Ideally, you’ll leave work behind before going on holiday, including your devices. A real digital break helps you properly disconnect, recharge, and return with a clearer mind.

But for many entrepreneurs, completely disconnecting is not always realistic. You may still need to answer emails, approve payments, check bookings, or handle urgent client communication while away. If that’s the case, use a VPN when accessing business accounts through hotel, airport, café, train, or shared vacation Wi-Fi networks.

We put together 10 simple but important steps to help secure your business before you leave. Save this checklist for the next time you go on holiday.

Key takeaways

• Holidays are a popular time for phishing scams, fake invoices, and account attacks targeting small businesses
• Very small businesses are often more vulnerable when owners or key employees are away
• If you need to work while traveling, using a VPN on public or shared Wi-Fi is essential
• Before leaving, update devices, back up important business data, and enable multi-factor authentication
• Security tools can help continue protecting your business while you disconnect

Why Small Businesses Are More Vulnerable During Holidays

Holiday periods create small gaps that scammers love to exploit: delayed replies, fewer or distracted employees available, rushed decisions, auto-replies revealing someone is away, or team members working from different locations and devices.

For many small business owners, holidays don’t always mean fully disconnecting either. You may still need to answer a few emails, approve payments, check bookings, or quickly solve something for a client while away. If that’s the case, using a VPN becomes extremely important, especially when accessing business accounts through hotel, airport, café, train, or shared vacation Wi-Fi networks.

10 cybersecurity actions to take before going on holiday

Here’s how to protect your business, your accounts, and your devices before you properly disconnect and enjoy your holiday.

1. Update your business devices before you leave

Before your holiday starts, take a little time to update every device connected to your business, including laptops, phones, office computers, routers, browsers, business apps, accounting software, and cloud platforms.

It’s one of those small tasks that’s easy to postpone, but many cyberattacks happen simply because devices were running outdated software with known security flaws.

And if you plan to bring work devices with you, updates matter even more. Public Wi-Fi networks, shared spaces, and unfamiliar environments can increase exposure to cyber threats while traveling.

2. Back up important business data

Imagine coming back from holiday and discovering your files were encrypted by ransomware, a device disappeared during travel, or important documents were accidentally deleted while you were away.

Before leaving, make sure your important business information is backed up properly, especially things like:

• invoices and financial documents
• contracts and customer information
• important projects and shared files
• business photos, content, or marketing materials

Ideally, keep backups both in the cloud and separately offline or on an external drive.

3. Secure your passwords and turn on multi-factor authentication

Your email account is often the center of your business. If attackers gain access to it, they may reset other passwords, impersonate your company, access invoices, or target your clients and collaborators.

Before leaving, review your passwords carefully. Avoid reusing the same password across multiple accounts, turn on multi-factor authentication (MFA), and check whether your recovery phone numbers and email addresses are still correct.

Pay extra attention to:

• email accounts
• banking and payment platforms
• cloud storage
• social media accounts
• Google Business Profile
• e-commerce or booking platforms

If you work with a small team, password managers can also help reduce insecure password sharing through emails or chat messages.

Related: What to do if you clicked a phishing link in a business email

4. Talk to employees about holiday scams

Holiday periods are full of phishing scams pretending to be delivery companies, booking platforms, airlines, suppliers, tax authorities, or even business partners requesting urgent transfers.

Some scammers now also use AI-generated voice messages and highly convincing emails designed to create panic, urgency, or confusion.

A quick conversation before everyone leaves can genuinely help. Employees should know that unusual payment requests, login links, or urgent messages deserve extra caution during holiday periods, especially when people are distracted or rushing before time off.

Related: Cybersecurity Training and Awareness for Small Businesses

5. Review who has access to business accounts

Many small businesses unintentionally leave too many accounts permanently accessible, even when employees no longer need access.

Before leaving, review:

• who still has admin permissions
• which old devices remain logged in
• unused accounts or permissions
• third-party apps connected to business tools

If temporary access is necessary while you are away, limit permissions only to what people genuinely need.

The fewer unnecessary access points you leave open, the smaller the risk if an account becomes compromised.

