What CISOs Worry About While on Summer Holiday: The Looming Threat of Data Breaches

As beaches fill and inboxes empty, one group of professionals finds it difficult to truly switch off: Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs). For many, the notion of a stress-free holiday remains just that, a notion, as the risk of a data breach doesn't go on annual leave.

Despite the sun-soaked Instagram reels and OOO replies, the cyber threat landscape only intensifies during the summer months, exploiting gaps left by reduced headcounts and lowered vigilance. So what exactly keeps CISOs checking their phones poolside?

The Summer Slump in Cybersecurity Readiness

Cybercriminals capitalise on predictable gaps, and summer offers them just that. The IBM Cost of a Data Breach Report 2024 reveals that while the combined time to identify and contain a breach has improved, it still averages 258 days, a seven-year low, but roughly 8½ months during which attackers operate freely (IBM Report 2024).

“Threat actors are evolving, and they’re patient. They look for predictable vulnerabilities, and quiet periods like summer are a goldmine,” says Jai Aenugu, CEO and Founder of TechForce Cyber. “The irony is, the very systems designed to offer peace of mind start to feel like ticking time bombs when key team members are on leave.”

Staff shortages compound the problem. IBM reports that organisations with severe security skills gaps face $1.76 million more in breach costs than their better-staffed counterparts (IBM Newsroom).

Mix in skeleton holiday crews, and those invaluable minutes or days of triage and response can easily evaporate.

“It's not just about whether you have a SOC in place, it’s about whether the SOC can operate at full strength when it matters most,” adds Jai Aenugu. “Many SMEs assume their size makes them invisible. In reality, it often makes them easier targets.”

Seasonal Surge: Summer & Holiday Breach Spikes

Seasonal data confirms what CISOs dread: breaches tend to spike during summer, and other major holidays. Enzoic reports "Reduced staffing leaves defenses weakest: 85% of organizations with a security operations center scale down staffing on holidays/weekends” (Enzoic).

Gemserv recorded a 73% surge during holiday months in 2023, with a notable 60% rise being reported in June alone (Gemserv).

Compounding this, CISA and cybersecurity incident reviews have spotlighted ransomware campaigns launched over Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Labor Day weekends (Cybersecurity Dive), underscoring the elevated threat across summer and holiday stretches.

Smaller Teams, Slower Responses

A major concern for CISOs during holiday season is a reduced incident response capability. With skeleton crews holding the fort, detection and mitigation times can increase, a luxury most organisations can’t afford.

The IBM Cost of a Data Breach Report 2024, incorporating Ponemon survey results, found that over half of organisations experiencing breaches reported severe security staffing shortages, a 26% year-over-year rise (IBM Report 2024). In parallel, other Ponemon-linked research indicates 67% of organisations note a cybersecurity staffing deficit, with 58% saying the shortfall puts them at significant risk (ISC).

Again from IBM, high-staffing shortages correlated with $1.76 million more in breach costs.

Cloud Misconfigurations and Shadow IT

Summer doesn’t just see more sun, it often sees more shortcuts. Temporary access granted for interns, shadow IT apps introduced to “get things done faster”, or misconfigured cloud storage buckets become unwitting attack vectors.

Gartner predicts that by 2025, “99% of cloud security failures will be the customer’s fault”, a stat confirmed by CIO.com.

“If you’re not tracking every door and window in your cloud environment, then you’ve basically left the back gate open with a welcome mat,” says Jai Aenugu. “It’s critical that organisations double-check access privileges, especially before key staff go on leave.”

Holiday Phishing: A Surge in Social Engineering

Attackers don’t take holidays, but they love that you do. Social engineering tactics thrive during the summer, when vigilance drops and teams run lean, making it easier to exploit urgency, authority, and lapses in protocol.

Barracuda’s Top Email Threats and Trends Report 2024 found that 50.3% of malicious Gmail-based attacks were business email compromise (BEC) scams, compared to just 10.6% of malicious emails overall. This indicates a strong BEC preference among attackers leveraging Gmail, especially for scams involving gift cards, payment redirection, or financial fraud (Barracuda Networks).

“These aren’t clumsy or obvious scams anymore,” says Jai Aenugu. “Attackers are mimicking legitimate communication channels and exploiting behavioural psychology, urgency, trust, impersonation. All it takes is one quick reply before the damage begins”.

Brand impersonation, phishing, and conversation hijacking also feature in the report, but BEC dominated Gmail-based attack vectors, showcasing a clear strategic trend: bypass perimeter defences by exploiting people, not systems.

Mitigating the Risk: Planning Before Packing

So what can CISOs do to relax without having one eye on the threat dashboard? It comes down to preparedness:

1. Run pre-holiday tabletop exercises, simulating common threats.
2. Implement stricter access controls, ideally zero-trust principles.
3. Ensure real-time alerting systems are configured for off-site notifications.
4. Partner with MDR providers who can monitor and respond 24/7.
5. Review backup and disaster recovery plans in case of a breach.

“Taking time off is important,” says Jai Aenugu. “But if your cybersecurity posture is shaky, you’re not just putting your business at risk, you’re dragging your team’s peace of mind with you.”

Arctic Wolf & Recorded Future: Reinforcing Summer Security

• Arctic Wolf offers 24/7 Managed Detection & Response (MDR) and Incident Response Retainers, crucial when internal teams are thin during holidays. Their “State of Cybersecurity” 2025 report notes 70% of security leaders reported a major cyberattack in 2024 (Arctic Wolf).
• Recorded Future enhances readiness with comprehensive Threat Intelligence. Their 2024 Annual Report reveals heightened threats from SaaS, stolen credentials, and GenAI-enabled attacks, insights critical for safeguarding during distraction-heavy periods (Recorded Future)
  
  

The Bottom Line

While everyone else is tuning out, cybercriminals are tuning in. For CISOs, summer is often less about switching off and more about staying a step ahead. But with the right measures in place, and a trustworthy cybersecurity partner, even they can find time to enjoy a well-earned mojito.