Holiday Ransomware: How Philadelphia Businesses Can Prepare Before the Break

The office is dark from Wednesday afternoon until the Monday after Thanksgiving. The alarm is set, the lights are off, and the coffee maker has been unplugged. Meanwhile, somebody is logging into your file server.

Ransomware crews like quiet. A Semperis survey reported in late 2025 found that 52 percent of the organizations it surveyed had been targeted on a holiday or weekend, and 78 percent said they cut security staffing by half or more during those periods. The survey is from an identity-security vendor and the sample details weren’t published, so treat the exact numbers as directional. The direction is hard to argue with: when nobody is watching, attackers have time.

Why Holidays and Long Weekends Work for Attackers

A criminal who gets in on Friday night has up to three days before anyone notices odd behavior. That is plenty of time to copy client files, delete backups, and encrypt the servers so that everything is locked when you walk in Monday. For an insurance brokerage or law firm in Philadelphia, that can mean missed deadlines and a very awkward call to every client.

Small offices often assume this is a big-company problem. It isn’t. Attackers use automation, and a small firm with a weak remote access setup is just as easy a target as a large one. If anything, you are easier, because there is no overnight team.

Insurance carriers have noticed too. Many cyber policies now ask whether you have monitoring in place and who responds when something trips. An honest answer of “nobody until Monday” can complicate both your application and a later claim, so it is worth knowing the real answer before you need it.

The Three Security Gaps We See Most

No one receives alerts after hours. Security software may flag a problem at 2 a.m., but if the alert goes to an inbox nobody checks until Monday, it does nothing.
Remote access left open. A remote desktop or VPN account that nobody reviewed all year is a front door with no lock.
Backups that can be reached from the network. If the same login that runs your files can delete your backups, the attacker deletes them first.

What to Do Before the Holiday Break

Ask your IT provider one direct question: who gets an alert at 2 a.m. on a Sunday, and how fast do they respond? Get the answer in writing.
Review every remote access account. Disable anything unused, and require multi-factor authentication on the rest.
Confirm at least one backup copy is offline or immutable, then test a restore of a real file.
Make sure all computers are patched and that nobody leaves a laptop logged in and connected to the network over the break.
Write a one-page call list: who to phone first, your cyber insurance claims number, and your IT provider’s emergency line. Keep a paper copy offsite.

If your office relies on Microsoft 365, take a look at our post on what to do when Microsoft 365 goes down. Many of the same continuity steps apply when the cause is an attack instead of an outage.

Monitoring Is Cheaper Than Recovery

Around-the-clock monitoring is not about paranoia. It is the difference between a flagged login at 2 a.m. that gets shut down in minutes and a locked server discovered Monday morning. Our monthly 30-minute IT check is a good way to confirm the basics are in place before the break begins.

Philadelphia offices that plan for the quiet days tend to enjoy them. If you’d like a second set of eyes on your holiday readiness, we’re glad to help.

Get Your Business Ready Before the Holidays

Want someone watching while you’re off?

Abuzz Technologies helps Philadelphia businesses make sure their network is monitored, their backups are safe, and their remote access is locked down before the holidays.

Book a free 20-minute consultation, and we’ll take an honest look. No sales pitch, no obligation.

(215) 600-0349 | www.abuzztech.com