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Category Archives: Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity, Essential Eight, MSP, Strategy

Which Essential Eight maturity level should my business be at?

10/08/2023 Marketing Department

Which Essential Eight maturity level should my business be at?

You know what Essential Eight is and that the Australian Government highly recommends implementing it, but does that mean your business must be at the highest maturity level?

As cyberattacks continue to rise in frequency and sophistication, businesses of all sizes must take proactive steps to protect their sensitive information and assets. Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) has developed the Essential Eight, a set of mitigation strategies that businesses can implement to significantly reduce the risk of a successful cyberattack.

The ACSC has defined four maturity levels to help organisations identify where exactly they’re at when it comes to their Cyber Security. These maturity levels aim to help businesses implement Essential Eight, originally introduced in 2017 and updated in 2023 after the increase in cyberattacks on Australian organisations. However, many business owners may wonder which maturity level they should be at when implementing the Essential Eight.

What are the maturity levels?

Maturity Level Zero: Indicates that your business has significant weaknesses in its overall Cyber Security and would be easy to exploit by attackers. If you’re at this level, any potentially confidential data or the availability of your systems and data are at risk of being compromised.

Maturity Level One: Organisations sitting in this level have some sort of processes to protect themselves from opportunistic attackers looking to infiltrate the masses, rather than individual businesses.

Maturity Level Two: These businesses have reasonable defences in place to defend themselves against cybercriminals specifically targeting their organisation. Criminals attacking these businesses are happy to invest more time and effort into bypassing security controls, such as by using targeted social engineering techniques when using phishing, but are also wary of spending too much time and money trying to compromise their victims. Businesses at this level introduce shorter timelines for action, ensure high-risk activities are logged and start thinking more broadly about potential threats.

Maturity Level Three: This is the highest level a business can be at where businesses are actively mitigating threats from adversaries that are constantly adapting their techniques and who are very focused on targeting specific, high-value organisations. These adversaries exploit any opportunities in weaknesses in the Cyber Security of the organisation and are willing to invest time and effort into understanding the organisation, their security control and their staff to gain access and evade detection.

What maturity level should my business be at?

Businesses start off being at level zero, but it’s time to understand that this must be changed and you need to increase the Cyber Security strategies in your business.

The first four of the Essential Eight strategies, known as the baseline maturity level, are considered to be the minimum requirement for all businesses. The remaining four strategies are part of the advanced maturity level and offer additional protection against cyber threats.

While implementing Essential Eight can help significantly reduce your risk of a cyberattack, it’s important to remember that it’s not a one-size-fits-all solution. Your business may require additional mitigation strategies beyond Essential Eight, and your business must conduct a comprehensive risk assessment to identify any gaps in your security. That is the first step in implementing Essential Eight. Focus on achieving a maturity level that makes sense for your business as the nature of your data might not be as sensitive as another business’ and Maturity Level Three might not correlate to your risk management evaluation.

So, which maturity level should your business be at? It ultimately depends on the size and complexity of your business, as well as the level of risk you are willing to tolerate. However, the baseline maturity level should be the starting point for all businesses, regardless of size or industry.

The baseline strategies include:

Application control: This involves only allowing approved applications to run on your systems, which can help prevent malware and other malicious software from executing.
Patching applications: Regularly updating applications with the latest security patches can help prevent cyber attackers from exploiting vulnerabilities in your systems.
Patching operating systems: Like patching applications, regularly updating your operating systems with the latest security patches can help prevent cyber attackers from exploiting vulnerabilities.
Restricting administrative privileges: Limiting the number of people who have administrative access to your systems can help reduce the risk of a successful cyberattack.
Configure Microsoft Office macro settings: Cybercriminals often use Microsoft Office macros to deliver malware, so configuring the macro settings in Microsoft Office can help your business prevent this type of attack.

Once this level has been achieved, for businesses with higher risk levels, implementing the advanced maturity level strategies can provide additional protection. These strategies include:

Multi-factor authentication: Requiring more than one form of authentication, such as a password and a security token, can help prevent unauthorised access to your systems.
User application hardening: Configuring user applications to prevent malicious content from executing can help reduce the risk of a successful cyberattack.
Daily backups: Regularly backing up your data can help ensure that you can recover quickly in the event of a successful cyberattack.
Incident response: Developing and implementing an incident response plan can help minimise the impact of a successful cyberattack on your business.

Each mitigation strategy needs to be lifted to a higher level until the target maturity level is achieved as your business’ overall maturity is based on the lowest score of any of the strategies. This will not change unless all eight mitigation strategies are lifted to the specific target level. In the original iteration of Essential Eight, it aimed for all organisations to reach Maturity Level Three, but with the latest release, it aims for organisations to reach a homogenous maturity level across the strategies before then moving up to the next level.

Improving your business’ Cyber Security strategies can be an expensive process and achieving any maturity level of the Essential Eight strategies requires time. Start with the baseline, then work your way up to help reduce the costs in the beginning. While it can be a slow process, your business must ensure it’s beginning to improve its maturity level as cyberattacks become increasingly common, especially so among small to medium-sized businesses. What’s more, there’s a high chance that Essential Eight will be mandated in the near future for some, if not all, industries due to just how common these cyberattacks are occurring.

In summary, all businesses should start with the baseline maturity level of Essential Eight, regardless of size or industry. From there, businesses with higher risk levels may need to implement advanced maturity-level strategies for additional protection. It’s important to conduct a comprehensive risk assessment to identify any additional mitigation strategies that may be necessary for your business.

Cybersecurity, Data Recovery, MSP

Is my company’s data recovery system fail-proof?

08/08/2023 Marketing Department

Is my company’s data recovery system fail-proof?

Have you ever lost important data due to a system failure and wondered if your data recovery system is fail-proof? Losing valuable data can be a frustrating and emotional experience, so it’s important to ensure that your data recovery system is reliable and effective.

When a company loses data that can be recreated or easily regathered, then data loss might not be a major issue for your business, but when data critical to your business is lost and unable to be reobtained quickly, this can cause devastating problems for your business, including possible fines.

Some business owners have the idea that they live in an area safe from disasters, or they’ve never had a disaster, so they don’t need to invest in a disaster recovery plan for their business. For those business owners or stakeholders, it’s time to start rethinking what disaster recovery means.

When something goes wrong on one of your or your employees’ devices, or even in your IT system infrastructure, a strong recovery plan can mean the difference between getting back up and running in minutes or struggling to recover your information for days, weeks or ever.

What Constitutes a Disaster?

A disaster doesn’t just have to be natural, like a fire, flood, cyclone or earthquake. In business, disaster also includes ones caused by human error, like an employee failing to save a document or clicking a phishing link. Data backups and recovery in your business means protecting your business from human error, corrupted files, fraud, ransomware, Cyber Security breaches, IT system failures and power outages.

Importance of a Disaster Recovery Plan

Other than protecting your business and its long-term operations, having a disaster recovery plan is important for many other reasons, including:

Protecting your business’ data
Protecting sensitive information of customers
Protecting your business’ reputation
Removing longevity worries and allowing your business to focus on more important matters
Cost-effective as it reduces possible financial loss and business disruption

The 3-2-1 Backup Rule

If you are not relying on an external provider to look after your systems and data recovery, businesses should use the 3-2-1 rule. All precious data should be stored 3 times, once on the original data storage place, like your computer, and then on two other different technologies, like on disks and the cloud.

Why do backups fail?

