When you turn on an out-of-office reply before a holiday break, you’re probably thinking about convenience. You want customers, vendors, and coworkers to know that you’re away and when they can expect a response.
But there’s another side to automatic replies that businesses often overlook.
An out-of-office email can give cybercriminals useful information about your company, including who is away, when they will return, who handles their responsibilities, and sometimes even how your organization operates.
That doesn’t mean you should stop using out-of-office messages. It means you should be more careful about what information you include.
What Information Can an Out-of-Office Email Reveal?
A simple automatic reply can reveal more than you might expect.
For example, an employee might write:
"I'm out of the office from December 20 through January 3. For invoices and payments, please contact Sarah in Accounting at sarah@company.com. For urgent matters, contact our CFO, John Smith, at 305-555-1234."
It sounds helpful.
But to an attacker, it provides several useful details.
They now know:
- The employee is unavailable
- The exact dates they are away
- Who handles financial matters
- Another employee's name and email address
- Who may have authority to approve payments
- A phone number associated with the company
- That the business may have reduced staffing during that period
That information can be used to make a phishing or business email compromise attempt much more convincing.
1. Out-of-Office Replies Can Confirm Who Is Away
One of the biggest advantages for an attacker is knowing that a specific employee is unavailable.
Imagine someone is targeting your accounting department.
They send an email pretending to be a vendor and receive an automatic response saying the employee is out until January 5.
Now the attacker knows that the person who normally handles the request cannot easily verify it.
They may then contact another employee and create a sense of urgency.
This type of social engineering is particularly dangerous when the request involves money, sensitive information, password changes, or access to company accounts.
2. They Can Reveal Internal Contacts and Responsibilities
Employees sometimes include the names and contact information of coworkers in their automatic replies.
That may seem useful, but it can give attackers a clearer picture of your organization.
For example, knowing who works in accounting, HR, IT, or management can help an attacker create a more believable phishing email.
They may impersonate an executive, pretend to be a vendor, or reference a specific employee who is actually away.
The more an attacker knows about your organization, the easier it can be to make a fraudulent message look legitimate.
3. They Can Make Executive Impersonation More Convincing
Business email compromise is a serious concern for businesses of all sizes.
In an executive impersonation scam, an attacker may pretend to be the CEO, owner, manager, or another decision-maker and ask an employee to transfer money, purchase gift cards, change account information, or send sensitive documents.
An out-of-office message can make these attacks easier to plan.
If an attacker knows that a company executive is away, they can use that information to create a believable scenario.
For example, an employee may receive a message that appears to come from an executive saying they need something handled urgently while they are traveling.
The employee may be less likely to verify the request because they already know the executive is unavailable.
4. Holiday Staffing Can Make Phishing Attacks Harder to Catch
The holidays can change the way a business normally operates.
Employees take vacations. Managers may be unavailable. IT teams may have reduced staffing. Financial approvals can take longer.
That can create an environment where suspicious activity takes longer to notice.
An employee might receive a phishing email but wait several days before reporting it. A security alert may not be reviewed immediately. Someone may approve a request because the person who normally verifies it is out of the office.
This is why businesses should have a clear plan for managed IT support and security monitoring before employees start taking time off.
How to Write a Safer Out-of-Office Message
You don't need to stop using automatic replies.
Instead, keep the message simple and avoid unnecessary information.
A safer version might say:
"Thank you for your email. I am currently out of the office and will respond when I return. For urgent assistance, please contact our main office."
That's usually enough.
You don't necessarily need to provide your exact travel dates, personal phone number, internal contacts, or detailed job responsibilities.
The less information you automatically provide, the less information an attacker has to work with.
What Should You Avoid Including?
When creating an out-of-office message, think twice before including:
- Exact vacation or travel dates
- Personal phone numbers
- Detailed job responsibilities
- Internal employee names and email addresses
- Information about who approves payments
- Details about company schedules
- Internal systems or processes
- Statements that suggest the office is completely unattended
Not every piece of information is dangerous on its own. The concern is what an attacker can learn by combining several small details.
5 Ways to Improve Your Business Email Security During the Holidays
Out-of-office messages are only one part of the bigger picture. Businesses should also use the holiday season as an opportunity to review their overall email security.
Use Multi-Factor Authentication
Multi-factor authentication, commonly called MFA, adds another layer of protection to email accounts.
Even if an attacker manages to obtain an employee's password, MFA can make it significantly harder for them to access the account.
MFA should be enabled for business email, cloud applications, administrative accounts, and other systems containing sensitive information.
Train Employees to Recognize Phishing
Technology can block many threats, but employees still play an important role in cybersecurity.
Before the holidays, remind employees to be cautious with unexpected requests involving:
- Payments
- Gift cards
- Password resets
- Account changes
- Wire transfers
- Sensitive documents
- Unexpected attachments
- Urgent requests from executives
Most importantly, employees should know how to verify unusual requests using a trusted communication method.
Have a Verification Process for Financial Requests
Your business should never rely solely on email for important financial decisions.
Create a process that requires employees to verify payment changes, wire transfers, and other high-risk requests.
For example, a payment request that appears to come from an executive could be verified through a phone call to a known business number.
This simple step can prevent a costly mistake.
Keep Email Security Tools Updated
Make sure your business has appropriate email filtering, spam protection, phishing detection, and security alerts in place.
Your managed IT services provider can also review your security configuration and help identify gaps before your team goes on holiday.
Make Sure Someone Is Monitoring Security Alerts
Reduced staffing doesn't mean cyber threats stop.
Before the holiday period begins, determine who is responsible for responding to security alerts, suspicious activity, and potential incidents.
Your business should know what happens if an employee reports a phishing email at 8 p.m. on a holiday weekend.
Having a plan before something happens is much easier than trying to create one during an incident.
Should You Stop Using Out-of-Office Messages?
No.
Out-of-office replies are useful and are a normal part of business communication. The goal isn't to eliminate them. It's to avoid giving away more information than necessary.
Keep your message short, avoid sensitive details, and make sure your employees understand why these small details matter.
At the same time, remember that out-of-office messages are only one small part of your company's overall cybersecurity strategy.
Email accounts should be protected with strong authentication, phishing protection, employee training, monitoring, and appropriate security policies.
Protect Your Business From Holiday Email Threats
Cybercriminals don't take the holidays off.
In fact, changes in staffing, slower response times, and increased reliance on email can create opportunities for phishing, social engineering, and business email compromise.
A simple out-of-office message isn't likely to cause a security incident by itself. The real risk comes from the information it can provide when combined with other publicly available details about your business.
If you're not sure whether your company's email environment is properly protected, a professional IT security review can help identify potential weaknesses before they become problems.
If your business needs help with cybersecurity services, managed IT support, or business email security, our team can help you review your current setup and strengthen your protection.
The goal is simple: give your employees time away from work without giving cybercriminals an easy opportunity to take advantage of their absence.
Conclusion
Cybercriminals do not take holidays off. Small changes to how out-of-office messages are handled can significantly reduce risk during one of the most targeted times of the year.
If you want to make sure your email setup is not exposing your business during the holidays, our team can help. Contact us to schedule a quick holiday email security review and protect your business before attackers take advantage of the season.
