January 26, 2026
Right now, cybercriminals are crafting their own New Year's resolutions—not about health or work-life harmony, but on how to outsmart and exploit.
Instead of vision boards filled with positive goals, they're analyzing the successes of 2025 to plan even more effective attacks in 2026.
And small businesses? They're at the top of their hit list.
Not because of negligence,
but because your busy schedule makes you vulnerable.
Cybercriminals thrive on distractions.
Here's the 2026 cyber threat playbook - and strategies to outwit it.
Resolution #1: "Craft Phishing Emails That Bypass Suspicion"
The days of blatantly obvious scam emails are behind us.
Today's AI-generated emails:
- Read like genuine conversations
- Adopt your company's specific tone and style
- Mention actual vendors you regularly interact with
- Exclude typical giveaways like typos or urgent demands
These emails don't rely on errors to deceive—they capitalize on timing and familiarity.
January is the perfect storm: scattered focus, fast-paced catch-up after holidays, and higher risk of oversight.
Here's an example of an authentic-seeming phishing message:
"Hi [your actual name], I tried to send the updated invoice but it bounced back. Can you confirm this is still the right email for accounting? Here's the revised version—let me know if you have any questions. Thanks, [name of your actual vendor]."
No grandiose claims, no urgent transfers—just a believable request from a familiar contact.
How to Defend:
- Educate your team to verify suspicious requests, especially those concerning money or credentials, through a different communication channel.
- Employ advanced email filtering solutions that detect impersonation attempts, such as emails allegedly from your accountant but originating from foreign servers.
- Promote a workplace culture that encourages confirmation and questions—recognize employees who verify before acting.
Resolution #2: "Mastering Vendor or Executive Impersonation"
These attacks are dangerously convincing.
A vendor email might say:
"We updated our bank details. Please use this new account for upcoming payments."
Or a text appearing from "the CEO" to your bookkeeper:
"Urgent. Please wire funds now. I'm tied up in a meeting."
Even more concerning: deepfake voice scams where attackers replicate executive voices using online audio sources, making requests that sound eerily authentic.
This isn't science fiction—it's the modern cyber threat landscape.
How to Defend:
- Implement a strict callback policy to confirm any bank account changes through recognized contacts.
- Require live voice confirmation via trusted channels before approving payments.
- Enable Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) on all financial and administrative accounts, ensuring passwords alone won't grant access.
Resolution #3: "Intensify Focus on Small Businesses as Prime Targets"
While cybercriminals once chased large corporations, improved enterprise defenses and insurance obligations have made these targets tougher.
So attackers shifted strategy:
Instead of risking a single $5 million heist, they prefer multiple $50,000 hits with higher success rates.
Small businesses have become the primary focus—you hold valuable funds and data, yet often lack a dedicated security team.
Attackers count on these realities:
- Limited staffing
- Absence of specialized security personnel
- Overloaded employees juggling many responsibilities
- The misconception that "we're too small to be targeted"
This false sense of security is a major vulnerability.
How to Defend:
- Improve your baseline security with essentials like MFA, timely updates, and verified backups—making you a tougher target than your competitors.
- Discard the idea of being "too small to target." Your size won't be newsworthy if attacked, but you're a valuable target nonetheless.
- Seek expert cybersecurity partners who act as your shield, even if you don't have an in-house team.
Resolution #4: "Exploit New Employee Onboarding and Tax Season Confusion"
January's influx of new hires means many are unfamiliar with your protocols.
Eager to contribute and respectful of authority, they're prime candidates for deceptive schemes.
Examples include emails impersonating the CEO, urging quick action due to travel or meetings.
Tax season scams meanwhile peak with fraudulent W-2 requests, fake IRS notices, and payroll phishing designed to steal sensitive employee information.
Once attackers obtain W-2 forms, they can file false tax returns, leading to rejected legitimate filings and identity compromise.
How to Defend:
- Integrate dedicated security training during onboarding before granting email access, covering scam recognition and company policies.
- Formulate clear, written policies such as "We never email W-2s" and "Payment requests require phone verification." Test adherence regularly.
- Encourage and reward employees who proactively verify suspicious requests without fear of ridicule.
Prevention Always Outperforms Recovery.
Cybersecurity offers two paths:
Path A: React after a breach—pay ransoms, hire emergency teams, notify clients, rebuild infrastructure. Costs escalate to hundreds of thousands, timelines drag over months, and the emotional toll lingers.
Path B: Proactively prevent attacks—install strong defenses, train your team, monitor systems, and patch vulnerabilities continuously. Investments are modest compared to recovery, and peace of mind is priceless.
Like buying a fire extinguisher before a fire, smart businesses prepare to avoid disaster.
How to Outsmart Cybercriminals This Year:
A trusted IT partner helps you become a hard target by:
- Providing 24/7 system monitoring to detect threats before they escalate
- Strengthening access controls to minimize damage from stolen credentials
- Training your team to spot even the most sophisticated scams
- Enforcing stringent verification procedures to block wire fraud
- Maintaining and routinely testing backups to turn ransomware into a mere inconvenience
- Promptly patching software vulnerabilities to shut doors before criminals can exploit them
Focus on fire prevention, not firefighting.
As criminals solidify their 2026 plans, they count on overwhelmed, underprotected businesses like yours.
Let's defy their expectations.
Remove Your Business from Their Target List
Schedule a New Year Security Reality Check with us.
We'll reveal your vulnerabilities, prioritize critical protections, and equip you to avoid becoming low-hanging fruit this year.
No fear-mongering. No confusing tech jargon. Just an honest, actionable assessment tailored to your business.
Click here or give us a call at 214-845-8198 to book your 15-Minute Discovery Call.
Your best New Year's resolution? Ensuring you're never on a cybercriminal's agenda.
