By Mitch Rice
Why do companies with multimillion-dollar budgets, compliance certificates, in-house IT departments, and modern infrastructure still end up among the victims of hacker attacks? In many cases, technology is available – misunderstandings about security are the real obstacle. Below, we examine the most common cybersecurity myths and compare them with reality – to show what effective cybersecurity truly means in modern business.
Common cybersecurity myths
Myth #1: “We’re not an interesting target”
Mid-sized businesses, startups, and even small companies often become easier targets than giants with multi-layered defenses. Any company has value. Customer data, employee accounts, access to partner systems, financial documents, or cloud infrastructure – all of this can be monetized or used as part of an attack chain.
Myth #2: Antivirus and a firewall are enough
Antivirus tools and firewalls matter, but they represent only fundamental levels of protection. They are largely ineffective against:
- phishing with well-crafted social engineering;
- account compromise through leaked passwords;
- logical flaws in business processes;
- misconfigured access controls and cloud services.
A separate issue is the human factor. Scanners cannot see when an employee accidentally opens access, forwards a file via a private messenger, or uses the same password across multiple systems.
Myth #3: “Our IT department controls everything”
In most companies, the IT department is responsible at the same time for user support, system uptime, updates, integrations, and infrastructure development. In many cases, security is treated not as a priority, but as an extra burden. Another critical point is the lack of an attacker’s mindset. Without practical offensive experience, it is difficult to predict how an attacker might bypass defenses.
Myth #4: If there have been no incidents, everything is fine
A lack of reported incidents does not mean issues do not exist – many companies are unaware they have already been compromised. Modern attacks often happen quietly: without service outages, without obvious system errors, and without immediate consequences. Hidden compromises can last for months – attackers wait for the right moment or sell access to third parties.
Real cybersecurity: What actually works?
In practice, effective security is not built around a single tool or certificate, but around a systematic approach. It consists of several core areas.
1. Regular assessments, penetration testing, and change audits
Business infrastructure is constantly evolving. What was secure six months ago can become a critical vulnerability today. That is why regular assessments, penetration tests, and audits of changes form a continuous, cyclical process that helps identify risks before attackers can exploit them.
2. Combining automation with manual expertise
Automated tools are indispensable: they are fast, scalable, and effective at identifying common issues. However, they do not think like humans. Manual expertise makes it possible to understand process logic, uncover non-standard attack paths, and assess the real business impact of a vulnerability.
3. An external perspective as a best practice
One of the key characteristics of mature cybersecurity is the willingness to view systems through the eyes of a potential attacker. Internal teams become accustomed to systems, processes, and even compromises that, over time, stop being perceived as risks. Engaging external specialists provides an independent, “outside” perspective and evaluates not only technologies, but also management decisions.
Why companies are increasingly turning to outsourcing experts
Against the backdrop of a growing number of attacks and increasing infrastructure complexity, companies are increasingly acknowledging that maintaining full cybersecurity expertise exclusively in-house is difficult, expensive, and not always effective. As a result, cybersecurity outsourcing is becoming a deliberate strategy for mature businesses.
Experience across industries and countries
External teams work simultaneously with many clients from different sectors: finance, e-commerce, manufacturing, SaaS, and logistics. This means they see real attacks in motion, not just in theory.
Practical experience across different regions and regulatory environments allows them to quickly adapt their approach and apply proven practices in situations where an internal team may be encountering a problem for the first time.
Up-to-date knowledge of new attack techniques
Cyber threats evolve faster than internal policies and training programs. Outsourcing experts continuously work with new attack vectors – from modern phishing and cloud service compromises to complex post-exploitation chains.
Certified specialists, methodologies, and toolsets
Professional teams invest in certifications, tools, and methodologies that are difficult to maintain at the same level within a single company. This includes:
- standardized approaches to testing and auditing;
- modern analysis and monitoring tools;
- specialists with verified qualifications and narrow expertise.
In today’s environment, more and more companies choose a systematic approach to cybersecurity by engaging external specialists for preventive work, such as the Datami team, which has 8 years of practical experience in the field of digital security. Its key focus is on real attack scenarios, attacker mindset, and providing practical recommendations that can be applied to business today. Learn more about the company by visiting https://datami.ee/.
Conclusion
Cyber incidents occur not because companies ignore security, but because they often rely on outdated assumptions about it. Budgets, certificates, and internal IT teams alone do not guarantee protection if risks are not tested under real-world conditions.
Sometimes, significantly strengthening security does not require radical changes – an external professional perspective is enough to identify what could harm the business.
Data and information are provided for informational purposes only, and are not intended for investment or other purposes.