A Seattle startup has taken a significant step toward creating a portable nuclear fusion device, operating its compact reactor at 300,000 volts for extended periods, a key technical breakthrough that could transform the clean energy landscape.

Who Is Avalanche Energy?

Avalanche Energy is a privately held company based in Seattle, Washington, founded in 2018 by Robin Langtry and Brian Riordan. The firm is focused on developing compact nuclear fusion reactors (small enough to fit on a desk!) under the product name “Orbitron.” Their long-term aim is to deliver clean, scalable energy solutions for everything from remote infrastructure to spacecraft.

While nuclear fusion has traditionally involved massive, multi-billion-dollar machines like ITER in France or laser-powered systems at the US National Ignition Facility, Avalanche is taking a radically different approach. Its system is designed to be low-cost, lightweight, and modular, using high-voltage electric fields instead of complex magnets or lasers to trigger the fusion process.

Milestone

The company’s latest milestone, sustaining 300,000 volts in a desktop-scale prototype, represents one of the highest voltage densities achieved in a fusion device of its size. This could prove a critical enabler in the race to demonstrate net energy gain from fusion, a feat that would mean the reactor produces more energy than it consumes.

Why A (Desktop) Fusion Reactor?

The global energy sector remains heavily reliant on fossil fuels, and while wind, solar, and battery technologies are progressing, they all face scalability, intermittency, and storage challenges. Fusion, which mimics the process that powers the sun, offers the potential for a virtually limitless source of clean energy without the long-lived radioactive waste or meltdown risks associated with conventional nuclear fission.

“Fusion offers the highest energy density possible,” Avalanche states on its website. “It’s clean, abundant, and sustainable—exactly what humanity needs as we scale into the future.”

However, making fusion practical has proven notoriously difficult. Traditional approaches require either extreme temperatures or massive magnetic fields to confine plasma. These methods are energy-intensive and require huge, expensive infrastructure, which has kept fusion perpetually 20 years away from commercial reality.

Avalanche believes that its ultra-compact Orbitron reactor, combined with recent advances in high-voltage electronics and materials science, could finally break the cycle.

How the Orbitron Works

Unlike tokamaks or laser-based fusion systems, the Orbitron uses a technique called electrostatic confinement. In simple terms, high-speed charged particles (ions) are trapped inside a vacuum chamber and guided into elliptical orbits around a central, negatively charged cathode.

As these ions accelerate and become more densely packed, they begin to collide with enough force to fuse, releasing energy in the process. The prototype achieved a voltage gradient of 6 million volts per metre, which is a level far beyond typical industrial equipment, and one that Avalanche says is “the real unlock.”

This compact design allows the entire system to operate without massive magnets or complex cryogenics. According to Avalanche, the key breakthrough lies in reaching ultra-high voltages in a small footprint, thereby enabling fast-moving ions to be packed into tight orbits with enough energy to spark fusion. The team says this is what allows the machine to remain physically small while delivering the energy densities required for meaningful power output.

The system is modular and scalable. Individual units ranging from 5 kilowatts (kW) to several hundred kW can be grouped together to create higher-capacity solutions, including mobile power sources, micro-grids, or even space-based applications.

What Makes Avalanche’s Approach Different?

Avalanche is part of a new wave of private fusion startups rethinking the architecture of fusion reactors. For example, rather than pursuing billion-dollar mega-projects, these companies are focusing on speed, agility, and commercial viability. Avalanche’s advantage lies in its compact, electrostatic design, which enables rapid iteration and prototyping.

The company says it can produce and test new components in days, rather than years, and expects this to dramatically reduce the cost of development. It also avoids the need for giant facilities or huge teams, which has historically slowed progress in the fusion field.

Another key difference is its target market. While most fusion developers are aiming to power grids, Avalanche is looking at decentralised applications, such as off-grid infrastructure, maritime systems, and lunar or planetary missions. These use cases demand small form factors, rapid deployment, and minimal support infrastructure, which are the criteria that Avalanche is specifically engineering for.

The Orbitron is also being designed to accommodate a range of fusion fuels, including deuterium-tritium and proton-boron-11. The latter has the potential to minimise neutron production, reducing shielding requirements and extending reactor life.