Your backup software didn’t work
There’s not enough space on the storage device for the backup
The backup didn’t cover the entire device
Backups are done manually, not automatically
The computer or storage device was not on when the automatic backup was scheduled
Files were lost before the backup was created

Backup tips

Here are some tips to determine whether your data recovery system is fail-proof.

Firstly, consider the type of data recovery system you have in place. If you’re relying on a basic backup system like an external hard drive or USB drive, it may not be enough to protect against all types of data loss. These systems can also fail, so it’s important to have a backup of your backup or consider using a more sophisticated data recovery system.

Secondly, consider how often you’re backing up. If you’re only backing up your data occasionally, such as once a week or once a month, you may be at risk of losing important data that was created or modified since your last backup, so if you received a large amount of customer data or analytics during that time, it’s all gone. Ensure your backup system runs automatically regularly so you don’t have to worry about forgetting to back up your data.

Thirdly, test your data recovery system regularly. It’s important to ensure that your data recovery system is actually working and can recover your data in the event of a system failure. Test your backup and recovery processes regularly and ensure you can restore all of your important data.

Fourthly, consider using cloud-based backup and recovery systems. These systems are designed to be highly reliable and secure and can protect against all types of data loss, including natural disasters, theft and cyberattacks. They also allow you to access your data from anywhere, at any time, making it easy to recover your data in the event of a system failure.

How an MSP helps

Your managed service provider should offer data continuity as a service and it is a service you should most certainly be using. The MSP will regularly back up your data and test these backups to ensure your business will be back up and running no matter what happens.

Pronet Technology’s disaster recovery solution provides several layers of redundancy to ensure that your essential data is backed up and recoverable. Our backup systems are also regularly ‘stress tested’ so that we can ensure your backups are ready and able to function in a real situation.

Ensuring that your data recovery system is fail-proof is essential for protecting your valuable data. Consider the type of backup system you’re using, the frequency and reliability of your backups, regularly test your data recovery system and consider using a cloud-based backup and recovery system. By taking these steps, you can ensure that your data is safe and secure and that you won’t have to worry about losing important data due to a system failure.

Businesses are full of data and while this data may not be 100 per cent safe from threats and losses, as long as you’re prepared for such emergencies, you will be able to pick up and keep business moving.

Like anything in the IT industry, risks and solutions are constantly changing, so keep up to date with different strategies to incorporate into your data recovery plan. Contact your MSP to see how they are adequately keeping your data safe and to see if there is anything else your business can do to keep itself safe.

Cybersecurity, Essential Eight, Strategy

Does my business need to implement every aspect of Essential Eight?

03/08/2023 Marketing Department

Does my business need to implement every aspect of Essential Eight?

Essential Eight aims to get organisations to achieve a varied Cyber Security framework that spans the eight strategies so that they can improve their maturity of whichever strategy they are lagging. It’s an initiative that helps businesses understand the importance of Cyber Security within their organisation and gives them a framework on how to improve.

As the strategies are varied and quite specific, a business will not reach the maturity level it needs without any dedicated effort. We understand it can be a struggle to navigate the challenges of Cyber Security, especially since the higher the maturity level you reach, the more costs involved and the inconvenience it can be on yourself and your staff. It’s necessary though, as any cyberattack that occurs can be detrimental to your business, including unproductive staff, downtime, data breaches, ransom attacks, lost customer trust and reputation, high expenses plus any legal fees that may occur, and potentially could even see the closure of your company.

Does my business need to implement all eight strategies?

If you’re unsure what the eight strategies are, read this article here to learn.

Originally when Essential Eight was introduced by the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC), now part of the Australian Signals Directorate (ADS), it suggested all organisations should aim to reach Maturity Level three. Businesses had to implement only four of the strategies — application control, patch applications, restrict administrative privileges and configure Microsoft Office macro settings — with the remainder being optional, and they were also able to self-assess their compliance.

With the updated version released in 2023, it aims for businesses to reach the same maturity level across the strategies before moving up to the next. What this means is that each of the eight strategies needs to be improved and lifted to your needed level. If seven of the strategies are at Level Two and one is at Level One, then your organisation’s Maturity Level is One. The newer version also introduces audits to check proper compliance.

For that reason, yes, your business needs to implement every strategy in Essential Eight. It’s the target level that determines how intensely you then implement these strategies.

Your business may not need to reach Level Three. This will be determined in your initial risk audit and assessments that you complete alongside a Cyber Security audit. Business owners and stakeholders must understand the risks that your business faces, as well as the costs associated with these and the consequences if they happen.

Is Essential Eight enough to protect my business?

Other than Essential Eight, your business should also have other Cyber Security practices in effect, including proactive monitoring of your networks and devices for malicious activity and regularly testing data recovery solutions so that when a cyberattack occurs, you can get your business back up and running. Essential Eight also doesn’t approach the task of the initial risk assessment that your business must undergo before implementing any Cyber Security strategy.

Essential Eight is simply a starting point for businesses to protect their digital assets. At current, the framework is about to become compulsory for all non-corporate Commonwealth Entities (NCCEs) so that Australia conducts business securely in the future to protect the country and its citizens. Now that so much of our lives and information is online, action needs to take place to protect this information. The government will be auditing NCCEs for compliance and, as part of their contracts, the NCCEs may require businesses they work with to also comply, meaning businesses may lose opportunities if they do not comply.

The framework is also highly recommended by the Australian Government for all other businesses, but we believe this will change soon to become mandated. Cyber Security attacks are growing, both in number and complexity. Criminals are using social engineering to trick staff into believing they are legitimate actors which then leads to disaster for businesses. Your business needs to aim to decrease as many of these opportunities, plus other complex threats, from reaching your staff, which Essential Eight can help achieve.

The ACSC themselves mention that:

“While no single mitigation strategy is guaranteed to prevent Cyber Security incidents, organisations are recommended to implement eight essential mitigation strategies as a baseline. This baseline, known as the essential eight, makes it much harder for adversaries to compromise systems.”

What now?

Implementing Essential Eight is something we, as an MSP specialising in Cyber Security, have been working with our clients to do and is something we do with every new client we take on board. Cyber Security can ruin businesses, so it’s something that must be applied.

The maturity level your business requires depends on your business and circumstances, so during the assessment, make sure to ask questions like ‘What is the risk of an attack’ and ‘What does my business have to lose.’ Once you’ve determined the level, it’s then time to achieve this through implementation, reviewing and monitoring.

If you’re unsure where to go from here, we can help you along the journey. In addition, Pronet Technology can also help with broader and stronger Cyber Security strategies and offer services with advanced threat protection and detection.

Contact Pronet Technology today to learn how prepared your business is for Essential Eight and how we can improve your Cyber Security.

Cybersecurity, Essential Eight, MSP, Technology

Essential Eight and why your business needs to Integrate Cyber Security

01/08/2023 Marketing Department

Essential Eight and why your business needs to Integrate Cyber Security

In today’s world, IT systems are an essential part of any organisation. They help in improving efficiency, communication and productivity. However, with the increasing use of technology, the risks associated with IT systems have also increased.

You must know what Essential Eight is if you’re an Australian organisation. It’s a cyber self-assessment security maturity tool to help organisations reduce Cyber Security incidents caused by cyber threats

The government currently recommends that organisations implement the eight essential mitigations as a baseline but we believe this will change in the future to be mandated so it is something we advise our clients and prospects to implement.

Developed by the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) to protect Microsoft Windows-based internet-connected networks, the framework has four maturity levels for each business’ risk category.

