
No business is safe, big or small, cybercriminals don't discriminate. According to the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC)'s annual report, in 2023-24 cybercrime cost small businesses an average of $49,000 while medium and large businesses lost an average of $63,000. With these price tags, a cyber attack could cost you your business.
While it isn't guaranteed your company will fall prey to cybercrime, it's important to implement cybersecurity strategies that will help protect your bottom line.
Here are three simple and inexpensive strategies that can improve your cybersecurity.
1. Educate Your Employees
Cybercriminals target employees to exploit human error using cyber attacks like phishing. By training your employees on cybersecurity best practices and encouraging the practice of "think before you click," your team can transform into a first line of defence against cyber threats.
The ACSC offers resources to support employee awareness of cyber security. Adding formal cybersecurity training into your company's internal onboarding and retraining processes is also recommended.
- Creating a cybersecurity-first culture in your business may include:
- Encouraging internal reporting of suspicious emails and validating invoices before providing payment.
- Offering regular training sessions to identify phishing attempts, social engineering tactics, etc.
Implementing simulated cyber attack scenarios to encourage employee awareness and preparedness.
2. Protect Your Data: Back It Up
Backing up your data is an inexpensive and effective way to ensure your information will be safe and recoverable after a cyber attack. Ensure regular or automatic backups take place and use multiple backup methods such as cloud storage and portable devices.
Consider implementing the 3-2-1 backup strategy. Promoted by the United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team, the rule states:
3 – Keep three copies of any important file: One primary and two backups.
2 – Keep the files on two different media types to protect against different types of hazards.
1 – Store one copy off-site.
3. Secure Your Accounts
Online accounts can make it incredibly easy to manage and conduct business but they can also make your business more vulnerable to cyber threats.
Steps you can take to maximise your company's cybersecurity include:
- Implementing protective employee practices such as creating strong passwords and passphrases.
- Using a password manager such as Google's Password Manager so employees can securely store all passwords in one encrypted location.
- Enabling multi-factor authentication, which adds a step to verify the user's identity, such as sending a code to a phone or email address, requesting a thumbprint or using facial recognition technology.
- Practicing the principle of least privilege, which maintains employees should only have access to the specific data, resources and applications they need to do their job.
This layered, proactive approach combining employee education, regular data backups and strong access control can keep your business safe from most cyber threats. While you work hard improving cybersecurity to protect your business, let WMC Accounting work hard to help you manage other aspects of your business and provide advice tailored to you.
Ready to take control of your business's operational health? Contact us today to set your business on the path to success.