The Most Expensive Cyberattack Doesn't Always Look Like a Cyberattack

By Gennifer Biggs, Exigent Technologies
​When most people think about cybercrime, they picture the dramatic stories that make the news—a major company locked out of its systems by ransomware, a high-profile website taken offline, or sensitive data posted on the internet. Those events certainly happen, and they deserve the attention they receive, but they're not always the attacks that keep us up at night. In many cases, the most expensive cyber incidents begin with something far less dramatic. ​

An email arrives from what appears to be a trusted vendor asking for updated payment information.

A payroll administrator receives a request from the CEO to change direct deposit details before the next pay cycle.

An accounting team member approves what looks like a routine invoice because everything about it seems familiar.

Nothing crashes. No alarms go off. Business simply continues—until someone realizes the money is gone.

Those situations have become increasingly common, and they're a good reminder that cybersecurity has evolved beyond protecting computers. Today, it's about protecting the decisions people make every day. Business email compromise (BEC) attacks are stealthy but often incredibly expensive, and they are on the rise. Modern email security platforms are remarkably good at filtering malicious messages, artificial intelligence is helping identify suspicious activity faster than ever before, and multifactor authentication has prevented countless compromised accounts.

Security awareness training has honed employees’ awareness and thwarted thousands of phishing attacks. Those tools matter, and every business should be investing in them. But technology alone isn't enough. Because today's cyber attacks, particularly BEC threats, are sophisticated and sneaky, the organizations that tend to weather these situations best usually have something besides good cybersecurity technology. They have clear business processes and detailed policies. They verify financial requests through a second channel. They require approvals for wire transfers. They encourage employees to pause when something feels just a little unusual, even if it appears to come from someone they know.

Protecting your business isn't a technology conversation. It's a business operations conversation. One of the things we appreciate most about working with small and midsize businesses is that their leaders understand the value of relationships. They know their customers, their employees, and their vendors personally, which is often one of their greatest strengths. Ironically, that's exactly what cybercriminals are trying to exploit. They're counting on trust. They're counting on familiarity. They're counting on someone moving quickly because the request seems ordinary.

The answer isn't to stop trusting people. It's to build processes that support trust with verification. That's one of the biggest shifts we've seen over the past few years. Cybersecurity is becoming less about reacting to sophisticated attacks and more about creating consistent habits that reduce unnecessary risk. It involves technology, certainly, but it also involves leadership, communication, and a culture where employees feel comfortable asking questions instead of worrying about slowing someone down.

Leaders, we think that's an encouraging message. You don't have to become a cybersecurity expert overnight. Instead, you need to recognize that protecting your organization is no longer the responsibility of one person or one department. It's something that becomes part of how your business operates every day. The businesses that approach cybersecurity this way aren't just protecting their technology. They're protecting their reputation, their customer relationships, and their ability to continue growing with confidence. And in today's environment, that's a competitive advantage worth investing in.

​Want to learn more? Check out Exigent's TechWise blog @ https://www.exigent.net/techwise-blog/cybersecurity