From the surface, the water seems peaceful.
That's exactly what makes Shark Week so compelling every year. The real threat is rarely visible above the waterline—it's already in motion underneath.
Cybercriminals work the same way. Today's business threats are built to blend into everyday activity until the moment something fails, money is diverted, or systems come to a halt.
In the summer, when routines change, employees travel, and oversight becomes lighter, attackers know many businesses are paying less attention.
Here are three ways they're circling right now.
1. Fake invoices and vendor impersonation
In many cases, attackers don't need to break into anything. They only need to send one convincing email.
This tactic is known as business email compromise (BEC). It works by posing as a vendor, supplier, or executive your team already recognizes and trusts.
The message looks routine, someone sends payment to the "vendor," and by the time the fraud is discovered, the loss has already happened.
These attacks increase during vacation season for a simple reason: when the usual approver is away, requests get redirected to people who may not know the process well enough to spot a scam. Fill-in staff are less likely to question urgency, and attackers count on that.
The best defense is easy to put in place: Create a verification step for every financial request that comes by email. A quick call to a trusted number—not the one in the email—can stop most fraud before money leaves your business.
2. Phishing attacks that target distracted employees
Phishing works because it's built around human behavior, especially when people are rushed or distracted.
Attackers deliberately create those moments. A busy employee sees a password reset alert and clicks. Someone gets a text that appears to be from IT. An email arrives just before a meeting asking for urgent wire approval. No one pauses to verify because slowing down feels inconvenient.
The strongest protection isn't only technology—it's a company culture that rewards caution.
Employees should feel confident stopping to check when something seems unusual:
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An unexpected login prompt
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A payment request that appeared out of nowhere
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A link in an email they weren't expecting
Attackers use speed to push people into mistakes. Slow the process down, and you take away one of their biggest advantages.
3. Third-party risks that spread quickly
If a vendor with access to your systems gets compromised, the threat doesn't stop with them. It can move straight into your environment through the access 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 stored credentials, and contractors whose access was never removed after a project ended can all create entry points that are easy to overlook.
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 risk is higher than it should be.
By the time you notice it, the threat is already moving
Sharks don't announce themselves, and neither do the cybercriminals targeting your business right now.
The companies that get hit aren't always the ones who miss obvious warning signs. They're often the ones that assume everything is fine because nothing appears wrong.
Summer brings looser schedules, less attention, and calmer-looking waters. It's also when attackers tend to strike hardest.
We help businesses identify where they're exposed across vendors, employee activity, and day-to-day operations before a problem turns into a costly incident.
If you don't know where your business stands, schedule a Systems Assessment.
Click here or give us a call at 503-210-5203 to schedule your free Systems Assessment.
