7 Ways to Close the Security Gaps Attackers Look for First
Every organization, whatever its size, faces the same core cyber risks.
Photo via Getty Images
Every organization, whatever its size, faces the same core cyber risks. Use these seven steps to check where you stand today and fix the gaps attackers look for first.
Step 1: Treat Passwords as Your First Line of Defense
Deploy a reputable password manager across your organization so generating and storing complex, unique passwords become simple. Then layer multi-factor authentication (MFA), ideally with phishing-resistant options such as security keys or passkeys, on every account that supports it. According to Microsoft security research, MFA can block more than 99.9% of automated account compromise attacks.
Step 2: Keep Your Software Updated
A Ponemon Institute study conducted for ServiceNow found that 60% of breaches were linked to a vulnerability where a patch was available but not applied. Attackers scan for unpatched systems. Enable automatic updates on your operating systems and critical applications. Schedule a monthly audit for hardware and software that is unable to automatically update.
Photo via Getty Images
Step 3: Secure Your Network Like Your Business Depends on It
Consumer-grade routers aren’t adequate for commercial operations. Business-grade equipment delivers the critical controls home routers lack: isolated guest VLANs, traffic inspection, WPA3 encryption, and the capability to quarantine devices behaving anomalously. Segmenting your operational tools and POS systems away from guest Wi-Fi keeps an intruder on one network from reaching the other.
Step 4: Back Up Everything
The 3-2-1 backup rule recommended by CISA remains the baseline: three copies of your data, across two different media types, with one copy stored offsite. Keeping that offsite copy in a tamper-resistant cloud repository adds ransomware protection. The step many organizations skip is the test restore. A backup that has never been restored from is a backup you can’t rely on.
Photo via Getty Images
Step 5: Train Your Staff
Security awareness training doesn’t require a large budget. In phishing assessments conducted by CISA, 8 out of 10 organizations had at least one employee fall for a simulated phishing email, and only 13% of targeted employees reported the attempt. Regular micro-training covering social engineering threats, combined with simulated phishing drills, delivers measurable risk reduction for minimal investment.
Step 6: Enforce Least-Privilege Access Across the Board
Conduct an access audit twice a year. Grant employees access only to the files and platforms necessary for their daily roles, and revoke access for departing staff or contractors the day they leave. Old credentials and over-provisioned privileges can turn routine account takeovers into catastrophic breaches.
Photo via Getty Images
Step 7: Build an Incident Response Plan Before You Need One
Many organizations discover the cost of missing an incident response plan in the middle of a live breach. A good plan does not require dozens of pages. It only needs to answer five core operational questions: Who directs the response? Who gets notified internally within the first 60 minutes? Which systems get isolated immediately? Who is our incident response partner? And what are our legal notification obligations if regulated data is touched?
©2026 Charter Communications, all rights reserved.
