Out of Office for Summer? Cybercriminals Are Just Getting Started

As we head into summer, focus at work tends to shift. Employees plan vacations, leave early on Fridays, and often pay less attention to routine tasks. Security training sessions are skipped, vigilance dips, and “summer slowdown” becomes the norm.

But while your teams unplug, cybercriminals double down.

In fact, data indicates a 40% increase in cyberattacks during holiday periods, with a staggering 60% rise reported in June alone. With employees letting their guards down more than ever during the summer, attackers see an opportunity to exploit reduced staffing, relaxed routines, and overlooked details to breach systems and steal data.

It’s vital that business leaders keep teams engaged, vigilant and turn people into organizations’ first line of defense this summer.

The Summer Slump: Why Cyber Risk Rises When Focus Falls

While a seasonal slowdown is natural, it can create the perfect environment for cybersecurity lapses. With fewer eyes on systems and a dip in attention to detail, small mistakes, like clicking a suspicious link or neglecting a software update, can have big consequences.

Cybercriminals know that human error is often the easiest way into a system, and they take full advantage when focus slips. The 17th annual Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report highlights that phishing continues to be a major threat, accounting for 15% of breaches. The report also shows that 60% of breaches in 2025 were attributed to human involvement, making the human element the most common link. During the summer, when staff may be rushing through emails or working from unfamiliar locations, hackers capitalize on this by ramping up their efforts, launching targeted campaigns. 

This shift in focus gives cybercriminals an opening to exploit vulnerabilities that wouldn’t exist during peak productivity periods. But, acknowledging this seasonal pattern is the first step toward countering it. Recognizing that summer distractions are predictable means leaders can plan ahead and take proactive steps to shore up defenses before risk spikes. It’s not just technical defenses that matter; organizations need to treat people as a critical layer of protection.

Don’t Let Security Awareness Take a Vacation

During periods of slowdown, it’s hard for employees to get behind repetitive training modules and sit through one-size-fits-all modules. Instead of traditional awareness and compliance training, companies need to move away from reactive, compliance-driven security measures. That’s where Human Risk Management (HRM) comes in.

HRM is a cybersecurity strategy that proactively identifies, prioritizes and mitigates human-driven risks. An HRM platform helps security teams proactively identify risky behaviors, such as reusing passwords, falling for deep fake audio, or ignoring security alerts. By surfacing these behavioral patterns in real time, HRM enables targeted interventions before a mistake becomes a breach.

Real-Time Nudges, Real Results

Continuous reinforcement doesn’t require massive overhauls. Small, well-timed nudges via Slack, Teams, or email can guide employees toward better decisions in the moment. These micro-interactions improve security behavior without relying on long-form training or time-intensive oversight.

This is especially valuable during summer months when security teams themselves may be operating with reduced headcount or coverage. Automating these interventions ensures security isn’t put on hold just because key personnel are out of office.

Turning Your Team Into the First Line of Defense

Effective cybersecurity doesn’t begin and end with tools: it begins with people. Building a resilient organization means creating a culture where every employee sees security as part of their role that they include in their “While I’m Out” note, not just a compliance checkbox.

When training is engaging it becomes memorable and meaningful even during the summer season. Rather than feeling blamed for mistakes, employees feel empowered to act. This mindset shift is essential for developing an intelligent, adaptive human-layer defense that responds as fast as the threats evolve.

And as cyber threats grow more sophisticated, with AI-generated phishing, deep fakes, and real-time social engineering on the rise, organizations need to evolve too. Combining automation with behavior-driven insights and real-time support is the best way forward. The goal isn’t just to prevent a single breach, but to create a workforce that knows how to respond and improve continuously. By investing in real-time, personalized engagement, security teams can maintain vigilance all summer long and turn seasonal vulnerability into year-round strength.