In late March 2025, a surprising security mishap involving Signal, the widely-regarded "gold standard" of secure messaging apps, made headlines.
A U.S. National Security Adviser accidentally added a journalist to a high-level Signal chat discussing sensitive military operations. This wasn't a failure of encryption or technology—it was a simple human mistake that compromised critical information.
While this incident may seem far removed from everyday life, it highlights a universal truth: no matter how advanced or secure technology becomes, human decisions and errors remain the weakest link in any system.
And this isn't just an issue for governments or large corporations—it's something that affects small businesses and individuals alike.
If you're more of a visual learner, I recommend checking out my YouTube tutorial. It covers everything step-by-step:
Let me share a more personal example that happened just yesterday, involving a family friend who runs a small business.
A Small Business Owner's Costly Oversight
This family friend owns and operates a specialty organic farming operation that grows rare medicinal herbs—a unique and vital business serving his community. Like many small business owners, he's always looking for ways to save money and minimize expenses. One of his cost-saving decisions? Continuing to run his entire business operation on outdated computers using Windows 7. Yes, you read that right—Windows 7! Despite the fact that Microsoft ended support for this operating system back in January 2020, leaving it vulnerable to security risks and technical failures.
His reasoning was simple: upgrading would cost money, and since the computers were still working, why fix something that wasn't broken? Unfortunately, that decision backfired in a way he never anticipated.
Just yesterday, all of his business data suddenly became inaccessible when his computers stopped working without warning. Whether it was hardware failure, software corruption, or some other issue isn't clear yet, but the result is devastating: he can no longer access any of the critical information needed to run his organic farming operation.
Now he faces an uphill battle to recover what he can from these old systems, likely requiring expensive IT experts to try to salvage the data—if it's even possible at all. In the meantime, his entire business has ground to a halt. He can't access client information, operational data, or any of the digital resources necessary to keep his organic farm functioning. The irony? The money he thought he was saving by sticking with outdated systems will now be dwarfed by the costs of recovery and business downtime.
Why Human Decisions Matter More Than Technology
These two incidents, though vastly different in scale and context, underscore the same lesson: technology itself isn’t usually the problem; it’s how we use it (or fail to use it properly).
Let’s break this down into some common themes:
1. The Cost-Saving Trap
Small businesses often prioritize saving money over investing in secure or up-to-date systems. While this is understandable given tight budgets, cutting corners on technology can lead to catastrophic consequences later on. My family friend thought he was being frugal by sticking with Windows 7 and aging hardware, but outdated systems are not only insecure—they're unreliable and put the entire business operation at risk.
2. The "I Know Better" Trap
Both Signal users ignoring official warnings and my family friend sticking with Windows 7 fell into this trap: dismissing expert advice because they believed their own judgment was sufficient based on past experience. This mindset often blinds us to evolving risks and leads us into preventable crises.
3. The "It Won't Happen to Me" Mindset
Many individuals and small businesses assume they're immune to major tech failures or security issues because they're "too small" to be targeted or affected. But as my friend's experience shows, even without external threats like ransomware or hacking, outdated systems can fail unexpectedly and bring operations to a complete standstill.
4. Ignoring Long-Term Risks
It's easy to focus on immediate savings while ignoring long-term risks like system failures or data loss. Unfortunately, when those risks materialize—as they did for my friend—the costs are often far greater than what would have been spent on preventative measures.
5. Lack of Redundancy
One of the most glaring issues in my friend's case was the lack of proper backups for his critical business data. If he had maintained regular backups on secure external drives or cloud storage, this situation would have been far less dire.
The Real Costs of Human Error
Human mistakes—whether they stem from negligence, lack of awareness, or misguided cost-saving measures—can have serious consequences for both individuals and organizations. Looking at our two examples:
Business Continuity Failure:
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Organic Farm Case: My friend's entire operation is completely paralyzed until he can restore his systems and recover his data. Every aspect of his business—from paying his employees to billing customers—has ground to a halt.
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Security Leak Case: The compromised military planning could have led to operational disruptions if plans needed to be altered due to the information leak. Sensitive operations might have required rescheduling or reconfiguration.
Financial Losses:
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Organic Farm Case: Beyond the recovery costs of hiring IT experts, there's the lost revenue from every day he cannot operate his farming business.
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Security Leak Case: The incident likely triggered costly security reviews, investigation processes, and potential changes to communication protocols. These unexpected expenses represent significant resource allocation.
Relationship Damage:
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Organic Farm Case: Inability to fulfill commitments or respond to client needs can permanently damage business relationships with customers who rely on his organic herbs.
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Security Leak Case: Diplomatic and interagency relationships may have been strained as the breach potentially affected trust between government departments and international partners involved in the operations.
Reputational Consequences:
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Organic Farm Case: Being unable to deliver services damages his business's reliability reputation in the community.
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Security Leak Case: Public exposure of sensitive planning created embarrassment for the people involved and potentially undermined public confidence in their operational security.
Emotional Stress:
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Organic Farm Case: The sudden loss of all digital business infrastructure creates immense pressure and anxiety for a small business owner who may not have the resources to quickly recover.
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Security Leak Case: Officials involved likely experienced significant stress knowing their error exposed sensitive national security information and potentially put operations at risk.
In both cases, the consequences extend far beyond the immediate technical issues, affecting everything from financial stability to relationships to personal wellbeing.
Lessons Learned: What We Can Do Better
So what can we learn from these examples? Here are some key takeaways for individuals and businesses alike:
1. Don't Skimp on Technology Investments
It might seem expensive upfront, but investing in reliable hardware and up-to-date software is far cheaper than dealing with unexpected failures later on.
2. Stay Updated
Always use operating systems and software that receive regular updates and support from their developers.
3. Back Up Your Data Regularly
Maintain secure backups of your critical data—preferably both offline (e.g., external drives) and online (e.g., cloud storage).
4. Double-Check Your Actions
Whether you're adding someone to a group chat or managing sensitive files online, take an extra moment to verify what you're doing.
5. Avoid Falling Into Familiarity Traps
Recognize when you're relying too heavily on past habits or routines ("I've always done it this way") instead of adapting based on expert advice or evolving risks.
If There’s One Thing to Take Away
If there’s one thing to take away from this, it’s that technology alone isn’t enough. The best tools in the world can’t protect us from poor decisions or a lack of preparation. Whether you’re an individual or a business owner, the key is awareness—learning how to use technology wisely, making thoughtful choices, and always planning for the unexpected. At the end of the day, it’s not just about having the right systems; it’s about how we use them.
