Three questions to start:
- Are cybercriminals really planning for the new year?
- Why are small and mid-sized businesses now their top targets?
- And what actually keeps your business off their list in 2026?
Every January, business owners reset goals around growth, efficiency, and stability. Somewhere else, cybercriminals are doing the same thing.
They are not focused on balance or productivity.
They are reviewing what worked last year and refining how to steal more this year.
And busy businesses are exactly what they are counting on.
A familiar January Story
In early January, a finance manager receives a short email that looks routine. It references a real vendor, uses familiar language, and arrives during the post holiday catch up.
No typos. No urgency. No red flags.
Just a request to confirm an invoice.
By the time anyone realizes something is wrong, the money is already gone.
No hacking. No malware. Just timing, trust, and a normal-looking message.
What This Teaches Business Owners
Modern cyberattacks are designed to blend into daily operations. They do not crash systems or announce themselves.
This is why cybersecurity can no longer be treated as a one time project. It must be built into your ongoing managed IT strategy, operating quietly in the background while your team focuses on the business.
Below are the five most common “resolutions” cybercriminals are setting for 2026 and what actually stops them.
1. I Will Send Phishing Emails That Look Completely Legitimate
The era of obvious scam emails is over. Attackers now use AI to write messages that sound human, reference real vendors, and match your company’s tone.
January is ideal. Teams are distracted, inboxes are full, and people are moving fast.
Why it matters
One convincing email is all it takes to steal credentials, trigger wire fraud, or plant ransomware. This is why employee awareness and layered email protection are foundational elements of managed cybersecurity, not optional add-ons.
2. I Will Impersonate Vendors or Executives
Attackers frequently pose as vendors requesting payment updates or executives requesting urgent action.
In more advanced cases, they are using deepfake voice technology to clone CEOs using publicly available audio.
Why it matters
Without clear verification policies, trust becomes a vulnerability. Strong identity controls, multi-factor authentication, and defined approval processes stop these attacks before money moves.
3. Will Focus on Small and Mid-Sized Businesses
Large enterprises are harder targets. Security controls are layered and monitored.
Small and mid-sized businesses offer better odds. One successful attack may not make headlines, but it still causes serious disruption.
Attackers know many businesses still believe they are too small to matter.
Why it matters
That assumption leaves gaps in monitoring, patching, and backups. A proactive managed IT services model removes those gaps and makes your business a harder target than the one next door.
4. I Will Exploit New Hires and Tax Season Chaos
January brings new employees who want to be helpful and have not yet learned internal security rules.
Tax season brings W-2 scams, payroll fraud, and fake IRS notices aimed directly at HR and finance teams.
Why it matters
Security training during onboarding and documented policies are critical, especially for organizations with regulatory obligations. This is where compliance-driven IT protects both the business and its employees.
5. I Will Count on You Reacting Instead of Preventing
Most cyber incidents are preventable. But many businesses only invest after something goes wrong.
Reacting means downtime, emergency response costs, reputation damage, and long recovery timelines.
Why it matters
Preventive security, continuous monitoring, and resilient cloud-based backups dramatically reduce both risk and recovery impact.
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We are an Award-winning IT Provider and Comprehensive IT Solutions in San Francisco, San Jose, and throughout the Bay Area.
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Need Managed IT Services?
We are an Award-winning IT Provider and Comprehensive IT Solutions in San Francisco, San Jose, and throughout the Bay Area.
Schedule A Free Consultation
Takeaway
Cybercriminals do not succeed by breaking in. They succeed by blending in.
The businesses that avoid incidents are not lucky. They verify requests, train employees, monitor systems continuously, and close vulnerabilities before attackers find them.
Security is not about fear. It is about preparation.
How TruAdvantage Helps Keep You Off Their List
A strong IT partner focuses on prevention first, including:
• 24/7 monitoring to catch threats early
• Multi factor authentication to limit damage from stolen credentials
• Real world security training for modern scams
• Clear verification policies to prevent wire fraud
• Tested backups so ransomware does not stop operations
• Ongoing patching and vulnerability management
This approach brings managed IT, managed cybersecurity, cloud strategy, and compliance together into one cohesive program instead of disconnected tools.
Final Thought
Cybercriminals are optimistic about 2026. They are counting on businesses being busy, understaffed, and unprepared.
Let’s disappoint them.
If you want a clear, practical view of where your risks actually are and what matters most to fix, start with a short conversation.
Book Your Free Consultation Now
The best New Year’s resolution is making sure your business is not on someone else’s list of goals to achieve.
Iman Oskoorouchi Iman Oskoorouchi, President and Co-founder of TruAdvantage, studied Electrical Engineering at UC Davis and holds multiple IT certifications. With over two decades of experience helping Bay Area and California businesses and healthcare practices navigate digital transformation, Iman is known for his personal touch and deep industry expertise. He believes technology should serve people first, then systems, combining technical insight with a human-centered approach to build secure and efficient IT environments. A lifelong learner inspired by books like The Untethered Soul and The 5AM Club, he finds balance in backcountry skiing, philosophy, and Thai green curry.
President, Co-Founder
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