IT Security: 5 Common Mistakes to Avoid
IT Security: Avoid these 5 mistakes and discover our tips to better manage access and reduce risks.
In 2024, over two-thirds of companies (67%) experienced a cyberattack, with 46% attributing it to human error [1]. comme déclencheur principal.
These figures clearly highlight a pressing reality: businesses today face a constant and tangible risk when it comes to IT security, often due to inadequate internal practices.
They reveal recurring gaps in daily operations. In many cases, security incidents are not the result of sophisticated cyberattacks, but of avoidable mistakes: poor access management, dependence on outdated tools, or lack of real-time monitoring.
In an environment where threats continue to grow and regulations, such as the NIS2 directive, demand greater accountability, understanding these common IT security errors is essential to avoiding them.
Here are the 5 most common mistakes in IT security, along with our recommendations to help you avoid them for the long term.
IT Security Mistake #1: Multiple access points with no clear visibility
As companies increasingly adopt cloud solutions, outsource services, and implement remote work, the number of users with access to critical resources is skyrocketing. Internal employees, subcontractors, IT providers, freelancers—each may require either temporary or permanent access to sensitive systems.
The problem? In many organizations, access is granted without a clear IT security strategy. It’s not uncommon for a former employee to retain their credentials, or for a third-party provider to keep admin rights long after their contract ends. Without a centralized inventory or connection traceability, the risks (data leaks, unauthorized access, or lateral movement) often go unnoticed… until an incident occurs.
Common consequences of this lack of visibility:
Inability to quickly identify the source of a breach or security incident.
“Ghost” accounts left open to unauthorized users
Difficulty meeting compliance requirements (ISO 27001, NIS2, etc.)
IT Security Mistake #2: Relying on tools that aren’t built for modern IT security
Many organizations still rely on IT security solutions that are no longer suited to today’s threats: traditional VPNs, persistent tunnels, shared accounts, and more. These tools were designed for a time when the network perimeter was fixed and centralized. They no longer meet the demands of a hybrid, distributed environment. For instance, a VPN often grants broad network access (even for a one-time task) which significantly increases the attack surface in the event of a breach.
Adding to the challenge, these access points are not always logged or monitored, making incident investigations complex and time-consuming. Today, IT security can no longer rely on an “all-or-nothing” approach. It must be granular, context-aware, and focused on targeted application-level access.
Key security risks resulting from this mistake:
Excessive infrastructure access if credentials are compromised.
Lack of traceability in the event of a security issue.
Difficulty implementing an effective Zero Trust policy.
IT Security Mistake #3: Neglecting privileged accounts weakens IT security.
Privileged accounts such as system administrators, support technicians, and managed service providers are among the most critical in IT security. Yet in many organizations, their use remains poorly controlled: credentials are shared among colleagues, admin access is granted “by default,” and there’s no logging or password rotation in place.
These poor practices open the door to abuse, and more dangerously, to lateral attacks in the event of a compromised device.
When an attacker gains access to an unmonitored privileged account, they can move laterally across the system, disable protections, or encrypt critical data without being detected.
Signs that a privileged account is poorly secured:
The same password is used across multiple machines or users.
No approval process before granting administrator access.
No video recording or audit log of sensitive sessions.
IT Security Mistake #4: Third-party access: a common blind spot
External providers, partners, technical vendors, and freelancers are increasingly granted access to an organization’s most critical systems: ERP platforms, production servers, cloud environments, monitoring tools, and more.
Yet in many organizations, their management from an IT security perspective remains minimal. Access is often created manually, with no identity verification, no expiration date, and no active oversight.
The result: a third party may retain permanent access to your infrastructure, even after their assignment has ended.
This exposure is a major attack vector—according to IBM, 19% of data breaches in 2024 involved an external partner or vendor.
Key questions you should ask about third-party access security:
Are you fully aware of who, among your vendors, has access to your critical systems?
Are these accesses time-limited, monitored, and logged?
Do you have an automated onboarding and offboarding process for third-party users?
IT Security Mistake #5: Approaching IT security as a one-time project
Too many companies still approach IT security as a limited-time initiative: initial audit, quick compliance, technical deployment… then little follow-up.
But in an environment shaped by constantly evolving threats, user behaviors, and business tools, this static approach no longer holds up.
To remain effective, IT security must be part of a continuous, adaptive, and long-term strategy. That means not just implementing processes, but also choosing a solution that evolves with the organization. One that’s easy to deploy, simple for teams to adopt, and able to provide clear visibility into access, risk, and usage.
Without this dynamic approach, even the most robust protections eventually become outdated. Or worse, bypassed altogether.
Consequences of a short-term approach to IT security:
Deployment of tools that are poorly maintained, forgotten, or misconfigured.
Growing gap between actual risks and implemented protections.
Loss of internal team engagement due to tools that are not user-friendly for daily use.
How can security, business agility, and third-party access management work together effectively?
Effectively addressing IT security challenges shouldn’t become a heavy, complex, or overwhelming project. That’s precisely the mindset behind cyberelements: a SaaS access security solution designed to directly tackle the most common mistakes seen in today’s organizations.
Thanks to a simplified, user-centric Zero Trust approach, cyberelements helps you to:
Regain control over all access: both internal and external without adding complexity to your architecture.
Eliminate risks from shared accounts: untracked access, and poorly managed third-party providers.
Secure privileged accounts: with recorded, contextualized, and governed sessions.
Gain agility through agentless deployment: no VPN required and immediate ease of use.
Manage a continuous security strategy: that’s scalable and aligned with your business priorities.
Ready to strengthen your company’s IT security without complicating your operations?
Try cyberelements today and see for yourself how simple it is to deploy and how effective the solution is.
Here’s a quick video showing how to install cyberelements in just 3 minutes, without interrupting your operations.