What Does the 300,000-Volt Breakthrough Mean?

Reaching and maintaining 300,000 volts in a compact machine is actually a pivotal achievement. It demonstrates that the Orbitron can sustain the extreme conditions required for meaningful fusion activity while remaining small, efficient, and robust.

Avalanche is now on track to use this capability to build FusionWERX, a planned neutron-production and testing facility in Richland, Washington. The company recently secured a $10 million Green Jobs Grant from the Washington State Department of Commerce to develop the site, which will allow third-party researchers and companies to test fusion components under realistic conditions.

FusionWERX

FusionWERX is intended to be a commercial facility, generating income through neutron production for radioisotope creation, materials testing, and IP-secure research. Langtry estimates Avalanche could become profitable by 2028, with projected revenues of $30–50 million in 2029.

Avalanche now aims to secure the remaining funding needed to match the 50 per cent cost-share requirement tied to its $10 million grant from Washington State. The company is actively preparing a Series B fundraising round to support the FusionWERX project and scale up its reactor development work. According to Avalanche, a significant portion of the matching funds is already committed, with further investment expected to follow as hardware milestones are met.

What Are the Broader Implications?

If successful, Avalanche’s technology could dramatically lower the barriers to fusion adoption. Rather than relying on centralised mega-projects, future fusion could emerge through a more distributed model, with small-scale reactors tailored to specific use cases and markets.

This could have particular relevance for UK businesses, especially those in energy-intensive sectors, remote infrastructure, or off-grid operations. For example, the potential to access compact, safe, and zero-emissions energy on demand would radically change planning and cost structures.

It could also disrupt parts of the existing nuclear sector. For example, traditional fission reactors are heavily regulated, expensive to build, and politically controversial. Fusion, especially in compact form, offers a way around many of these constraints. That said, whether governments will be prepared to adapt regulations quickly enough remains an open question.

For competitors, Avalanche’s milestone puts pressure on other private fusion firms to accelerate their own timelines. Notable players in the field include:

– TAE Technologies (California), which is pursuing proton-boron fusion using beam-driven plasma devices.

– Zap Energy (Seattle), developing a sheared-flow Z-pinch system with no magnets.

– Helion Energy (also based in Washington), which recently signed a deal with Microsoft to supply fusion-generated power by 2028.

– First Light Fusion (UK), using high-velocity impact fusion derived from research at Oxford University.

Each of these companies is using a different approach, but all share the goal of making fusion commercially viable in the near term. Avalanche’s unique angle, targeting small-scale, rapidly deployable systems, helps distinguish it in an increasingly crowded field.

Challenges and Criticisms

Despite the recent progress, fusion remains a tough nut to crack. While Avalanche’s voltage milestone is impressive, it has yet to demonstrate net energy gain, where the energy produced by the fusion reactions exceeds the energy required to initiate and sustain them.

Electrostatic confinement approaches like Avalanche’s have faced scepticism in the past. Earlier systems such as fusors and polywells showed promise but were ultimately unable to scale to net energy production. Whether Avalanche’s novel design can overcome those physics constraints remains to be seen.

There are also engineering hurdles ahead, including scaling up power extraction systems, managing heat loads, and extending component life under repeated bombardment by high-energy particles.

Some experts have also raised concerns about overpromising. With many fusion startups now forecasting delivery within five years, expectations are high, but public trust could suffer if those timelines slip. A measured, evidence-led approach will be key to sustaining momentum.

That said, the combination of technological progress, public funding, and early commercial pathways is helping to shift fusion from long-term aspiration to near-term opportunity. Avalanche Energy’s latest milestone brings that vision one step closer to reality.

What Does This Mean For Your Business?

Avalanche’s 300,000-volt achievement puts it ahead of many peers in demonstrating that fusion conditions can be created and sustained using a radically smaller and simpler system. While it does not yet mean net energy gain has been reached, the ability to operate a high-voltage, compact reactor continuously is a crucial step toward proving that desktop fusion is more than theoretical. This isn’t just a technical milestone, it’s a signal that fusion innovation is no longer confined to large institutions or national labs.

