December is magical. There are twinkle lights, end-of-year bonuses, last-minute campaigns, and that one spreadsheet someone swears is “final_final_v7.”
It’s also peak season for privacy mistakes.
While businesses are busy closing deals, launching holiday promos, and promising to “clean things up in January,” data quietly piles up everywhere. New vendors get added fast. Email lists grow faster. Cookies multiply like it’s their job. And suddenly, no one remembers who has access to what, or why.
Here’s the thing: data breaches don’t usually happen because someone woke up and chose chaos. They happen because things move fast, corners get cut, and privacy falls into the “after the holidays” pile. Spoiler alert: January is when regulators, customers, and security incidents show up uninvited.
Holiday campaigns mean more customer data. More data means more responsibility. And more responsibility means that “we’ll deal with it later” can get very expensive, very quickly.
Privacy doesn’t ruin the fun. It keeps the fun from turning into a very awkward email that starts with, “We regret to inform you…”
So this holiday season, instead of wishing for miracle growth without consequences, consider the real gift: knowing where your data lives, who touches it, and how it’s protected, even when things get busy.
Fewer data breaches don’t just make for a quieter inbox. They make for a much better start to the new year.
And honestly? That’s a gift worth keeping. 🎁