Nobody wakes up wanting to compromise their data security. But someone signs up for a clever little AI tool that promises to summarise emails, the sign-up screen flashes "Allow access to Mail, Files, Contacts and Calendar?", and it's clicked before the kettle has boiled. And that's the trap. That innocent-looking permissions screen isn't asking politely. It's handing a set of keys to the entire filing cabinet, including the dusty drawers nobody has opened since 2019. Historic data included, whether or not anyone remembered it was there.

You have probably seen the notifications everywhere: "Switch to Passkeys," "No more passwords," "More secure than ever."

It sounds like a dream. No more forgetting "Summer2024!" or sticking Post-it notes on your monitor. But passkeys work fundamentally differently from passwords, and if you set them up without understanding the pitfalls, you could be trading one problem for a worse one.

If your current password strategy is “add an exclamation mark and hope for the best”, this is for you.

Running a business on your own means you already have plenty to think about. Adding “remember 47 passwords” to the list is not a smart use of your brain.