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As 2022 comes to a close, cyber security is on everyone’s lips following a series of high-profile hacks of major businesses and institutions. But smaller businesses are just as vulnerable to such attacks — in many ways, even more so.
Thankfully, the Australian Cyber Security Centre has released a series of eight cloud security guides aimed at small businesses.
“Cyber security incidents can affect any business, at any time,” the ACSC said in a statement. “With the average cyber security incident costing over $39,000 for small businesses, organisations cannot afford to overlook investing in their cyber security.”
“Investing in preventative measures is usually less expensive than responding to an incident, so it will help minimise the costs for impacted organisations.”
The guides, as well as an introduction and a guide on how best to use the guides can be found here.
The ACSC pointed out that on top of threats to an organisation from losing access to vital infrastructure or losing control of important data, there’s a regulatory risk to not attending to security. The ACSC cites a case study of an Australian Financial Services licensee that was found to be in breach of its licensee obligations. In a Federal Court case, the licensee was found to have engaged in “inadequate risk management practices”, which in turn, led to a series of cyber attacks over a six-year period.
The Court ordered the company to improve its cyber security practices (including such simple directives as to keep their anti-virus software up to date), and to pay $750,000 towards the costs incurred by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.
“Managing cyber risks cannot be an afterthought or an optional extra. It is increasingly being recognised as an essential responsibility of all organisations,” the ACSC said.
The guides cover the following:
The guides focus on walkthroughs using Microsoft 365, but still offer vital advice no matter what applications or services a business might be using.
David Hollingworth has been writing about technology for over 20 years, and has worked for a range of print and online titles in his career. He is enjoying getting to grips with cyber security, especially when it lets him talk about Lego.
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