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- “Silent Night, Loud Breach: Attacks That Strike on Holidays”
“Silent Night, Loud Breach: Attacks That Strike on Holidays”
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Shoppers are adding to cart for the holidays
Over the next year, Roku predicts that 100% of the streaming audience will see ads. For growth marketers in 2026, CTV will remain an important “safe space” as AI creates widespread disruption in the search and social channels. Plus, easier access to self-serve CTV ad buying tools and targeting options will lead to a surge in locally-targeted streaming campaigns.
Read our guide to find out why growth marketers should make sure CTV is part of their 2026 media mix.
Ransomware Loves Christmas Morning
Threat actors launch encryption payloads when no one’s watching. Christmas Day sees record ransomware activity. Recovery teams don’t respond fast when they’re home with family.
Alert Fatigue Peaks, Monitoring Drops
On holidays, alerts are fewer — not because attacks stop, but because visibility weakens. Rotating coverage and false-positive fatigue lead to missed signals. Holidays mask real threats.
Fake System Alerts Lure Admins Into Action
Attackers send spoofed emails about “urgent downtime” or “storage failure.” Holiday duty staff respond fast, bypassing checks. Trusting a fake alert triggers the real breach.
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Gift-Themed Malware Spreads Through Social Channels
E-cards, gift exchanges, and shared downloads deliver malware under festive wrappers. Malicious files wear holiday disguises. Happy holidays = high click-through rates.
Credential Stuffing Attacks Spike on Idle Systems
Botnets hammer login portals while SSO dashboards go unwatched. Reused passwords from breaches get tested en masse. No one notices 5AM login storms on December 25th.
Post-Breach Forensics Get Delayed
When an incident is detected over the holidays, full analysis waits until teams return. Delay increases damage. Time to triage becomes time to spread.
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