Discover the common cybersecurity mistakes businesses make and how to avoid them.
Cybersecurity can sometimes feel like something that only matters when something goes wrong. But after working with businesses for over 3 decades, we've seen first-hand that the biggest cybersecurity problems often aren't caused by one sophisticated attack. They're caused by small gaps, overlooked settings and assumptions that leave businesses more exposed than they realise.
We've gathered some of the cybersecurity mistakes that we see businesses making again and again and what you can do about them.
Microsoft 365 has some excellent built-in security features, but simply having Microsoft 365 doesn't mean your business is fully protected.
Security settings need to be configured correctly, accounts need to be monitored and additional protections may be needed depending on your organisation and the data you hold.
It's also important to remember that Microsoft provides the platform, but your business is still responsible for securing how it's used.
Multi-factor authentication (MFA) is one of the simplest ways to add another layer of protection to your accounts, yet we still see businesses where it's missing from important systems.
MFA shouldn't just be enabled for your emails. Think about your Microsoft 365 accounts, VPNs, remote access, administrator accounts, cloud services and other systems containing sensitive information.
Even if an attacker manages to obtain a password, MFA can make it much harder for them to access the account.
Having a backup is one thing. Knowing that you can actually recover from it is another. Backups should be monitored and tested regularly to make sure they're working as expected. They also need to be appropriately protected from the threats they're designed to help you recover from.
Ask yourself:
If we lost our systems tomorrow, how quickly could we realistically get back up and running?
If you're not sure, then your backup strategy probably needs a closer look.
People leave businesses. Devices get replaced. Suppliers change. Systems get forgotten.
But old accounts, devices and access permissions can remain active long after they're needed.
Regularly reviewing who has access to what, removing accounts that are no longer required and securely managing old devices can significantly reduce unnecessary risk.
A good offboarding process is just as important as a good onboarding process.
It's easy to think that your business is too small to be interesting to a cyber criminal. Unfortunately, that's not true. Automated attacks can scan thousands of organisations looking for vulnerabilities, while phishing and credential theft can be used against businesses of any size.
Being a small or medium-sized business doesn't make you invisible. In many cases, it means you need to be particularly conscious of having the right protections in place.
Your people are an important part of your cybersecurity, but expecting employees to identify every malicious email isn't a security strategy on its own.
Phishing attacks are becoming increasingly convincing, and attackers can use information available online to make messages appear more legitimate. Training and awareness are important, but they should sit alongside technical controls such as MFA, email security, endpoint protection and monitoring.
The goal shouldn't be to create employees who never make mistakes. It should be to make sure one mistake doesn't become a major incident.
One of the biggest mistakes businesses can make is preparing for prevention but not for recovery.
What happens if someone clicks a malicious link? Who needs to know? Who has authority to shut down systems? How will you communicate with employees? How will you contact customers? When do you involve your IT provider?
Trying to work all of this out during an incident is not the time to start. An incident response plan gives your team a clear process to follow when the pressure is on.
Your business might have strong security, but what about the companies and services you rely on?
Suppliers, software providers, cloud platforms and other third parties can all introduce additional risks. That doesn't mean you need to avoid using external suppliers. It means understanding what access they have, what information they handle and what security measures they have in place.
IT teams play a huge role in protecting a business, but cybersecurity involves the whole organisation.
Finance teams need to understand payment fraud. HR needs secure processes for employee information. Managers need to understand the risks of approving unusual requests. Employees need to know how to report something suspicious.
Cybersecurity works best when everyone understands their role.
Perhaps the biggest mistake of all is assuming that cybersecurity can wait until there's a problem.
The cost of an incident isn't just the cost of fixing the technology. Downtime, lost productivity, reputational damage, lost data and disruption to customers can all have a significant impact on a business.
Good cybersecurity isn't about assuming you'll never be attacked. It's about making your business harder to attack, spotting problems quickly and being prepared to respond when something does happen.
You don't need to fix everything overnight.
Start with the fundamentals:
Cybersecurity isn't a one-off project. Threats change, businesses change and technology changes, so your approach needs to evolve too.
The good news is that you don't need to be perfect. You just need to know where your risks are and take steps to reduce them.
If you're not sure where your business currently stands, a cybersecurity review can help identify the gaps and give you a clearer picture of where to focus your efforts. That's where we come in. Get in touch with our team to discuss your cyber needs today.
