There are simple measures every business can put in place to avoid the risk of cyber-attacks.
Estimated reading time is 5 minutes.
Estimated reading time is 5 minutes.
Protecting your business data is as important as protecting your physical assets. While insurances can cover the cost of replacing building infrastructure, inventory, machinery and equipment or vehicles, business data is not so easily replaced.
Data is the lifeblood of your business. Think about all the databases and information you’ve invested time and effort in building over the years, including your customers’:
As well as business records such as your:
Your business data is your business. The success of your business depends on it.
Your data is a valuable business asset which can be monetised by cyber criminals. Criminals can sell your data wholesale to others for mailing lists, identity theft, phishing, ransomware and scams, or even to your competitors. Your business data can be worth a lot of money in the wrong hands.
Criminals can infiltrate your computer systems, via phishing or malicious software, in order to steal your business data and on sell it to other criminals or your competitors (this is known as a data breach).
Or your computer systems may also be targeted with ransomware, which encrypts your files, rendering them useless.
Damage can also be caused by your own employees, such as:
Whether by human error or crime, the result for your information, your business, and your reputation is the same.
Studies show that a business may lose 30% of their customers following the loss of customer data. It costs up to $142 per record to replace. Losing business data could mean losing your customers, your income and your employees. It could also destroy your reputation as a trusted business.
While it may be possible to recover or rebuild your business data over time, your business may not be able to operate for long, or at all, without it.
Investing time and effort in developing a business data protection plan is the best insurance for protecting your valuable data.
A business data protection plan includes researching and investing in:
It also includes regularly:
Above all, ensuring your employees are aware of how to manage business data securely is the safest insurance for protecting your data.
Install a firewall to block unwanted access to your network. You can find out how to activate a firewall by searching on the Support pages of Microsoft’s website or the Support page of Apple’s website.
Limit the number of employees with full administrative access to your network. You can do this by checking the settings and options available on your network router.
Importantly, the success of blocking unwanted network access is dependent on setting up strong passwords.
Your business data should be backed up outside of your day to day office network. Backup data to cloud storage or an external hard drive that’s separated from your network. A secure copy of your data ensures that if anything goes wrong, you can always get access to it.
If you’re using external storage media, make sure you store it securely off-site. Unless you’re performing a backup, always disconnect it from your network. Give it a test run regularly to make sure you can recover your data if you ever need to.
Any device that connects to your office network in any way is a risk to your business data. Ensure that all your employees:
Cloud storage services are useful if you want to make sure that your data is backed up and accessible anywhere. But, where is The Cloud?
The cloud is simply someone else’s computer. Any time you backup or save your data to the cloud, it (and potentially several copies for safety) is saved to physical servers located somewhere in the world. While many of these servers have state-of-the-art security, others may not, and that might leave your data available to criminals. That’s why it’s important to encrypt your data when you backup and choose a reputable storage provider.
Make sure your data is safe no matter where it is located.
For more information, check out the Australian Cyber Security Centre.
Software providers release updates to protect you against security threats as well as to provide you with the latest in functionality. To leverage the benefits and protect your data, set automatic updates for:
Employee awareness is your first line of defence against data loss. Develop your own security awareness program and appoint a security advocate to help keep employees up to date.
Australian Government | Australian Cyber Security Centre
The Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) brings cyber security capabilities from across the Australian Government together. It’s the hub for collaboration and information sharing to combat cyber security threats. ACSC provides timely information on how home internet users and small businesses can protect themselves from cyber security threats. They also help users reduce their risks of software vulnerabilities, online scams, malicious activities, and risky online behaviours.
Australian Government | ReportCyber
ReportCyber is a secure reporting and referral service for cybercrime. These online incidents may be in breach of Australian law. The ReportCyber website provides a cybercrime reporting mechanism as well as helpful information about cybercrime.
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission | Scamwatch
Scamwatch provides information to consumers and small businesses about how to recognise, avoid and report scams using publications, videos and other online resources.
Australian Government | Office of the eSafety Commissioner
The Office of the eSafety Commissioner provides online safety education for Australian children and young people, a complaints service for young Australians who experience serious cyberbullying, and address illegal online content.
Australian Government | Attorney-General’s Department
The Attorney-General’s Department website provides helpful information and resources about your rights and protections in regards to identity security, freedom of information and cyber security. The Department has developed a range of resources to assist people protect their identity and recover from the effects of identity crime.
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