Cybersecurity Awareness Month 2026
Last year, three out of four vulnerabilities that attackers were actively using weren't fully fixed.
This October, we're helping teams find their vulnerabilities before someone else does.
Source: Verizon 2026 Data Breach Investigations Report
31%
of breaches started with an exploited
vulnerability.
48%
year.
26%
fully fixed in 2025.
45%
of employees now use AI regularly on work devices, up from 15%.
That’s from Verizon’s 2026 Data Breach Investigations Report. The same report found a vendor or partner involved in 48% of breaches, and a person in 62%. None of that requires a brilliant attacker. It requires an organization that is easy to predict.
How easy are you to get into?
Twelve questions. Two minutes. You see your score right away, no sign-up needed.
80% or more
Hard target
Good foundations. A second set of eyes can confirm there's nothing you can't see from the inside.
45% to 79%
A few doors open
You've covered the basics. Your weakest area is [door]. That's usually where attackers look first.
Below 45%
Welcome mat
Several common entry points are open. The good news: the first fixes are usually the cheapest
Practical reading for October
Short, practical reading from Kiran Bhujle and SVAM’s security team. No jargon, no fear tactics.
The Question Your Board Should Ask Before Your Auditor Does
Security is everyone's job. Leadership decides if it actually happens.
CMMC Is Paused. Your SPRS Score Isn't.
What the Phase 2 pause changed, and what defense contractors still owe today.
Your Company Already Has an AI Policy. It's Just Not Written Down.
Six guardrails to set before AI touches sensitive data.
Securing the Next 250 Starts With Next Tuesday's Patch
Cloud and critical infrastructure when downtime isn't an option.
Securing the Next 250 Starts With Next Tuesday's Patch
Cloud and critical infrastructure when downtime isn't an option.
The Cheapest Security Control You Own Is a Phone Call
Ten habits that make your people hard to fool.
Problem
The four doors attackers try first
The unpatched server
Exploits are now the top way in, and most known holes stay open. Patch speed belongs on the leadership dashboard, not in a ticket queue.
The vendor
login
Nearly half of breaches now run through a third party. If you can't list who connects to what, an attacker can.
The AI tool nobody approved
Staff are pasting contracts and customer data into tools IT has never seen. Write the rules before the bots arrive.
The tired employee
Fake CAPTCHAs, QR codes, a "help desk" message in Teams. Phishing moved off email and into everyday work.
Want your results and a one-page fix list for your weakest area?
A NOTE FROM KIRAN
“I’ve spent my career on systems that can’t go down: public agencies, utilities, defense suppliers. I also teach risk at Columbia. One lesson holds in both places. Breaches rarely come from the threat nobody saw coming. They come from the thing everyone knew about and nobody owned. This month, we’re helping organizations name those things and fix them.”
Kiran Bhujle
Managing Director Global Cyber Risk Advisory Services
Why SVAM
For more than 30 years, SVAM has run and secured systems for government, utilities, healthcare, finance and education. We figure out where the real risk sits, fix what matters first and build controls that still hold after the auditor leaves.
Certified team: CISSP, CISA, CRISC, CDPSE, CompTIA Security+ and CMMC Certified Professional
Programs mapped to NIST and ISO, turned into controls your team can actually run
24/7 monitoring and managed security for lean IT teams
We tested ourselves first
This October we ran a phishing simulation on our own staff. 0% clicked. 9.1% reported it. If we’re going to ask you to test your people, we should be willing to share our own numbers.
Where we can help
Cyber risk assessment
Where you're exposed, and what to fix first.
AI risk assessment
Find the AI already in use and put guardrails around it.
NIST 800-171 and DFARS readiness
Gap analysis, SSP, POA&M and an SPRS score you can defend.
Third-party risk
Know which vendors touch what, and how risky each one is.
Managed security
Around-the-clock monitoring, patching and response without building a SOC.