January 26, 2026
Right now, cybercriminals are setting their own New Year's resolutions—but not for self-improvement.
Instead of focusing on wellness or balance, they're analyzing their 2025 techniques to plan how to infiltrate even more in 2026.
Unfortunately, small businesses top their list of preferred targets.
Not because of negligence,
but because your busy schedules create openings.
Cybercriminals thrive on businesses that have too much on their plate.
Let's expose their 2026 strategy—and discover how you can stop them.
Resolution #1: Craft Deceptively Authentic Phishing Emails
The days of obvious scam emails filled with errors are gone.
Thanks to AI, fraudulent messages now:
- Read naturally and convincingly
- Mirror your company's tone
- Reference suppliers you actually know
- Avoid glaring warning signs
Successful phishing relies on perfect timing more than mistakes.
January is ideal: distractions abound as teams rush to catch up after the holidays.
Here's a typical modern phishing example:
"Hi [your actual name], I tried sending the revised invoice, but it bounced back. Can you confirm this is the correct accounting email? Here's the updated file—let me know if you have questions. Thanks, [your real vendor's name]."
No grandiose claims or urgent money requests, just a believable note from someone familiar.
Your defense strategy:
- Teach your staff to always verify requests involving money or credentials by contacting the source directly via a different communication channel.
- Implement advanced email filters that detect impersonation—flagging emails that claim to be from your accountant but originate from suspicious servers.
- Encourage a workplace culture where double-checking is praised, fostering attentive behavior over blind trust.
Resolution #2: Mastering Vendor and Executive Impersonation
This tactic is especially dangerous because it feels genuine.
Imagine an email from a vendor:
"We've updated our banking details. Please use the new account for all future payments."
Or a text posed as your CEO:
"Urgent: Wire the funds now. I'm in a meeting and can't talk."
Voice-based attacks are also increasing.
Through deepfake technology, scammers replicate voices from online videos, podcasts, or voicemails. Your finance team might receive a call from a voice indistinguishable from your CEO's, asking for a "quick favor."
This is not science fiction—it's happening today.
Your defense strategy:
- Enforce strict callback procedures for any changes to payment information, always verifying via known contact numbers.
- Never authorize payments without voice confirmation through established communication channels.
- Require multi-factor authentication (MFA) on all financial and administrative accounts to block unauthorized access, even if passwords are compromised.
Resolution #3: Increasing Focus on Small Business Targets
Large corporations—banks, hospitals, Fortune 500s—were once prime cybercriminal targets.
But enhanced security measures and stricter insurance requirements have made them harder and riskier to breach.
So cybercriminals have shifted gears:
Instead of risking a single costly attack on a big company, they opt for numerous smaller attacks on small businesses, which are much easier to compromise.
Small businesses possess valuable data to ransom and funds to steal yet typically lack dedicated cybersecurity resources.
Attackers exploit that you're:
- Short on staff
- Lacking a dedicated security team
- Wearing too many hats
- Believing you're too small to be targeted
This last belief is their favorite flaw.
Your defense strategy:
- Implement basic cybersecurity: MFA, system updates, and verified backups make you a tougher target than neighbors who neglect these steps.
- Eliminate the phrase "we're too small to be a target" from your mindset—your size makes you under the radar, not immune.
- Partner with cybersecurity experts who monitor and protect your business, so you don't have to build a full security team.
Resolution #4: Exploiting New Employees and Tax Season Confusion
January brings fresh hires unfamiliar with your policies.
Eager to prove themselves and inclined to follow instructions without question,
new employees are prime targets.
Example scenarios:
"I'm the CEO. Can you handle this quickly? I'm traveling and unavailable."
Tax season also spikes scams involving fraudulent W-2 requests, payroll phishing, and fake IRS notices.
Fraudsters impersonate executives or HR, urgently demanding W-2s from payroll, compromising employees' Social Security numbers, addresses, and salaries. Victims discover the scam when legitimate tax returns are flagged as duplicates.
Your defense strategy:
- Conduct extensive security training as part of onboarding before providing email access. Teach new hires to recognize phishing attempts and that legitimate requests never involve urgent gift card purchases.
- Establish clear, written policies: "W-2 forms are never sent via email," "All payment requests must be phone-verified." Regularly test employee awareness.
- Encourage and reward verification efforts to foster a cautious and security-minded culture.
Choosing Prevention Over Recovery
You face two paths with cybersecurity:
Option A: React after a breach happens—pay ransoms, hire emergency experts, inform clients, rebuild IT infrastructure, and repair trust. This can cost tens or hundreds of thousands, reopen over weeks or months, and leave lasting scars.
Option B: Proactively defend your systems by implementing robust security, educating your team, monitoring for threats, and shutting down vulnerabilities early. Costs are far less, the process is continuous, and the result is peace of mind—nothing happens.
Buying a fire extinguisher isn't about expecting a fire, but preparing to prevent disaster.
How to Keep Cybercriminals at Bay in 2026
A skilled IT partner safeguards your business by:
- Providing 24/7 monitoring to detect threats before breaches occur
- Securing access controls so stolen credentials don't grant total entry
- Educating your team on sophisticated scams, not just the obvious ones
- Implementing strict verification protocols for wire transfers to defeat fraudulent requests
- Maintaining and regularly testing backups so ransomware is a minor setback, not catastrophic
- Applying timely patches to close vulnerabilities before exploitation attempts arise
Prepare for fire prevention rather than firefighting.
Cybercriminals are drafting their 2026 plans now, banking on small businesses being understaffed and unprotected.
Let's prove them wrong.
Remove Your Business from Their Target List Today
Schedule a New Year Security Reality Check to identify vulnerabilities, prioritize protections, and harden your defenses against common cyber threats in 2026.
No fear-mongering. No complex jargon. Just a straightforward evaluation of your security landscape and actionable steps.
Click here or give us a call at 888-638-3621 to book your 15-Minute Discovery Call.
Take the best New Year's resolution: ensure you're not on a cybercriminal's hit list.
