones have expanded the attack surface area for cyber threats across the continent. With fewer people monitoring systems over the holidays, alerts that would usually be reviewed within hours may take days.
Greater volumes of threats and reduced staffing lead to longer breach detection times and poor response capacity during holiday periods, which directly increases financial and operational impact.
Research from the CybelAngel 2025 API Threat Report shows that 99% of organisations experienced at least one API-related security incident in the past year. While organisations slow down, cyberthreats kick into high gear.
2. Increased Online Activity and High Transaction Volumes
December sees a surge in e-commerce, bill payments, travel bookings, and retail transactions. The Akamai State of Apps and API Security Report recorded over 311 billion web application and API attacks in 2024, driven by increases in online spending and promotional campaigns.
Higher transaction volumes create more opportunities for attackers to intercept innocent online activity with malicious traffic. Payment systems, loyalty platforms, and mobile money integrations are primarily targeted during this period.
3. Seasonal Phishing and Social Engineering
Phishing attempts rise sharply before and during the festive season. Attackers use themes such as delivery notifications, year-end statements, special offers (that require urgent attention), corporate holiday messages, and charity appeals. Attackers consistently adapt phishing lures to match seasonal trends, increasing their success rate. Distracted employees rushing to close off the year are also more likely to overlook red flags.
4. Use of Unsecured Networks and Personal Devices
Holiday travel encourages employees to work remotely or access corporate information on personal devices more frequently. Public Wi-Fi, shared devices, and unpatched software all amplify risks. This is particularly true if your organisation relies heavily on cloud services or API-connected systems.
5. Outdated Systems and Deferred Maintenance
Many companies postpone upgrades and maintenance until the new year. What feels like delaying work for a time when staff are more focused is also a ‘make yourself at home’ sign for cyberattackers. The F5 2025 API Security Risks and Challenges Report found that 58% of organisations cite outdated or unmonitored APIs as a major pain point. These poorly managed APIs and unpatched systems will only prove to be even easier entry points during holiday seasons with limited anomaly detection.
Common Threats to Watch Out for During the Festive Season
Although the nature of attacks is constantly evolving, you can bank on the following threat types leading the charge in December:
- Phishing and credential harvesting
- Ransomware launched after successful phishing attempts
- API-based attacks targeting unmonitored or outdated endpoints
- Distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks during high-traffic periods
- Fake e-commerce sites and fraudulent payment links
How Businesses Can Strengthen Their Protection Before the Holidays
Every organisation will benefit from a pre-holiday strategy. The following steps reduce the likelihood of an incident and strengthen response capacity.
1. Conduct a pre-holiday security audit
Review access control, API inventories, firewall rules, monitoring tools, and critical integrations. Identify outdated, unused, or undocumented APIs that may require restrictions or temporary suspension.
2. Increase monitoring and alert escalation
Even with smaller teams, automated monitoring can provide active oversight. Set stricter alert thresholds for December to ensure that anomalies are escalated promptly, or consider securing the services of experts to assist.
3. Deliver focused employee training
Provide short, practical reminders on:
- Identifying phishing
- Safe online behaviour
- Handling payments or invoices
- Verifying holiday-themed messages
- Reporting suspicious activity
Training should be short and easy to digest. Relevance and retention are far more important than length.
4. Strengthen API visibility and governance
API traffic rises significantly during holiday shopping and travel periods. Tools that discover, secure, and govern APIs reduce the risk of hidden endpoints being exploited.
5. Apply updates and patch critical systems before mid-December
Do not postpone upgrades; attackers look forward to the festive period to target unpatched systems.
6. Validate backup and recovery processes
Ensure that backups are recent, complete, and retrievable, especially if your organisation conducts a high volume of transactions in December.
Building a Safer Digital Environment Together
Cyberattacks do not pause for the holidays. The pressure placed on security teams, digital platforms, and online services during December makes vigilance essential. Digital transformation has ensured that Zimbabwean enterprises will become increasingly connected every year, which means the attack surface area will also expand.
Gikko is committed to helping organisations strengthen their defences with solutions that bring clarity, visibility, and control to complex digital environments. These principles are central to the conversations that will take place at our November Cybersecurity Event tomorrow, where leading experts will share practical insights on secure digital transformation across Africa.
Proper preparation does more than just protect systems; it also protects your ability to truly unwind and fully embrace the end of the year.
Don’t leave your holiday to chance. Talk to Gikko today about securing your enterprise communication and APIs.
FAQs
- Why do cyberattacks increase during the festive season?
Attackers take advantage of reduced staffing, increased online activity, distracted employees, and postponed system maintenance. Seasonal phishing messages and high transaction volumes make it easier for malicious activity to blend in with normal online behaviour. - What types of threats are most common in December?
The most frequent threats include phishing, credential theft, ransomware launched after successful phishing, API-based attacks targeting unmonitored or outdated endpoints, DDoS attacks during high-traffic periods, and fraudulent e-commerce links. - Are Zimbabwean organisations more vulnerable during this time?
Yes. The combination of high mobile money usage, increased online activity, and reduced holiday staffing creates a heightened risk environment. - What is the biggest cause of festive season breaches?
Human error remains a significant factor. Distraction, rushed decision-making, and increased personal device usage create openings for attackers. Outdated or unmonitored APIs are another leading cause. - What can organisations do to prepare?
Key actions include conducting a pre-holiday audit, updating systems, reviewing API inventories, increasing monitoring, providing focused staff training, and verifying backup and recovery processes.