At first glance, the water seems still.
That's exactly what makes Shark Week so gripping each year: the danger isn't always visible on the surface. It's already moving below it.
Cybercriminals work the same way. Today's threats are built to hide inside normal business activity until something breaks, money disappears, or systems go offline.
And during summer, when routines shift, employees travel, and oversight gets lighter, criminals know many businesses are paying less attention.
Here are three threats circling right now.
1. Fraudulent invoices and vendor impersonation
Attackers often don't need to break into anything. In many cases, one convincing email is enough.
This tactic is known as business email compromise (BEC). It works by pretending to be a vendor, supplier, or executive your team already recognizes and trusts.
The message looks legitimate, someone approves the payment, and by the time the mistake is discovered, the money is gone.
These attacks surge during vacation season for a reason. When the person who usually signs off on payments is unavailable, requests get redirected to someone who may not know the normal process. Temporary coverage is easier to pressure, and attackers count on that.
Here's the most effective safeguard: create a verification step for every financial request received by email. A quick call to a trusted number, not the one in the email, can stop most fraud before it starts.
2. Phishing emails aimed at distracted staff
Phishing succeeds because it's designed around how people act when they're busy.
Cybercriminals time these attacks carefully. A distracted employee sees a password reset alert and clicks. Someone receives a text that appears to come from IT. An urgent email arrives just before a meeting asking for wire transfer approval. No one pauses to verify because slowing down feels inconvenient.
The strongest defense isn't just technology — it's company culture.
Employees should feel confident taking a moment when something doesn't look right:
· An unexpected login request
· A payment instruction that appeared out of nowhere
· A link in an email they weren't expecting
Attackers rely on speed to create mistakes. When your team slows the process down, you take that advantage away.
3. Third-party risks that spread quickly
When 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 connection they already have to your business.
This is supply chain exposure, and most businesses 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 potential entry points that 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 connected to?
3. Who inside your organization is responsible for managing those relationships?
If you can't answer those questions clearly, your risk may be wider than you think.
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 that miss obvious warning signs. More often, it's the ones that assume everything is fine because nothing looks wrong.
Summer is when schedules loosen, attention drifts, and the water looks calmest. It's also when attackers are most active.
We help businesses identify where they're exposed across vendors, employee behavior, and daily operations before a problem turns into an incident.
If you're unsure where your business stands, schedule a 15-Minute Discovery Call.
Click here or give us a call at 703-879-2070 to schedule your free 15-Minute Discovery Call.
