Having good cyber security protection in place for your business is as essential as good physical security. The Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) receives reports on a daily basis from business owners and operators around the country who’ve been hit by a cyber-security incident. From paying false invoices to scammers, through to staff inadvertently clicking on suspicious links that bring a business’s entire system down – the reports are alarming and growing.
43% of cyber-attacks are aimed at small business with an average cost of $10,000 (1). Having good anti-virus software is no longer enough to protect your business.
Around 25% of Australian small to medium enterprises experienced a cybercrime in 2017 (2). For two out of every three businesses affected by Cybercrime these costs are not recovered (3).
Cyber security advice does not have to be difficult. The ACSC’s Small Business Cyber Security Guide and Step by Step Guides – freely available at our upcoming workshop – will demonstrate simple actions that can significantly avoid or reduce the impact of the most common cyber security incidents that threaten your businesses.
Further Resources
- Essential steps to protect your business
- Protect your organisation from phishing
- Email Scams
- To report a cybercrime incident, go to ReportCyber. It is a national online system to help businesses and individuals securely report cybercrime.
The Cyber Security Small Business Program is particularly helpful for businesses who are looking to further develop their maturity in protecting themselves from Cyber Security Threats.
References
- Symantec, Internet Security Threat Report (2016)
- Norton by Symantec 2017, Norton SMB Cyber Security Survey: Australia 2017, p.6,
- NSW Small Business Commissioner, 2017, Cyber Aware: Report into the Perceptions of, attitudes to and preparedness for Cybercrime amongst Australia’s small and medium-sized enterprises, p.14