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The end of the year often brings a welcome slowdown. Projects wrap up, the team is in a festive mood, and you’re closing the books on another year. But while you might be winding down, cybercriminals are ramping up. They know that busy seasons and holiday distractions can create the perfect opportunity to strike.

According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Cybersecurity Outlook 2025, cybercrime costs the global economy trillions each year, and small to mid-sized businesses are increasingly becoming prime targets.

That's why we created this simple checklist. These are practical, easy-to-understand steps to protect your business before the new year arrives. Whether you’re a business owner, an office manager, or the person in charge of IT, this guide will help you end the year with confidence and start the next one on a secure footing.

Why a Year‑End Cybersecurity Review Matters

A year-end cybersecurity review isn’t just another task to tick off a list. It's a fundamental step in protecting your business, your customers, and your future growth. Here’s why taking the time now will save you from major headaches later.

It Protects Your Hard-Earned Reputation

Trust is the foundation of any good business relationship. Customers share their information with you because they believe you’ll keep it safe. A single data breach can shatter that trust in an instant. Reviewing your security is about more than just technology; it’s about showing your customers you value and protect them.

It Keeps You a Step Ahead of Threats

Cybercriminals love to exploit the path of least resistance. This often means targeting businesses with outdated software or security gaps left open during busy periods. A proactive review helps you find and fix these weak spots before they can be used against you. It’s like patching a small leak in a roof before it turns into a major flood.

It Helps You Stay Compliant

Depending on your industry, you might have to follow specific data protection rules, like HIPAA for healthcare or PCI DSS for credit card payments. These regulations change over time. A year-end check-in ensures you’re up to date with the latest requirements, helping you avoid costly fines and legal trouble.

It Keeps Your Business Running Smoothly

Few things can halt business operations as abruptly as a cyberattack or system failure. By catching technical issues and security risks early, you prevent the kind of unexpected downtime that can stop projects, frustrate customers, and hurt your bottom line.

It Gives You Peace of Mind

When you know your digital assets are secure, your team can start the new year focused on what they do best, not on fighting technical fires. A thorough review provides the confidence needed for leadership to plan for the future and for employees to hit the ground running in January.

A Practical Cybersecurity Checklist for Your Business

Ready to get started? Here’s a straightforward, scannable list to guide your year-end review. We've broken down each item so you know exactly what to do.

Update All Your Software and Systems

What it means: Think of software updates (or "patches") as security guards for your programs. When a developer finds a weakness, they release an update to fix it. If you don't apply it, you’re leaving a door wide open for attackers.

Your action: Go through all your business software, from your operating systems (like Windows) to your accounting programs and web browsers. Apply every pending update. Set key systems to update automatically to make this easier in the future.

Back Up Your Data (and Test It!)

What it means: A backup is a copy of your critical business information stored in a separate, secure location. If your original data is lost, stolen, or encrypted by ransomware, you can restore it from your backup and get back to business.

Your action: Perform a full backup of all essential files. This includes customer records, financial data, and project files. More importantly, test your backup by trying to restore a few files. A backup you can't restore is just taking up space. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) emphasizes that backups are only useful if they’re tested regularly.

Review Who Has Access to What

What it means: Over time, employees change roles or leave the company, but their digital access often remains. These old, unused accounts (sometimes called "dormant accounts") are a hidden risk. A hacker who gets into one has an immediate entry point.

Your action: Audit all user accounts and permissions. If an employee left the company, disable their account immediately. If someone's job changed, adjust their access to match their new responsibilities. The goal is the "principle of least privilege": each person should only have access to the information they absolutely need to do their job.

Run a Drill of Your Incident Response Plan

What it means: What would you do if you discovered a data breach tomorrow? An incident response plan is your step-by-step guide for handling a security crisis. It outlines who to call, what to shut down, and how to communicate.

Your action: Don't wait for a real crisis to test your plan. Run a practice drill with your team. Walk through a scenario, like a phishing attack that succeeded. This helps everyone understand their role and identifies any gaps in your plan before it’s too late.

Check on Your Endpoint Security

What it means: "Endpoints" are all the devices that connect to your business network: laptops, desktops, smartphones, and tablets. With more people working remotely, securing these devices is more important than ever.

Your action: Make sure every company device has up-to-date antivirus software and that its firewall is turned on. For remote workers, ensure they are connecting through a secure method, like a Virtual Private Network (VPN), which encrypts their connection.

Refresh Your Security Policies and Training

What it means: Your best technology is only as strong as the people using it. Human error is a leading cause of security breaches, often through phishing emails where an employee clicks a bad link.

Your action: Refresh your team on key security protocols. Remind them about your password policies (long, unique passwords are best) and the importance of multi-factor authentication (MFA), which adds a second layer of security to logins. Run a quick training session on how to spot a phishing email.

How to Get Started

A checklist is a great first step, but putting it into action is what counts. Here’s a simple way to begin:

Assess Your Current State: Take an honest look at your tools and policies. Where are the obvious gaps?
Prioritize What's Most Important: You may not be able to do everything at once. Focus on the highest-risk items that could cause the most damage if ignored.
Schedule the Work: Block out time on the calendar for updates and backups, preferably during slow periods to minimize disruption.
Train Your Team: An informed employee is your best defense. Make sure everyone understands their role in keeping the business secure.
Document Your Progress: Write down every security update, system change, and new protocol you implement. Keeping organized records makes it easy to spot trends, track improvements, and quickly troubleshoot if issues arise.
Set a Regular Review Schedule: Make cybersecurity a routine part of your business by setting specific times to assess your security measures. Regular reviews help catch new threats early and keep your protections strong year-round.

Partner with Everound for a Secure New Year

At Everound, we believe cybersecurity should be an asset that empowers your business, not a complex problem that slows you down. We specialize in making robust security simple and manageable for organizations of all sizes.

As the year comes to a close, our team is here to help you strengthen your defenses and step into January with total confidence. Here’s how we partner with businesses like yours:

We Assess Your Environment: Our experts conduct a thorough review of your IT systems to pinpoint vulnerabilities before they become liabilities.
We Implement Tailored Solutions: From managing your software updates to creating a rock-solid backup strategy, we design and implement safeguards that fit your specific needs.
We Provide 24/7 Monitoring: Our team keeps a constant watch over your systems, catching potential issues early and reducing the risk of costly downtime.
We Empower Your People: We provide practical training that helps your employees recognize and respond to threats, turning your team into a powerful line of defense.

The new year is full of opportunity. By tackling your cybersecurity now, you can enter January with stronger defenses, greater peace of mind, and a trusted partner in Everound.

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