New Year's Resolutions for Cybercriminals (Spoiler: Your Business Is on Their List)

Right at this moment, somewhere out there, a cybercriminal is crafting their own New Year's resolutions.

But unlike you focusing on "self-care" or "work-life balance," they are analyzing their successful hacks from 2025 and plotting to steal even more in 2026.

And guess who's their favorite target? Small businesses.

Not because you're careless — but because you're busy.
And cybercriminals thrive on your busy schedules.

Here's their 2026 playbook — and how you can stop them in their tracks.

Resolution #1: Crafting Phishing Emails That Look Legitimate and Convincing

The days of obvious scam emails filled with glaring errors are gone.

Thanks to AI, malicious emails now:

• Sound natural and authentic
• Match your company's tone and style
• Refer to real vendors you genuinely work with
• Eliminate typical red flags that gave them away before

They don't rely on typos to fool you — they rely on perfect timing.

January is prime time since everyone is busy catching up from the holidays and less vigilant.

A modern phishing email might read:

"Hi [your actual name], I tried sending the updated invoice, but the file bounced back. Could you confirm this is the right email for accounting? Here's the new version — let me know if you have questions. Thanks, [name of your actual vendor]"

No desperate pleas from a Nigerian prince or urgent wire transfers — just a simple message from a familiar contact.

How you fight back:

• Train your employees to verify every financial or credentials-related request through a separate communication method.
• Use advanced email filters that detect impersonation attempts — like emails claiming to be from your accountant but sent from suspicious global servers.
• Encourage a culture where double-checking and questioning suspicious requests is welcomed and praised.

Resolution #2: Impersonating Your Trusted Vendors or Leadership

This tactic is especially dangerous because it feels incredibly genuine.

An email might say:
"Our bank details changed. Please update your records to make future payments to the new account."

Or a text from "the CEO" might say:
"Urgent wire transfer needed now. I'm tied up in a meeting and can't take calls."

Plus, deepfake voice scams are surging. Criminals mimic voices pulled from public videos and messages to convincingly impersonate your CEO or HR.

This isn't science fiction; it's happening today.

How to protect yourself:

• Set a strict callback policy for any changes in payment details. Always use phone numbers you already have on file.
• Never process payments without confirming via voice through established contacts.
• Enable multi-factor authentication (MFA) on all finance and administrative accounts—making stolen passwords useless.

Resolution #3: Targeting Small Businesses More Aggressively Than Ever

Historically, cybercriminals focused on big corporations — banks, hospitals, and Fortune 500 companies.

But as enterprise cybersecurity tightened and insurance requirements increased, those big targets became harder to crack.

So attackers pivoted to small businesses like yours.

Why risk one massive $5 million heist when they can attempt many smaller $50,000 attacks with much higher success rates?

Small businesses hold valuable data and money but often lack dedicated security teams.

Criminals know you're:

• Short-staffed
• Without specialized security personnel
• Juggling multiple roles
• Believing "we're too small to be targeted"

That last belief is their favorite weakness.

How to respond:

• Implement essential security measures like MFA, timely updates, and regular backup testing to outsmart attackers.
• Don't fall for "too small to be a target" — you're just under the radar, not immune.
• Seek professional cybersecurity partners who can watch your back without needing a full internal team.

Resolution #4: Exploiting New Employees and Tax Season Chaos

January brings fresh hires who are eager, inexperienced, and often unaware of your policies.

From a hacker's perspective, they're the perfect entry point.

Imagine a fake email from your "CEO":
"Can you handle this urgently? I'm traveling and can't do it myself."

A seasoned employee might hesitate, but a new hire may act immediately, wanting to help.

Tax season brings even more risks: phishing for W-2s, fake payroll notices, and fraudulent IRS communications.

Attackers impersonate executives to get sensitive employee info, which leads to identity theft and fraudulent tax filings.

How to defend:

• Provide thorough security training during onboarding, so new hires recognize scams before accessing company email.
• Establish clear policies like "We never send W-2s via email" and "All payment requests require phone verification." Document and regularly test these.
• Celebrate employees who verify suspicious requests to encourage vigilance.
• Prevention Always Trumps Recovery

In cybersecurity, you face two choices:

Option A: React after being hacked — pay ransoms, hire emergency experts, inform clients, restore systems, and rebuild trust. This can cost tens or hundreds of thousands and take weeks or months.

Option B: Proactively prevent attacks by deploying strong defenses, training employees, monitoring threats, and fixing vulnerabilities early. This costs far less and happens seamlessly in the background.

You don't buy a fire extinguisher after a fire—you buy it to never need it.

How to Make Sure Cybercriminals Fail in 2026

A reliable IT partner helps keep your business off the hackers' radar by:

• Monitoring your systems around the clock to catch threats early
• Enforcing strict access controls so one stolen password doesn't compromise everything
• Teaching your team about sophisticated scams, not just obvious ones
• Implementing verification policies that make wire fraud nearly impossible
• Maintaining and testing backups so ransomware is just a minor annoyance
• Applying security patches promptly to close weaknesses before attackers exploit them

This is fire prevention, not firefighting.

Cybercriminals are optimistic about 2026, betting on businesses like yours being unprepared, understaffed, and vulnerable.

Let's prove them wrong.

Remove Your Business From Their Target List

Schedule your New Year Security Reality Check.

Discover where your vulnerabilities lie, what to prioritize, and how to stop being an easy mark in 2026.

No gimmicks. No complicated jargon. Just a clear, actionable plan tailored to your business.

Click here or give us a call at 346-477-8669 to schedule your 15-Minute Discovery Call.

Because the best resolution you can make is to ensure you're never on a criminal's to-do list.

Braintek

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