Related: What happens if you can’t get into your business accounts? The risk of one-person access

6. Secure any devices you’re taking on holiday

Phones and laptops often contain far more business information than people realize, including saved passwords, banking access, contracts, customer emails, and authentication apps.

Before traveling:

• enable screen locks and biometric authentication
• activate remote tracking and remote wipe features
• disable automatic connections to unknown Wi-Fi networks
• use a VPN on hotel, airport, café, or train Wi-Fi
• avoid logging into sensitive accounts on shared devices

If possible, avoid bringing unnecessary sensitive information with you altogether.

And if you still need to work during your holiday, a VPN adds an important extra layer of protection by encrypting your internet connection on public or unfamiliar networks.

Related: Why smart people approve bad payments

7. Protect your social media and Google accounts

If attackers gain access to your Facebook, Instagram, Gmail, WhatsApp, and Google Business Profile accounts, they may impersonate your company, contact customers, run fake ads, remove owner access, or redirect people to scams.

Before leaving:

• review account login activity
• remove unknown connected devices
• secure admin accounts with MFA
• check backup recovery methods
• ignore suspicious “support” or “verification” messages

Scammers frequently target business owners with fake warnings claiming pages are about to be suspended or urgently need verification.

Related: What Is Account Takeover (ATO) And How to Protect Against It

8. Create a simple emergency plan

If something happens while you are away, employees should know what to do without panicking.

Even a short document can make a huge difference. It should clarify:

• who handles suspicious emails
• who approves payments
• emergency contact information
• what to do if an account gets hacked
• where backups are stored
• how suspicious activity should be reported

Related: Responding to a Cyberattack. What to Do When You Get Hacked

9. Avoid sharing your holiday plans publicly

Publicly announcing that you are away for two weeks may unintentionally help scammers. Some attackers actively monitor social media for travel announcements, out-of-office posts, and signs that business owners are unavailable or distracted.

For home-based businesses especially, oversharing can also create physical security risks.

It’s usually safer to post holiday photos after returning rather than sharing your location in real time.

10. Use security tools that continue protecting your business while you disconnect

No small business owner wants to spend a holiday constantly worrying about scams, hacked accounts, or suspicious notifications. The goal of good cybersecurity is to reduce risk enough that you can actually enjoy your time away.

Bitdefender Ultimate Small Business Security helps protect business devices against phishing attacks, malicious websites, suspicious downloads, scam messages, and account threats, even when employees are working remotely or traveling.

And if you still need to access business accounts during your holiday, the included Premium VPN helps secure your connection on public Wi-Fi and unfamiliar networks like hotels, airports, cafés, or trains.

You can also try it free for 30 days and see how it fits your business before committing.

Because holidays should feel like holidays, not remote crisis management from a hotel room.       

FAQs

Do scams increase during holidays?

Yes. Holiday periods are often popular moments for scammers and cybercriminals because people tend to be more distracted, rushed, and less cautious than usual.

For small businesses, holidays can create additional vulnerabilities. Owners and employees may be traveling, checking emails quickly between activities, working from unfamiliar locations, or relying on public Wi-Fi networks. Businesses are also often slower to respond during vacation periods, which gives scammers more opportunities to exploit confusion or urgency.

How can I protect my small business while on holiday?

Before going on holiday, small business owners should update devices, back up important data, secure passwords with multi-factor authentication, review account access, and warn employees about phishing scams. If you need to work while traveling, using a VPN on public Wi-Fi is also important.

Is public Wi-Fi safe for business use while traveling?

Public Wi-Fi networks in hotels, airports, cafés, or trains can expose sensitive business information if they are not secured properly. If you need to access business accounts while traveling, using a VPN helps encrypt your internet connection and reduce risk.

What to do if I lost my business laptop or phone during travel?

A stolen work device may expose saved passwords, emails, banking access, contracts, customer information, and authentication apps. Screen locks, biometric authentication, remote wipe features, and encrypted connections can help reduce the damage.

Should employees have access to all business accounts while I’m away?

Not necessarily. Before going on holiday, it’s a good idea to review admin permissions, remove unused access, and limit temporary access only to what employees genuinely need during your absence.