The root cause of data breaches is rarely technical. According to research by Mimecast, 95% of data breaches involve human error, and passwords are at the heart of that vulnerability.
From reused logins to phishing emails, World Password Day serves as the perfect reminder that cyber security is about reshaping behaviour as much as enforcing policies. If users remain the weakest link in the chain, MSPs risk having to shoulder the blame and pick up the pieces.
The perfect crime
In the current climate, attackers know they don’t need to break down digital walls when they can simply walk through the front door. Thanks to reused passwords, poor hygiene, and a thriving dark web marketplace, there’s no shortage of opportunities.
Hackers also love stolen credentials because using legitimate access points often leaves little initial trace compared to malware or brute-force attacks, making it the perfect low-risk, high-reward tactic. Once inside, they can then escalate access, move laterally across systems, deploy ransomware, or exfiltrate data without detection.
What clients get wrong about passwords
Even organisations that think they’re doing the right thing often make critical missteps when it comes to password protection. Some of the most common issues include:
- Reliance on outdated policies: Many businesses still enforce regular password resets, despite guidance from the NCSC and NIST advising against it. Forced resets can lead users to create more predictable, less secure passwords.
- Misplaced confidence: A common belief within companies is that if they’ve never been breached before, they must be secure. In reality, many breaches go undetected for months or even years.
- Convenience over caution: People naturally favour easy-to-remember passwords, reuse them across services, and store them in insecure ways (like spreadsheets or emails), especially when under pressure or without guidance.
These habits often persist because users are rarely given alternatives that are both secure and convenient.
The cost of compromised passwords
Many businesses underestimate the impact of a password compromise until it’s too late. Here’s what’s really at stake:
- Downtime: If attackers lock users out or encrypt systems, businesses grind to a halt. The longer it takes to recover, the higher the financial impact.
- Data loss: Credentials often provide access to cloud services like Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace. If files are deleted or tampered with, clients risk permanent loss – unless secure backups are in place.
- Reputational damage: Clients may need to report breaches to regulators or customers, especially if personal or financial data is involved. The reputational fallout can be long-lasting.
- Compliance risk: Under regulations like GDPR, firms are expected to have safeguards and recovery plans in place. A failure to act fast could mean heavy fines on top of recovery costs.
What begins as a single compromised password can quickly spiral into a full-blown crisis.
Why prevention isn’t enough
Strong password policies, multi-factor authentication, and user training are vital in reducing risk. But no system is foolproof, especially when humans are involved.
Even with the best defences, the evidence shows that people will continue falling for phishing emails. With attackers now using AI to craft correspondence. Credentials are reused and admin accounts go unmonitored. Attackers only need to succeed once to bring down a whole business.
That’s why organisations need to go beyond security and focus on cyber resilience. Given the scale of the threat, it’s never been more important to ensure you can bounce back fast when the inevitable happens.
Recover with Redstor
When credentials are compromised, a breach is often inevitable. Redstor’s data protection platform is purpose-built to help MSPs identify potential cyberattacks and recover quickly:
Comprehensive coverage: Whether it’s Microsoft 365, Entra ID, Azure VMs, Google Workspace, or on-prem environments, Redstor provides automated, encrypted backups with granular restore options. Even if an attacker deletes data or locks accounts, recovery is only ever a few clicks away.
Instant recovery: Time is everything. Redstor’s InstantData™technology means you don’t have to wait for data to download or rebuild following a breach. Users can access critical systems and files while the full restore continues in the background.
Malware detection: If an attacker uses stolen credentials to deploy ransomware or drop malware into cloud drives, Redstor’s advanced threat detection can spot malicious files before they’re restored, preventing reinfection during recovery.
Hardware-free: Redstor’s cloud-native platform means there’s no infrastructure to manage or scale. MSPs can deploy in minutes, manage everything through a single portal, and apply protection across multiple clients with ease.
Add value where it matters most
Clients rely on their MSPs to keep them secure. A password breach might not trigger antivirus alerts or set off your firewall, but it can quietly devastate an organisation from the inside. With Redstor, service providers get a proven recovery plan that meets compliance demands and builds long-term client trust.
Credential theft is here to stay, but its impact doesn’t have to be. Get in touch today to learn how Redstor can protect your data.