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Cybersecurity can sometimes feel like an afterthought. A matter for the IT department to handle, while other areas of the business manage the day-to-day operations - until it suddenly isn’t. When emails stop working, operations grind to a halt, all your files are encrypted, and your IT team can’t bring system back online, cybersecurity suddenly becomes the most important thing in the world.
So, when a 158-year-old British transport firm (KNP Logistics Group) is forced to close following a successful cyber attack, many took the opportunity to highlight the importance of proper cybersecurity measures. While this article will similarly promote the importance of effective cybersecurity , it will also try to bring awareness to the fact cybersecurity is everyone’s responsibility, even if it doesn’t feel like it.
A Password Breaches, and a Business Lost
Unfortunately for KNP Logistics Group, the attack is almost textbook, not because of its complexity, but rather in its astounding simplicity. According to reports, the attack, linked to the Akira ransomware group, gained access to KNP’s systems by guessing an employee’s weak password. No sophisticated malware deployments or exploiting zero-day vulnerabilities, the attackers just walked through the front door.
Once inside, they deployed malware across the entire organisation, encrypting critical operational infrastructure and backup servers, and leaving a ransom note which read "If you're reading this it means the internal infrastructure of your company is fully or partially dead…” The ransom is also believed to have been as high as £5 million.
KNP’s insurers immediately sent in a crisis team, who quickly realised that all of the company’s data had been encrypted. Servers, backups, and disaster recovery systems had all been locked, meaning there was no hope of recovering the data. KNP has also refused to pay the ransom, or perhaps were unable to, and without access to their core systems, were prevented from continuing normal operations.
Within a month, the business was shuttered. Hundreds of lorry drivers, warehouse staff, logistics planners, and support teams were made redundant. Customers were left in limbo. And a business that had operated for more than a century and a half was wiped out by a failure of basic cyber hygiene. It is also worth noting that the CEO of KNP, Paul Abbot, stated that he had not told the employee that their compromised password was the likely cause of the breach.” A small moment of kindness in an otherwise dire situation.
“That’s an IT Problem” - Until It Isn’t
One of the most dangerous assumptions a business can make is that cybersecurity is “someone else’s job.” Often it’s seen as the IT department’s responsibility, or a problem for external vendors to handle quietly in the background. But the reality is that cybersecurity touches every employee, every, department, and every process in the business.
The 2025 UK Cyber Security Breaches Survey found that 43% of UK businesses experienced a cyber breach or attack in the past 12 months. Among medium-sized businesses, that figure jumps to 67%, and for large enterprises, it rises to 74%. The message is clear, cyber risk is not confined to enterprise-level firms or high-tech industries. It’s a threat to any business, of any size, and any market.
KNP is a stark example of this reality. A logistics and transport business, not a high flying tech startup, not a bank, was completely derailed by an attack. And yet, many businesses in similar sectors continue to treat cybersecurity as an afterthought. Until something goes wrong.
What Should Have Been in Place
While the granular details of the attack are unknown, the fact that a single compromised password was seemingly able to topple a century-old organisation highlights a distinct failing in cyber hygiene. The critical mistake wasn’t just that an employee used a weak password, it’s that there were no additional controls to catch the failure.
Cybersecurity is built on the idea of defensive layers. One mistake shouldn’t bring down the business. In the case of KNP, several layers of basic protection could have prevented, or at least contained the breach:
- A password policy enforcing complexity, uniqueness, and regular updates would have prevented the use of weak, guessable credentials.
- Multi-factor authentication (MFA) would have blocked access even if the password had been compromised. MFA is widely recognised as one of the most effective defences against account takeovers.
- Employee training could have helped the staff member understand the importance of using secure credentials, and made them aware of signs of account compromise.
- Access controls and least-privilege permissions could have limited lateral movement across the network once the attacker was inside.
- Properly segmented and immutable backups, tested regularly, could have supported a rapid recovery, even if production systems were locked.
These measures are not reserved for large corporations. They are basic controls outlined in security standards like Cyber Essentials and ISO 27001, and their absence can prove devastating.
Compliance: More Than a Checklist
Frameworks like Cyber Essentials and ISO 27001 exist for a reason. They provide structured, practical guidance to help businesses build security into their everyday operations. They don’t just focus on preventing breaches, but also ensure organisations are prepared to respond and recover when things go wrong.
Cyber Essentials is particularly valuable for small and medium-sized businesses. It focuses on five key areas: firewalls, secure configuration, access control, patch management, and malware protection.
ISO 27001 goes further, embedding information security into the governance of an organisation. It requires businesses to assess risks, define policies, prepare response plans, and continuously improve their controls.
But compliance only works when it’s implemented correctly and kept up to date. That’s why platforms like OneClickComply are so valuable. OneClickComply automates the hardest parts of compliance, helping businesses put essential protections in place, generate live and accurate policies, and even continuously monitor connected environments in a single click. With OneClickFix, technical settings or misconfigurations can be implemented and resolved, without needing dedicated security specialists on staff.
The Forgotten Pillar of Cybersecurity: Business Continuity
The KNP attack also raises serious questions about business continuity and disaster recovery (BC/DR) planning. When their systems were locked and their backups encrypted, the company had no route to recover.
Sadly, this isn’t uncommon. Many organisations assume that having backups is enough. But if those backups aren’t tested, properly segmented, or stored offline, they’re often just as vulnerable as the systems they’re supposed to protect.
Good business continuity planning means more than storing files offsite. It involves identifying critical systems, defining fallback processes, rehearsing incident response, and ensuring the business can continue to operate under pressure. Frameworks like ISO 27001 include these requirements, and again, automated tools like OneClickComply help teams understand, implement and monitor these elements without the need for spreadsheets or fragmented documentation.
Inconvenient? Yes. Losing Everything? Much Worse
Using strong passwords, turning on MFA, and completing security awareness training may not be anyone’s favourite part of the day, but these are small acts of responsibility that protect the livelihoods of everyone in the organisation.
When one employee at KNP used a weak password, it wasn’t just their account that was affected, it was the entire business. Hundreds of colleagues lost their jobs. The company’s reputation and client relationships were destroyed. Its operations, fleet, and future, all destroyed through a single compromised password.
The idea that cybersecurity is “too annoying” or “not my job” doesn’t hold up in the face of outcomes like these. Cybersecurity is not just an IT issue. It’s a people issue, and one that, unless it’s taken seriously, can jeopardise an entire business.
Unfortunately, KNP’s story isn’t unique. It follows a string of high-profile attacks on other British businesses such as Marks & Spencer, the Co-Operative, and Harrods, and highlights how small failures, an ignored policy here, or a skipped MFA setup there, can combine into complete operational collapse.
With proper planning, widely accepted security standards like Cyber Essentials and ISO 27001, and tools like OneClickComply to automate the hard work, businesses of all sizes can both build and maintain resilience. You don’t need a team of experts, you just need a commitment to do things properly, and the right tools to help you do it.
Because in the end, cybersecurity is everyone’s responsibility. And ignoring that fact could cost you dearly.