Level Zero: not aligned with strategic objectives.
Level One: partially aligned with the objectives.
Level Two: mostly aligned with the mitigation strategy objectives.
Level Three: fully aligned with objectives.

The levels depend on your business’ risk status and data sensitivity. Level One businesses, for example, are not commonly targeted specifically, so they just receive the typical mass scam emails. Level Two has the potential to be targeted but criminals will often move on if they find the security systems to be too hard to breach. Level Three are where attackers primarily focus as they have high dollar value data, such as banks and telecommunication companies.

Why should your business measure against Essential Eight?

Essentially, Essential Eight is all about Cyber Security and can be seen as a baseline for businesses to measure their maturity against, but it should be just one part of a wider framework that you should have in place. Cyber threats are constantly evolving, so businesses need to adapt to disruptions caused by Cyber Security incidents so that they can maintain business operations. This includes detecting, managing and recovering from incidents. We have other articles on our blog relating to these, so please read those to understand what your business should be doing to protect itself.

By measuring your business against the framework, your business can increase its knowledge of Cyber Security in business and identify company risks and how to control them. It allows your business to create a roadmap going forward that you can tick off to know that your company is becoming secure, and it gives you something to assess your service provider with to ensure they are integrating the Cyber Security processes within your business.

Limitations of Essential Eight

As mentioned, Essential Eight should not be used in isolation to protect your organisation. It’s not a fully-fledged Cyber Security framework and will not protect you from ever having cyber threats. For example, if you’re at Maturity level Three, this will not stop adversaries with the time, money and effort to compromise your business.

The Essential Eight is currently just a loose framework for your business to get started with implementing Cyber Security strategies to protect your businesses. When data leaks can cause your business to be in breach of laws such as The Privacy Act, you need to ensure that you are adequately covered.

The framework is also primarily designed for Microsoft Windows-based businesses, which represent the majority of public sector organisations’ corporate environments, hence why it was introduced by the government. So, while it’s not specifically designed for other operating systems like Mac, Cloud, Operational Technology (OT) or Linux, you can still use it to support your organisation’s Cyber Security development.

So, what are the Essential Eight strategies?

The Essential Eight strategies are designed to address the most common types of cyberattacks that businesses face. They are practical, actionable and cost-effective. Here’s a brief overview of each of the Essential Eight strategies:

Application control: This strategy involves creating a list of approved applications that can be executed on a system. By doing this, organisations can prevent malicious software from running on their systems.
Patch applications: Regularly patching applications can help businesses fix vulnerabilities in their software. This reduces the likelihood of cyberattacks that exploit these vulnerabilities.
Configure Microsoft Office macro settings: Cybercriminals often use Microsoft Office macros to deliver malware. Configuring the macro settings in Microsoft Office can help SMEs prevent this type of attack.
User application hardening: Blocks or removes common software used to download or run malicious software and prevents malicious software from running on business’ networks.
Restrict administrative privileges: Limiting administrative privileges can help businesses prevent malicious actors from gaining access to critical systems.
Patch operating systems: Similarly, regularly patching operating systems can help organizations fix vulnerabilities in the underlying software. This reduces the likelihood of cyberattacks that exploit these vulnerabilities.
Multi-factor authentication: Using multi-factor authentication can help organisations prevent unauthorised access to their systems. It involves requiring two or more forms of authentication before granting access.
Daily backups: Regularly backing up data can help businesses recover from cyberattacks. In the event of a ransomware attack, for example, businesses can restore their data from a backup rather than paying the ransom.

While you might not understand the technical processes of each of the Essential Eight, your IT service provider should be implementing these strategies to help your organisation protect itself against cyber threats. Talk with your MSP to see how and if they’re implementing these into your business.

Does my business need to implement Essential Eight?

While it is not mandated to do so, the framework is highly recommended by the government for Australian businesses to follow. At Pronet Technology, we recommend your company start integrating the framework as soon as possible. Even though we’re an MSP, over the last five so years, we’ve been doing all we can to learn more about and specialise in Cyber Security as we believe it plays an integral role in the longevity of businesses.

While ACSC recommends all businesses be at maturity level 3, each organisation’s Cyber Security level depends on its business need, size and complexity. As a business, conduct a risk assessment alongside your IT service provider to determine, analyse and prioritise the gaps in your business that can be strengthened and then act on those.

There are always going to be some challenges to improving Cyber Security within your business. It could be that you lack the staff and funding or that you don’t have the knowledge to successfully implement Cyber Security. You could have other organisational priorities or believe ad-hoc security is enough. Some people in the business might not yet be on board or you just don’t know how to improve. Cyber Security runs throughout the business so it’s something that everyone needs to understand and come on board with.

Most companies these days outsource their IT systems to service providers. Make sure you know the cyber maturity of your MSP in relation to Essential Eight so that you can build a strong working relationship with the MSP to ensure your business is protected.

By implementing these strategies, SMEs can significantly reduce their risk of cyberattacks. Essential Eight is not a silver bullet, but it’s a great starting point for any organisation looking to improve its Cyber Security posture. It’s important to note that Cyber Security is an ongoing process, and businesses should continually assess and improve their security measures.

Cybersecurity, Essential Eight, IT Support

Who is a Cyber Security Risk Assessment for?

18/07/2023 Marketing Department

Who is a Cyber Security Risk Assessment for?

As we move towards a more digitised world, the importance of Cyber Security continues to increase. Cyberattacks have become more frequent, sophisticated and damaging over the years. It’s essential to ensure the safety and security of your organisation’s information and technology assets. One of the best ways to achieve this is by conducting a Cyber Security Risk Assessment.

A Cyber Security Risk Assessment is a process of identifying, analysing and evaluating potential risks and vulnerabilities in an organisation’s digital environment. It involves evaluating the security measures in place and identifying any weaknesses that can lead to data breaches, cyberattacks or other security incidents. The ultimate goal of a Cyber Security Risk Assessment is to develop a comprehensive security plan that minimises risks and protects an organisation’s digital assets.

Why is a Cyber Security Risk Assessment important?

The world is witnessing a surge in cybercrime activities. Hackers and cybercriminals are always looking for ways to infiltrate an organisation’s digital environment and exploit vulnerabilities. A Cyber Security Risk Assessment helps organisations identify potential risks and vulnerabilities in their digital environment, enabling them to take proactive measures to mitigate such risks.

A Risk Assessment also helps organisations to comply with various regulatory requirements such as The Privacy Act 1988. Compliance with such regulations is crucial, as non-compliance can lead to hefty fines, legal liabilities and reputational damage.

Who is a Cyber Security Risk Assessment for?

A Cyber Security Risk Assessment is for everyone, irrespective of the size or nature of the organisation. Any organisation that stores, processes or interacts with information over the internet is at risk of cyberattacks. Therefore, every organisation needs to conduct a Risk Assessment to identify potential risks and vulnerabilities and develop a comprehensive security plan.

Small and Medium-sized businesses (SMBs)

Small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) often assume that they are not at risk of cyberattacks because they are small or don’t have much valuable information. However, this is not true. Hackers often target SMBs because they have weaker security measures in place, making them easy targets. Another fact that SMBs should be aware of is that most cyberattacks are non-targeted. It is likened to a fisherman casting a wider net to catch as many fish as possible instead of spending the time and resources to catch the ideal fish. Also, some criminals would prefer not to target high-profile companies for fear of being the centre of an investigation by government enforcement agencies like the Australian Federal Police. A Cyber Security Risk Assessment can help SMBs identify potential risks and vulnerabilities and take proactive measures to mitigate such risks.

