Stop Chasing Fancy Threats—Fix Your Sh*t First
- Esteffan Coetzee
- 4 minutes ago
- 2 min read
AI-generated phishing.
Deepfake scams.
Evil twin Wi-Fi.
Sounds terrifying, right?
Futuristic. High-tech. The stuff of Black Mirror episodes and cybersecurity keynote speeches.
And a great excuse to completely ignore the basics.
While everyone’s busy panicking about AI threats that might happen, attackers are still winning with the oldest tricks in the book.
Here’s what still works beautifully for them:
Weak, recycled passwords
No multi-factor authentication
Clicking dodgy links without thinking
Logging into personal Gmail on company devices
Downloading crap because “it looked like an invoice”
Ignoring updates because they’re “inconvenient”
You don’t need a hoodie-wearing hacker hunched over a laptop to break into your company.
You’ll do the job just fine by skipping basic security hygiene.
Cybersecurity isn’t complex. We just pretend it is.
Want to reduce your risk by a lot (like, 80%-ish)?
Cool. Here’s what to do:
Train your people. (Because the human firewall is still your first line of defence—and right now, it’s got holes.)
Use MFA. (Yes, it’s annoying. Also, yes, it works.)
Back up your data. (Because ransomware doesn’t come with an “undo” button.)
Update your software. (Old software is an open invitation to cyber criminals.)
Simple? Yes.
Sexy? No.
Effective? Absolutely.
But let’s be honest...
Too many companies still act like one awareness poster in the kitchen will protect them.
Karen in Finance isn’t spotting a phishing email after attending a single “Don’t Click Dodgy Links” lunch-and-learn from 2021.
And no, your IT guy installing antivirus doesn’t count as a cybersecurity strategy.
Most attacks don’t get in because the threat is advanced. They get in because your defence is crap.
Here’s the real threat:
Your team thinks, “It won’t happen to us.”
Your board thinks security is “IT’s problem.”
Your employees think they’re not a target.
Cybersecurity isn’t about chasing the newest buzzword. It’s about fixing the basic stuff you’ve been ignoring.
Want to build a culture that’s actually secure?
Start by taking this stuff seriously. Then train your people to do the same.