Page 147 - Cyber Defense eMagazine September 2025

Why Personal Cyber Gaps Put Businesses at Risk

You might think your employee’s social media password or home Wi-Fi network has nothing to do with
your business. But attackers don’t make that distinction. They look for weak links anywhere.

Consider this: 74% of data breaches in 2023 involved a human element, such as social engineering or
credential misuse, according to Verizon’s Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR) 2023.

Let’s look at a real-world example:

An employee reuses the same password on Facebook as they do in your company’s CRM system. Their
Facebook password gets exposed in a breach. A hacker cross references these credentials and logs into
the company CRM, stealing sensitive client data. Now the company faces reputational damage, legal
costs, and lost trust, all because of a personal cybersecurity failure.

How Personal Habits Become Corporate Risks

Here are some examples of how personal cybersecurity behaviors can quietly put entire companies in
danger:

These aren’t far-fetched scenarios; they happen every day.

Cyber Defense eMagazine – September 2025 Edition 147
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