Most businesses don't make it past their fifth birthday - studies show that roughly 50% of small businesses fail within the first five years. So when KNP Logistics Group (formerly Knights of Old) celebrated more than a century and a half of operations, it had mastered the art of survival. For 158 years, KNP adapted and endured, building a transport business that operated 500 trucks across the UK. But in June 2025, one easily guessed password brought down the company in a matter of days.
The Northamptonshire-based firm fell victim to the Akira ransomware group after hackers gained access by guessing an employee's weak password. Attackers didn't need a sophisticated phishing campaign or a zero-day exploit - all they needed was a password so simple that cybercriminals could guess it co