Australia’s small businesses can now better protect themselves from the most common cybersecurity incidents–thanks to a new initiative from the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC).
The organisation has launched the Small Business Cloud Security Guides to help businesses secure their cloud environments.
Abigail Bradshaw-Head of the ACSC–said they worked with Microsoft to develop these guides–to make “Australia a hard target for cybercriminals”.
Potential threats
“We recognise owners and operators of small businesses may not have the resources or time to understand online complexities or establish complicated responses to potential risks, ”she said. “Guides such as these can assist businesses in understanding cyber risk and how to work with a managed service provider, or internal technical employees to ensure a robust cyber posture.” Worryingly, more than76,000 cybercrime reports were submitted to the ACSC in 2021-22. That equates to one in Australia every seven minutes!
Financial loss
“As technology advances, so should our cyber security. A cybercrime can be devastating and can cause significant financial loss for a small business, “said Alexi Boyd, CEO Council of Small Business Organisations Australia.
“On average, cyber incidents cost small businesses over $39,000. These guides are designed to help businesses secure their systems and data.”
These guides are just some of the resources available at cyber.gov.au, to help individuals and businesses improve their cyber security.
ACSC Partnership Program
The recently launched ACSC Partnership Program encourages the sharing of insights and collaborative opportunities to improve cyber resilience across all sectors of the Australian economy. “We encourage all Australians to join our Partnership Program and receive timely information, such as these guides, to help them keep their systems and networks secure,” said Bradshaw.
Cyber security advice and assistance is available 24/7 through the Australian Cyber Security Hotline on 1300 CYBER1(1300 292 371).
You can also report a cybercrime or cyber security incident at www.cyber.gov.au/acsc/contact#no-back