Enterprises

Enterprises often have a complex digital environment, making it challenging to identify potential risks and vulnerabilities. A Cyber Security Risk Assessment can help enterprises assess their security posture and identify potential risks and vulnerabilities across their entire digital environment.

Government Agencies

Government agencies often store sensitive information such as citizens’ personal information, national security secrets and confidential data. A Cyber Security Risk Assessment can help identify potential risks and vulnerabilities in government agencies’ digital environment, enabling them to take proactive measures to protect sensitive information.

Healthcare Industry

The healthcare industry is one of the most targeted industries by cybercriminals. Electronic Health Records (EHR) and other digital healthcare information are extremely valuable to hackers. A Cyber Security Risk Assessment can help healthcare organisations identify potential risks and vulnerabilities and take proactive measures to secure their digital environment.

How is a Cyber Security Risk Assessment conducted?

A Cyber Security Risk Assessment typically involves the following steps:

Scope Definition: Defining the scope of the assessment, including the digital assets to be evaluated, the assessment methodology and the expected outcomes.
Asset Identification: Identifying all the digital assets within the scope of the assessment.
Threat Identification: Identifying all potential threats and vulnerabilities to digital assets.
Risk Analysis: Analysing the likelihood and impact of potential risks and vulnerabilities.
Risk Evaluation: Evaluate the risks and vulnerabilities to determine the most critical ones.
Risk Treatment: Developing and implementing a plan to mitigate identified risks and vulnerabilities.
Risk Monitoring: Continuously monitoring the digital environment to identify any new potential risks and vulnerabilities.

It’s important to note that conducting a Cyber Security Risk Assessment is not a one-time process. The digital environment is continually changing and new threats and vulnerabilities can emerge at any time. Therefore, it’s essential to conduct regular assessments to ensure the digital environment remains secure.

A Cyber Security Risk Assessment is a critical process that every organisation must undertake to protect its digital assets. It helps identify potential risks and vulnerabilities, enabling organisations to take proactive measures to mitigate such risks. It also helps organisations comply with regulatory requirements, minimise legal liabilities and protect their reputation.

No organisation is immune to cyberattacks and the consequences can be devastating. Therefore, it’s essential to conduct regular Cyber Security Risk Assessments to ensure the digital environment remains secure. Don’t wait until it’s too late; conduct a Cyber Security Risk Assessment today and protect your organisation’s digital assets.

FAQs

What are the benefits of conducting a Cyber Security Risk Assessment?

Conducting a Cyber Security Risk Assessment helps organisations identify potential risks and vulnerabilities, enabling them to take proactive measures to mitigate such risks. It also helps organisations comply with regulatory requirements, minimise legal liabilities and protect their reputation.

What happens if an organisation doesn’t conduct a Cyber Security Risk Assessment?

An organisation that doesn’t conduct a Cyber Security Risk Assessment is at risk of cyberattacks, data breaches, legal liabilities and reputational damage. It can also face hefty fines for non-compliance with regulatory requirements.

Can small businesses benefit from conducting a Cyber Security Risk Assessment?

Yes, small businesses can benefit significantly from conducting a Cyber Security Risk Assessment. Hackers often target small businesses because they have weaker security measures in place, making them easy targets. Conducting a Cyber Security Risk Assessment can help small businesses identify potential risks and vulnerabilities and take proactive measures to mitigate such risks.

How often should an organisation conduct a Cyber Security Risk Assessment?

An organisation should conduct a Cyber Security Risk Assessment at least once a year or whenever there is a significant change in the digital environment.

What are the steps involved in conducting a Cyber Security Risk Assessment?

The steps involved in conducting a Cyber Security Risk Assessment include scope definition, asset identification, threat identification, risk analysis, risk evaluation, risk treatment and risk monitoring.

How long does a Cyber Security Risk Assessment take?

The duration of a Cyber Security Risk Assessment depends on the size and complexity of the digital environment being assessed. However, it typically takes anywhere from a few weeks to several months to complete.

Cybersecurity, Essential Eight, MSP, Technology

Using Two-Factor Authentication in your business

13/07/2023 Marketing Department

Using Two-Factor Authentication in your business

Multi or Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) is an incredibly effective way to prevent cybercriminals from accessing your business’ systems, services or applications. We’re all accustomed to the standard username and password model, but 2FA requires users to present two or more different pieces of evidence when logging into their accounts.

These can be things like a username and password (something you know), authorisation through a multi-factor authentication application (something you have) or a fingerprint (something you are). In an everyday scenario, while PayPass has made it obsolete, except for withdrawing money, when making a purchase, you used to need a bank card (something you have) and a pin (something you know).

While there is some highly advanced new tech that can overcome 2FA, by requiring two factors for authentication, 2FA makes it much more difficult for cybercriminals to gain unauthorised access to sensitive data and systems, even if they have obtained the user’s password through a phishing attack or other means.

Other than 2FA software that your business can use on your network, like Windows Hello, oftentimes, third-party vendors also have an option for this service to be used. Make sure to go into settings to set this up or contact the vendor to ask how.

When should Multi-Factor Authentication be implemented?

As an SME, you may not think that you have valuable data or assets that are worth protecting. However, any business that collects customer data, such as names, addresses and credit card information, is at risk of a data breach. In addition, if your business has any proprietary information or trade secrets, such as manufacturing processes or customer lists, you could be at risk of industrial espionage. Even if you don’t believe your data is worth protecting, the mere risk of a cyberattack interrupting your business operations is worth considering.

Some older, legacy systems may not support multi-factor authentication and even though it adds another step for employees and therefore, an added inconvenience, 2FA must be added to your business’ operations, even more so since it’s one of the Essential Eight Cyber Security strategies. It becomes important when performing work-related activities like remote access solutions, users performing privileged actions and when staff access important data. As mentioned, it provides a way to securely authenticate the user. If the first form of defence is breached, like a PIN (personal identification number), password or passphrase, then the attacker is unable to progress further as they don’t have the second.

Depending on what maturity level of Essential Eight your business is aiming for, how you implement two-factor authentication can differ.

At Maturity Level One, the authentication methods used must not be of the same class — something staff know, something they have or something they are — and one doesn’t have to be a memorised secret. If you’re only now implementing multi-factor authentication and need to be at a higher maturity level, it might be easier to simply use a higher form of 2FA as mentioned below.

At Maturity Level Two, the authentication methods that can be used, and in what combination, are restricted. Some acceptable multi-factor authentication implementations can include something users have (like a single-factor one-time PIN device or a single-factor cryptographic (a way of protecting information and communications through codes) software/device) or something staff have that is unlocked by something they know or are (multi-factor OTP device or multi-factor cryptographic software/device). Biometrics, like fingerprint or retina scanning, are not acceptable at this level. At this level, event logs for multi-factor authentication should also be collected and stored to help with incident response.

At Maturity Level Three, all staff accessing important data must be using multi-factor authentication. The types and combinations of 2FA are restricted, such as through cryptographically verifying what they are authenticating. Cybercriminals try to get around multi-factor authentication by stealing authentication requirements to impersonate staff, so organisations are to use multi-factor authentication solutions that are resistant to phishing, like security keys, smartcards or a Trusted Platform Module. Businesses are not to use push notifications or SMS codes as authentication methods as these are often used by adversaries.

