The water may look calm on the surface, but that's exactly what makes Shark Week so compelling every year.
The real threat is never the part you can see. It's what's already moving below the surface.
Cybercriminals work the same way. Today's attacks are built to blend into everyday business activity until the moment something breaks, money changes hands, or systems suddenly go offline.
And during the summer, when routines change, employees travel, and oversight gets lighter, attackers know businesses are often paying less attention.
Here are three threats they're using right now.
1. Fraudulent invoices and vendor impersonation
In many cases, criminals don't need to break into anything. They only need to send one email that looks convincing enough.
This tactic, known as business email compromise (BEC), relies on impersonating a vendor, supplier, or executive your team already trusts.
The message arrives looking routine, someone on your team sends the payment, and by the time the fraud is recognized, the loss has already happened.
These scams become even more successful during vacation season. When the person who normally approves payments is away, requests are often redirected to someone who doesn't know the usual process. Temporary coverage creates opportunity, and attackers count on that.
A simple safeguard can make a big difference: create a verification step for any financial request submitted by email. A confirmation call to a trusted number — not the one included in the message — can stop most fraudulent requests before money moves.
2. Phishing attacks aimed at distracted employees
Phishing is effective because it's built around human behavior, especially when people are busy, rushed, or multitasking.
Attackers engineer these moments carefully. A distracted employee sees a password reset alert and clicks the link. Another receives a text that appears to come from IT. An urgent email lands just before a meeting asking for wire transfer approval. In the rush, nobody pauses to verify because slowing down feels inconvenient.
The strongest defense is not just technology — it's mindset and culture.
Employees should feel confident taking a moment to question anything that seems unusual:
· An unexpected login prompt
· A payment instruction that appears out of nowhere
· A link in an email they weren't expecting
Attackers depend on speed. When your team slows down and verifies first, you take away one of their biggest advantages.
3. Third-party risks that spread quickly
If a vendor with access to your systems is breached, the risk doesn't stay 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. Software connected to the network, service providers with stored credentials, and contractors whose access was never removed after a project ended can all create hidden entry points that go unmapped for years.
Outsourcing a service does not outsource accountability.
To understand your level of 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 internally owns those relationships?
If you can't answer those questions quickly, your risk exposure is likely higher than you think.
By the time you notice it, the threat is already moving
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 ignore obvious warning signs. More often, they're the ones that assume everything is safe because nothing looks wrong.
Summer is when schedules loosen, attention drifts, and the water looks calmest. It's also when attackers are at their busiest.
We help businesses identify exposure across vendors, employee activity, and daily operations before a problem turns into a costly incident.
If you don't know where your business stands, schedule a 15-Minute Discovery Call.
Click here or give us a call at 615-989-0000 to schedule your free 15-Minute Discovery Call.
