The birds are chirping, the snow is melting, and your inbox is still full of outdated attachments, forgotten login alerts, and at least three versions of “final_FINAL_contract.pdf.”

Welcome to spring.

While you’re purging your junk drawer and wiping down windows, don’t forget your digital house needs a good scrubbing too—especially when it comes to cybersecurity. Here are five cybersecurity spring cleaning tasks that will leave your systems feeling fresh, tidy, and a whole lot safer.

1. Clear Out Your Inbox (Seriously)

Your email inbox isn’t a filing cabinet. It’s a risk vortex.

If you’re holding onto old emails with sensitive attachments—contracts, customer info, passwords (please don’t)—it’s time to either delete them or store them safely in your secure file system or drive. Leaving sensitive data in your inbox is like storing your tax returns in the glovebox of your car. Eventually, it’s going to end badly.

Cyber Pro Tip: Set a reminder to do this quarterly. Or better yet, set up auto-rules to delete or archive anything over 90 days old (after saving what’s important, of course).

2. Dust Off Your Policies, Procedures & Plans

When’s the last time you reviewed your internal cybersecurity policies? If you’re blowing off cobwebs to find your incident response plan, that’s your sign.

Regulations change. So do threats. Make sure your plans still reflect your tech stack, business operations, and current risk tolerance. And if you’ve hired new folks or gone remote since your last review, it’s definitely time for an update. From there, we recommend reviewing them each year and any time you change your tech stack or operations.

Not sure where to start? We’ll help you review, rewrite, or reboot them.

3. Revisit Your Contracts (Yes, All of Them)

Your clients, vendors, and partners may have tighter cybersecurity expectations than the government—and you may have already agreed to them. Dig through your contracts and check the fine print. Are you required to notify clients of incidents within 24 hours? Use specific encryption standards? Maintain certain compliance certifications?

If you’re out of alignment, spring is a great time to fix it—before you get burned by a breach or a surprise audit.

Cyber Pro Tip: Look for terms like “data breach,” “cybersecurity,” “confidentiality,” and “incident response” in your contracts.

4. Audit User Accounts and Permissions

Nothing says “risky business” like a former employee still having access to your systems—or current employees with more access than they actually need.

Take some time this season to:

• Disable accounts for anyone who’s left the company.
• Remove unused accounts and expired third-party access.
• Reevaluate access levels and privileges for current users. No one needs “Super Admin” unless they’re your actual IT admin.

Cyber Pro Tip: Least privilege is the name of the game. If you’re not sure who has what, we can help map it out.

5. Deadlines & Renewals: Get Ahead of the Curve

April 15 – NYSDFS Annual Certification Deadline

If you’re subject to the New York Department of Financial Services (NYSDFS) Cybersecurity Regulation, your annual compliance certification is due April 15. That’s right around the corner. Don’t wait to scramble through logs and paperwork the week before—get it wrapped up now.

Cyber Insurance Renewal

Cyber insurance isn’t just a checkbox anymore—it’s a lifeline. And if your policy is up for renewal soon, now’s the time to get your ducks in a row. Many insurers are tightening requirements, and a few missing controls could mean denied coverage or increased premiums. Want to learn more about Cyber Insurance? Watch “Putting the Cyber in Cyber Insurance”

Cyber Pro Tip: Review your policy requirements now and assess whether you’re meeting them.

Ready to Clean House?

Spring is all about renewal, and that includes your approach to cybersecurity. A little proactive cleanup now can prevent a whole lot of pain later—just like tossing out that suspicious Tupperware before it becomes sentient.

Need help running your spring cyber checklist? Reach Out to OrbitalFire Cybersecurity to learn how we can help