Creative agencies are a different breed. You’re juggling a lot. Tight deadlines, remote teams all while trying to keep the ideas flowing and things running smoothly.
However, here’s the thing: the way agencies operate today presents some very specific cybersecurity risks that are not discussed enough.
Let’s unpack three of the most common gaps we see how you can overcome them.
1. Shared logins
We get it. When a deadline is incoming, sharing one login for Adobe or Dropbox feels like the quickest fix.
But once you start sharing accounts, it’s very easy to lose track of who’s got access to what, and when something goes wrong, it’s almost impossible to trace where it started.
Worse still, if that password leaks, every single client file in that shared account is fair game.
What to do instead:
Give everyone their own login, turn on MFA, and tidy up old accounts that aren’t in use. It’s simple, but it’ll save you from a world of pain later.
2. The great “cloud sprawl”
Most creative teams use a mix of Dropbox, Google Drive, WeTransfer, and a few others thrown in for good measure.
It works… until it doesn’t.
Files end up scattered across platforms, no one knows which version is final, and sensitive assets drift outside your control.
That’s where the risk creeps in, not because anyone’s careless, but because everyone’s trying to keep things moving.
How to tighten things up:
Pick one secure, central place for your files and stick to it.
Make sure it has permissions, logging, and easy remote access so the team doesn’t feel forced to work around it.
3. Freelancers and partners – your extended team (and risk surface)
Agencies run on collaboration, and that often means bringing in freelancers or external partners.
The challenge with this is that, although you might have great security habits, you can’t always guarantee they do.
A single unprotected laptop or dodgy file transfer can cause serious problems, even if the intent was harmless.
How to protect your projects:
Give freelancers secure access through your own systems, not theirs.
Keep permissions tight, and make sure everyone has basic protection on their devices, whether they’re in-house or remote. And if you’re not sure how to do this, look into partnering with a Creative IT Support Partner who can do the work for you.
Protecting creativity without slowing it down
At the end of the day, cybersecurity shouldn’t make creative work harder, it should make it safer and smoother.
That’s why we help creative agencies put the right systems in place to protect their projects without killing their momentum.
Because great work deserves to stay secure, wherever it’s made.
