Software Solutions

Online and Data Security

In Australia there is a cybercrime reported every 10 minutes; as a small business owner, you need to be cybersecurity aware.

Cybercriminals target businesses who are

• less security conscious
• don’t train their staff to be cyberthreat aware
• less likely to implement cybersecurity measures
• that are aware there are risks but don’t treat them seriously
• spend less money on cyber security measures
• that don’t have current versions of virus protection installed on computers and don’t have a firewall to protect data.

What’s the best way to protect your business against these cyberthreats?

• Automatically update your operating system this protects you against known security issues
• Automatically update your software applications this fixes known issues
• Regularly back up your business’ data and store it off-site;  have a “safe” version of your business documents.
• Protect your ID. Don’t send copies of your ID to organisations via email.
• Use multi-factor authentication at every opportunity (MFA)

What is multi-factor authentication?

It’s a security measure that requires two or more proofs of identity to grant you access to the account. Multi-factor authentication usually requires a combination of something the user knows or has eg a PIN Personal Identification Number, a secret questions, token or fingerprint.

How easy are your passwords to hack?

The most used password on the planet is password123, whilst it’s easy to remember it only takes hackers seconds and less that 1 cent to crack.

Passwords that include a capital letter and symbols are a little bit more complex to remember but they’re still easy to crack. Hackers will spend 30 minutes of their time and $6 of their cash to hack into account where they can steal hundreds of $.

Tech geeks were keen to promote nonsense passwords using random combinations of letter, symbols and numbers. However, while they’re hard for us to remember they’re relatively easy for hackers to crack in 2.5 hrs costing only $30, well worth the price.

The good news is that there are easy to remember passwords that are too costly both in time and money for hackers to bother with. The secret lies in sentences of 35 characters. The example commonly gives (and not to be used) is I don’t like pineapple on my pizza! This password is personal, easy to remember and has a combination of capital letters, lower case, symbols, and spaces. It’s very easy to remember and very difficult to crack. Instead of using this example think of something that only you know about and turn it into a short sentence.

Remember, don’t use the same password on every site you have to login to.

For those who have trouble remembering passwords there are Apps that can store your passwords and other that store and auto complete passwords. Before subscribing to one of these programs check their security history and feedback. You’re looking for a trusted service that hasn’t had any security breaches.

QUICK CYBER CHECK

Do you

• Use HTTPS to increase your website security?
• Update your website’s content management systems, plugins and programs?
• Use multi-factor authentication and passphrases to access online programs?
• Train your team not to client on email links?
• Hover over email addresses to make sure they’re legitimate?
• Only visit your bank via a secure app?
• Log off from apps when not in use?
• Send ID via email?
• Use up-to-date anti-virus software on all your devices?
• Regularly back up all your data from your computers and devices?
• Only use your own data and not public WIFI when out?
• Turn on automatic updates for your operating system?
• Turn on automatic updates for your software?
• Turn on Two-Factor authentication for your social media accounts?

https://www.cyber.gov.au/acsc/small-and-medium-businesses

How do you know if your business details are on the dark web?

https://haveibeenpwned.com/