Unless you work in the North Pole with a bunch of elves, chances are you will have some sort of shutdown period coming up at the end of this year. But even if your business stays open for most of the holiday period, many of the business partners you rely on might not. Is there anyone your business relies on that might not be available when you need them towards the end of the month? Do you have plans in place to deal with any issues while they’re away?

Here are some small business partners you might want to touch base with and plan around any shutdown period they may have:

• Your “IT Guy” is there for you throughout the year if your systems go offline or get infected with malware. What will you do if they’re on a beach somewhere right when you need them?
• Is website support critical to your business? If someone decides to attack it or there’s a critical vulnerability that needs patching, who will help?
• Social media doesn't go away over the holidays, but maybe your virtual assistant will. Do you know how to manage any social media issues while your social media manager is away, and do you have all the passwords and account details?
• Is your office security supported by security guards? Do you need more or less help from them if you’re not going to be around?

If you’re looking for more advice on how to plan for these types of emergencies, sign up for our upcoming Cyber Incident Response Planning Security Pathway.

Sign-up to our FREE 12 Days of Threatmas program for information and advice on how to deal with some of the unique cybersecurity threats your business may run into over the holiday period.