A manufacturing CEO once told me, “We are too small for cybercriminals to notice.” He had forgotten that cybercrime is always a matter of when. And indeed, about three months later, ransomware locked up his factory systems. Production halted. Clients sued. His “small” business lost Ugx. 139 million in two weeks.
He called our forensics institute in panic. Not for help, for survival.
The hackers did not break in. They walked in. Through a forgotten server with a default password, “admin123.”
Here is the real threat: most leaders believe cybersecurity is a technical issue. It is not. It is a leadership failure.
Your business is not hacked because attackers are smart. It is hacked because leaders ignore the basics.
I worked with a bank where we discovered over 900 dormant admin accounts. Some belonged to staff who had died. The CEO thought they had “a strong cyber team.” What they had was a ticking time bomb.
“Your business will be hacked. The question is when and how prepared you will be when it happens.”
So what are the threats you must face head-on?
- One, ransomware, is now weaponized with AI.
- Two, business email compromise, costs companies more than any other fraud.
- Three, insider threats, the silent killers.
- Fourth, third-party risk, because your vendor’s breach is now your headline.
But the deadliest? Your own leadership blind spots.
Here is your leadership tool:
The 90-Day Cyber Drill
- Sit with your CIO. Identify your top 10 digital assets.
- Review access. Who has it? Why? Is it logged?
- Simulate a breach. What would you do in the first 3 hours?
- Kill dormant accounts. Kill weak passwords. Kill complacency.
Your business will be hacked. The question is when and how prepared you will be when it happens
