5 Information Security Mistakes That Startups Make

When starting a startup, it’s common for entrepreneurs to have numerous concerns and tasks that grow alongside the new company. In this complex and busy context, cybersecurity is often overlooked, leading to frequent security mistakes.

According to Sling Hubs, Brazil has over 17,000 startups, accounting for 77% of the sector in Latin America. All these ventures, aiming for greater growth, face challenges in investment, marketing, team building, and more.

However, a barrier is that many entrepreneurs do not allocate the necessary attention to cybersecurity within their operational systems.

This is crucial in an era where many companies are opting for hybrid or remote work models, with significant amounts of important and confidential data stored in digital environments.

Here are some of the main information security mistakes that startups make so that your company can be aware of these dangers and avoid making the same errors. Check them out!

Most Frequent Information Security Mistakes

Experts claim that the primary issues with information security stem from human error. In other words, people are often “caught” by cybercriminals through websites, emails, links, etc.

Considering the scenarios in startups, where teams grow with the increase in workload, it’s possible to conclude that many security mistakes originate from team dynamics.

With more companies adopting remote work, many security errors arise from a lack of guidance or preparedness of the team to handle digital environments, as outlined below:

1. Incorrect Sharing or Loss of Passwords and Access Growth or high staff turnover often leads to neglect of company access passwords.This potential for unrestricted access and careless sharing of passwords presents two serious threats to information security: the risk of employees falling victim to phishing or other hacking methods, and the loss of these access credentials.Additionally, a lack of policies and rules regarding passwords further complicates investigations to find the source of cybercrimes, making it harder to recover access, data, and stored information.
2. Failure to Update Systems With the busy routines of companies and all the investments entrepreneurs must manage, system updates are often neglected.This is also a security error because many cyberattacks exploit outdated systems or vulnerabilities in obsolete software.The financial and operational losses from these issues can far outweigh the attention and investment needed for regular program updates.
3. Lack of Policies and Standards for Company Equipment Another significant issue causing information security errors is the lack of rules regarding the use of company equipment such as computers, laptops, and mobile devices.Especially when employees need to take these devices home, many start using company computers for personal needs and leisure. They may even use personal devices for work.This can make the company's systems highly vulnerable to attacks. Thus, it’s important to establish protection rules in advance.
4. Believing Your Company is Not a Target A common mistake among startup entrepreneurs is believing their company is not a target for cybercriminals due to its smaller size or lower profile compared to larger corporations.This is a misconception, as these structures are often attractive targets for cybercriminals who understand the value of the data and information collected by these companies.Startups also handle large volumes of data daily and often have less protected networks.
5. Not Investing in Cybersecurity Methods These misconceptions that lead entrepreneurs to believe their companies are not attractive targets often result in a lack of investment in cybersecurity methods. Methods such as red teaming, bug bounty programs, user education, and application security can be utilized.As noted, the risks of not investing are significant, given that startups are important targets for cyberattacks.

How to Avoid Information Security Issues in Your Company

To avoid these and other information security issues, it’s essential first to address human factor-related risks.

Thus, a password authorization policy should be developed. Only individuals who truly need specific access should have it, along with rules concerning work equipment.

Another important strategy is to engage a Bug Bounty program, which provides proactive protection for company systems before a cyberattack occurs.

This method works as follows: information security experts, authorized to do so, analyze the systems of a partner company, looking for bugs, flaws, and vulnerabilities.

When problems are found, these professionals provide reports to the company to inform them of the issues and develop solutions. They are then rewarded for their discoveries.

BugHunt, the first Bug Bounty platform in Brazil, offers its services to startups seeking to invest in information security and protect their systems from cyberattacks.

Learn more about how the company operates by visiting the website!