The Small Business
Cyber Security Guy
Welcome to my blog and podcast, where I share brutally honest views, sharp opinions, and lived experience from four decades in the technology trenches. Whether you're here to read or tune in, expect no corporate fluff and no pulled punches.
Everything here is personal. These are my thoughts, not those of my employer, clients, or any poor soul professionally tied to me. If you’re offended, take it up with me, not them.
What you’ll get here (and on the podcast):
Straight-talking advice for small businesses that want to stay secure
Honest takes on cybersecurity trends, IT malpractice, and vendor nonsense
The occasional rant — and yes, the occasional expletive
War stories from the frontlines (names changed to protect the spectacularly guilty)
I've been doing this for over 40 years. I’ve seen genius, idiocy, and everything in between. Some of it makes headlines, and most of it should.
This blog and the podcast is where I unpack it all. Pull up a chair.
Week Ahead Preview: Microsoft's Monthly Security Roulette
This week we explored compliance theatre vs real security. Next week, we're diving into the monthly war zone that every IT team knows: Microsoft's Patch Tuesday roulette where one wrong decision can sink your business.
Monday's podcast takes you inside the 6 PM chaos when UK teams scramble with late-breaking updates, and Tuesday's deep-dive exposes why traditional patch management advice is built for enterprises that don't exist.
Plus, practical survival strategies for when you're fighting attackers who reverse-engineer fixes faster than you can deploy them.
When Horse Racing's Regulator Can't Secure Their Own Stable
The British Horseracing Authority just got absolutely hammered by ransomware, and frankly, I'm not surprised. Here's an organization that regulates a £1 billion industry, handles medical records for hundreds of jockeys, and oversees one of Britain's most prestigious sporting events. And they fell for the oldest trick in the book: some criminal rang their IT helpdesk, pretended to be an employee, and walked away with the keys to the kingdom. If the people who regulate horse racing can't secure their own stable, what hope do the rest of us have? Pull up a chair.
Your Smart Home Is a Corporate Surveillance State: How Families Have Become Products in Their Own Living Rooms
Your smart home isn't smart: it's a corporate surveillance network that makes the Stasi look like amateurs. While you're asking Alexa about the weather, Amazon's recording everything and building psychological profiles to flog to advertisers.
Your Samsung TV captures 30 screenshots per minute, Google Home logs every conversation, and data brokers are making millions from your family's most intimate moments.
The FBI warns these devices can be hijacked, yet homes everywhere are stuffed with always-listening corporate spies disguised as convenience gadgets. We've voluntarily built our own digital panopticon and called it "smart living." Absolute madness.
ConnectWise ScreenConnect: The MSP Tool That Keeps Getting Hacked (And Why Your IT Provider Won't Tell You)
Your MSP's favourite remote access tool just got breached. Again. ConnectWise ScreenConnect, the software thousands of managed service providers use to "protect" small businesses, has been hit by yet another cyberattack—this time by suspected state-sponsored hackers. But here's the real scandal: this is the same platform that suffered critical vulnerabilities in 2024, enabling ransomware gangs to turn MSP networks into criminal infrastructure. If your IT provider is still using repeatedly compromised tools while charging you for "enterprise security," you're not getting protection—you're paying for exposure. Time to ask some very uncomfortable questions.
Still Using RDP Instead of a VPN in 2025? What the F*!k Are You Thinking?
Yes, this is real. Yes, it’s still happening. Businesses in 2025 are still exposing Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) to the open internet like it’s a perfectly normal thing to do. It’s not. It’s deranged.
It’s like licking a petrol pump and being surprised you got sick. If you’re still running RDP with no VPN, no access controls, no MFA, and no clue , buckle up. This isn’t just a best practice failure.
This is IT malpractice. And if you’re an MSP still recommending it? You should probably stop calling yourself a professional. You’re part of the problem.
Microsoft Teams: Now Available in Phish-Flavoured
Microsoft Teams is the new darling of UK business. It’s chat, calls, meetings, file sharing and productivity all in one app. Unfortunately, it’s also a goldmine for attackers, and they know it.
