Why After-Hours Cyberattacks Are Hitting Veterinary Practices Harder Than Ever
Posted by Computer Solutions on February 2, 2026 When veterinary clinics lock up for the night, most teams assume their
Learn morePosted by Computer Solutions on February 2, 2026
When veterinary clinics lock up for the night, most teams assume their systems are safe until morning. But cybercriminals know better.
Over the past year, a growing number of ransomware gangs have shifted their tactics, launching attacks during the hours when no one’s watching. These so-called after-hours cyberattacks take advantage of the natural gap in human oversight, especially in industries like veterinary care, where IT teams may not work overnight and emergency staff are focused on patients, not infrastructure.
This tactic isn’t new, but it’s becoming more common and more effective.
Why Do Hackers Strike After Hours?
Ransomware is a business. And like any savvy operation, attackers look for the easiest way to get the biggest return. That’s why nighttime attacks are so dangerous.
When clinics close for the day, several vulnerabilities become more pronounced:
- No one actively monitors for suspicious behavior
- Delayed alerting from antivirus or endpoint systems
- Longer response time from external IT providers
- Backup jobs may be paused or limited overnight
- Fewer people onsite means fewer eyes to catch physical device issues
Cybercriminals have learned to strike when the defenders are asleep (literally).
Once inside, they move quickly. In some cases, the entire attack from entry to encryption takes just a few hours. By the time your team returns in the morning, it’s too late.
Why Veterinary Clinics Are a Target
Veterinary practices, especially emergency clinics and small private hospitals, make appealing targets for these after-hours cyberattacks.
Why?
- Many rely on a small or outsourced IT provider that may not offer 24/7 monitoring
- They store sensitive client, patient, and financial data
- Their infrastructure often includes legacy systems that are harder to protect
- They run on tight schedules, making downtime extremely disruptive
Ransomware gangs know that a clinic with patients waiting at 8 a.m. can’t afford to spend all day restoring systems. That urgency makes practices more likely to pay or scramble without a proper recovery plan.
What Happens During an After-Hours Attack?
Here’s how it often plays out:
- Initial Access – The attacker uses a phishing email, stolen credentials, or vulnerable remote access to enter the network.
- Reconnaissance – They quietly scan your environment, identify file shares, and look for backup systems.
- Privilege Escalation – Using built-in tools (like PowerShell), they gain more control.
- Deployment – Encryption kicks in rapidly, locking systems and displaying a ransom demand.
- Impact – You return in the morning to find your records, emails, and PIMS inaccessible.
This isn’t just a theoretical scenario. We’ve seen real-world veterinary practices wake up to this exact situation.
How to Protect Your Clinic Overnight
Here’s what you can do now to reduce your risk of after-hours cyberattacks:
- Use 24/7 monitoring and MDR services. Human-backed detection is far more effective than alerts alone.
- Apply strict remote access controls. Only allow secure VPN connections with multi-factor authentication.
- Harden your backup strategy. Use immutable backups that can’t be deleted or encrypted by ransomware.
- Train your staff. Many attacks still begin with phishing. Make awareness part of onboarding.
- Check your alert response. If your EDR tool triggers a warning at 2 a.m., who sees it? Who acts?
Cybersecurity isn’t just a business-hours concern. If no one is watching after 5 p.m., you’ve already left the door open.
How We Help Clinics Stay Protected 24/7
At Computer Solutions, we work with veterinary practices across the United States to implement real-time protection and response tools that work around the clock. That includes:
- Managed Detection & Response (MDR)
- Endpoint monitoring and remediation
- 24/7 alerting tied directly to our support team
- Regular testing to simulate off-hours attacks
Your clinic doesn’t need a full-time IT department to stay secure, it just needs a partner who doesn’t clock out.
Don’t Let the Next Attack Happen Overnight
If your cybersecurity plan ends when the lights go off, it’s time to rethink it.
Call 609.514.0100 or visit welinku.com to schedule a threat-readiness review to see how your practice would hold up against after-hours cyberattacks.
Let’s make sure your clinic is protected morning, noon, and yes, even at midnight.
Want to learn more about veterinary IT and cybersecurity? Check out last week’s post here and subscribe or follow along with our LinkedIn newsletter here!
