The 5-Minute Cyber Audit Every CEO Should Do
A quick framework to verify your company’s most important protections in five minutes or less.
Hunter Hampton
Nov 18, 2025
You don’t need to be technical.
You don’t need to log into anything.
And you don’t need your IT provider sitting next to you.
In five minutes, you can get a brutally honest snapshot of whether your business is protected — or exposed.
This isn’t a deep assessment.
It’s a clarity check.
Because most CEOs think they’re secure until they ask these five questions.
Here’s the audit.
1. Can someone break into your email right now?
Ask this out loud to your IT team:
“Is MFA turned on for every single user, everywhere?”
If the answer is anything but a confident “yes,” you have a serious vulnerability — and attackers know it.
Compromised email is still the #1 entry point for breaches, wire fraud, and data theft.
Where this shows up:
• Fake invoice approvals
• Password resets you didn’t request
• Confidential data being forwarded without your knowledge
If email isn’t locked tight, nothing else matters.
2. If someone clicks the wrong email today, will anyone know?
Most companies have antivirus.
Very few have true monitoring.
Ask:
“Do we have real-time threat detection on every device — including laptops used at home?”
If attackers get in and no one sees it, your risk multiplies.
Where this shows up:
• Slow machines for “no reason”
• Strange logins outside business hours
• Files disappearing or renaming
If you can’t detect it, you can’t stop it.
3. Will your backups survive a ransomware attack?
Most backups don’t.
They’re online, accessible, and encrypted along with everything else.
Ask your provider:
“Are our backups immutable and stored off-network?”
If they blink, pause, or redirect the conversation — they’re not.
Where this shows up:
• Paying a ransom just to get access back
• Weeks of downtime
• Lost client data or historical files
Backups aren’t real unless they’re tamper-proof.
4. Do you know who still has access to your systems?
Every business has ghost accounts — people who left years ago but still have logins.
Ask:
“Do we have a current user access list, and do I recognize every name on it?”
It’s common to find:
• Old contractors
• Former employees
• Vendors who no longer work with you
Each one is an unlocked door into your business.
5. If ransomware hit tonight, who do you call first?
Not “who should we call.”
Not “who do we think we’d call.”
You need a written plan.
Ask:
“Do we have a one-page incident response plan with names, numbers, and next steps?”
Where this shows up:
• Finger-pointing during emergencies
• Delays that increase damage
• Insurance claims denied for not following procedure
Chaos is expensive. Preparedness isn’t.
Your Score
If you answered:
5/5 yes — You’re operating better than most companies your size.
3–4 yes — You’re partially covered but exposed.
0–2 yes — You’re relying on luck more than security.
Most businesses fall in the middle.
The good news? Every gap is fixable — and usually faster than you think.
Final Thought
Cybersecurity doesn’t start with software.
It starts with clarity.
Five questions.
Five minutes.
A straight line to understanding whether your business is protected or vulnerable.
You don’t need to be a tech expert.
You just need to ask the right questions.
Written by Hunter Hampton
The Cybersecurity Fly Guy — real-world insights for business leaders who want to stay protected, productive, and profitable.
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Next Week’s Topic:
“The Three Biggest Cyber Mistakes Fast-Growing Companies Make (And How to Avoid Them)”