For investors, the company’s path to near-term revenue through neutron generation, radioisotope production and facility rentals helps to de-risk the commercial model. This gives Avalanche a clearer route to financial sustainability than most early-stage fusion firms, even before full-scale energy production is realised. That clarity may also allow it to attract more patient capital in a sector known for long development timelines.

For UK businesses, especially those in manufacturing, defence, remote operations and advanced research, the potential applications are considerable. Modular fusion systems that require little maintenance and produce no direct emissions could offer a stable and long-term energy alternative at a time when electricity prices and carbon pressures remain unpredictable. In high-value, energy-intensive environments where resilience and clean credentials matter, compact fusion could eventually shift how organisations plan infrastructure, supply chains and investment.

At the same time, regulators, utilities and energy planners will need to consider how small-scale fusion fits into existing frameworks. Questions about safety certification, licensing, integration with grid systems, and waste handling (even if minimal) will all need answering well ahead of any widescale deployment.

For the broader energy sector, Avalanche’s progress underscores a growing shift from slow, centralised fusion development toward smaller, faster, and more commercially agile models. This shift introduces competition and experimentation into a field once dominated by public-sector science programmes. But it also brings new scrutiny. Claims will need to be backed by results. Startups like Avalanche will be measured not just on vision, but on engineering performance, cost, scalability and real-world deliverables.

Avalanche’s milestone, therefore, offers a glimpse of what fusion could look like in practice, i.e., not vast tokamaks on government sites, but flexible machines that power remote labs, isolated communities or advanced industries. If the next set of milestones are met, and if the technology scales as claimed, fusion could become something businesses use, not just something scientists pursue. That would be a real shift, and this breakthrough brings that future closer than it has ever been.

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Here we look at how phishing scams spike in summer, including fake travel bookings, delivery text traps and urgent invoice fraud, and why UK businesses and individuals are especially vulnerable during the summer holiday season.

Phishing Peaks in Summer as Risk Awareness Drops

The summer season is increasingly being exploited by cyber criminals as a prime window to launch targeted phishing campaigns. For example, according to Action Fraud, UK consumers lost over £11.6 million to holiday-related scams in 2024 alone, with July and August seeing the highest volume of reports.

Why?

Experts point to a combination of seasonal distractions and increased online transactions, particularly for travel and leisure, as key drivers. With staff taking annual leave and workflows stretched thin, businesses are also becoming easier prey for invoice fraud and impersonation attempts.

Proofpoint, a global cyber security firm, recently warned that over one third of major UK travel booking platforms are failing to implement basic email authentication protections, such as full DMARC rejection policies, leaving customers vulnerable to spoofed messages. “Criminals know people are more likely to be booking trips or awaiting parcels,” said Adenike Cosgrove, cybersecurity strategist at Proofpoint. “That makes them more likely to click without thinking.”

Fake Travel Sites and Booking Confirmations Are Widespread

A common scam involves fake travel booking websites or emails posing as legitimate platforms such as Booking.com, Airbnb or Jet2. In many cases, victims are lured through paid adverts on social media or search engines, where fraudulent domains are made to closely resemble real travel brands.

In one incident recently flagged on Reddit and verified by multiple users, scammers exploited Booking.com’s internal messaging system to pose as hotels, sending follow-up messages asking guests to confirm payment via a malicious third-party link. The impersonators mimicked the platform’s branding and messaging style with alarming accuracy.

Fake Accommodation Offers

According to Action Fraud, 44 per cent of holiday-related phishing reports in 2024 involved fake accommodation offers. For example, many victims were contacted after initially engaging with a legitimate booking site, suggesting criminals are monitoring and hijacking booking journeys to insert phishing attempts at key points.

Delivery Text Scams Continue to Catch Holidaymakers Off Guard

One of the most persistent phishing threats this summer is smishing, where fraudulent text messages impersonate delivery companies such as Royal Mail, Evri or DPD. These scams typically claim a parcel is delayed or requires a small fee to release, directing the recipient to a fake website that harvests card details or personal information.

