10 Cyber Security Mistakes Companies Make (and How to Fix Them)

The easiest way for a cyber criminal to get access to your business is via a convenient doorway you’ve left open for them. Cyber security mistakes are the most frequent cause of these open doors, leaving your business vulnerable to ransomware, malware and phishing attacks. If you aren’t protected, you could end up losing significant time and money as a result of a cyber attack.

Why Businesses Continue to Fall Victim to Cyber Attacks

Not creating proper cyber security processes is very rarely an informed decision that companies make. Instead, security falls by the wayside while you are busy with other things, leaving you at risk of serious cyber threats. This includes neglecting staff training, which remains one of the most significant risks to your business.

Human error and lack of awareness account for up to 95% of all breaches. That’s just the first step in a chain of potential failures. If you don’t have cyber security systems in place to capture successful phishing and ransomware attempts caused by human error, you also don’t have a second line of defence to make up for the first.

Many businesses underestimate their risk, which is exactly what cyber criminals want. Cyber attacks target businesses indiscriminately, searching for any sign of weakness that presents an easy opportunity. If you have cyber security issues and your process isn’t up to standard, you’ll likely experience a successful cyber attack sooner rather than later.

If you’re one of the 43% of businesses that don’t have a cyber security strategy in place, according to the government’s 2025 survey, these are the mistakes you might be making that leave your business at risk of attacks:

1. Using Weak or Reused Passwords

Weak and reused passwords are one of the leading causes of cyber security breaches. Many employees will use passwords that are easily compromised by the credential-stuffing software cyber criminals use. The same password is also often used across several different applications, further increasing risk.

Some of the ways you can combat weak passwords include:

• Using a secure password manager
• Creating unique passwords for every application
• Implementing password policies that employees should follow

2. Not Enabling Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)

Multi-factor authentication is a highly effective way to provide a second layer of protection for your business, even if a password is compromised. MFA can be used to improve defence on a range of applications, including emails and financial software, two key targets for cyber criminals. Common types of MFA include SMS or email codes, biometric verification such as fingerprints, and physical hardware tokens that generate unique codes.

Implementing these practices can help to make MFA effective across your organisation:

• Enabling MFA for all critical systems
• Ensuring MFA is used for email and cloud systems
• Reviewing and monitoring access controls

3. Failing to Train Employees

Expecting employees to understand cyber security without providing thorough training leaves your business vulnerable. Phishing attacks are increasingly sophisticated with the implementation of AI, making emails, texts and phone calls incredibly convincing for employees without cyber security awareness training.

Educating your employees is the best way to prevent the risk of cyber attacks. You can do the following to achieve this:

• Implement regular security awareness training
• Test employee knowledge with regular phishing simulations
• Provide ongoing education and extra support where needed

4. Ignoring Software Updates and Patches

Ignoring operating system updates and software patches is commonplace in many businesses. Despite the widespread news reporting on WannaCry in 2017, where a Windows OS exploit that was already patched allowed ransomware access to 300,000 unpatched computers, many companies still do not take updates seriously.

Cyber Essentials states that all critical updates must be applied within 14 days to be eligible for certification. To meet this requirement, you can:

• Establish processes to manage patches
• Automate updates where possible
• Regularly review software to ensure it is up-to-date and developer-supported

5. Not Having a Backup Strategy

A backup strategy is an essential method to ensure business continuity in the event of a successful cyber attack. Ensuring all essential business data is also stored off-site and completely disconnected from your existing network is vital to prevent data loss and recovery challenges resulting from malware or ransomware attacks.

Some of the steps you can follow to implement a backup strategy include:

• Following the 3-2-1 rule – keep three copies of data on two types of media with one stored off-site
• Test your backups regularly to ensure they are still functional and up-to-date
• Store your backups securely with external drives or vetted cloud services

6. Giving Employees Excessive Access

Providing employees with too much access to systems they don’t require can create serious security risks for your business. Excessive permissions in applications and software are common where you don’t have robust administrator controls. In addition to making the potential outcomes of a cyber attack worse if accounts are compromised, too much access also increases the risk of insider threats from current employees.

Here are the fixes you can put in place to resolve excessive access:

• Apply least-privilege principles, so each user has exactly what they need to function in their role and nothing further
• Review permissions regularly
• Remove unused accounts, such as when employees leave your business

7. Failing to Secure Remote Workers

Remote and hybrid working is increasingly popular for workplaces, allowing employees to work from home. While there are many benefits to this way of working, there are also challenges businesses face. If devices are not secured correctly and employees work from coffee shops or other places with public Wi-Fi, this could compromise your entire network and leave you open to cyber attacks.

To prevent cyber risks caused by remote working, you should consider the following:

• A system to monitor and manage devices and policies for best practice
• Implementing a VPN to create a secure environment for all workers
• Endpoint protection to detect unauthorised or suspicious access from remote devices

8. Assuming Antivirus Alone Is Enough

Antivirus is a good foundation for your cyber security strategy, but it definitely isn’t where you should stop if you want to protect your business. Antivirus software works by stopping specific known types of malware, but this system can easily be bypassed by modern cyber attacks. Layered security is a must to ensure your business is protected from all angles.

Some of the methods you can use to protect your business beyond antivirus include:

• Endpoint detection and response for all devices
• Active monitoring for threats to provide 24/7 protection
• Regularly evaluating your systems to determine if upgrades are needed

9. Not Conducting Regular Security Assessments

Security assessments uncover vulnerabilities and blind spots in your cyber security for your business that could easily be exploited if they were discovered by cyber criminals. Assessments also ensure your full compliance with the required standards for your business, including GDPR and Cyber Essentials.

You should regularly commit to the following to ensure thorough protection:

• Vulnerability assessments
• Security reviews
• Cyber Essentials preparation and implementation

10. Treating Cyber Security as an IT Problem Only

In many businesses, cyber security is seen as something that is an IT concern, rather than a whole-business issue. In reality, everyone in your business must be aware of cyber security risks and do their part in protecting your business. This can be achieved through leadership responsibility and creating a security-first culture.

These steps will help businesses to make cyber security into a whole-company concern:

• Make cyber security an integral part of your company culture
• Ensure executives are involved and informed
• Create clear security policies for employees to follow

How Cyber Essentials Helps Reduce These Risks

Cyber Essentials is a government-backed scheme that aims to protect your business against common cyber threats through self-assessment. It is considered the minimum standard of security that the UK Government recommends for all businesses, regardless of size. Working with an external company that can help you comply with Cyber Essentials to achieve certification is an ideal way to reduce risk.

Cyber Essentials includes the following:

• Access control
• Secure configuration
• Security updates
• Malware protection
• Firewalls

Cyber Essentials Plus is an enhanced version of the scheme that includes an independent audit, providing a higher level of verified protection.

Looking To Improve Your Business's Cyber Security? Contact Our Experts Today

Improving your cyber security helps to protect your business against continuously evolving, aggressive cyber threats. Our team at Technical Drive can support you with expert cyber security services, from threat detection and response to security awareness training and Cyber Essentials preparation.

Contact our experts today by calling our team on 01527 880088, or email us at
hello@technicaldrive.co.uk. Get in touch to find out how we can strengthen your cyber security.