Most business owners think cybersecurity is about blocking attackers. Firewalls. Antivirus. Maybe a security audit once a year.
But in reality, one of the most significant risks to your business isn’t the thing you’re protecting — it’s the thing you forgot exists.
Forgotten ≠ Gone
A subdomain left over from a long-ago marketing campaign.
An admin panel for a dev server that nobody turned off.
A cloud folder shared “temporarily” with public access.
An abandoned email address is still tied to key accounts.
These things don’t make headlines.
They quietly sit in your infrastructure — and wait.
But here’s the truth: if you’re not watching them, someone else might be.
Real Risk, No Drama
This isn’t a theoretical problem. Here’s how forgotten assets put your business at risk:
- Old subdomains can be hijacked if they still point to services you no longer use. Hackers can turn them into phishing sites — under your brand’s name.
- Open admin panels on test or dev servers are often left wide open. No password, no logs — an easy way in for attackers.
- Exposed files from Google Drive, Dropbox, or internal systems marked “anyone with the link” often show up in search engines — or get shared by mistake.
And these problems often go unnoticed — because they live outside your daily operations.
What’s the cost?
- Loss of customer trust
- Legal exposure due to leaked data
- Reputation damage
- Financial losses due to fraud or impersonation
- Internal chaos, trying to trace who created what and when
And all of that from something you didn’t even know was still online.
How to Find What You’ve Forgotten
You don’t need to be a security expert to start.
Just ask these questions:
- What subdomains do we own?
And do they all still point to something we use? - What cloud folders are shared publicly?
Try your company name + “view file” in Google. - Do we have any unused admin panels or login pages online?
- Are there old email addresses with access to services?
Check who’s invited to your CRM, analytics, or cloud tools. - Do we monitor what’s visible under our brand?
Try a basic asset discovery or external scan.
Security Starts with Awareness
This isn’t about panic.
It’s about visibility.
Most businesses don’t get hacked — they get overlooked.
Not because they don’t care. But because no one’s looking where they should.
Start with what you’ve forgotten.
Because what’s invisible to you… is visible to others.
Want to keep reading? In the next post, I’ll share a simple 5-minute checklist to spot your most exposed assets.