The problem is growing. According to Proofpoint and UK Finance, fake parcel delivery texts accounted for 67.4 per cent of all reported smishing attempts in the 30-day period to mid-July 2025, up from 53.2 per cent in previous months. Financial impersonation scams, by comparison, made up just 22.6 per cent over the same period.

This reflects a longer-term trend. The National Cyber Security Centre reported a 174 per cent year-on-year rise in smishing attacks as of mid-2024, and industry data indicates that the increase has continued well into 2025. A recent consumer survey by Ofcom found that 42 per cent of UK mobile users had received a suspicious call or SMS in the past three months.

Mobile Scam Filters Still Falling Short

While mobile operators claim that scam filters are improving, independent testing has raised concerns. In one 2025 study by cyber firm MetaCert, every simulated smishing message was successfully delivered to UK phones. These included texts spoofing well-known brands and containing malicious links, suggesting that current filtering systems are still failing to block even basic threats.

Why Summer Timing Makes These Scams More Effective

The seasonal context plays an important role. During the summer, people are more likely to shop online for travel items, gifts or personal deliveries while away from home. This makes messages about missed or rescheduled parcels seem believable and time-sensitive, creating the urgency that scammers rely on.

According to advice published by Age UK Barnet, for example: “scam texts often appear to come from delivery companies, like Evri or Royal Mail, saying that a parcel is on its way and asking for payment.” The charity warns that people may click without thinking, especially when expecting a delivery, and highlights that older users may be particularly vulnerable if they are unfamiliar with digital services or not used to checking links carefully.

The growing sophistication of these scams, including the use of personalised names, postcodes or local courier references, makes them harder to detect. This is especially true on mobile devices, where links and sender details are less visible at a glance.

Fake Invoices and Business Email Scams Surge Before Holiday Deadlines

For UK businesses, the summer period brings another kind of cyber threat. Business Email Compromise (BEC) and invoice phishing scams often spike around end-of-quarter deadlines or during peak holiday handovers, when key personnel may be absent.

Scammers typically insert themselves into existing email threads by using a near-identical address to impersonate suppliers, contractors or internal staff. They then request urgent payments to altered bank accounts, citing things like updated banking details or changes to invoice terms.

With this in mind, the North East Business Resilience Centre (NEBRC), for example, has issued multiple alerts this summer urging firms to verify payment details verbally before transferring funds. “Organisations should treat every payment change request—no matter how routine it seems—with extreme caution, especially when staff are away,” said the NEBRC’s cyber lead. “We see companies lose tens of thousands of pounds in a single transaction.”

According to UK Finance, invoice and mandate scams cost UK businesses over £56.7 million in a single year, with construction, legal and property sectors among the most targeted.

Quishing Attacks Using QR Codes Are Also on the Rise Too

Perhaps a less familiar but growing trend is the use of malicious QR codes in phishing campaigns, often referred to as “quishing”. These codes may appear in emails, event posters, parking meters or travel itineraries, and lead to malicious websites once scanned.

Security researchers at Check Point have identified a significant increase in such attacks since spring 2025, with many targeting travellers by mimicking airline boarding passes or local information portals.

The real danger lies in the perception of safety associated with QR codes, particularly when presented in a printed or semi-official context. In several recent cases, scammers have replaced public QR codes on transport signage or tourist maps with fake stickers that lead to credential-harvesting sites.

UK businesses operating physical locations or QR-based digital services are being urged to regularly check signage, validate their own codes, and educate staff on the risks of scanning unknown links.

Criminals Exploit Social Context and Emotional Cues

What links all of these attacks is timing and emotional manipulation. For example, summer, with its relaxed atmosphere, frequent purchases and disrupted routines, creates ideal conditions for social engineering.

For example, as cyber security firm Barracuda reports, seasonal phishing emails tend to use more emotionally charged language, including urgency, fear of missing out or appeals to customer service or refunds. Phrases like “Your booking is at risk”, “Re-delivery needed today” or “Outstanding invoice requires attention” are designed to provoke rapid reactions.

The NCSC encourages UK users to follow its “Stop, Challenge, Protect” guidance—pausing before clicking or paying, questioning the legitimacy of the request, and reporting suspicious messages to the Suspicious Email Reporting Service (SERS) (at report@phishing.gov.uk).

