Australian Immigration Daily News

In a digital world where you can now do everything from reading books and listening to music, to ordering your morning coffee and doing your weekly grocery shop online, life has been made easier with more and more information at your fingertips. Yet, it also means that your personal and business information has never been easier to access.

A 2015 report released by the Australian Government shows that 33% of Australian businesses have experienced a cybercrime, with the average cost of a cyber crime attack to a business amounting to $276,323.* However, avoiding the internet all together isn’t a viable option for many businesses, as the internet is now so intertwined into our everyday lives that avoiding it all together can be a guaranteed way to stunt business growth or even cause business failure.

So just how do you make sure your business stays safe from both hacks and breaches, but also from information thievery? We look at 7 tips to protect your information and avoid being targeted by cyber criminals.

Protect your Passwords

Making sure your password is hard to hack is the easiest and quickest way to protect your log-ins and your sensitive business information. Firstly, avoid using any of the most hacked password names (such as ‘123456’ or ‘password’). Secondly, make sure to use both capitals and lowercase letters, as well as numbers and glyphs.

Also, many sites such as Facebook and Google now allow you to use 2-step authentication, with a code being sent to your designated mobile number to confirm your password. This can be especially important in making sure your business Facebook page isn’t hacked.

If all these different complicated passwords are going to be hard to remember or manage, there are a number of great password management softwares available that can do this for you securely (such as 1Password and LastPass).

Enhance your Security Questions

Often people don’t put too much thought into their security questions, but remember that if a potential hacker can’t get through with your password they may be able to get through by answering your security questions. Just think about all those times you can’t remember a password for a seldom used online service and have to get through by using the security question.

Ensure your answers aren’t something that can be found easily. For example, are your school or work details displayed on your Facebook or LinkedIn accounts?  If so, it’s best not to make that the answer to a security question. The song that was playing during your first dance at your wedding or the name of your childhood pet, are answers that are a lot harder to find on the internet.

Only use https and secure connections

When purchasing anything or entering any sensitive information, it’s important to make sure that the site link is HTTPS which is a secure connection. This means that any data that you send through is encrypted and cannot be easily viewed. There are many easy to obtain programs, known as Packet Analyzers or Packet Sniffers, which can intercept and log traffic that passes over a network. A secure connection means that these types of programs aren’t able to see everything you send.

For this same reason, if your business offers public wi-fi, you should not use it for any of your own transactions or business communications.

Install Firewalls, Antivirus Software and Security Plugins

While most people today have antivirus software, it’s important to ensure you keep it up-to-date. Technology is always evolving and unfortunately so is the malware, spyware, Trojan horses and other viruses. By installing the latest software protection you can minimise your chance of being attacked by new viruses that are becoming more and more sophisticated.

Keep Platforms and Scripts up-to-date

For a similar reason, it’s important to keep your platforms and scripts up to date, especially if your business takes advantage of any open source software. For open source software, the code is free and available for anyone to view. The longer the code is available, the more time a hacker has for figuring out a way in, so it’s important to make sure your version and scripts are kept up to date.

Beware of Scams

A large number of attacks are coming through as scam emails pretending to be from your PayPal or bank with official look and logos. Your bank will never ask for any personal information via email, but also be wary of any links to login to your account. It’s wise not to login to any of your accounts via an email link, and although it may take a few seconds extra it’s a much safer option to log in through the official website.

Have a solid back-up plan

The stark reality is that you can do all of the above and more, yet a clever and sneaky hacker can still gain access to your system with Hackers are becoming more sophisticated and businesses are vulnerable to cyber-attacks at any time of the day or night, from anywhere in the world.

So what do you do if you suddenly find your website hacked or your customer database breached? How you are going to get back into your system and recover your data? If you don’t have the answer to these types of questions, it’s time to consider Cyber Liability Insurance which protects your business against the expenses and legal costs associated with data breaches and help organise the retrieval of information, restoration of systems, and even ransom negotiations.

To find out more about our services go to www.bizcover.com.au/?utm_source=MABIZ001&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=MABIZ001

*Australian Government – Department of Communications and the Arts, The Cost of Cybercrime to Australia

Copyright 2016 BizCover Pty Limited

BizCover Pty Ltd (ABN 68 127 707 975; AR 338440) is a corporate authorised representative of Mega Capital Pty Ltd (ABN 37 098 080 418; AFSL 238549). Please note that BizCover acts as the agent of the insurer in respect of the insurance products offered on this website and not as your agent. Any advice does not consider your individual needs. You should consider if the insurance is suitable for you and read the Product Disclosure Statement or policy wording before buying the insurance.