During my Sunday morning coffee, I sat down to read the latest December 2025 issue of The Imaging Channel and came across an article titled “Securing the Office: Goats on the Roof and Threats in the Office” by Keith Johnson. The imagery of goats grazing on a sod roof in Wisconsin caught my attention and served as a clever intro to a much more serious topic: the “GOAT” (Greatest of All Time) credential leak and the urgent need for better cybersecurity hygiene.
Keith’s take on the topic was relevant and timely. It captured the current state of threats perfectly and motivated me to share a few of my own thoughts on the matter. As we navigate these final few weeks of 2025 and prepare to kick off 2026, cybersecurity hygiene needs to be at the forefront of our strategic planning. Keith laid a solid foundation in his piece, and I want to expand on that by looking at how we can apply these lessons to our broader business operations.
The “GOAT” Leak: A Wake-Up Call for Cybersecurity Hygiene
The article correctly identified the “GOAT” leak, also known as the RockYou2024 breach, as a significant turning point. It is a compilation of past and present breaches that creates a massive and searchable database for bad actors. Keith noted that “credentials are the modern skeleton key,” and this aligns with what we see at Doceo. The traditional idea of a hacker breaking down the door is outdated. Today, they simply log in.
This reality requires us to shift our mindset. The perimeter has eroded due to remote work and SaaS adoption, meaning cybersecurity hygiene is no longer just an IT task. It is a critical business operation. If you are not enforcing unique passwords and Multifactor Authentication (MFA), you are effectively handing over the keys to your data.
Cybersecurity Hygiene and the Human Firewall
While password managers and MFA are essential tools, we must look deeper at the cultural aspect of security. Doceo is rooted in the philosophy of “Proven People,” and that extends to how we view our team members in the security equation.
Too often, employees are viewed as the “weakest link” in cybersecurity. I challenge business leaders to flip that script in 2026. Your people should be your strongest sensor network or your “Human Firewall.”
Technology alone cannot stop a well-crafted social engineering attack. AI is now being used to craft phishing emails that lack the typical grammar mistakes and awkward phrasing of the past. These AI-enhanced attacks mimic trusted voices and internal vernacular.
To combat this, cybersecurity hygiene must include:
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Continuous and Bite-Sized Training: Annual seminars are ineffective. Monthly and gamified phishing simulations keep the threat top-of-mind without causing fatigue.
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A “No-Blame” Reporting Culture: If an employee clicks a link, they must feel safe reporting it immediately. Speed is critical in mitigating damage.
2026 Strategy: Zero Trust and Vendor Governance
Keith touched on third-party risks, and this is where I want to urge you to dig deeper. In 2025, we saw a spike in supply chain attacks where the initial breach happened through a trusted vendor.
As you finalize your budgets and strategic roadmaps for 2026, you must ask difficult questions of your partners. It is not enough to secure your own house. You must verify the security of everyone who enters it.
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Vendor Risk Assessments: Do your vendors adhere to the same cybersecurity hygiene standards you do?
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Zero Trust Architecture: Adopt a “never trust, always verify” mindset. Just because a user is inside the network does not mean they should have uninhibited lateral movement.
Doceo’s IT Services division operates on these principles. Whether we are managing your Remote IT Help Desk or your complex Network Infrastructure, the security protocols are rigorous and tested.
Making Hygiene a Habit
The transition from 2025 to 2026 is the perfect time to audit your digital habits. We tell our clients that cybersecurity hygiene is remarkably similar to personal health. You do not go to the gym once in January and expect to be fit in December. It requires consistency, discipline, and the right partners to guide you.
I appreciated Keith’s article for sparking this conversation. It serves as a good reminder that threats are always present, even if they seem harmless on the surface like goats on a roof. We need to ensure our defenses are solid so we can focus on growth and proven results in the new year.
Next Steps
We are entering a year where the proven results of your business will depend heavily on the resilience of your technology. Do not let a lapse in hygiene be the reason your growth stalls. Take the time now to lock down your data so you can move forward with confidence.
Schedule a FREE Cybersecurity Hygiene consultation with a Doceo Advisor today.