How to Implement Two-Factor Authentication for SMEs

Implementing 2FA may sound complicated, but it is actually a straightforward process. Here are the steps you can take to implement 2FA for your SME:

Choose a 2FA solution: There are many 2FA solutions available, including hardware tokens, mobile apps, and SMS-based solutions. Choose a solution that fits your budget and needs.
Configure your 2FA solution: Once you have chosen a solution, you will need to configure it for your business. This typically involves setting up user accounts and configuring the authentication factors.
Train your employees: It is important to train your employees on how to use the 2FA solution and why it is important. This will help ensure that they understand the process and are more likely to use it consistently.
Test your 2FA solution: Before deploying 2FA to all users, it is important to test the solution to ensure that it is working correctly and does not cause any compatibility issues with your existing systems.
Roll out 2FA to all users: Once you have tested the solution, you can roll it out to all users. This typically involves providing instructions on how to use the solution and ensuring that all users are using it correctly.

To test if these measures are working, try logging on to a system or software that has the authentication set up and see if the request for two or more authentication factors, such as a password or a one-time PIN, is shown. For high levels, watch as an employee that has administrative privileges authenticates to log into a system or software to see if they are required to use multi-factor authentication. Make sure to monitor the log-ins of multiple services, as, for example, a cloud service may have a different implementation of 2FA than an on-premise service. Also, for Level Three, ask staff members to send through lists of the important data repositories in the business’ network as well as screenshots of attempting to log in to these, including the multiple forms of authentication it should be requesting. Ensure event logs of multi-factor authentication are also protected and monitored for signs of compromise and modification.

Some tips

If you’re not aiming for Maturity Level Three, then select a multi-factor authentication solution that impedes less on user functionality. Make sure to also turn off and replace old and redundant authentication systems. If you’re receiving pushback for 2FA methods, introduce policies or implement the authentication in stages across the company, starting with high-risk users. Also, have a support plan to handle failed logins and account lockouts.

Keep in mind though that Cyber Security should be a part of your business’ culture. Everyone must be on board with implementing security measures, as multi-factor authentication is just one of the eight strategies and businesses need to implement them all to a certain degree.

Types of Two-Factor Authentication

SMS Token: Sends the user a unique token, usually a 5–10-digit code, via text message after entering their username and password, and this pin is then entered to allow them access. While user-friendly and available to pretty much everyone, text messages can easily get intercepted by 3^rd parties and this method relies on people having a charged phone.

Email Token: Similar to SMS Token, this method sends a 5–10 alpha-numeric token or asks you to click a link provided in the email. Once again, these are user-friendly, cheap to set up and maintain and offer both a link or token if one doesn’t work. Sometimes, emails can go to spam or fail to be delivered and these can be intercepted by criminals.

Hardware Token: A user is given a physical device, such as a key fob, USB dongle or another device that generates a token for the staff member. These tokens are usually valid for only a short time. Hardware tokens don’t require reception or internet connectivity and is reliable and secure. They can be a bit expensive to set up though, and can be misplaced and can be a bit user-unfriendly when having one for service. Examples include:

Yubico YubiKey 5
Kensington VeriMark USB
Google Titan Security Key

Software Token: Where users download and install an application on their computer or device that generates tokens for the user. These are only available for short periods before changing. These are more user-friendly, updates when needed and can be customised with different features. Some can be expensive, though, and requires users to download and install software that might be compromised without knowledge. Two-Factor Authentication is available on most applications today for no additional cost and should be enforced across these applications. A firewall can also help by enforcing 2FA for remote connections. Examples of 2FA software include:

Google Authenticator
Microsoft Authenticator
LastPass Authenticator
andOTP
Authy

Phone Call: The employee receives a phone call once logged in, which provides them with the token. This method is both easy and inconvenient but is cheap and reliable due to requiring less bandwidth than data. Some negatives of this service are that phone calls can be intercepted or your voicemails can be hacked, and reception is required, as well as actually needing a phone.

Biometric Verification: Relies on the user being the token through fingerprints, retina scans and voice and facial recognition. It’s also user-friendly. This does, however, raise questions about the storage of biometric data and privacy concerns, and storage locations can be compromised. It also requires specific hardware, like cameras and scanners.

Implementing two-factor authentication is a simple and effective way to improve your SME’s Cyber Security posture. By requiring two authentication factors, 2FA makes it much more difficult for cybercriminals to gain unauthorised access to your sensitive data and systems.

If you have any questions or would like help implementing 2FA for your SME, please don’t hesitate to contact us. Our team of expert technicians specialising in Cyber Security can help you choose the right solution and ensure that it is configured correctly for your business.

Cybersecurity, Essential Eight, MSP

10 Benefits of Performing a Cyber Security Risk Assessment

11/07/2023 Marketing Department

10 Benefits of Performing a Cyber Security Risk Assessment

You’re not alone if you feel concerned about the security of your business. In today’s digital age, cyber threats are a constant concern for businesses of all sizes. One way to protect your business is by performing a Cyber Security risk assessment. While it may seem like a chore, especially when you have plenty of other business issues or projects to work on, there are many benefits of conducting a risk assessment, and completing one can actually save your business.

What is a Cyber Security Risk Assessment?

Before we delve into the benefits of a Cyber Security risk assessment, let’s define what it is. A Cyber Security risk assessment is the process of identifying, evaluating and prioritising potential security risks to your business’ technology systems, networks and data. This assessment is crucial in understanding the vulnerabilities of your business’s digital assets and how they could be exploited by malicious actors.

The Benefits of Performing a Cyber Security Risk Assessment

Performing a Cyber Security risk assessment can provide many benefits to your business. Here are 10 of the most significant advantages of conducting a risk assessment:

Identifying Vulnerabilities

A risk assessment can help identify vulnerabilities in your business’s technology systems, networks and data. By identifying these vulnerabilities, you can take proactive steps to mitigate them before they’re exploited by cybercriminals. This also allows you to improve the Cyber Security stance of the business and create a Cyber Security culture within your company.

Prioritising Risks

Conducting a risk assessment can help prioritise risks to your business’s technology systems, networks and data, and allows your business to introduce the appropriate response strategies to the vulnerabilities you have identified. By doing so, you can allocate resources to address the most significant risks first, ensuring that your business is protected where it matters most.

Complying with Regulations

Many industries have regulations that require businesses to perform Cyber Security risk assessments regularly. By complying with these regulations, you can avoid hefty fines and penalties, and safeguard your business from legal troubles. In Australia, all businesses need to comply with The Privacy Act 1988, meaning they need to have some sort of measures in place to protect consumers’ information. For public sector organisations, the Australian Government has also brought in Essential Eight, a Cyber Security framework that they must implement. This is highly recommended for all other businesses in Australia too, and we predict it will be mandated for everyone soon.

Reducing Downtime

Cyberattacks can cause significant downtime for your business, resulting in lost productivity and revenue. Downtime can cause customers to go elsewhere and can cause staff to halt projects or start working manually which they will then have to fix later on when IT issues are resolved. By performing a risk assessment, you can identify potential threats and implement preventative measures to reduce the likelihood of a cyberattack and minimise downtime.

Protecting Your Reputation

A data breach can damage your business’s reputation and erode customer trust. When customers lose trust in your business’ ability to protect their information or even just in your ability to protect yourself, they will stop using your business or bypass your services altogether even if they’ve never used them before. As for stakeholders like suppliers, they may be hesitant to work with an organisation that has suffered a security breach, especially as this will disrupt the rest of the supply chain. By performing a Cyber Security risk assessment and implementing preventative measures, you can safeguard your business’ reputation and show customers that you take their data security seriously.