Many Attacks Are Enabled by Gaps in Email Security

A report by Proofpoint revealed that as of summer 2025, only 61 per cent of the UK’s top 50 travel websites had enforced full DMARC rejection policies, which is a basic email authentication setting that helps prevent domain spoofing. This leaves both individual travellers and business clients exposed to fake emails that appear to come from trusted brands.

Similarly, smaller organisations often lack the cyber hygiene measures to filter out high-risk attachments or check for lookalike domains. In phishing simulations conducted by KnowBe4, UK companies saw click rates of over 33 per cent during peak summer periods, compared to 24 per cent in winter, suggesting seasonal distractions increase user vulnerability.

Also, the British Chambers of Commerce has called on smaller firms to step up basic security practices, especially during holiday periods when decision-making may be rushed or decentralised.

Cybercriminals Are Adapting Faster Than Users Can React

The final concern raised by many experts is the speed with which scammers adapt. While businesses and individuals may learn to spot one kind of scam, attackers quickly switch tactics, changing domain names, targeting new seasonal trends or using AI tools to personalise their phishing lures.

Check Point’s threat intelligence team recently found that Google, Microsoft and Apple were the top three brands impersonated in UK phishing campaigns during Q2 2025. These impersonations often come in the form of bogus security alerts, fake travel subscriptions or seemingly legitimate service confirmations.

The summer of 2025 is no exception. As more people head off on breaks, and companies operate with skeleton crews, phishing attacks are exploiting every opportunity to slip through the cracks.

What Does This Mean For Your Business?

What emerges from this summer’s phishing surge is a clear pattern of opportunism that cuts across both consumer and business behaviour. It seems that cyber criminals are not relying on sophisticated infrastructure or zero-day exploits. Instead, they seem to be exploiting timing, familiarity and human distraction. For UK businesses, especially smaller firms, this creates a persistent operational risk that does not end with the holiday season.

Attacks linked to fake bookings, delivery texts and invoice fraud are not only rising in volume but also in precision. Social engineering tactics have become more convincing, and the tools behind them more accessible. As the examples in this report show, scammers no longer need to breach systems to steal money or data, but they just need to catch someone at the wrong moment with the right message. This is particularly dangerous in summer when staff changes, out-of-office patterns and dispersed decision-making leave more gaps than usual.

The ongoing failure to implement email authentication standards such as DMARC, and the unreliable performance of mobile scam filters, suggest that many organisations are still relying on outdated or partial defences. Without investment in basic technical controls and regular user awareness training, UK businesses will continue to see preventable losses from phishing, whether in the form of misdirected invoice payments, stolen credentials or damaged trust.

For individuals, especially those booking holidays or expecting deliveries, the lesson is equally pressing. The presence of a recognisable brand or a plausible message is no longer a guarantee of safety. Personal vigilance, combined with public reporting and institutional support, will remain critical.

Looking ahead, the challenge is not just seasonal. Cyber criminals will continue to adapt their tactics to whatever events, platforms or behaviours dominate public attention. However, the summer phishing spike is a useful case study in how quickly attackers can exploit simple human habits, and how slow many defences still are to catch up. For both UK organisations and their customers, tackling phishing will require more than just summer warnings. It demands consistent, year-round resilience.

With managers away, risks like poor passwords, unlocked screens and slow reporting can quietly escalate, and this article explains why it happens and how to stop it.

Why Summer Leave Demands Heightened Password Hygiene

In 2025, just over four in ten UK businesses (43 per cent) reported experiencing a cyber security breach or attack during the previous 12 months, with that figure rising to 67 per cent in medium-sized firms and 74 per cent in large ones. Phishing remained the dominant method of attack, affecting 85 per cent of organisations that identified breaches.

Seasonal reductions in staff numbers, remote working and less oversight can allow small mistakes, such as reusing passwords, to have much bigger consequences. According to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, 27 per cent of UK businesses were hit by a cyber attack in the past year, up from 16 per cent the year before. These figures highlight the growing risk, particularly during periods with less supervision.

