Shiny tools don’t matter if you can’t recover or if the provider’s security talk is just talk. These are the shortcuts that turn small incidents into long, expensive problems.
1) Backups exist—but no one knows if they work
Backups aren’t a checkbox; they’re your safety net. If nobody looks at backup logs or dashboards, failed jobs roll by unnoticed and everyone assumes it’s fine. We also see scope gaps: servers protected while Microsoft 365/Google are left out. Green checkmarks—when anyone checks—aren’t proof you can recover.
The worst time to learn a backup failed is during an incident—downtime and data loss get expensive fast.
2) Alerts go somewhere… but no one owns them
Security tools are loud. If alerts land in a shared mailbox, get drowned out by noise, or spawn tickets with no follow-through, they’re not protection—they’re clutter. The common pattern: no named owner, no hours of coverage, no tuning, and no accountability when something obvious is flagged.
When no one can act quickly, small issues grow teeth and turn expensive.
3) “We’re compliant” claims without a real risk analysis
Compliance starts with a risk analysis. If a provider can’t tell you when they last did one for themselves, what standard they align to (NIST CSF, CIS, HIPAA, PCI, FTC Safeguards, etc.), and how findings are tracked to remediation, the “we’re compliant” line is marketing, not maturity. If they can’t do it for themselves, they can’t help you do it either.
4) Security expertise in name only
Plenty of shops say they “do security,” but it’s duct tape and baling twine underneath. Teams aren’t trained for security, practices are outdated, and decisions prioritize convenience over risk. When security isn’t in the DNA, you get point-and-pray tools and hope the alarms stay quiet.
Quick self-check (resilience & response)
- Backup logs/dashboards aren’t reviewed
- Microsoft 365/Google data aren’t backed up
- Alerts flood a shared mailbox, are too noisy to act on, or no one is named to triage them
- Tickets open from alerts but there’s no follow-through
- Provider claims compliance expertise but can’t show a recent risk analysis, the standard they follow, or remediation tracking
If two or more hit, resilience and response are running on luck.
Want the full checklist of red flags (and how to avoid them)? Grab the white paper:
The IT Provider Trap – How to Spot Danger Signs Before Your Business Pays the Price
Next up: Part 5 — “The Human Cost of Poor Support: Morale, Trust, and Shadow IT.”