Improving Security Posture

A risk assessment can help you understand your business’ security position and identify areas for improvement. By addressing these areas, you can improve your business’ overall security posture and better protect against cyber threats in the future. You may find your position is actually better than you thought, giving you the reassurance that your IT team or managed service provider is doing their job and looking after the interests of your business. Overall, a risk assessment allows you to ease your fears about cyberattacks as well as the potential loss of your business.

Keeps Stakeholders Informed

A comprehensive Cyber Security Risk Assessment allows you to keep your stakeholders informed and educated on vulnerabilities as well as allows you to inform them of how you’re going about protecting the business and their interests. It also allows you to provide an executive summary to help executives and directors make informed security decisions.

Reduces Long-Term Costs

A Cyber Security risk assessment allows you to fully understand the justification behind costs being made around security, which, as a business owner or decision-maker, you need to fully comprehend just how important this additional expense is. By knowing the vulnerabilities in your IT systems, you can then spend the proper amount of time and money in fixing these issues and mitigating risks, which will ultimately save your business the costs of downtime and of dealing with cyberattacks when they occur. That’s not to say that they won’t occur even with a fantastic Cyber Security posture, but the majority will be able to be prevented and you should be able to stop the worst of the attack in its tracks when one does. You will also be able to get your business back up and running quickly and seamlessly with data recovery responses.

Prevents Data Loss

Data loss can and has destroyed businesses. It has both financial and emotional impacts on businesses of all sizes, not just large enterprises. This includes stress and anxiety due to losing customer records, financial information and key documents; financial impact surrounding the cost of lost business, lost reputation with customers and suppliers as well as with data recovery and breach response; the impacts surrounding legal consequences of not complying with data protection laws.

Improves Communication

This benefit comes from different avenues. First, a risk assessment requires information from different parts of an organisation, so this improves communication between both leaders and departments. It also breaks down barriers between management and IT staff, whether that be internal and/or external, as it allows the two groups to come together to make decisions that relate to the implementation of security requirements for systems, data and access, while also thinking about the security of the organisation as a whole.

Performing a Cyber Security risk assessment is a crucial step in protecting your business from cyber threats. It allows you to safeguard your business’ digital assets and ensure its long-term success. So, don’t wait until it’s too late. Invest in a Cyber Security risk assessment today and reap the benefits of a secure and successful business.

Frequently Asked Questions

How often should I perform a Cyber Security risk assessment?

It’s recommended that businesses perform a Cyber Security risk assessment at least once a year or whenever there’s a significant change to their technology systems or infrastructure.

What are the key components of a Cyber Security risk assessment?

A Cyber Security risk assessment typically includes identifying assets, threats, vulnerabilities and controls. It also involves assessing the likelihood and impact of potential threats and prioritising risks.

Who should perform a Cyber Security risk assessment?

All businesses need to conduct a Cyber Security risk assessment, not just large enterprises. It’s also recommended that businesses hire a qualified Cyber Security professional to perform this assessment as it ensures the assessment is thorough and accurate and that all potential risks are identified and addressed.

How long does a Cyber Security risk assessment take?

The length of a risk assessment depends on the size and complexity of the business’s technology systems and infrastructure. Typically, it can take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months to complete a comprehensive risk assessment.

What happens after a Cyber Security risk assessment?

After a risk assessment is completed, a report is generated that outlines potential risks and recommended actions to mitigate them. The business can then take these actions to improve its overall security posture and protect against cyber threats.

Is a Cyber Security risk assessment worth the investment?

Absolutely. The benefits of performing a cyber security risk assessment far outweigh the cost. By identifying vulnerabilities and implementing preventative measures, you can protect your business from cyberattacks, reduce downtime, comply with regulations and safeguard your reputation.

Cybersecurity

All You Need to Know About the IRAP Certification

04/07/2023 Marketing Department

All You Need to Know About the IRAP Certification: The Key to Securing Your Organisation’s Data

If you’re a business handling sensitive information, you know how important it is to keep that data safe. With data breaches becoming more and more common, it’s essential to have a reliable system in place to protect your organisation’s data from being compromised. This is where the IRAP certification comes in.

What is the IRAP Certification?

IRAP stands for the Infosec (Information Security) Registered Assessors Program. It is a security assessment program that helps businesses evaluate their security controls against the Australian Government’s Information Security Manual (ISM). The ISM is a comprehensive guide to protecting sensitive information and is used by Australian government agencies and organisations that handle sensitive information.

It essentially endorses individuals from the private and public sectors to provide security assessment services. IRAP is monitored by the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD), the same entity responsible for releasing and adapting Essential Eight.

IRAP helps increase the standard and consistency of Cyber Security in Australia by endorsing qualified Cyber Security professionals. These professionals then help businesses achieve accreditation by improving their business’ Cyber Security measures.

Who Needs the IRAP Certification?

Any company that handles sensitive information can benefit from getting the IRAP certification. This includes government agencies, businesses and non-profit organisations. The certification is particularly important for organisations that deal with information that is critical to national security or the country’s economic prosperity, as they may require you to have this certification to then work with you. If you didn’t have it, you wouldn’t even be on their radar.

The Benefits of the IRAP Certification

Getting the IRAP certification has several benefits for your organisation. Here are some of them:

Enhanced Security

The IRAP certification helps you identify any weaknesses in your security controls and provides recommendations for improvement. This way, you can enhance your organisation’s security posture and minimise the risk of data breaches.

Increased Credibility

Having the IRAP certification can help increase your business’ credibility as it shows that you take information security seriously and are committed to protecting sensitive information.

Competitive Advantage

Having the IRAP certification can also give you a competitive advantage over other companies that don’t have it. It can help you win contracts with government agencies and other organisations that require a high level of security.

Compliance with Regulations

If your organisation handles sensitive information, you may be required to comply with certain regulations, which the IRAP certification can help you demonstrate compliance with.

How to Get the IRAP Certification

Getting the IRAP certification involves several steps. Here’s a brief overview of the process:

Choose an IRAP Assessor

The first step is to choose an IRAP assessor. This is a person or organisation that is registered with the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD) to provide IRAP assessment services.

Conduct a Security Assessment

Once you’ve chosen an IRAP assessor, they will conduct a security assessment of your business’ information systems. This assessment will involve a review of your organisation’s policies, procedures and technical controls. The assessor will dig deep into your IT systems, where they interview personnel, check for Cyber Security implantation, conduct audits and check if these match your risk assessment and subsequent plans.

Receive a Security Assessment Report

Based on the assessment, the assessor will provide a security gap analysis and risk assessment report. This report will identify any weaknesses in your organisation’s security controls and provide recommendations for improvement.

Implement Recommendations

Once you receive the security assessment report, you will need to implement the recommendations provided by the assessor. This may involve updating policies and procedures, implementing new technical controls or improving existing ones.

Apply for Certification

After you’ve implemented the recommendations, you can apply for the IRAP certification. The assessor will then conduct a final assessment to ensure that your organisation meets the requirements for certification.

Pronet and IRAP

While Pronet Technology isn’t certified in IRAP, we are incredibly dedicated to Cyber Security and have been for many years now. We implement Cyber Security measures within our and our clients’ businesses to protect and monitor them from cyber threats and are constantly updating our processes to be up-to-date with changes in the industry.

