Why Ticking Compliance Boxes Won't Stop Cyberattacks

A recent podcast featuring Edna Conway, a cybersecurity and supply chain resilience expert with over 40 years of experience, tackles a critical misconception many businesses hold: that being compliant with regulations equals being secure. According to Conway, compliance frameworks set a baseline, but they often lag behind the fast-evolving tactics used by cybercriminals.

This distinction matters for small and medium businesses, which sometimes treat compliance checklists as the finish line rather than the starting point. Genuine cyber resilience requires ongoing risk assessment, monitoring of suppliers and third parties, and adapting defences as new threats emerge—not just satisfying a one-time audit or certification.

The conversation highlights that cyber risk is increasingly tied to supply chains, meaning a business can be compliant on paper while still exposed through vendors, partners, or software dependencies. For SMBs with limited resources, this underscores the importance of building a security culture that goes beyond paperwork.