At first glance, the water seems still and harmless.
That is exactly what makes Shark Week so gripping every year. The real danger is rarely visible on the surface. It is already moving beneath it.
Cybercriminals work the same way. Today's threats are built to look normal until the moment something breaks, money is redirected, or systems go offline.
During the summer, when routines change, employees travel, and oversight gets thinner, attackers know many businesses are paying less attention.
Here are three threats they're using right now.
1. Fraudulent invoices and vendor impersonation
In many cases, attackers never need to break into anything. They only need to send one convincing email.
This tactic is known as business email compromise (BEC), and it works by posing as a vendor, supplier, or executive your team already trusts.
The message looks routine, someone sends payment to the "vendor," and by the time the scam is discovered, the money is gone.
These attacks increase during vacation season for a clear reason. When the person who normally approves payments is unavailable, requests are routed to someone who may not know what a legitimate request should look like. Temporary backups are less likely to question urgency, and attackers count on that hesitation.
The solution is easy to put in place: Create a verification step for any financial request received by email. A quick confirmation call to a known number, not the one in the message, can stop most of these scams before they succeed.
2. Phishing attacks aimed at distracted employees
Phishing works because it is designed around how people behave when they are busy.
Cybercriminals intentionally create these moments. A distracted employee sees a password reset alert and clicks the link. Someone receives a text that appears to be from IT. An email arrives just before a meeting asking for urgent approval on a wire transfer. No one pauses to verify because slowing down feels inconvenient.
Your strongest defense is not just technology; it is company culture.
Employees should feel confident taking a moment when 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 were not expecting
Attackers rely on speed to pressure people into mistakes. When your team slows down, you take away one of their biggest advantages.
3. Third-party risks that spread quickly
When a vendor with access to your systems is compromised, the threat does not stop with them. It can move directly into your environment through the connection they have to your business.
This is supply chain exposure, and most businesses have far more of it than they realize. Network-connected software, service providers holding credentials, and contractors whose access was never removed after a project ended all create entry points many owners have never 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 connecting to?
3.
Who inside your organization is responsible for managing those relationships?
If you cannot answer those questions clearly, your exposure is putting your business at greater risk.
By the time you notice it, it is already in motion
Sharks do not 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. Often, they are the ones assuming everything is fine because nothing looks wrong.
Summer is when schedules loosen, attention slips, and the water looks calmest. It is also when attackers become most active.
We help businesses build a clear view of exposure across vendors, employee behavior, and daily operations before a costly incident occurs.
If you do not know where your business stands, schedule a 15-Minute Discovery Call.
Click here or give us a call at 253-292-3329 to schedule your free 15-Minute Discovery Call.