With the Tycoon 2FA phishing kit now targeting Microsoft 365 users through fake Teams login prompts, criminals are bypassing multifactor authentication in real time. It’s slick. It’s scary.
And worst of all, it works. If your business still believes Teams is “safe because it’s Microsoft,” you’re dangerously behind the curve.
Phishing has moved in. And it brought its own desk chair.
Still Faxing in 2025? The UK Councils Stuck in a Time Warp
It’s 2025, but some UK councils and NHS departments are still sending confidential data via fax machines.
That’s right. No encryption, no audit trail, just a shrieking relic from the 1980s spewing out safeguarding case notes or your latest blood test results from the GUM clinic into a shared office tray.
With the analogue switch-off looming, this isn’t just old-fashioned, or quaint, it’s reckless. Why the hell are printer manufacturers are still enabling this madness - Looking at you HP, Epson, Xerox et al.
If your council or trust or SMB still faxes, they’re not just behind the times. They’re holding the door wide open to the next data breach.
How Crap MSPs, Slack Vendors, and a Culture of Complacency Are Fueling the Ransomware Epidemic
Think the hackers are your biggest threat? Think again. That smiling MSP rep who promised “complete protection” might just be the reason your business is on its knees.
Ransomware rarely walks in the front door it’s invited through by lazy patching, crap backups, and a culture of "just enough" IT.
From misconfigured firewalls to fake dashboards and vendors more interested in sales than security, this is the real story of how ransomware thrives, enabled by the very people paid to stop it.
If you trust your IT supplier blindly, you might already be compromised.
The Meat Rots While the Firewalls Fail: How a Hack Took Out the Backbone of UK Chilled Logistics
A ransomware attack just crippled one of the UK’s key cold chain hauliers, leaving thousands of pounds’ worth of meat to rot before it ever reached supermarket shelves. Peter Green Chilled, who proudly promote their “bespoke IT systems,” couldn’t even keep order processing online. The result?
Spoiled stock, supply chain chaos, and radio silence from a company with £25 million in turnover and not a single cybersecurity certification.
This isn’t just an embarrassing IT failure. It’s a wake-up call. If you're still treating cybersecurity like a nice-to-have instead of a must-do, pull up a chair. Because you're not just vulnerable. You're on the menu.
Root Canal or Rootkit? Why Your Dentist’s PC Might Be More Dangerous Than the Drill
It’s 2025. You’re in a sterile, brightly lit dental surgery — and there it is. A screen glowing with the unmistakable Windows 7 login. The same OS that went end-of-life in 2020. What the actual hell? That PC isn't just a relic — it’s a walking GDPR violation and a ransomware welcome mat.
If your dentist is still running patient records on Windows 7 or even XP, you’re not just risking plaque you’re risking identity theft. Please for the love of all things secure STOP THIS NOW. Before a root canal becomes the least painful part of your visit.
ISO27001 vs Cyber Essentials (Part 3/3): What Needs to Change For Real
Too many UK businesses trust ISO27001 and SOC 2 to keep them safe. They shouldn’t. These frameworks focus on governance, not enforcement. When ransomware hits or supply chains collapse, it’s always the same gaps: patching failures, lack of segmentation, poor endpoint hygiene.
Cyber Essentials, especially CE+, isn’t a tick-box. It’s the defensive baseline that would have saved countless organisations from disaster.
This article lays out the real problem and preaches the blunt truth: no ISO, no SOC 2, no procurement badge means a thing unless Cyber Essentials or equivalent is tested, verified, and enforced.
⚠️ Full Disclaimer
This is my personal blog. The views, opinions, and content shared here are mine and mine alone. They do not reflect or represent the views, beliefs, or policies of:
My employer
Any current or past clients, suppliers, or partners
Any other organisation I’m affiliated with in any capacity
Nothing here should be taken as formal advice — legal, technical, financial, or otherwise. If you’re making decisions for your business, always seek professional advice tailored to your situation.
Where I mention products, services, or companies, that’s based purely on my own experience and opinions — I’m not being paid to promote anything. If that ever changes, I’ll make it clear.
In short: This is my personal space to share my personal views. No one else is responsible for what’s written here — so if you have a problem with something, take it up with me, not my employer.