The ABT Breakdown (for busy IT + Ops leaders)

If you’re like most Colorado organizations, you don’t have a cybersecurity problem—you have a time problem. You’re juggling tickets, vendors, Microsoft licensing, onboarding/offboarding, “that one printer,” and the executive question that never goes away: “Are we safe?”

Groundhog Day is a perfect reminder of what happens when you’re forced to guess. You can feel like you’re improving—until the same issues pop up again: suspicious logins, confusing security reports, backups you think are working, and policies no one follows because they’re outdated.

This post shows you why a cyber risk assessment beats guessing every time, what it should include, and how to use it to make smarter decisions with your budget and your leadership team. At the end, I’ll invite you to a practical, no-pressure event where you can bring your compliance questions and get real answers.

6 More Weeks of Risk? Why a Cyber Risk Assessment Beats Guessing (Colorado Edition)

Groundhog Day is funny—until it isn’t.

Because in IT and operations, “we’ll see what happens” isn’t a seasonal tradition. It becomes a pattern.

• The same phishing attempts keep landing in inboxes.

• Password resets and MFA issues repeat like clockwork.

• The same “urgent” requests appear the moment someone’s traveling.

• You’re one vendor offboarding away from discovering an admin account no one remembered existed.

• You keep hearing, “We have backups,” but nobody can tell you the last time a full restore was tested.

And then you get asked a question you can’t answer with confidence:

“What’s our risk right now?”

Not “Are we perfect?” Not “Are we compliant with every possible framework on the planet?”
Just… Where are we exposed, and what’s the fastest way to reduce it?

That’s why a cyber risk assessment matters. It replaces gut feelings with a prioritized map. It turns a vague fear (“something could happen”) into a practical plan (“here are the top 5 things to fix first”).

And in Colorado—where you’ve got everything from healthcare and finance to education and public sector orgs under real compliance pressure—guessing gets expensive fast.

Guessing feels productive… right up until it doesn’t

Let’s be honest: most “security activity” looks productive on paper.

• You bought a tool.

• You turned on a setting.

• You forwarded a scary article to leadership.

• You updated a policy document from 2019.

• You ran an antivirus scan and felt slightly better.

None of that is useless. But it’s not the same as knowing your actual risk.

Guessing fails because it’s usually driven by one of these forces:

1) The loudest problem wins

The squeaky wheel gets the grease. A user gets locked out of email, so you spend two hours on it. A printer outage hits a deadline, so the “security project” gets pushed again.

2) Tools get confused with outcomes

You can have EDR, a firewall, MFA, email filtering, and a backup appliance… and still be wide open because:

• MFA isn’t enforced on admin accounts

• Conditional Access is half configured

• Backups aren’t isolated from ransomware

• Users can approve MFA prompts without thinking

• Logging is turned off (or nobody reviews it)

3) Leadership ends up funding vibes, not strategy

When decision-makers don’t have a clear risk picture, budgeting turns into guesswork too:

• “Let’s buy what the other company bought.”

• “Let’s renew everything and hope that’s enough.”

• “Let’s wait until next quarter.”

A risk assessment gives you the thing leadership actually needs: a prioritized, business-readable plan.

What a cyber risk assessment is (and what it is not)

A good cyber risk assessment isn’t a 70-page PDF you’ll never open again.

It’s a structured review that answers three questions:

1. What matters most in your environment?
   (People, systems, data, revenue processes, compliance obligations, downtime tolerance)

2. Where are you exposed today?
   (Identity, endpoints, email, network, backups, cloud configuration, vendor access, policies)

3. What should you do first, second, and third?
   (Actions ranked by impact + urgency + effort)

What it is NOT:

• Not a “tool demo” in disguise

• Not a checkbox audit that says “pass/fail” without context

• Not a one-size-fits-all list of scary threats

• Not a generic framework slideshow

A good assessment gives you clarity, not anxiety.

Why “Cyber Risk Assessment Colorado” matters specifically

Colorado orgs tend to share a few realities:

• You’ve got a mix of onsite + remote users (and often multiple locations).

• You rely heavily on Microsoft 365 and cloud apps.

