The conversation revealed a pattern many businesses experience with IT providers. When security incidents occur, defensive responses become standard practice.
The incumbent MSP blamed attack sophistication rather than examining their configuration. Mimecast was supposedly “properly configured” despite phishing emails reaching users. Domain spoofing attacks were dismissed as “impossible to prevent.” Endpoint security gaps were explained away rather than addressed.
This defensive approach protects the vendor’s reputation rather than the client’s business. When hundreds of millions in aviation financing transactions are at stake, excuses don’t reduce risk.
The Strategic Assessment Alternative
Rather than immediately promising solutions, strategic partners offer comprehensive security assessments with complete transparency about business development objectives.
The approach focuses on understanding actual security posture rather than defending existing configurations. Based on years of Microsoft 365 security experience with zero client breaches, gaps typically occur in predictable areas.
Domain spoofing vulnerabilities often result from SPF record misconfiguration, allowing emails from newly created domains to bypass authentication. When threat actors create domains with single-letter additions to legitimate company names, proper configuration should block these immediately.
Endpoint security gaps remain common, with many businesses lacking EDR (Endpoint Detection and Response) protection on local workstations. This creates vulnerability even when email security functions correctly.
Email security misconfiguration can allow threats through legitimate-looking sources, particularly when security solutions aren’t updated to handle emerging threat patterns.
New domain quarantine failures represent basic security hygiene issues, where newly registered domains should be automatically quarantined rather than immediately trusted.
The Partnership Philosophy Difference
The free assessment approach demonstrates a fundamental difference in business philosophy. Instead of pressuring prospects into contracts before proving value, strategic partners invest expertise to build relationships based on demonstrated capability.
This matters particularly for high-value targets like aviation finance companies. When invoice bank details could be manipulated to redirect hundreds of millions in transactions, security isn’t just IT infrastructure – it’s business survival.
The partnership approach requires confidence in capabilities. Success comes from genuinely providing superior security expertise, not from excelling at sales presentations.
Why Technical Competence Matters More Than Sales Pressure
In the cybersecurity landscape, technical gaps create business disasters. When threat actors target aviation finance companies, they’re not interested in technical excuses – they want to steal hundreds of millions in transactions.
Comprehensive Microsoft 365 security standardisation implements protection from day one. This includes 2FA enforcement across all accounts, DMARC, DKIM, and SPF email authentication, SharePoint and OneDrive security configurations, and Teams groups with closed security by default.
Most businesses receive Microsoft 365 as a blank slate requiring extensive security customisation. Many don’t know where to start. Competitors often provide the same blank deployment without security hardening.
The difference lies in years of experience resolving security incidents with zero client breaches. Identifying gaps that create vulnerabilities and eliminating them through standardised implementation becomes the competitive advantage.
The Business Stakes Behind Security Decisions
For aviation finance companies, security failures have immediate business consequences. Invoice manipulation could redirect millions in client payments. Compromised email accounts could expose confidential deal negotiations. Reputation damage could eliminate future business opportunities. Regulatory compliance failures could restrict operating licences.
When these stakes are involved, choosing IT partners based on price rather than security expertise becomes false economy. The cost of a security breach far exceeds any savings from cheaper IT providers.
Strategic Security Partnership Evaluation
When evaluating IT security partnerships, strategic questions become critical decision factors.
Track record examination reveals providers with proven security incident resolution experience and zero client breaches. Assessment approaches demonstrate confidence – partners who offer free comprehensive evaluations show capability confidence.
Security philosophy matters significantly. Providers who implement security-first configurations demonstrate strategic thinking over reactive problem-solving. Complex threat handling reveals sophisticated threat analysis rather than generic security checklists.
The Strategic Choice
Aviation finance companies can’t afford security partnerships based on vendor relationships. When hundreds of millions in transactions are at stake, choosing strategic partners who demonstrate security expertise through action becomes business necessity.
The difference between vendors and partners becomes clear during security assessments. Vendors defend existing configurations. Partners identify gaps and recommend improvements.
Strategic security partnerships begin with honest assessment of current risks, not sales presentations promising perfect protection.
When your business handles high-value transactions, security isn’t just about technology – it’s about choosing partners who understand the business stakes behind every technical decision.
Discover how comprehensive security assessment can reveal the gaps your current provider might be missing. Our integrated security approach combines expertise with transparency to protect your business operations.
