Every year, Black Friday and Cyber Monday bring a frenzy of online shopping and big business. In fact, in 2022 alone, U.S. shoppers spent over $9.12 billion on Black Friday, making it a prime target for cybercriminals looking to exploit vulnerabilities. At 1Wire, we want to help ensure your business is ready for the holiday rush—not just with fast Internet and VoIP services, but with the right cybersecurity protections.
So, what makes this season the most dangerous time of the year?
Cyberattacks spike during Black Friday weekend as IT teams are spread thin, customers flood websites, and everyone’s in a hurry. It’s a perfect storm for data breaches, ransomware , and phishing scams. Let’s take a look at the Top 5 Black Friday Cyberattacks in recent years—lessons we can all learn from.
Key Takeaways
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Volume Creates Vulnerability: Black Friday and Cyber Monday are peak times for attacks because high traffic masks malicious activity.
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Size Doesn’t Equal Safety: As seen with VF Corp and Macy’s, even global brands with massive budgets can fall victim if they let their guard down.
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Your Vendors Are Your Weakest Link: Many recent breaches (like Hot Topic) didn’t start at the retailer, but through a third-party vendor. Verify your partners’ security.
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Ransomware Loves Deadlines: Attackers know you can’t afford downtime in Q4, making them more likely to deploy ransomware when the pressure is highest.
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Defense Must Be Proactive: Waiting for an alert is too late. Continuous monitoring and employee training are the only ways to prevent becoming a headline.
Top 5 Black Friday Cyberattacks You Should Know About
As the shopping carts fill up and inboxes overflow with deals, cybercriminals are hard at work exploiting the season’s digital chaos. Here are five major breaches that happened around Black Friday, what went wrong, and what businesses can do to protect themselves.
1. 2019 Macy’s Magecart Attack
For the second time in two years, Macy’s suffered a data breach impacting customer payment data. This time, in October 2019—just ahead of Black Friday—hackers injected malicious code into Macy’s website checkout pages to skim sensitive credit card information in real-time.
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Result: Customer names, addresses, phone numbers, card numbers, expiration dates, and verification codes were quietly siphoned off and sent back to the attackers. Macy’s did not disclose how many were affected, but thousands were likely impacted. The breach lasted from October 7 to October 15 and severely damaged customer trust at the height of the holiday shopping season.
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What Could Have Helped: Proactive web application security, real-time monitoring for script changes, regular code audits, and implementation of a strict content security policy (CSP).
2. 2020 The North Face Credential Stuffing
In November 2020, as shoppers geared up for winter holidays, The North Face detected a massive “credential stuffing” attack. Hackers used automated bots to test millions of email and password combinations (stolen from other unrelated breaches) to break into customer accounts on The North Face’s website.
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Result: Attackers successfully accessed purchase histories, billing addresses, and “XPLR Pass” reward points. While full payment card numbers were not stored on the accounts, the breach forced a massive password reset for users right in the middle of the peak shopping month, disrupting the customer experience.
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What Could Have Helped: Implementing Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) for customer logins and using bot-detection software to identify and block automated login attempts.
3. 2021 Running Warehouse Digital Skimmer
During the 2021 holiday prep season (October–December), a family of sporting goods sites including Running Warehouse and Tackle Warehouse were hit by a digital skimming attack. Attackers gained access to the payment processing servers, allowing them to steal data as it was being entered.
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Result: The full credit card details (including CVV codes) of nearly 1.8 million customers were stolen. Because the thieves captured the CVV code, the stolen cards were highly valuable for fraud. The breach wasn’t fully disclosed until December, meaning many customers shopped unaware during Black Friday.
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What Could Have Helped: File Integrity Monitoring (FIM) to detect unauthorized changes to payment servers and rigorous third-party vulnerability scanning.
4. 2023 VF Corporation Ransomware Attack
In December 2023, VF Corporation (parent company of Vans, Supreme, and Timberland) was struck by a crippling ransomware attack during the absolute peak of the Christmas shopping rush. The attack forced the company to shut down IT systems to contain the threat.
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Result: The attack caused operational chaos, disrupting the company’s ability to fulfill orders and resulting in shipping delays during the critical holiday window. Later filings revealed that the personal data of approximately 35.5 million consumers was compromised, marking one of the largest retail breaches of the year.
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What Could Have Helped: Network segmentation to stop ransomware spread, robust offline backups for quick recovery, and an Incident Response Plan specifically tested for high-traffic periods.
5. 2024: Hot Topic Third-Party Breach
Just ahead of the 2024 holiday season, reports surfaced that Hot Topic (along with BoxLunch and Torrid) had suffered a massive data exposure. The breach was linked to a compromised account at a third-party analytics vendor, highlighting the dangers of supply chain risk.
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Result: Nearly 57 million customer records were allegedly exposed, including emails, physical addresses, purchase history, and partial credit card data. The stolen data appeared for sale on hacking forums in late 2024, casting a shadow over the brand’s Black Friday sales period and exposing millions to targeted phishing scams.
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What Could Have Helped: Stricter vendor risk management (VRM) policies and enforcing Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) on all third-party service accounts that have access to customer data.
Managed Email Security: Extra Protection for Utah Businesses
Utah businesses can add more protection to their email systems with 1Wire’s Managed Email Security. This service uses advanced filtering to stop threats before they reach your inbox. It keeps your staff and clients safe from phishing emails, malware, and suspicious attachments. Real-time monitoring and local Utah support mean your important information is always watched and protected. 1Wire’s Managed Email Security is designed for law firms, clinics, educators, and all types of businesses in Utah. You can stay focused on your daily work, and let 1Wire take care of the security.
Stay Off the Top 5 List for All the Right Reasons
The threat of a cyberattack is real—and it’s growing. As the holiday shopping season ramps up, now is the time to harden your defenses. Don’t let your company become another Black Friday statistic.
At 1Wire, we offer more than just fiber internet and business VoIP—we’re here to help you build a secure, reliable foundation for your technology. Let’s make sure your business never makes a “top 5” list.
FAQs
Why do cyberattacks spike during Black Friday and Cyber Monday?
Hackers take advantage of high traffic, distracted IT teams, and overloaded systems during peak retail days. The chaos makes it easier for them to exploit weaknesses in security without being noticed immediately.
How can my business avoid becoming a target?
Invest in robust cybersecurity tools (like firewalls and intrusion detection), regularly update all software, enforce MFA, educate staff about phishing, and work with a trusted tech partner like 1Wire to monitor your network.
Is ransomware still a big threat during the holidays?
Yes. Ransomware attacks often increase during this season. Criminals target businesses they believe will pay the ransom quickly to avoid crucial system downtime during peak sales days.