Use Modern Password Standards and Move Beyond Forced Expiry

UK cyber guidance now discourages regular forced password changes unless there has been a suspected breach. This is because, when users are prompted to change credentials frequently, they often create weaker, predictable passwords, for example by simply adding a number or punctuation mark.

Instead, the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) recommends the use of longer passphrases made up of three random words, separated by full stops. These are both stronger and easier to remember than traditional passwords. The NCSC also advises organisations to adopt password managers and, where possible, passkeys. These tools can generate and store unique credentials securely, reducing the risk of password reuse or staff writing details down.

MFA

Multi-factor authentication (MFA) remains one of the most effective ways to protect business-critical systems. Yet despite its benefits, only around 40 per cent of UK businesses have implemented MFA across all user accounts. Email accounts are especially vulnerable, as they can often be used to reset access to other platforms. Ensuring these are protected with MFA is considered a baseline measure by most UK security professionals.

Lock Screens and Devices Immediately When Unattended

An unattended device with an open screen is one of the easiest targets for opportunistic attacks or accidental misuse. Whether it is a visitor in the office, a contractor passing by or a well-meaning colleague, leaving access open can result in emails being forwarded, data copied or malware being introduced via USB.

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) advises that screens should lock automatically after two or three minutes of inactivity. Staff should also be trained to manually lock their devices every time they step away from their desks. This is especially important during summer when office routines may be more relaxed and the mix of people in the workplace can change.

Recent incidents show that even organisations with secure buildings can fall victim to social engineering or internal threats if unattended devices are left exposed. Automatic screen locking, combined with a strong culture of responsibility, helps reduce the risk significantly.

Ensure Quick Incident Reporting When Supervision Is Reduced

When teams are leaner, delays in reporting suspicious activity can allow small issues to spiral. For example, even a single phishing email that goes unreported could result in credential theft, malware infection or wider compromise of the organisation’s systems.

The ICO reminds organisations of their legal obligation to report serious personal data breaches within 72 hours. However, underreporting remains an issue. For example, a (2023) Cybsafe survey found that many employees still hesitate to report security issues, fearing they will be blamed or seen as incompetent. Some of them attempt to fix problems themselves, often making the situation worse.

Clear Policies

Clear policies and non-judgemental internal reporting procedures can also help. For example, businesses should reinforce the message that early reporting is vital, regardless of the perceived severity of the issue. When fewer people are available to detect problems, every employee becomes part of the security perimeter.

Vigilance Essential

Major cyber attacks on well-known UK retailers in early 2025 highlighted how attackers often exploit gaps in supervision. For example, in one widely reported case, criminals impersonated staff during a helpdesk call to reset login credentials at a large national department store chain. Using publicly available information and a convincing pretext, they persuaded internal support teams to grant access to privileged systems. The attackers then used this access to infiltrate the company’s ordering and stock systems, causing widespread disruption to online deliveries, store stock management and customer services across the UK.

The NCSC has since updated its guidance to stress the importance of identity verification, particularly during periods when usual contacts may be away. Organisations should ensure that all staff know who to contact in case of a suspected breach and that backup procedures are in place when key individuals are on leave.

Also, Proofpoint’s 2024 threat report showed a rise in phishing campaigns timed around bank holidays and summer breaks, many of which referenced internal systems or posed as absent executives. These tailored scams are more convincing and more dangerous when teams are under pressure or lacking oversight.

Promote a Culture of Accountable Vigilance Year-Round

It’s worth noting here that security does not begin and end with IT departments. In reality, everyone in the organisation has a role to play, particularly when fewer colleagues are present to notice if something goes wrong.

As Richard Horne, CEO of the NCSC, recently warned “businesses ignore advice at their peril,” thereby highlighting that even basic security measures can reduce insurance claims by over 90 per cent. However, the latest government figures show that fewer than one in ten UK organisations are currently certified under Cyber Essentials, the UK’s official baseline standard.

The ICO and NCSC both emphasise that technical tools must be matched by behaviour and awareness. That includes locking screens, using secure credentials, escalating concerns early and understanding that cyber security is not someone else’s job.

What Does This Mean For Your Business?

