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Knowledge

09 May 2017
Information Security

How Australian Small Businesses Can Protect Their Data

 

Transcript:

Data security is a growing concern for Australia’s small business owners. However, a 2016 study found that 29% of Australian small-to-medium businesses said they have neither trained staff on information security policies, or have any policies in place. This is surprising given that 46% of Australian SMEs say human error is a key risk to the security of their data. A lot of small businesses make the misguided assumption that data security policies are only important for larger organisations. 

 

Data Security in Australia

Unfortunately, information security lapses happen often, and to all size of businesses. For example, in January 2017, online fashion retailer Showpo claimed a former Graphic Designer stole their entire customer database and handed it over to the competition. The allegations were a wake up call for small-to-medium Australian businesses, and showed just how costly simple security lapses can be. In this video, we are going to outline how Australian small businesses can avoid falling victim to a security attack. 

It’s predicted that ransomware attacks will double in 2017, after quadrupling in 2016. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull recently called cyber security, “the new frontier of warfare.” As cyber threats become increasingly common in Australia, we are seeing more cases like Showpo. Towards the end of 2016, the Red Cross Blood Service suffered Australia’s biggest data breach, seeing 1.28 million personal records of blood donors leaked.

 

How Can You Protect Your Data?

Perhaps the easiest thing for a small business to execute are effective password procedures, because they can be a company's first line of defence. Ensure your team are changing their passwords regularly, and using symbols, numbers, upper and lower case letters. Using the same password for all of your accounts is common, and dangerous, thus your information security management system should outline criteria for password control policies.

Likewise, businesses should only allow staff to access information that is required for their role. Owners of small businesses need to have control over company access, and set controls on what information is available to different level of staff. Confidentiality agreements should also be signed by all staff members - this includes employees with access to the premises, like cleaning and maintenance staff.

Encryption should be used on any devices holding sensitive company data. Encryption converts information or data into code, and is a simple and effective security measure for small businesses. For example, if laptops are lost or stolen, encryption prevents unauthorised access via programs such as Bitlocker.

It only takes one data breach to result in lasting damage to your company’s reputation. Australian small businesses need to implement an information security management system to safeguard themselves against costly data lapses.

 

Information Security and Australian businesses

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