The Top 10 Cybersecurity Mistakes  we see small Businesses Make as a Managed IT Provider

With all the day-to-day hustle and bustle that comes with running a small business, it can be easy to let good cybersecurity practices fall to the wayside. Afterall, who wants to spend an afternoon checking through user access controls when you could be securing a new client, developing a new brand strategy, or planning for expansion?

While cybersecurity might not seem like one of the most pressing things to get right on your to-do list, the truth is that it could be the difference between having a business or not. According to the  VikingCloud 2025 SMB Threat Landscape Report, 1 in 5 SMEs will close their doors for good after a successful cyberattack. Even if you are one of the lucky ones to pull through – it could take months or even years to recover financially.

Now, we aren’t pulling out scary statistics like this to cause panic – we’d like to encourage businesses like yours to give their cybersecurity procedures they deserve. With a little implementation of good habits and culture-shifting to a shared responsibility, you can drastically improve your defenses against cybercriminals and bad actors.

In this article, we’ll go through the top 10 cybersecurity mistakes we see small businesses make as a Managed IT Provider, the solutions that keep you protected and the impact they have.

10. Weak or Reused Passwords

Starting out with one everyone should know by now: weak and reused passwords are a serious weak point in your cybersecurity posture. Easily guessed passwords aren’t typically manually guessed but cracked with ‘brute force attacks’ – using software to rapid-fire guesses at millions of attempts per second.  Standard words, phrases and names can be cracked within seconds, whereas unique string of 10 (for example) numbers, upper- and lower-case letters, and symbols would take 1000 years, according to Hive Systems 2025 report { https://www.hivesystems.com/blog/are-your-passwords-in-the-green}.

Now for password reuse. If just one of your accounts is compromised, every other account using the same password could be at risk too. Bank details, sensitive business data, personal information and more can all be exposed from a single breach.

That’s why it’s so important to use a unique password for every account, ideally combining letters, numbers and symbols. At Flyford Connect, we deploy Keeper Password Manager for our clients – a secure password management platform that generates and stores strong, randomised passwords to help keep accounts protected.

At the very least, we recommend ensuring every account has a different password and avoiding storing them anywhere they could be easily accessed by others.

9. No Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)

Building on good password hygiene, another common mistake we see is businesses choosing not to enable multi-factor authentication (MFA). Often viewed as an unnecessary extra step, MFA actually provides one of the most effective layers of protection against unauthorised access.

By requiring a second form of verification – such as a code sent to a trusted device – MFA can prevent hackers from accessing accounts, even if a password has already been compromised. This added layer of security can give your business valuable time to lock down accounts, reset passwords and stop a breach from escalating.

Many modern platforms now make MFA mandatory for this very reason. At Flyford Connect, we implement Keeper as we mentioned. It includes built-in MFA functionality, helping users stay secure without adding unnecessary complexity to the login process.

8. Ignoring Software Updates

We know better than anyone: software updates can be a pain. Disruptive, time-consuming, and almost always at an inconvenient time… but crucial in keeping your business’ IT infrastructure secure.  Many of these software updates include security patches; leaving them uninstalled allows hackers to exploit the vulnerabilities still left open. We recommend scheduling updates over lunch breaks or at the end of the workday as soon as they become available to avoid disruption.

7. Using Unsecured Personal Devices

When small businesses have staff that work from home, it seems like the logical and cost-effective thing to allow staff to use their own devices to log in to work systems to accommodate this. However, this exposes your network to cyber threats, with these personal devices lacking business grade security or monitoring tools.

If you provide your staff with laptops instead of desktops, this allows workers the freedom for remote options without the risk of exposing your network with personal devices. And with Flyford’s managed IT services, we can manage all work devices with centralised security and VPN management, meaning staff can work from anywhere, remote into your secure network, and be equally protected as they would be in the office.

6. Overly Broad User Access

Does your small business have user access controls in place? Many SMEs don’t – whether that’s because it seems like the best way to allow workers to get the information, they need to complete task, or if it’s simply an afterthought, it’s an easy one to miss. If an account with full access to all your sensitive information is compromised, the hacker will have the ability to run freely through your systems – and the more accounts that have full access to your systems, the higher the risk.

We recommend using conditional access and principle of least privilege policies – essentially giving each user only the minimum access rights they need to complete their tasks. Looking for an IT partner to manage this? We can establish and manage your users access to ensure that your teams are granted access to files and systems only when they need them. Get in touch with us to find out how we can help your business [link]

5. Lack of Cybersecurity Policies

Coming in at number 5 is a lack of cybersecurity policies. Many small businesses will have at least some of the cybersecurity measures in place that are featured in this article. However, without concrete policies and procedures that are enforced by team leaders (such as remote working guidelines, device usage, password rules etc.), individuals are left to their own judgment, leading to inconsistency and vulnerabilities even with some measures in place. We recommend working with an IT provider to ensure policies are up to best practice and enforced alongside your operations team.

4. No Incident Response Plan

It’s easy to think of cybersecurity in preventative terms – but what will your business do when something does go wrong? If your business is impacted by a breach, it’s critical that everyone involves knows who is responsible for reporting, resolving, who needs to be informed, and how to manage damage control. Without a plan in place, the situation can devolve into chaos, with more being lost than is needed.

3. No Reliable Data Backups

When Ransomware attacks occur, your business will be locked out of your systems through encryption malware typically downloaded from a phishing attack. Cybercriminals will then demand money from your business in exchange for an encryption key (whether they give you the key after you’ve paid is up to chance). However, if you have secure, offsite backups in place, your systems can be resolved without negotiation with criminals or starting from scratch. Make sure your backups are tested and updated, with multiple versions stored to avoid malicious code.

2. Poor or No Staff Awareness Training

Most successful cyber-attacks begin with human error. 95% of them, to be exact (at least according to Info security Magazine https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/data-breaches-human-error/)). Your people are your first line of defence; and if they lower the proverbial drawbridge for attackers, no amount of cybersecurity measures will stop them. It’s vital that your people are well versed in how to spot phishing attempts and bad actors – which is why we offer interactive and regular phishing simulation training. For more info get in touch!

1. Assuming You’re Too Small to Be a Target

Many SMEs are led into a false sense of security that they won’t be subject to a cyber-attack because they aren’t a well-known corporation. In reality however, targets aren’t hand-picked, attacks are automated. Cybercriminals use the likes of AI, email lists, and programming to target thousands of businesses at once.  According to Verizon’s 2021 Data Breach Investigations Report, 43% of all cyber breaches impacted SMEs.

So, what can you do to stay protected? Simply put, taking your cybersecurity posture seriously. Make the time take into account all the above tips we’ve listed in this article, whether you’re working with a managed IT provider like Flyford, running it yourself, or hiring an IT manager to implement these measures.

Don’t know where to begin? For a free audit and cyber-security strategy, get in touch with us today.

Most breaches don’t happen because of sophisticated hacking; they happen because of simple, preventable mistakes.

For small businesses, getting the basics right: passwords, updates, backups, and awareness – prevents the majority of attacks.

And if you’re looking for help with a long-term cybersecurity strategy that scales as you grow, completely managed by friendly experts, get in touch with Flyford Connect.