Issue #1: Data Breaches

If It Breaches, It Teaches: What SMBs must learn before it’s too late.

It started with an invoice.
A small construction firm received an email that looked routine — a request for payment from a longtime supplier. No one noticed the subtle change in the email address. The invoice was paid. Weeks later, the supplier called wondering where their money was. It had been wired to a hacker’s account overseas.

The breach? It didn’t start with firewalls failing. It started with trust — and a compromised inbox.

A data breach occurs when private or sensitive information is accessed, shared, or stolen by someone who shouldn’t have it. That can mean customer data, employee records, financial files — anything you’d never want exposed.

For small and mid-sized businesses, the threat is real and growing. The damage isn’t just technical:

• Financial loss from fraud, recovery, and downtime

• Legal exposure from failing to protect data

• Loss of trust from customers and partners

• Reputation hit that lingers long after the headlines fade

This month, we unpack what causes breaches, how to spot the early warning signs, and what real businesses are doing to stay ahead of the threat.

Case Study

What happened?
On August 11, 2023, hackers gained unauthorized access to external systems, triggering a data security incident that disrupted operations and exposed a staggering amount of sensitive data.

What was compromised?

• Full names

• Social Security numbers

• Bank account details

• Medical information

• Driver’s license numbers

• Usernames and passwords

• Health insurance information

Golden Corral discovered the breach on August 15, 2023, just four days later — but by then, the damage was done.

Why it matters:
This breach wasn’t just about stolen data — it impacted employee trust, customer safety, and operational continuity. And it highlights a key truth: data breaches don’t just affect tech companies or government agencies. They affect everyone.

Even trusted household brands with everyday services are vulnerable. If you store personal or financial information — you’re a target.

What Can You Do Right Now?

Let’s be real: you can’t eliminate all risk — but you can make your company a much harder target. Here are practical steps you and your team can take today to reduce your exposure.

People & Processes

Cybersecurity starts with people. The best technology in the world won’t help if your team’s habits and processes are full of holes. This is where the foundation is built.

1. Know Your Data: What do you collect? Where is it stored? Who has access — and do they really need it?

2. Minimize What You Keep: Only store data that’s essential to your business. Less data = less risk.

3. Protect What Matters: Use both physical (locked cabinets, badges) and electronic safeguards (access controls, role-based permissions).

4. Purge the Rest: Have a clear, routine process to securely destroy old or unneeded records (paper and digital).

5. Prepare for the Worst: Breaches happen. What matters is your response. Within 24 hours, assign someone senior to own your Incident Response Plan and start drafting your playbook.

Technology

Once your people and processes are solid, reinforce them with smart, secure tools. These are the digital defenses that support, not replace, human judgment.

• Fortify the Perimeter: Use firewalls to shield your internal systems and assess where you're vulnerable.

• Stay Clean: Keep anti-virus and anti-spyware software updated and running regularly across all endpoints.

• Lock It Down with Encryption: Encrypt sensitive data in transit and at rest. If attackers get in, encrypted data is still useless to them.

• Don’t Let Passwords Be the Weakest Link: Require strong, unique passwords. Ditch the defaults. Use a password manager and enable MFA wherever possible.

Additional Resources

Want to dig deeper or prepare your team with trusted guidance? These handpicked resources will help you understand, respond to, and stay ahead of data breaches — with actionable advice, case examples, and legal insight.

🔹 Data Breach Response: A Guide for Business 
A must-read from the Federal Trade Commission, this guide walks you through what to do immediately after a breach — including containment, notification, and recovery steps. Why it’s useful: It’s practical, credible, and designed with small businesses in mind.

🔹 Data Breaches – Privacy Rights Clearinghouse
A searchable database of data breaches across industries, with real examples and details on what was stolen, how it happened, and who was affected. Why it’s useful: Learn from the mistakes of others. This is a goldmine for understanding breach trends and tactics.

🔹Hacking & Cybersecurity News
A news aggregator focused on data breaches, ransomware, and cyber incidents across the globe. Updated frequently with emerging threats. Why it’s useful: Stay up to date with current events and use recent breaches as learning moments in team discussions.

Until NEX Time…

Thanks for joining us on this month’s journey to the NEX Level. We hope it left you a little smarter, a little sharper, and maybe even a little inspired to take action.

If you’re hungry for more:
👉 Check out our latest insights: quick reads, deep dives, and practical tips.
👉 Discover the CyberNEX experience: see how we help teams like yours stay secure, compliant, and ahead of the game.

Until next time — stay curious, stay resilient, and keep leveling up.