What’s Putting Your Business at Risk for Breaches (and How Security Assessments Help)

If you’re wondering, “What’s putting my business at risk for cybersecurity breaches?” you’re already asking the right question. Most small and mid-sized businesses in Texas and Oklahoma aren’t taken down by a single “Hollywood hack.” Instead, they’re exposed every day by a mix of overlooked vulnerabilities, risky employee behavior, and aging technology that was never designed to withstand today’s attacks. This is exactly what an IT security assessment is designed to uncover.

In this article, we’ll walk through the most common things putting your business at risk for cybersecurity breaches and how a comprehensive security assessment from a local partner can find those risks before an attacker does.

1. Common Reasons Businesses Don't See the Real Risk
2. 5 Things Putting Your Business at Risk
   1. Unpatched and Unsupported Systems
   2. Weak Passwords (duh)
   3. Incomplete, Unreliable Backups
   4. Shadow IT
   5. Lack of Continuous Monitoring 
3. What's Actually Included in a Security Assessment (or Should Be)
4. When To Schedule an IT Assessment
5. Let Us Know How We Can Help (Local Assessments are Better!)

Why Businesses Don’t Realize They’re at Risk

Many business owners believe they’re “too small” to be a target. In reality, attackers actively look for smaller organizations with weaker controls, limited IT staff, and outdated systems.

Common Reasons Businesses Don’t See the True Level of Risk:

• False Sense of Security: “We’ve never been breached, so we must be fine.”
• Invisible Vulnerabilities: Misconfigurations, open ports, and old user accounts that no one is actively watching.
• Shadow IT and Cloud Sprawl: Employees spinning up tools and apps without IT oversight.
• Compliance Blind Spots: Confusing or partial understanding of regulations like HIPAA, PCI, or other industry requirements.
  
  

An IT security assessment makes these hidden risks visible.

Top 5 Things Putting Your Business at Risk for Cybersecurity Breaches

Below are the most common cybersecurity risks we see when we perform security assessments for small and mid-sized businesses. Use this as a checklist of “things putting my business at risk for a cybersecurity breach.”

1. Unpatched and Unsupported Systems

Running end-of-life operating systems, outdated servers, or unpatched applications is one of the highest-risk behaviors.

Why it puts your business at risk:

• Attackers actively scan the internet for known vulnerabilities.
• Vendors stop releasing security updates for unsupported software.
• One unpatched device can give an attacker a foothold into your entire network.
  
  

How a security assessment helps:

• Identifies all unsupported or out-of-date systems.
• Highlights critical patches that are missing.
• Prioritizes remediation so IT can focus on the highest-risk assets first.

2. Weak Passwords and Poor Identity Management

If your employees are still using weak or reused passwords, or if you haven’t rolled out multifactor authentication (MFA), your business is at a much higher risk for account takeover.

Common identity risks:

• No MFA on email, VPN, or key business apps.
• Shared logins for critical systems.
• Old employee accounts still active after offboarding.
• Weak or default passwords on firewalls, routers, and Wi-Fi.
  
  

How a security assessment helps: 

• Reviews password policies and MFA coverage.
• Identifies stale accounts and risky access permissions.
• Recommends identity and access management best practices appropriate for your size and industry.

3. Incomplete or Unreliable Backups

Backups are your last line of defense after a cyberattack, but only if they’re frequent, tested, and isolated from production. 

Backup-related risks:

• Backups stored on the same network a ransomware attack can encrypt.
• Backups that haven’t been tested for full restore.
• Critical systems or SaaS apps not included in backup policies.
  
  

How a security assessment helps:

• Reviews your backup and disaster recovery strategy.
• Identifies gaps in backup scope, frequency, and storage.
• Aligns recovery objectives with business requirements, so you know what you can restore and how quickly.

4. Shadow IT and Unmanaged IT

Every laptop, personal phone, or cloud app connected to your data increases your attack surface.

Risks from unmanaged or “shadow IT”:

• Personal devices accessing business email and files without proper security controls.
• Employees using basic file sharing or messaging apps.
• Unknown SaaS apps storing business data without oversight.
  
  

How a security assessment helps:

• Discovers devices and applications connecting to your environment.
• Identifies unmanaged endpoints and unsanctioned cloud tools.
• Recommends policies and tools for mobile device management (MDM) and SaaS governance.
  
  

5. Lack of Continuous Monitoring and Threat Detection

Traditional “set it and forget it” security is no match for modern threats.

Without 24/7 monitoring, your business may not detect:

• Suspicious login activity from unusual locations.
• Lateral movement across your network.
• Beaconing to known malicious IPs.
• Brute-force attacks and credential stuffing.
  
  

How a security assessment helps:

• Evaluates existing logging and monitoring capabilities.
• Identifies gaps where threats could go unnoticed.
• Recommends right-sized managed detection and response (MDR) options for your organization.
  
  

What an IT Security Assessment Actually Includes

A thorough IT security assessment goes far beyond a quick vulnerability scan. While exact scopes can differ, a strong assessment generally includes:

When Should You Schedule a Security Assessment?

Consider an IT security assessment if any of the following apply:

1. You’ve grown quickly or added new locations.
2. You’ve migrated workloads to Microsoft 365, Azure, or other cloud platforms.
3. You’ve never had a third party review your security posture.
4. You’re preparing for a compliance audit or new contract requirements.
5. You’ve experienced suspicious activity, downtime, or attempted ransomware.

If you’re asking “Could my business be at risk for a cybersecurity breach right now?”—it’s time.

Get a Local Partner to Help You Find and Fix Cybersecurity Risks

Cybersecurity risk isn’t just a big-enterprise problem. Local businesses across Texas and Oklahoma are targeted every day by phishing, ransomware, and automated attacks that look for exactly the types of weaknesses we’ve covered here.

Ready to see what's really putting your business at risk? If you’re ready to stop guessing and start acting on real data, schedule a security assessment with Centre Technologies or get more info about IT assessments.

We’ll help you uncover the hidden risks in your environment, explain them in plain language, and lay out a practical, phased plan to strengthen your cybersecurity posture—without slowing down your business.

Want to learn more about Secure Managed Services (with Security Assessments included), let us know!