January feels like a long time ago.
Since then, your business has likely hired new employees, adopted new software, onboarded vendors, expanded operations, or embraced new ways of working. Growth is exciting, but it also introduces risks that often go unnoticed.
Many cybersecurity issues don’t appear overnight. They develop gradually as businesses evolve. New employees receive access to systems, software gets added without review, vendors gain access to data, and small IT issues get pushed down the priority list.
That’s why the middle of the year is the perfect time for a technology and cybersecurity checkup.
Here are six common IT and cybersecurity risks that growing businesses often overlook—and the questions you should ask to determine whether your organization is exposed.
1. Employees May Have More Access Than They Need
As businesses grow, new employees need access to email, file storage, business applications, CRM platforms, communication tools, and financial systems.
When onboarding happens quickly, it’s often easier to grant broad access and revisit permissions later.
Unfortunately, “later” rarely happens.
Over time, employees may accumulate access to systems and data they no longer need, increasing both security and compliance risks.
Ask Yourself:
Do employees only have access to the systems and data necessary for their roles?
2. Former Employee Accounts May Still Be Active
Offboarding employees involves many moving parts.
Managers focus on transferring responsibilities, completing projects, and maintaining business continuity. Meanwhile, technology access is sometimes overlooked.
Ask Yourself:
Have all former employee accounts been fully disabled and removed?
3. New Software May Have Been Added Without a Security Review
Every business wants tools that improve efficiency.
The problem is that many tools are implemented before anyone evaluates their security implications.
This is commonly referred to as “shadow IT.”
Ask Yourself:
Do you know where your business data is stored and which applications have access to it?
4. Your Backups Haven’t Been Tested Recently
Most businesses believe their backups are working.
However, many discover problems only when they need to restore data.
As organizations grow, backup requirements change. New systems, new applications, and additional data can create coverage gaps.
A backup is only valuable if it can be restored successfully.
Ask Yourself:
When was the last time your backup recovery process was tested?
5. New Vendors May Introduce Hidden Security Risks
Businesses frequently add vendors to improve operations.
Whether it’s a software provider, cloud platform, consultant, or managed service provider, every third-party relationship introduces potential risk.
Ask Yourself:
Do you understand what access your vendors have and how they protect your data?
6. Small IT Issues Have Been Building Up
Every business has an IT to-do list.
Individually, these issues may seem minor. However, when left unaddressed for months, they can create significant operational and cybersecurity risks.
What starts as a small inconvenience can eventually lead to security vulnerabilities, system performance issues, compliance concerns, or costly downtime.
The longer these issues remain unresolved, the more difficult and expensive they become to fix.
Ask Yourself:
What IT issues has your business been putting off for months—and what would happen if they caused a problem tomorrow?
Schedule a discovery call today and let us be your second set of eyes.