• You’re competing for talent, so you can’t just “hire your way out” of risk.

• You may have compliance or contractual obligations even if you’re not a massive enterprise.

• And your environment is probably a blend of old and new: modern cloud tools sitting next to legacy devices that “still work.”

That blend—modern productivity + legacy complexity—is exactly where attackers thrive.

A Colorado-focused risk assessment should account for the industries you actually support here: healthcare, finance, government, education, legal, engineering, construction, and growing SMBs that suddenly find themselves “mid-market” without mid-market security maturity.

The 7 areas a real assessment should cover (in plain English)

If your assessment doesn’t touch these, you’re not getting the full picture.

1) Identity and access (where most breaches begin)

This is your Microsoft 365 / Entra ID world, plus any SSO tools.

You’re looking for:

• MFA enforced consistently (especially admins)

• Conditional Access rules that match your risk

• Privileged accounts controlled and monitored

• Offboarding that actually removes access everywhere

• No shared logins, no “everyone is admin,” no orphaned accounts

If identity is weak, everything else is noise.

2) Email and collaboration security

Email is still the #1 front door for most organizations.

You want clarity on:

• Filtering effectiveness (and gaps)

• Spoofing protection (SPF/DKIM/DMARC setup)

• Impersonation risk (executive spoofing is common)

• Tenant configuration for safe sharing + external access

• Whether users can approve risky OAuth app permissions without review

3) Endpoint security + device management

Do you know:

• Which devices are managed?

• Which ones are “out there” but still accessing data?

• Whether EDR is installed and actually reporting?

A good assessment checks:

• EDR coverage percentage (not just “we have EDR”)

• Patch health (OS + 3rd party apps)

• Local admin sprawl

• Encryption status (BitLocker/FileVault)

• USB/exfiltration risk where relevant

4) Backup and recovery (the “can you actually get back?” question)

This is where “we’re fine” turns into “oh no” if ransomware hits.

You should confirm:

• Backups are isolated/immutable where possible

• Critical systems have defined recovery objectives (RTO/RPO)

• Restore testing happens and is documented

• SaaS data (like M365) is backed up appropriately—not assumed

5) Network and remote access

Even in cloud-heavy setups, networks matter.

You’re checking:

• VPN or ZTNA configuration

• Firewall rules sprawl

• Segmentation (especially for servers, VoIP, guest networks)

• Remote access tools in use (and who can use them)

• Vendor access controls

6) Logging, monitoring, and response readiness

If you can’t see it, you can’t stop it.

A good assessment helps you understand:

• What you’re logging (and what you’re not)

• Whether logs are centralized

• Who monitors alerts (and how quickly)

• Your incident response plan (even a “lite” one)

• Who does what when something happens at 2:00 AM

7) Policies, compliance, and proof

This is where regulated organizations live: you’re not just doing security—you’re proving it.

A risk assessment should align your environment to your real obligations (not theoretical ones), and help you answer:

• What would we show an auditor or insurer?

• What can we prove today?

• Where are we relying on “tribal knowledge” instead of repeatable process?

“Okay, but what does it actually give me?”

Here’s what you should expect to walk away with—minimum.

A prioritized risk list you can defend

Not “100 things wrong.”
More like:

• Top 5 high-risk issues you should address first

• Quick wins you can implement in days, not months

• Medium projects that reduce risk meaningfully

• Longer-term initiatives tied to strategy and budget

A clearer budget story

Instead of “we need money for cybersecurity,” you can say:

• “Here’s the risk, here’s the impact, and here’s the fix.”

• “This reduces our likelihood of downtime.”

• “This supports compliance and helps with cyber insurance expectations.”

• “This lowers the chance of a high-cost incident.”

Leadership loves that kind of clarity.

Better vendor conversations

When you know your risk, vendor pitches stop being confusing.

You can ask sharper questions like:

• “What coverage gaps does this tool actually close for us?”

• “How will we monitor it?”

• “What will we do when it alerts?”

• “What does success look like in 90 days?”

A quick “Groundhog Day” self-check (no shame, just reality)

If you answered “not sure” to more than a couple of these, you’re a great candidate for an assessment.

