At first glance, the water appears still.
That's exactly what makes Shark Week so gripping each year. The threat isn't always visible on the surface. It's already moving below it.
Cybercriminals work the same way. Today's threats are built to look like routine activity until the moment a payment is redirected, data is stolen, or systems stop working.
And during the summer, when schedules change, key employees travel, and oversight becomes lighter, attackers know businesses are easier to catch off guard.
Here are three threats circling businesses right now.
1. Fake invoices and vendor impersonation
In many cases, attackers don't need to break into anything. They just need one convincing email.
This is known as business email compromise (BEC), and it relies on pretending to be a vendor, supplier, or executive your team already recognizes and trusts.
The email looks legitimate, someone approves the payment, and by the time the fraud is discovered, the money is already gone.
These attacks surge during vacation season for a reason. When the usual approver is out of office, requests often get passed to someone less familiar with normal payment procedures. Temporary replacements are more likely to accept urgency at face value, and criminals count on that hesitation.
The easiest defense to put in place: create a verification step for every financial request that comes by email. A quick callback to a trusted, known number — not the number included in the message — can stop most fraudulent requests before payment is made.
2. Phishing attacks aimed at distracted employees
Phishing succeeds because it's designed around how people act when they're busy, rushed, or distracted.
Cybercriminals intentionally target those moments. An employee sees a password reset alert and clicks without thinking. Someone receives a text that appears to come from IT. An urgent email arrives just before a meeting requesting wire transfer approval. No one pauses to verify because slowing down feels inconvenient.
The strongest protection isn't just technology — it's a security-first culture.
Employees should feel confident stopping to check when something seems unusual:
· An unexpected login request
· A payment instruction that came out of nowhere
· A link in an email they were not expecting
Attackers use speed to pressure people into mistakes. Slowing down removes that advantage.
3. Third-party risks that spread quickly
When a vendor with access to your systems is compromised, 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 organizations have more of it than they realize. Network-connected software, service providers with stored credentials, and contractors whose access was never removed after a project ended all create openings many business owners have not fully mapped.
Outsourcing a service does not outsource accountability.
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 manages those relationships?
If those answers are unclear, your risk is already higher than it should be.
By the time you notice it, it may already be in motion
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 ignoring obvious warning signs. They're often the ones assuming everything is fine because nothing appears wrong.
Summer is when attention shifts, routines loosen, and the water looks calmest. It's also when attackers are most likely to strike.
We help businesses identify where they're exposed across vendors, employee behavior, and everyday operations before a problem turns into a costly incident.
If you're not sure where your business stands, schedule a 15-Minute Discovery Call.
Click here or give us a call at 503-765-1802 to schedule your free 15-Minute Discovery Call.
