Good one Mr Glennan and Karen!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Cyberbiz ready for lift off.
Takeover over at 50c per share to follow shortly LOL.
Article in Financial Review on Tuesday 6 February 2018.
http://todayspaper.smedia.com.au/afr/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=AFR/2018/02/06&entity=Ar03502&sk=46CE5A7E&mode=text
Shared from the Tue 06 Feb, 2018 - Financial Review Digital Edition
Small businesses easy pickings for hackers
Cybersecurity monitoring of client networks allows the detection and blocking of attacks before they are successful. PHOTO: AAP IMAGE
Breaches of cybersecurity are an escalating threat to small to medium businesses in Australia, with the potential to cost them hundreds of thousands, or more, of theirs or their clients’ money.
Yet many SMB owners don’t realise how vulnerable they are to hackers, thus becoming easy prey for cyber pirates on the hunt for financial and personal information to use for their own gain.
They are ‘‘low-hanging fruit’’ for hackers because they don’t have the internal resources or expertise to deal with cyber threats, according to Keith Glennan, CEO of cybersecurity specialist Tesserent.
The most common attack on small businesses is ransomware, he says; a malicious software that either threatens to publish private company information or denies access to a company’s own data unless a ransom is paid.
‘‘These attacks are carefully co-ordinated and may involve a hacker having access to a business network for several weeks or months prior to launching an attack,’’ Glennan says.
‘‘This enables the hacker to develop a profile of your normal business activity. This understanding enables, for example, easier interception of emailbased invoices, where payment details can be edited as the invoice is sent.
‘‘It is generally only after these payments are completed that the company becomes aware that their network has been compromised.’’
Glennan says the Australian economy relies heavily on smaller companies to supply and service larger ones, making it important for small companies to have a secure network and cybersavvy employees.
Unfortunately, it is often a business relationship with a small, ‘‘insecure’’ company that results in a larger company being hacked.
If this trend continues, larger companies may be forced to demand proof of cyber competency before engaging with smaller companies. Until the digital assets of smaller companies are secured, it’s going to be hard to build a truly digital economy.
In recent years businesses of all sizes have systematically moved from a paper-based to predominantly digital model.
While taking advantage of efficient new technologies has been a boon, it has also exposed business financials and customer data to hackers.
The Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) Cyber Security Survey 2016 of 45 government departments and 68 major Australian businesses highlighted the very real risk facing Australian organisations from snowballing cybersecurity attacks that caused tangible impacts on the business of 60 per cent of survey respondents.
Yet many remain unaware that they have been breached.
Australia is the No.1 target for malware attacks in the Asia-Pacific region, according to the Telstra Cyber Security Report 2017.
‘‘It’s easier to secure your business network than most people think,’’ says Glennan. ‘‘It’s about calling in the experts rather than attempting a DIY solution for what is one of the most important aspects of running a business in this digital age.’’
‘‘[Hackers] look at our quality of life and the level of wealth in Australia and there’s almost a sense of Ned Kellyism.’’
‘‘People who deliver ransomware on a small business’s computer and extract around $1000 in the form of a ransom often look at this as a rebalancing of wealth, robbing the rich to pay the poor. But many attacks are also perpetrated by highly sophisticated gangs. It’s not a matter of if [an attack will be made on your business], but when.’’
Many small businesses will have to report data breaches from February 22, when new Australian Data Breach Notification Laws come into effect.
Under the new rules, companies bound by the Privacy Act who fail to report attacks may face fines of up to $1.8 million, which for many businesses would be crippling.
The Privacy Act impacts most businesses with an annual turnover in excess of $3 million, and also includes certain businesses with sensitive customer data, such as real estate rental rolls and medical practitioners.
Australian businesses now have a new benchmark for what will be considered acceptable with regard to protecting customer data.
To avoid a breach, Glennan urges small businesses to take their network security seriously before they encounter a breach, and also incorporate workplace security training to ensure staff understand how to be safe online and ultimately how to protect their employer’s sensitive data.
‘‘Anti-virus in isolation is not an effective mechanism to protect a business network,’’ Glennan says. ‘‘Similarly, many off-the-shelf cybersecurity appliances may provide a good level of cover if they are installed properly and maintained by professionals; however unfortunately in the small business market, this is typically not the case.’’
‘‘Small business owners are generally highly skilled in their area of expertise, however, it’s not surprising that they’re not cybersecurity experts as well.’’
‘‘Cybersecurity is not intuitive and the risk profile of a business can change significantly based on the design of the network and the types of transactions that need to be carried out.’’
‘‘Just unpacking a cybersecurity device, plugging it in and hoping it will work is not a robust enough strategy.’’
‘‘Spending on professional cybersecurity services is one of the best investments a business owner can make,’’ Glennan explains.
Tesserent monitors its clients’ networks for unusual behaviour and uses intelligence gleaned from global surveillance updates to block new malware as it is recognised.
‘‘With an appropriate level of monitoring you can detect and block an attack before it is successful,’’ he says.