1. Do you know your MFA enforcement status for admins today?

2. Can you list every device with access to company email and files?

3. When was your last restore test—and did it include a critical system?

4. Do you know which users have privileged access (and why)?

5. Could you explain your incident response steps in under 60 seconds?

6. Are your email anti-spoofing protections configured properly (SPF/DKIM/DMARC)?

7. If a cyber insurer asked for proof of controls, could you produce it quickly?

If this list makes you feel a little “6 more weeks of risk”… you’re not alone. Most businesses don’t get time to slow down and assess. That’s the point.

The “compliance questions” you should absolutely bring (even if you’re not sure you’re regulated)

Sometimes the biggest risk is assuming you’re not regulated.

You might have HIPAA exposure because you touch patient info indirectly.
You might face PCI requirements because of payment processes.
You might need CJIS/NIST alignment because of government contracts or data.
You might need FERPA awareness because of education partnerships or student data.

A risk assessment helps you connect the dots between your tech environment and your obligations—without turning your life into an acronym soup.

Want a practical next step? Join ABT at Pax8 HQ on Feb 19

If you want to see what modern risk reduction looks like (in a real-world SMB context), ABT is hosting a live event with Pax8 and Todyl:

• Date: February 19, 2026

• Time: 4:00–6:00 PM (MT)

• Location: Pax8 HQ (Denver Tech Center / Centennial)

• Format: Practical strategies + Q&A + networking (light apps & drinks)

• Bring your compliance questions. Seriously.

This is ideal if you’re an IT Director, Ops leader, or executive who wants to understand:

• how identity controls, monitoring, endpoint coverage, and response readiness fit together,

• how layered protection works in practice,

• and how to think about cybersecurity in a way that supports compliance and business continuity.

How to make this post useful inside your organization (steal this approach)

If you want to turn this into action (and get buy-in), here’s a simple play:

Step 1: Copy/paste a one-paragraph “risk statement” to leadership

Use this (adjust as needed):

We’re handling cybersecurity reactively, which creates repeat risk. A cyber risk assessment gives us a prioritized list of gaps, quick wins, and a roadmap we can budget against. This reduces downtime risk, supports compliance expectations, and improves our ability to respond quickly if something happens.

Step 2: Ask for alignment on priorities, not tools

Instead of “Can we buy X,” ask:

• “Are we prioritizing uptime, compliance readiness, or cost control first?”

• “What’s our tolerance for downtime?”

• “What would be the worst week to have an incident?”

Step 3: Bring your real questions to the table

At the Pax8 event, you can ask the questions you don’t get to ask in day-to-day chaos:

• “What’s the most common gap you see in regulated organizations?”

• “How do you actually test backups without disrupting operations?”

• “What should we measure to prove improvement over 90 days?”

Closing CRO: your next best move (no-pressure, high-clarity)

If you’re reading this because you searched “cyber risk assessment Colorado”, you’re probably already feeling one of these pressures:

• You’ve had near misses (or an incident) and want to be proactive.

• Leadership is asking “are we safe?” and you want a real answer.

• You’re renewing tools/contracts and don’t want to waste money.

• Compliance or cyber insurance questions are coming, and you need proof—not opinions.

Here are three simple next steps—choose the one that fits where you are:

Option A: You want real answers fast

RSVP to the Feb 19 Pax8 event and bring your compliance questions. You’ll get practical guidance, not theory, and you’ll hear how modern layered security is being applied for regulated organizations.

Option B: You already know you need clarity

Book a cyber risk assessment so you can stop guessing. Your goal isn’t perfection—it’s a prioritized plan you can execute this quarter.

Option C: You’re not sure, but you don’t want surprises

Start with a simple internal check:

• confirm MFA for admins,

• confirm what’s backed up and when it was tested,

• and confirm who has privileged access.

Then use what you find to decide whether your next move is an assessment, a tooling change, or a process fix.

Groundhog Day is only funny when it’s optional. If you’re ready to break the cycle and get a clearer view of your risk, start with an assessment—or come talk it through with ABT at Pax8 on Feb 19.