entrustIT Insights | Roxanne Dodd

Security updates and your suppliers: the questions to ask

In short: any supplier whose systems touch your business can expose you if they fall behind on security updates. That includes suppliers who look after your technology, like your website host or IT provider, and those who hold your data or connect to your network, like a payroll provider or a software vendor with remote access. Ask each one who updates what, how quickly and how they'll tell you about alerts. A good answer gives a timescale, never longer than the 14 days Cyber Essentials allows for critical updates, and much faster when a flaw is being actively exploited.

What is technical security debt?

In short: Technical security debt is the security risk a business builds up when IT fixes, upgrades and clean-ups get put off. Unpatched software, unsupported kit, old accounts and quick workarounds all add to it. Like financial debt, it gathers interest: the longer it's left, the more it costs to fix and the easier it is for attackers to exploit.

AI is finding security flaws faster: do you know what you run?

AI tools helped find the critical PHP vulnerabilities, and the NCSC says AI is making it easier to find and exploit software flaws at scale. For UK businesses, that points to one thing: less time to react to security updates. The best preparation is a clear picture of what you run and who looks after it, before the next alert lands.

What is business email compromise, and why is it so expensive?

Business email compromise (BEC) is when an attacker takes over or imitates a real email account to redirect a payment or steal data. It is expensive because your own people approve the payment, against a real invoice, at a believable moment. The fix is to lock down mailbox access and to have a written process for changing supplier bank details.

What is social engineering, and what stops it working on your staff?

Social engineering is when an attacker persuades a member of staff to hand over access or money by exploiting trust, fear or urgency, instead of breaking into a system. Phishing, spear phishing and AI voice cloning are all forms of it.

entrustIT shortlisted for two Surrey Business Awards 2026

We're pleased to share that entrustIT has been shortlisted in two categories at the Surrey Business Awards 2026: Large Business of the Year and Best Customer Service.

entrustIT x DWM Company Day 2026

On Friday 2 October we held our 2026 Company Day, entrustIT x DWM, at Thorpe Park. We spent the morning and early afternoon on strategy, followed by an afternoon and evening in the park for anyone who wanted to join us. It was an excellent opportunity to bring our team together from our four regional offices across the UK, in Ringwood, Bedford, Aldershot and East Grinstead.

Will co-managed IT replace my internal team?

No. Co-managed IT is designed to work alongside your internal team, not to replace them. You keep your people, your systems knowledge and control over the parts you own. The provider adds capacity and cover around them. If anything, a well-run arrangement tends to make your team's role clearer and frees them from the work that was burning them out.

What is co-managed IT?

Co-managed IT is where an external IT provider works alongside your existing internal IT team or IT person, rather than replacing them. You keep your own people and your own knowledge of the business, and the provider adds capacity, cover and specialist skills where you need them. It is not full outsourcing, and it is not temporary hired help.

How does strategic IT move your business forward?

Strategic IT moves a business forward by planning where your technology should go next, not just keeping it running today. It is sometimes called strategic IT support, and it works through regular reviews and a clear roadmap, so your technology stays lined up with where the business is heading. Ordinary managed IT keeps your systems stable. Strategic IT uses that stable base to help you reach your objectives.

Security updates and your suppliers: the questions to ask

In short: any supplier whose systems touch your business can expose you if they fall behind on..

What is technical security debt?

In short: Technical security debt is the security risk a business builds up when IT fixes, upgrades..

AI is finding security flaws faster: do you know what you run?

AI tools helped find the critical PHP vulnerabilities, and the NCSC says AI is making it easier to..

What is business email compromise, and why is it so expensive?

Business email compromise (BEC) is when an attacker takes over or imitates a real email account to..

What is social engineering, and what stops it working on your staff?

Social engineering is when an attacker persuades a member of staff to hand over access or money by..

entrustIT shortlisted for two Surrey Business Awards 2026

We're pleased to share that entrustIT has been shortlisted in two categories at the Surrey Business..

entrustIT x DWM Company Day 2026

On Friday 2 October we held our 2026 Company Day, entrustIT x DWM, at Thorpe Park. We spent the..

Will co-managed IT replace my internal team?

No. Co-managed IT is designed to work alongside your internal team, not to replace them. You keep..

What is co-managed IT?

Co-managed IT is where an external IT provider works alongside your existing internal IT team or IT..

How does strategic IT move your business forward?

Strategic IT moves a business forward by planning where your technology should go next, not just..

Security updates and your suppliers: the questions to ask

What is technical security debt?

AI is finding security flaws faster: do you know what you run?

What is business email compromise, and why is it so expensive?

What is social engineering, and what stops it working on your staff?

entrustIT shortlisted for two Surrey Business Awards 2026

entrustIT x DWM Company Day 2026

Will co-managed IT replace my internal team?

What is co-managed IT?

How does strategic IT move your business forward?

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Security updates and your suppliers: the questions to ask

What is technical security debt?

AI is finding security flaws faster: do you know what you run?

What is business email compromise, and why is it so expensive?

What is social engineering, and what stops it working on your staff?

entrustIT shortlisted for two Surrey Business Awards 2026

entrustIT x DWM Company Day 2026

Will co-managed IT replace my internal team?

What is co-managed IT?

How does strategic IT move your business forward?

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