A key takeaway here is that there’s no seasonal exemption from cyber threats. In fact, if anything, the summer period heightens the risk, as gaps in supervision and more flexible routines make it easier for poor habits to slip through unnoticed. For UK businesses, this is not just a matter of good practice but of operational resilience. Attacks timed during holiday cover or lean staffing can have a disproportionate impact, especially when response times are slower and reporting structures unclear.

The broader lesson is that culture really matters. Password policies, screen-locking procedures and incident response plans are only effective when staff at all levels understand them and use them without hesitation. For security teams and senior leaders, this means investing in clarity and communication as much as in software or hardware.

UK regulators are already making expectations clear. With the ICO strengthening its stance on breach reporting and the NCSC repeatedly highlighting the need for accountability beyond the IT department, there is growing pressure on organisations to prove that cyber responsibility is being taken seriously throughout the business. That includes facilities managers, HR teams and anyone with access to systems or data.

What this means for UK businesses is a need to treat holiday periods not as downtime, but as a potential test of their internal defences. For insurers, regulators and supply chain partners, lapses in protocol will look less like an accident and more like a failure to plan. For customers and clients, the reputational damage from a breach can be immediate and lasting.

Avoiding that outcome does not require complex changes. It comes down to reinforcing a few non-negotiables. Strong, unique passwords. Locked screens. Prompt reporting. And a shared understanding that good security is not a favour to the IT team but a safeguard for the whole organisation.

In this article, we look at various ways staff can stay cyber-secure while away, from setting safer out-of-office replies to avoiding phishing on the move and protecting devices abroad.

Out-of-Office Messages Can Put You at Risk

Most employees see out-of-office (OoO) replies as a harmless admin task. However, the wrong message can actually open the door to social engineering and impersonation attacks. It’s not the message itself that’s risky but what it reveals, and to whom.

For example, attackers actively scan for out-of-office responses which include return dates, job roles, colleague names, or even direct phone numbers. These details can be used to craft credible phishing emails that appear to come from someone inside your organisation or a known supplier.

To reduce the risk, the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) advises that organisations set clear rules for OoO replies. The most important steps include:

– Using different messages for internal and external recipients.

– Avoiding specific return dates or colleague names in external replies.

– Limiting details to a simple confirmation of unavailability.

For example, instead of “I’m in Spain until 15 August—please contact Lisa in Accounts,” a better external message would be: “I’m currently unavailable and will respond to your message on my return.”

Internally, it’s fine to include a bit more information, but it should still be concise if possible. The aim is to help colleagues, not advertise an absence to outsiders.

Phishing Attacks Are Timed to Catch You Off Guard

When staff are away from their usual routines, especially while travelling, they’re more likely to fall for phishing attempts. This is no coincidence and cyber criminals actively exploit periods like school holidays and summer breaks to increase attacks.

The UK Government’s Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2025 found that phishing remains the most common form of cyber attack, accounting for 85 per cent of incidents reported by businesses and 86 per cent by charities. The same survey estimated over 8.5 million cyber crimes against UK businesses in the past 12 months, of which more than 7.8 million were phishing-related.

These attacks often take the form of fake hotel confirmations, airline refund requests, or urgent security notifications that appear to come from well-known brands. A mobile phone notification while queuing at an airport (while distracted and in an unfamiliar environment) is far more likely to be clicked than an email during a typical office day.

To mitigate this, staff should be reminded before going away that:

– No reputable company will ask for login credentials by email or SMS.

– Links and attachments in unexpected travel-related messages should never be clicked without verifying the source.

– Suspicious messages can be reported to report@phishing.gov.uk or via text to 7726.

Tip: Pre-holiday reminders and short cyber awareness refreshers can make a significant difference, especially when phishing attempts are designed to catch people off guard.

Travel Exposes Devices to Extra Risks

It’s worth noting that business travellers face a different set of risks, especially if they’re logging into company systems abroad. For example, public Wi-Fi networks, hotel business centres, and even charging stations can all pose threats if used without care.

With this in mind, the NCSC recommends several precautions that should now be considered standard practice:

– Keep all software and security updates current before leaving.

– Use strong passwords and enable multi-factor authentication.