Due to this knowledge and experience, we have helped and worked with clients along their journey to reach the IRAP certification. So, while we don’t have the certification, we can help your business achieve this accreditation.

The IRAP certification is an important certification for organisations that handle sensitive information. It helps identify weaknesses in your company’s security controls and provides recommendations for improvement. Getting the IRAP certification can enhance your business’ security posture, increase your credibility, give you a competitive advantage and help you comply with regulations. If your organisation handles sensitive information, it’s worth considering getting the IRAP certification.

All in all, the IRAP certification is an essential step for securing your organisation’s data and protecting sensitive information. Remember, the security of your business’ data is too important to leave to chance, so it might be in your best interests to try to obtain this certification. If your small or medium-sized business does not deal with other organisations that require you to have such a high level of security, still make sure you’re implementing the Essential Eight Cyber Security measures so that you are adequately mitigating all cyber threats. This framework is highly likely to be mandated soon for all businesses, so make sure you’re implementing these in the near future.

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are some of the most frequently asked questions about the IRAP certification:

How long does it take to get the IRAP certification?

The length of time it takes to get the IRAP certification depends on the size and complexity of your organisation’s information systems. It can take anywhere from a few months to a couple of years.

How much does the IRAP certification cost?

The cost of the IRAP certification varies depending on the assessor you choose and the size and complexity of your organisation’s information systems, but the cost is typically in the range of several thousand dollars. The cost of the assessor, however, is only a small component of the costs. The majority of the cost will be on the resources and tools you need to put in place to meet the ISM and maintain it.

Do I need to renew the IRAP certification?

Yes, the IRAP certification needs to be renewed periodically. The exact renewal period depends on the type of certification and the level of risk associated with your organisation’s information systems.

What happens if my organisation fails the IRAP certification?

If your organisation fails the IRAP certification, you will need to address the weaknesses identified in the security assessment report before applying for certification again.

Can I use the IRAP certification to comply with other security standards?

Yes, the IRAP certification can be used to demonstrate compliance with other security standards, such as ISO 27001. ISO 27001 Certification is essentially parallel with IRAP, however, it is slightly easier to achieve and is a certification recognised globally, whereas IRAP is an Australian certification. If your business does not require to work with the government or government agencies, ISO 27001 is generally a better option.

How does the IRAP certification benefit my customers?

Having the IRAP certification can give your customers peace of mind that their sensitive information is being handled with the utmost care and security. This can help build trust and confidence in your organisation.

Cybersecurity, Essential Eight, Strategy

How to Restrict Who Accesses Certain Folders or Programs in Your Business

29/06/2023 Marketing Department

How to Restrict Who Accesses Certain Folders or Programs in Your Business

If you’re concerned about the security of your business’ data and want to restrict access to certain folders or programs in your organisation, keep reading.

As businesses become more digital, the need for data security has increased. It is crucial to prevent unauthorised access to sensitive information and protect it from potential cyberattacks. Restricting access to certain folders or programs is an effective way to secure your data as it allows you to control who has access to what data and ensures that only authorised personnel can access sensitive information.

Certain users or teams within your business may need a higher level of access than others, as giving someone access to change permissions and install updates to apps and the device is necessary, but when someone within or outside your business gets access to this, they can accidentally or intentionally cause immense damage.

By restricting who has access, it makes it difficult for malicious users to affect certain applications, obtain sensitive information or change privileges to prevent staff from being able to work effectively.

Restricting administrative privileges is also one of the Australian Cyber Security Centre’s (ACSC) Essential Eight mitigation strategies against cyber threats, so if you’re currently looking at implementing this framework, keep reading to learn about how to do this.

How to Restrict Who Accesses Certain Folders or Programs in Your Business

To restrict who accesses certain folders or programs in your business, you can follow these steps:

Identify Tasks: Start by identifying the tasks that require administrative privileges, then work out which staff members are required and authorised to carry out these tasks as part of their roles.
Create User Accounts: Create user accounts for each employee in your organisation. Each employee should have a unique username and password to access the system.
Assign Access Rights: Assign access rights to each user account. You can set permissions to read, write or execute files in specific folders or programs. Make sure users have the least amount of privileges needed to carry out their roles.
Use Encryption: Use encryption to protect sensitive data from unauthorised access. Encryption ensures that only authorised personnel can access the data, even if it falls into the wrong hands.
Implement Access Control Policies: Implement access control policies to restrict access to certain folders or programs. You can set policies based on job roles, departments or projects.
Monitor Access Logs: Monitor access logs to identify any unauthorised attempts to access sensitive data. This can help you identify security breaches and take corrective measures to prevent future incidents. Make sure to revalidate staff requirements to have a privileged account frequently so that when their role changes or they leave the business, you can remove these privileges.

What is Not Effective?

The ACSC advises that there are a number of approaches that do not qualify as restricting administrative privileges and which can actually increase the risk to an organisation.

Only minimising the total number of privileged accounts
Allowing for shared non-attributable privileged accounts
Allocating administrative privileges to users temporarily
Placing non-admin users in groups with users that have administrative privileges

Benefits of Restricting Access to Certain Folders or Programs in Your Business

Restricting access to certain folders or programs in your business can provide several benefits, including:

Improved Data Security: Restricting access to sensitive information can improve data security and prevent data breaches.
Compliance with Regulations: Restricting access to certain folders or programs can help you comply with regulations and standards, such as The Privacy Act and Essential Eight.
Reduced Risk of Cyber Attacks: Restricting access to sensitive data can reduce the risk of cyberattacks and protect your business from potential threats.
Increased Control: Restricting access to certain folders or programs can give you increased control over who has access to what data.

Restricting access to certain folders or programs in your business is a crucial step in ensuring the security of your data. By creating user accounts, assigning access rights, using encryption, implementing access control policies and monitoring access logs, you can prevent unauthorised access to sensitive information and protect your business from potential cyberattacks. Don’t neglect this important aspect of your business security, act today and protect your data!

Remember, the security of your business data is essential to your success and you must take all necessary measures to protect it from unauthorised access. With the right security measures in place, you can rest assured that your data is safe and your business is protected.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best way to restrict access to certain folders or programs in my business?

The best way to restrict access to certain folders or programs in your business is to create user accounts, assign access rights, use encryption, implement access control policies and monitor access logs.

What are the benefits of restricting access to certain folders or programs in my business?

The benefits of restricting access to certain folders or programs in your business include improved data security, compliance with regulations, reduced risk of cyberattacks and increased control over who has access to what data.

Can I restrict access to certain folders or programs based on job roles or departments?

Yes, you can restrict access to certain folders or programs based on job roles or departments by implementing access control policies.

How can I monitor access logs to identify unauthorised attempts to access sensitive data?

You can monitor access logs to identify unauthorised attempts to access sensitive data by using software tools that track user activity and notify you of any suspicious activity. This can help you identify security breaches and take corrective measures to prevent future incidents.

What are the consequences of not restricting access to sensitive data in my business?

Not restricting access to sensitive data in your business can result in data breaches, cyberattacks, financial losses, legal liabilities and damage to your business’ reputation.

Cybersecurity, IT Support, Technology

IT solutions for SMEs with limited budgets

20/06/2023 Marketing Department

IT solutions for SMEs with limited budgets

As a small or medium-sized enterprise (SME) with a limited budget, it can be challenging to invest in IT solutions that can improve your business operations. However, several cost-effective IT solutions can help SMEs streamline their processes and remain competitive.

