At first glance, the water looks peaceful.
That's exactly why Shark Week captivates us every year. The real danger isn't on the surface—it's already circling below it.
Cybercriminals behave the same way. The threats businesses are dealing with now are built to blend into everyday operations until the moment something breaks, money disappears, or systems shut down.
During the summer months, when routines change, employees are traveling, and oversight gets lighter, criminals know many businesses are paying less attention.
Here are three threats they're using right now.
1. Fraudulent invoices and vendor impersonation
Attackers often don't need to break into anything. In many cases, they only need one convincing email.
This tactic is known as business email compromise (BEC), and it works by pretending to be a vendor, supplier, or executive your team already trusts.
The message looks routine, someone sends payment to the "vendor," and by the time the fraud is discovered, the damage has already been done.
These attacks increase during vacation season for a clear reason. When the person who normally approves payments is out, requests get redirected to employees who may not know what normal should look like. Temporary coverage is less likely to question urgency, and attackers count on that.
The best protection is easy to put in place: Create a verification process for every financial request that comes in by email. A quick confirmation call to a trusted number, never the number listed in the email, can stop most of these attacks before money leaves your business.
2. Phishing emails aimed at distracted staff
Phishing succeeds because it's designed around human behavior, especially when people are busy.
Cybercriminals plan for these moments. A distracted employee sees a password reset alert and clicks without thinking. Someone receives a text that appears to come from IT. An email arrives just before a meeting demanding urgent approval for a wire transfer. Because stopping to verify feels like it will take too long, people react instead of checking first.
The most effective defense isn't just software—it's company culture.
Employees should feel empowered to slow down whenever something seems unusual:
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An unexpected login request
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A payment instruction that came out of nowhere
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A link in an email they weren't expecting
Attackers rely on speed to pressure your team. When you slow the process down, you take that advantage away.
3. Third-party risks that spread quickly
When a vendor with access to your systems is breached, the threat doesn't stay with them. It can move straight into your environment through the connection they already have to your business.
This is supply chain exposure, and most businesses have far more of it than they realize. Connected software tools, service providers with saved credentials, and contractors whose access was never removed after a project ended all create possible entry points that many business owners have never fully mapped.
Outsourcing a service does not outsource responsibility.
To understand your supply chain exposure, you need clear answers to three questions:
1.
Which vendors can access your data or systems?
2.
What are they connected to?
3.
Who inside your organization is responsible for managing those relationships?
If you can't answer those questions clearly, your business may already be exposed to unnecessary risk.
By the time you notice it, it's already in motion
Sharks never announce themselves, and neither do the cybercriminals targeting your business right now.
The companies that get hit are not always the ones ignoring obvious warning signs. They're often the ones who assume everything is fine because nothing looks wrong.
Summer is when schedules loosen, attention drifts, and the water looks calmest. It's also when attackers are most active.
We help businesses get a clear view of where they're exposed across vendors, employee behavior, and daily operations before a small issue becomes a major problem.
If you don't know where your business stands, schedule a 15-Minute Discovery Call.
Click here or give us a call at 888-638-3621 to schedule your free 15-Minute Discovery Call.