– Turn off Bluetooth and Wi-Fi auto-connect settings to avoid rogue connections.

– Only use secure, private Wi-Fi or a trusted mobile hotspot.

– Avoid public USB charging points, which can be used to extract data or install malware.

– Use a Virtual Private Network (VPN) when connecting to work resources remotely.

VPNs encrypt your internet traffic, reducing the risk of interception. Without one, using a free Wi-Fi network at an airport or hotel could expose email, login credentials or confidential files to anyone else on the same network.

Temporary Devices

Some organisations now go a step further, issuing temporary devices for international work trips. These are pre-configured with minimal data and set up to be wiped remotely in case of theft or compromise.

What Happens If a Device Is Lost or Stolen?

According to recent government data, over 2,000 official laptops, phones and tablets were reported lost or stolen in a single year. While most were encrypted, even a brief exposure could result in leaked credentials, compromised apps, or unauthorised access to systems if multi-factor authentication is not used.

In the private sector, the same risks apply. For example, if a staff member leaves a work phone in a taxi or hotel room, the consequences can range from inconvenience to data breach, particularly if no backup exists or if the device grants access to sensitive files without additional controls.

The most effective countermeasure is a layered one:

– Encrypted storage.

– Device lockout after inactivity.

– Remote tracking and wipe capability.

– Strict separation between personal and work accounts.

Employees should also know who to notify if a device is lost, and how quickly a compromise can escalate if not handled swiftly.

Oversharing on Social Media Can Be Just as Dangerous

Even without phishing or device theft, sharing too much about travel plans can lead to risk. A well-timed LinkedIn post saying “off to Greece for two weeks” may seem harmless, but it confirms a person’s absence to anyone watching, including cyber criminals looking to exploit out-of-office gaps.

Posting photos of boarding passes, passports or hotel locations on social media can also invite fraud. In recent cases, scammers have used partial passport information combined with leaked credentials to access travel accounts or generate fraudulent documents.

The safest approach is to wait until you’re home before sharing holiday updates publicly, or to keep posts strictly limited to private audiences.

Clear Expectations and Small Changes Make a Big Difference

While cyber threats grow more sophisticated each year, the most effective defences are still relatively simple:

– Don’t overshare in auto-replies.

– Watch for phishing while on the move.

– Keep devices locked down and updated.

– Avoid unnecessary risks abroad.

UK businesses can do more to embed these habits into everyday culture, especially during peak holiday months. Even if a full training session isn’t feasible, a short checklist or pre-departure reminder can reduce exposure significantly.

What Does This Mean For Your Business?

The risks outlined here are not theoretical. They reflect common oversights that continue to be exploited by attackers year after year. For UK businesses, especially those with remote or hybrid teams, these issues matter because they affect every department. A single out-of-office reply or a misjudged click while abroad can lead to reputational damage, operational disruption or financial loss.

The increase in phishing attacks during holiday periods shows how cyber criminals adapt their tactics to match human behaviour. The fact that over 85 per cent of cyber incidents reported by UK businesses now involve phishing should act as a clear warning. Routine travel or time off is not a reason to lower defences. In many cases, it is when organisations are most vulnerable.

All this creates a strong case for better awareness, firmer controls around device use while travelling and more consistent defaults for things like out-of-office replies and remote access. These measures are not expensive. In most cases, they come down to clear expectations, simple communications and a few minutes of preparation that can prevent much bigger problems later.

For individual employees, these risks are not always obvious, particularly for those in non-technical roles. That is why basic guidance on travel-related security should be part of the normal rhythm of work. Whether someone is attending an overseas meeting or switching off for a well-earned break, the same principles apply.

This also matters for HR, compliance and communications teams. The way cover is arranged, the wording of public messages and the tone of internal guidance all play a part in how securely staff behave while away. Responsibility for this does not sit with IT alone.

In the end, protecting an organisation during staff holidays is not about large-scale policy overhauls. It is about recognising that certain periods carry higher risk and planning accordingly. When simple habits like cautious messaging, phishing awareness and secure device use are embedded into daily working culture, the chances of a successful attack drop significantly. Also, in a landscape where cyber criminals only need one opening, those habits are what keep your business protected.