Let’s not sugarcoat it—TfL, with their massive £214 million tech budget, just got hit with a cyber attack that’s causing more than a few headaches. And the fallout? In-person password resets for 30,000 employees. Yes, you read that right. They’ve literally had to organise face-to-face password resets in 2024 because their internal systems got breached. If TfL is struggling to handle this with all their resources, what does that mean for smaller businesses?
In-Person Password Resets: Time, Cost, and Chaos
Here’s where it gets ugly. For TfL, this is a logistical nightmare. Imagine pulling together IT teams across multiple sites to handle resetting 30,000 passwords in person. This isn’t some quick “forgot my password” email link—it’s full-on identity verification and system resets, done face-to-face. IT staff will need to be mobilised, likely requiring overtime and maybe even extra contractors. Not cheap (Transport for London).
Let’s not forget the productivity hit. Employees must stop what they’re doing, travel to a designated reset location, queue up, and reset their password. On average, this could take each person an hour—multiply that by 30,000, and you’re looking at 30,000 hours of lost productivity. For TfL, that’s a serious financial and operational hit (Transport for London).
And it doesn’t end there. While TfL has been reassuring customers that their data is safe, the breach has delayed their rollout of contactless payments at 47 new stations. It’s not just passwords that are affected—this cyber attack has disrupted their entire operational flow(Transport for London).
The Wake-Up Call for SMBs
Here’s the thing: if a behemoth like TfL, with millions pumped into cyber security, can get hit this hard, where does that leave smaller businesses? Most SMBs don’t have the resources or the IT manpower to handle a breach like this. They’d be crushed under the weight of an incident on this scale. But here’s the kicker: you don’t need a TfL-sized budget to protect yourself.
This is where Cyber Essentials comes in. It’s a cost-effective, government-backed certification to protect businesses against the most common cyber threats. Think of it as your first line of defence, helping you avoid the chaos and cost of scrambling to fix a breach after it happens. Because trust me, no business—big or small—wants to be forced into in-person password resets.
What Now?
So, what’s the plan? Don’t wait until your systems are compromised, and you’re forced to lose productivity or, worse, trust. Now’s the time to act. Let’s talk about getting your business Cyber Essentials certified, putting in place the right measures, and making sure you’re not the next cautionary tale.
