Hackers Don’t Work 9 to 5. Does Your Cyber Security?

If a security alert arrives at 11.30 on Friday night, who investigates it?

Your antivirus might block the threat automatically. But if suspicious activity needs a person to review the evidence, someone needs to be available. An unread alert offers little help.

Your team has finished for the week. Your servers, remote access tools and online accounts still operate. If an attacker gains access, waiting until Monday gives them more time to steal information, reach other devices or disrupt your systems.

24/7 managed detection and response gives your business security monitoring and expert investigation outside office hours. Your employees finish work knowing someone continues to review suspicious activity.

Hours matter. In a February 2026 investigation, Huntress found an attacker had reached nine additional devices within eleven hours of gaining access to one organisation. A delay overnight is enough for an incident to grow.

For your business, the consequences extend beyond an infected computer. Losing access to client files means delayed work. An unavailable booking system means missed appointments. Recovering affected devices takes staff away from their usual responsibilities.

The sooner someone investigates, the sooner your business has an opportunity to limit the damage.

At Support Stack, we use Huntress to help protect your business beyond the working day.

Huntress Managed Endpoint Detection and Response, or Managed EDR, monitors activity on computers and servers. Its security analysts investigate suspicious behaviour 24 hours a day, seven days a week, including weekends and bank holidays.

The service works alongside antivirus, helping identify threats which get past automated protection. Analysts review the evidence, assess the threat and determine which activity needs a response. Your team receives expert investigation without hiring employees to cover overnight shifts.

This distinction matters when you compare security services. Monitoring software collects information and generates alerts. A managed service adds people responsible for reviewing those alerts and responding within the agreed scope.

Ask who handles an alert after your office closes. An email sent to an unattended inbox still leaves someone needing to investigate.

Response matters as much as detection. With Managed Response enabled, Huntress takes supported actions against confirmed threats. These include isolating an affected device, stopping malicious processes and removing files used by attackers. Incident reports explain the findings and actions taken. 

For example, isolating an infected computer restricts its network connections. This helps limit an attacker’s access to other devices while the investigation continues. Your support team then uses the incident report to understand the problem and organise further work.

You should understand these arrangements before an incident happens. Agree which actions your provider has permission to take. Confirm who receives urgent notifications and who makes decisions if your usual contact is unavailable.

Before renewing your security service, ask three questions. Who investigates alerts overnight? Which response actions have you authorised? Who receives an urgent call if an incident needs your attention?

Ask for specific answers. “We monitor your systems” leaves several questions unanswered. Confirm the hours of coverage, the devices included and the process for escalating a confirmed threat.

Check your device list too. Include business laptops used at home, office computers and servers. Ask your provider to identify any devices outside your current monitoring. Review the list when employees join, leave or receive replacement equipment.

Keep software updates, multi-factor authentication and tested backups in your security plan. Each serves a different purpose. Updates address known software weaknesses. Multi-factor authentication adds a further sign-in check. Backups support recovery if files become unavailable.

Managed detection and response adds ongoing investigation to those measures. Your business needs a clear process for handling suspicious activity whenever an alert arrives.

Support Stack combines managed security with wider business support, including software updates and data protection. Huntress adds continuous threat detection and response, so security investigations continue after your team leaves. 

Speak to Support Stack about 24/7 cyber security monitoring. Call 0330 0552 771 to discuss your current protection, review your coverage and agree how your business handles threats outside office hours.