• About
    • About Accru
    • The Accru Advantage
    • Testimonials
    • Our People
    • Our Services
    • International Affiliations
    • Corporate Social Responsibility
    • Join the Accru Network
    • Careers
  • Locations
    • Accru Felsers Sydney
    • Accru Melbourne
    • Accru Rawsons Brisbane
    • Accru Perth
    • Accru Harris Orchard Adelaide
    • Accru Hobart
  • News & Tools
    • News
    • Publications
    • Accru Tax Guide 2017/18 App
    • Fact Sheets
    • Online Portfolio Links
    • Useful Business Websites
  • Careers
    • Working with Accru
    • Culture & Values
    • Accru in the Community
    • Current Vacancies
  • Contact Us
Client Login
Accru Logo Skip to content
  • COVID-19
  • Accounting
    • Cloud Accounting
    • Outsourced Accounting
    • CFO Services
    • Corporate Compliance
    • Find an Expert
    • Testimonials
  • Audit
    • External Audit
    • Internal Audits
    • SMSF Audits
    • Due Diligence
    • Data Analytics
    • Payroll Data Analytics
    • Find an Expert
    • Testimonials
  • Business Advisory
    • Business Management
    • M&A and Business Sales
    • Valuations
    • Restructures
    • Succession Planning
    • Business Turnaround
    • Management Consulting
    • Find an Expert
    • Testimonials
  • Taxation
    • Tax Compliance
    • Tax Advisory
    • FBT & Salary Packaging
    • GST & Indirect Tax
    • International Tax
    • Find an Expert
    • Testimonials
  • Wealth Management
    • Wealth Creation
    • Superannuation & Retirement Planning
    • Self Managed Super Funds
    • Estate Planning
    • Find an Expert
    • Testimonials
  • Finance & Insurance
    • Mortgage Broking
    • Commercial Finance
    • Risk Insurance
    • Find an Expert
    • Testimonials
  • International Business
    • Services for German-speaking companies
    • Services for Chinese-speaking companies
    • Starting a business in Australia
    • Expanding overseas
    • Transfer Pricing Australia
    • International Tax
    • Find an Expert
  • Industries
    • Pharmacies
    • Medical Practitioners
    • Not-for-Profit
    • Education
    • Property & Construction
    • Professional Services
    • Manufacturing & Distribution
    • Finance & Investment
    • Retail
    • Digital, Media, Emerging Technologies
Client Login
  • Accru Acccountants | Audit | Tax | Business Advisory
  • Services
  • About
    • About Accru
    • The Accru advantage: quality, innovation and value
    • Testimonials
    • Our People
    • International Affiliations
    • Corporate Social Responsibility
    • Join the Accru Network
    • Careers
  • Locations
    • All Locations
    • Accru Felsers Sydney
    • Accru Melbourne
    • Accru Rawsons Brisbane
    • Accru Perth
    • Accru Harris Orchard Adelaide
    • Accru Hobart
  • News & Tools
    • News
    • Publications
    • Accru Tax Guide 2017/18 App
    • Fact Sheets
    • Online Portfolio Links
    • Useful Business Websites
  • Careers
    • Careers
    • Working with Accru
    • Culture & Values
    • Accru in the Community
    • Current Vacancies
  • Contact Us
Facebook LinkedIn Twitter Youtube
Accru logo

Information security innovation isn’t just for governments

By Steve Kristianto / March 23, 2016

Information and technology has transformed the way Australian businesses operate. Online operations are now almost mandatory in most industry sectors for day-to-day transactions, local and international. This has brought countless advantages, but also risks.

SuperStream iStock_000025548380

Businesses have a higher exposure to cybercrime than ever before. We hear about the attacks on big businesses – like Sony, Target and Ashley Madison –  and the financial and non-financial damage caused. However, the Australian Federal Police revealed last year that they are seeing a trend to smaller businesses becoming targets, with more than 3,500 breaches in Australia reported per month. The ACCC are also receiving an increasing number of complaints about ‘ransomware’ attacks which block access to a computer system until a sum of money is paid.

National cyber security strategy announced

The Government has recognized cybercrime as a serious threat, announcing its $30 million ‘Cyber Security Growth Centre’ as part of the National Innovation and Science Agenda (NISA).
The Centre will be an independent and not-for-profit organisation led by a board of industry leaders who will work together with researchers and governments.

The Australian Government expects the Centre to benefit businesses by
+  Helping them address the growing threat of cybercrime
+  Improving management and workforce skills, productivity and competitiveness
+  Improving access to global supply chains and international markets via secure communication lines.

Once the full strategy is released and the Centre is operational later this year, businesses should be able to take advantage of the cyber security measures put forward. The new developments may spur more innovative business models, products, services and markets.

Businesses need to protect themselves

While everyone should welcome the Government moving to enhance cybersecurity, small to medium businesses also need to take steps to protect their data.

The risks are more widespread than you may think, not only through malicious actions. For example, the staff in your business might be using a public cloud service like Dropbox to access and share work-related documents on their mobile devices. Once your business data leaves your business environment, you have lost control of the information and have no way of knowing if a cybercriminal or competitor has gotten hold of it.

So, how do you secure an organisation with limited resources? The first priority is to not be an obvious target. Ninety per cent of attacks are associated with weaknesses in basic remediation, such as firewalls, default passwords, VPNs and double authentication.

Some simple steps ensure your business isn’t noticeably insecure – like creating good passwords and changing them regularly, doing regular backups to a removable hard drive, moving off of Windows XP if you still have it (as support and updates ended last year), ensuring your automatic software updates and antivirus updates are enabled, and your firewalls are maintained.

For ways to help your businesses stay safe, see the Government’s  Stay Smart Online Business Guide at www.communications.gov.au/what-we-do/internet/stay-smart-online/alert-service and check out http://www.scamwatch.gov.au/ to stay alert to the latest scams.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published

Cancel

News & Tools

  • All News
  • All
    • Business Growth
    • Digital Business
    • Financial Management
    • International Business
    • Audit Risk & Assurance
    • Tax Essentials
    • Wealth & Superannuation
    • Accru News
  • Publications
  • Accru Tax Guide 2017/18 App
  • Fact Sheets
  • Online Portfolio Links
  • Useful Business Websites

Subscribe to our Newsletter

Subscribe to the Accru Newsletter Subscribe

Latest News

Australian Reporting Framework Update
Read article

Accru Top
Services
  • Accounting
  • Audit
  • Business Advisory
  • Taxation
  • Wealth Management
  • Finance & Insurance
  • International Business
  • Industry Sectors
About Us
  • About Accru
  • The Accru advantage: quality, innovation and value
    • Starting a Business
    • Expanding a Business
    • Reaping the Rewards
  • Testimonials
  • Our People
  • Our Services
  • International Affiliations
  • Corporate Social Responsibility
  • Join the Accru Network
  • Careers
Locations
  • Sydney
  • Melbourne
  • Brisbane
  • Perth
  • Adelaide
  • Hobart
News & Tools
  • News
    • Business Growth
    • Finance & Insurance
    • International Business
    • Risk & Assurance
    • Tax & Accounting
    • Wealth & Superannuation
    • Publications
  • Accru Tax Guide 2017/18 App
  • Fact Sheets
  • Online Portfolio Links
  • Useful Business Websites

Follow Accru Australia

Facebook LinkedIn Twitter Youtube
Subscribe to Accru's e-news

Accru's e-news updates are designed to keep you up to-to-date on essential business topics.

Subscribe

© 2021 Accru

Terms of Use | Privacy Policy

Site by Click2It

×