Cybersecurity Essentials: End-of-Year Tasks

The year is quickly coming to a close and for many business owners, that means checking off the last items on the year-end list. For cybersecurity experts, the change in calendar means finalizing year-end tasks and actions that put the organization in a better security position to start the new year. From scheduling next year’s employee training on phishing scams to reviewing rapidly evolving threats, there’s much to do as 2025 draws to a close. What essential task list does your cybersecurity team create to position your business for the new year better? Let’s take a look at some of the actions that should make the list.

Explore Emerging Cybersecurity Trends

Proactive strategic planning should be a part of the year-end tasks to strengthen security heading into 2026. For instance, examining AI threats, ransomware, supply chain attacks, and phishing and social engineering should be on every IT department’s radar. Anticipating threats such as AI-driven phishing and malware schemes should be at the top of the list for emerging threats. Discussions should also include adopting a Zero Trust approach, in which no user or device is trusted by default. Additionally, emerging threats against the critical supply chain should also be monitored. Threats are expanding to include the entire supply chain, making it essential to vet third-party vendors and software. An ideal way to stay informed about emerging threats is to follow your managed service provider’s newsletters or updates. They have their finger on the pulse of security threats and vulnerabilities throughout the year.

Employee Trainings & Refreshers

One key component of preparing for the new year is taking an in-depth inventory of your team members' planned security awareness training. They are your first line of defense against scams like AI-driven phishing scams. This is an ideal time to schedule your regular training sessions and to update your onboarding training for new employees to acclimate to your organization’s security protocols.

Data Backups

With a new year right around the corner, now may be a perfect time to perform a complete data backup and verify it. Store offline backups to protect against ransomware. If this is not a good time to review the backup plan or incident response plan, schedule these actions in the main calendar to ensure that these essential security tasks are not pushed off until it’s too late.

System Updates

If this year has been a busy one, you may have overlooked security updates on devices or patches that were made available. Tightening the security of all your devices, both those used in the office and those used remotely, is a key part of any business's overall health. Need to know more about the cybersecurity threats on the horizon or how to head into the new year well-positioned for security threats? Follow our monthly blogs or reach out to the Spectra Networks team with your questions, comments, or concerns. We are happy to assist in answering your questions.