The average time taken to detect a breach in 2021 was 212 days, so it’s no surprise that a recent study by IBM revealed that the average cost of a data breach in Australia is $4.1 mil, an increase of 2.5% from 2021. The financial and brand reputational damage is one aspect. However, the broader implications of a breach include lost time as people from IT to the Board deal with the incident, regulatory compliance reporting and reporting to suppliers and business partners. The cost and complexity of investigation and remediation. The reality is that some smaller unprepared organisations might never recover from such an attack.
Regardless of the size of your business, small or large, implementing measures to prevent threats and educating your employees about the latest cyber threats and how to identify and prevent them is still one of the most effective ways to stay secure.
The Resources
Cybercrime is at its all-time high, and to keep Australians safe, the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) provides resources to enable startups, small businesses, or those having a lean cybersecurity budget to do what it takes to remain secure. Below are some valuable resources and highlights why they are so important.
Multi-factor Authentication (MFA)
MFA is the combined use of memory-based, time-sensitive, and biometric authenticators to log into an account. It is an excellent solution for brute force and password-spraying attacks. According to Microsoft, implementing MFA can block out 99.9% of attacks launched on accounts, and therefore implementing it can bolster the security of your accounts. So here’s a comprehensive guide from ACSC about multi-factor authentication, including how you can use it to keep your Apple, Microsoft, Google, Facebook, and Instagram accounts secure.
Business Email Compromise (BEC)
Organisations now face the imminent risk of being scammed into paying a fake vendor or taking directions from scammers under the assumption that those were coming from a credible sender. You can prevent this by creating awareness about cybercrime within your organisation. Here’s an ACSC resource that can help protect your business from email fraud and compromise. You and your employees can also take the ACSC Quiz ‘Would you know what to do if you were a victim of a business email compromise?‘ as a way to assess your cybersecurity knowledge when it comes to BEC.
Phishing
50,006 phishing scams have been reported in Australia, totalling losses of a staggering $13,965,331. These figures are changing daily! To avoid being part of these statistics businesses can utilise the ACSC’s phishing resources.
Final Takeaway
In addition to the measures mentioned above, ensuring you keep your ecosystem safe with regular updates, backups, and defensive tools like email and web filters is highly recommended.
About PhishNet
PhishNet delivers highly effective, engaging, and affordable cybersecurity awareness training to help businesses mitigate the risks of human error data breaches.
Talk to PhishNet today to learn more, or click here to download our eBook How to Prevent Cybersecurity Breaches cause by Human Error.