I hear it all the time. 

“We don’t have any critical data. If something happened, we’d just buy new computers and move on. We don’t need all this security stuff.” 

Every time I hear it, I think to myself, you have no idea what’s at stake. 

Because here’s the truth: it’s not just your data. It’s your employees’ data. Your clients’ data. Your entire supply chain. 

And if you’re not protecting it, you’re serving it up on a silver platter to hackers. 

The CFO Who Thought She Was Secure—Until She Saw the Truth 

I was at an event recently, and I ran into a CFO whose company had just gone through one of our security analyses. 

When I asked her if we found anything, her face turned red. 

I braced myself. 

Then she admitted—our team had uncovered a file sitting on her computer with every employee’s Social Security number, birth date, and banking information. 

She was stunned. 

She swore all that data was safely stored in the cloud. And it was. But one day, she needed to reference the file, so she downloaded it to her computer. And then… she forgot about it. 

That file sat in her Downloads folder—completely exposed—the first place a hacker would look. 

And here’s the kicker—she had a security team. She had IT people. They had tools. They had policies. 

And they still missed it. 

Your Data Is More Valuable Than You Think 

You might not have trade secrets. You might not be handling national security secrets. 

But you still have data hackers want. 

Your employee records. Their personal information. Their financial details. And then there’s the data you haven’t even thought about… 

Your client list. 

Hackers don’t just want your money. They want your clients too. 

Your client list is the perfect blueprint for a targeted phishing attack. If they steal your contacts, they can craft emails that look like they’re coming from you. 

And people trust you. That’s why this kind of phishing attack is the most successful type. 

I’m not just talking about getting people to wire money to scammers—though that happens all the time. 

I’m talking about hackers using your good name to spread ransomware, steal sensitive business data, or take control of your clients’ computers. 

Why Your Own IT Team Will Never Find It 

The CFO’s company had a security team. They had IT people. They had policies, tools, and controls. 

And they still missed it. 

Why? Because you can’t proofread your own work. 

When you look at the same systems every day, you develop blind spots. You only find what you’re looking for. 

That’s why banks don’t audit themselves. That’s why medical labs send out blood tests to independent facilities. That’s why the best legal teams still hire outside counsel when they get sued. 

You need an outside expert. You need a third-party security assessment. 

Not just once. Not just when something feels “off.” But on a regular basis—because threats change, employees make mistakes, and vendors introduce new vulnerabilities every day. 

Here’s the bottom line: If you don’t have a third-party assessment, you don’t actually know what’s at risk. 

And when the breach happens, you won’t just be explaining it to your IT team—you’ll be explaining it to your clients, your insurance provider, and a courtroom full of lawyers. 

So ask yourself: Are you ready to find out where your data is exposed? Or are you waiting to find out the hard way? 

Let’s start with an assessment.