To decide what is best for your business, you need to understand your business’ needs, the people who work there, your budget and how staff need to work to meet the company’s objectives. When it comes to your staff, think about what they really need and if you’re unsure, ask them. Do they all need the same level of licences for the Adobe Suite or other software? Can you work from anywhere or do you need a traditional office setup? Identify what your business constraints are; if that’s a technology solution, direct your limited budget there.

One of the best ways to save money as a business is to make sure your initial investments are quality ones. For example, make sure your Wi-Fi network is properly set up, don’t purchase outdated, subpar equipment, make sure to update and maintain all your devices, invest in a web or mobile presence, install, update and regularly use anti-malware programs and most importantly, work with an IT service to manage your IT systems for you.

Managed service providers are cheaper than hiring an in-house IT team and they ensure your systems are working properly. An MSP is a way to reduce costs in your IT systems as it consolidates your technical support with one IT service. MSPs can provide businesses with access to experienced IT professionals who can help manage their IT systems, monitor for security threats and provide ongoing support and maintenance. A good MSP can help you determine what IT your unique business needs without pushing services on you that won’t benefit your business.

Low-budget IT Tools

Software can quickly become expensive, especially if you rely on multiple, complex systems to run your business and smaller businesses often turn away from investing in good software which can be detrimental to your business.

One of the most popular and cost-effective IT solutions for SMEs is cloud computing. Cloud-based solutions, such as storage and software-as-a-service (SaaS), can be accessed through the internet and can help businesses save money on IT infrastructure and maintenance costs. If you have one, ask your managed services provider to transfer your systems and data to the cloud.

Another IT solution that SMEs can consider is open-source software. Open-source software is software that is freely available to use and modify and can help businesses save money on licensing fees. Popular open-source software includes the operating system Linux, as well as productivity software such as LibreOffice. SMEs can also consider using open-source CRM (customer relationship management) software to manage their customer interactions and sales processes. Open-source CRM solutions, such as SuiteCRM or SugarCRM, can be customised to meet the specific needs of a business and can help SMEs improve customer engagement without breaking the bank.

Keep in mind, however, that open-source software does not come with support and is normally not as stable and reliable as commercial software. If you run into issues with open-source, you’ll need to rely on the goodwill of the community to assist you. As long as you understand this risk, then open-source is a low-cost solution. We generally would not recommend companies with more than five employees rely on open-source software as the risk of business interruption can be costly.

Virtualisation is another cost-effective IT solution that can help SMEs optimise their IT infrastructure. With virtualisation, businesses can run multiple virtual machines on a single physical server, which can help save money on hardware costs and reduce energy consumption.

Cyber Security

When times are tough for business, it might be tempting to cut costs in areas that might seem unnecessary, such as Cyber Security, but it is a decision that can see customers, clients and employees being exposed to cyberthreats.

There are a range of steps a business can take to create a defensive posture around Cyber Security that does not cost a fortune.

Your company should start with procedures and policies to create a Cyber Security culture within the business. This outlines how you will protect your employees, clients and customers. An incident response plan is essential to mitigate damage and protect your business operations, and even more so, training your staff about Cyber Security threats is one of the most cost-effective ways to reduce threats as most attacks occur due to human error. Regularly provide tips and refreshers, or ask your MSP to help with training.

There are certain budget-friendly security software you can use to help protect your business and its data. For example, to secure your digital assets and control them when they might be at risk, you can use a software called DriveStrike that can remotely locate, lock and wipe devices.

It’s also a good idea to invest in encryption. Many devices already have some sort of encryption options built into them, so take the time to configure these. Also, if you’re heavily reliant on email, there are security email services that encrypt your information while in transit. Make sure you encrypt your backups too and that these are stored in multiple locations.

While it might seem a hassle, using two-factor authentication adds an extra step of security when logging into accounts, such as emails, bank accounts, work machines or software. Many services and accounts already have this option built-in, so check if yours do and if not, make sure to use a program that does this as it increases the difficulty of cybercriminals accessing your data.

A way to protect your business freely is by making sure your software and applications are up to date. If a vendor notices a security risk in its service, it will fix the issue and release a security update. Make sure you immediately install these to prevent criminals from taking advantage of these risks. This goes with older software too. If you’re not already, make sure you are using Microsoft 365 rather than an older version as these older versions are not updated anymore. This gives cybercriminals the time to build complex threats that they can then use to infiltrate your business as they have no time constraint as they’re no longer being updated.

If your workforce is hybrid or remote, ensure employees know how to secure their home routers as they are usually only using consumer-grade ones compared to a more secure one in the office.

Make sure you’re educating yourself on the technology your company needs so you can understand the value you are receiving from the technology, hardware or software you are using or buying.

There are several cost-effective IT solutions available for SMEs with limited budgets. From cloud computing and open-source software to virtualisation and outsourcing IT support to MSPs, SMEs can take advantage of these solutions to optimise their IT infrastructure and improve business operations. By considering these IT solutions, SMEs can remain competitive in today’s fast-paced and technology-driven business environment.

Do keep in mind though, that to maximise your business’ collaboration, processes, Network and Cyber Security, and long-term growth, businesses should be investing in their IT systems. As your business grows, so do your IT needs, so if you’re trying to cut back on costs, your business might not reach the potential it possibly can. Investing in your IT systems can actually save you time and money, help you stay competitive, inform better decisions and increase revenue.

Well-thought-out IT solutions for SMEs can make the difference between thriving or barely surviving.

Which Essential Eight maturity level should my business be at?

You know what Essential Eight is and that the Australian Government highly recommends implementing it, but does that mean your business must be at the highest maturity level?

What are the maturity levels?

What maturity level should my business be at?

Is my company’s data recovery system fail-proof?

What Constitutes a Disaster?

Importance of a Disaster Recovery Plan

The 3-2-1 Backup Rule

Why do backups fail?

Backup tips

How an MSP helps

Does my business need to implement every aspect of Essential Eight?

Does my business need to implement all eight strategies?

Is Essential Eight enough to protect my business?

What now?

Essential Eight and why your business needs to Integrate Cyber Security

Why should your business measure against Essential Eight?

Limitations of Essential Eight

So, what are the Essential Eight strategies?

Does my business need to implement Essential Eight?

Who is a Cyber Security Risk Assessment for?

Why is a Cyber Security Risk Assessment important?

Who is a Cyber Security Risk Assessment for?

How is a Cyber Security Risk Assessment conducted?

FAQs

Using Two-Factor Authentication in your business

When should Multi-Factor Authentication be implemented?

How to Implement Two-Factor Authentication for SMEs

Some tips

Types of Two-Factor Authentication

10 Benefits of Performing a Cyber Security Risk Assessment

What is a Cyber Security Risk Assessment?

The Benefits of Performing a Cyber Security Risk Assessment

Frequently Asked Questions

All You Need to Know About the IRAP Certification: The Key to Securing Your Organisation’s Data

What is the IRAP Certification?

Who Needs the IRAP Certification?

The Benefits of the IRAP Certification

How to Get the IRAP Certification

Choose an IRAP Assessor

Pronet and IRAP

Frequently Asked Questions

How to Restrict Who Accesses Certain Folders or Programs in Your Business

How to Restrict Who Accesses Certain Folders or Programs in Your Business

What is Not Effective?

Benefits of Restricting Access to Certain Folders or Programs in Your Business

Frequently Asked Questions

IT solutions for SMEs with limited budgets

Low-budget IT Tools

Cyber Security

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