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Cyber security awareness

Cybercrime remains a significant challenge for small businesses. Make sure you’re taking all the necessary steps to protect yourself.

The Federal Government’s Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) has a great resource for small businesses called the Small Business Cyber Security Guide.

It provides useful information on malicious software, why you should never pay a ransom, emails to be cautious about, the value of well-trained employees and how best to protect your data.

A key recommendation in the guide is that small businesses adopt Multi-factor authentication (MFA) which typically requires a combination of something the user knows (pin, secret question), physically possesses (card, token) or inherently possesses (fingerprint, retina identification).

The ACSC also provides useful resources for small businesses. These include how to recover quickly if things do go wrong (Getting your business back up and running), as well as step by step cyber security guides for various common software and devices (Step-by-step guides).

You can seek tailored one-on-one and group support for digital matters, including cyber security, through the Digital Solutions – Australian Small Business Advisory Services.

If your business is affected by cybercrime, you can report it to ReportCyber.

This is a national online system that allows the public to securely report instances of cybercrime. It will also provide advice to help people recognise and avoid common types of cybercrime.

Even if your issue seems minor, it’s good to report, to help ensure national data is accurate and police can accurately assess the impact of this crime.

Stay up to date on the latest scam impacting businesses by subscribing to the ACCC’s Scamwatch Radar.

 

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