Defining Cybersecurity<\/h2>\n
Cybercrime has become endemic and commonplace in Australia, with damages from business scams<\/a> increasing each year, so it\u2019s essential to know how to defend yourself. To begin, you need to understand what cybersecurity<\/a> is:<\/p>\n \u201cCybersecurity is protecting yourself and or your business against threats in the cyber world that could harm or cause you or your financial loss,\u201d explains Blackman.<\/p>\n Understanding how much to invest in your small business’s security is crucial, but it’s also essential to know what type of protection you need.<\/p>\n \u201cIt really depends on the size of the business and its risk. So, there is certainly not a one-size-fits-all answer for all types of companies and businesses.<\/p>\n Your cybersecurity policy and protections<\/a> need to be scalable to your means and realistic in response to your risk exposure. Businesses are often victims of data breaches and financial losses due to cybercriminals. They’re the two biggest things businesses need to consider to protect themselves against.\u201d<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/www.reckon.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Cybersecurity-methods.png” alt=”Cybersecurity methods: 1. Set up multifactor authentication 2. Use passphrases instead of passwords 3. Use a password manager service.” title_text=”Cybersecurity Methods” align=”center” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” _builder_version=”4.27.6″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n Cybercriminals employ various tactics and tools to gain unauthorised access to your information. To prevent breaches, Blackman recommends several methods:<\/p>\n \u201cTo easily protect your business, use multi-factor authentication<\/a> (MFA) and passphrases, and implement a password manager.<\/p>\n MFA make it extremely difficult to access your accounts, as it requires input from you to log in. Enable two-factor authentication across all business accounts, as even less valuable accounts can provide access to different levels of information related to you and your business.<\/p>\n Passphrases can also be the difference between a cyber criminal needing a couple of days to crack a login or 36 years. Couple this with a password manager to track your passwords across all sites, and you have a system in place to protect you and your staff.\u201d<\/p>\n Whether a cyberattack is targeted or opportunistic, it is essential to educate your staff, says Blackman.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat is critical is that you basically need to put the key mitigations in place to prevent all threats.<\/p>\n The key difference between an opportunistic and a targeted attack is the level of the person they’re going after, or the type of person. A more targeted attack will be aimed at a senior employee or leader in a business. In contrast, opportunity attacks have no intended target but rely on the ignorance of an unsuspecting victim.<\/p>\n What is essential is implementing regular training for yourself and your staff on how to recognise scam attacks. Ensure that your staff, especially those in key positions, are aware of basic fraudulent attacks, such as phishing and spear phishing tactics<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n When a cyberattack occurs, you must notify the proper authorities. Blackman explains that the best people to contact aren\u2019t the police, but the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD).<\/p>\n \u201cWhen a breach occurs, the first thing to do is get help. The government has an excellent resource, ASD, available at cyber.gov.au<\/a>. This is the first place you need to go to.<\/p>\n There’s a whole section on what to do when you’ve been breached; work through the advice and the steps that they suggest. If you have any breaches, attempted breaches, or are unsure, this is the best place to go to.\u201d<\/p>\n Cybersecurity can cause stress to small business owners, since it becomes yet another responsibility to manage when running their businesses.<\/p>\n While it can be a burden, it\u2019s essential to be proactive and secure your business; the cost of not doing so can damage your livelihood or harm your customers. You can keep yourself cybersecure by:<\/p>\n By using Reckon\u2019s CTO, Ed Blackman\u2019s advice and expertise as a starting point, you can maintain your business’s cybersecurity and keep it safe from scammers.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/www.reckon.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Ed-Blackman-headshot-2.png” alt=”Ed Blackman, Reckon Chief Technology Officer” title_text=”Ed Blackman Headshot 2″ align=”center” _builder_version=”4.27.6″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Ed Blackman, Reckon Chief Technology Officer<\/em><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][ba_social_share icon_bg=”#03002e” icon_padding=”10px|12px|10px|12px|true|true” layout=”classic” show_text=”off” btn_padding=”0px|0px|0px|0px|false|false” btn_bg_color=”RGBA(255,255,255,0)” _builder_version=”4.23″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”50px||||false|false” custom_padding=”25px||||false|false” custom_css_before=” content: %22SHARE THIS%22;|| font-size: 16px;|| font-weight: 700;|| line-height: 22px;|| letter-spacing: 0em;|| text-align: center;|| color: #ff5447;|| margin-bottom: 10px;|| display: inline-flex;|| position: absolute;|| margin-top: 10px;” border_width_top_main=”1px” border_color_top_main=”#e4e4e4″ border_radii_icon=”on|5px|5px|5px|5px” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_css_before_last_edited=”off|desktop”][ba_social_share_child _builder_version=”4.23″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/ba_social_share_child][ba_social_share_child network_type=”facebook” _builder_version=”4.23″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/ba_social_share_child][ba_social_share_child network_type=”linkedin” _builder_version=”4.23″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/ba_social_share_child][ba_social_share_child network_type=”email” _builder_version=”4.23″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/ba_social_share_child][\/ba_social_share][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It’s Cybersecurity Month, a time to focus on keeping your business safe online. Discover how you can keep secure with expert advice.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":294919,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":" When it comes to security, businesses can be at a loss when the crime occurs online. No robber hides around the corner; no corner store gets held up. In fact, cybercrime can happen in broad daylight with just a few lines of text in an email.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> We spoke with Ed Blackman, Reckon's CTO, to get him to weigh in on Cybersecurity Month. One of Blackman\u2019s many duties is reviewing and implementing Reckon\u2019s cybersecurity policy, which keeps Reckon staff and customers safe from online attacks.<\/span> The industry behind cybersecurity is huge. More and more businesses and individuals are affected, amounting to <\/span>eye-watering damages<\/span><\/a> that have crippled businesses big and small. The need to protect yourself on an ongoing basis is becoming more evident.<\/span><\/p> According to the 2022-2023 Cyber Threat Report from the Minister of Defence, Richard Marles, and the Australian Signals Directorate, average losses by size of business due to cybercrime are up by 14% from 2021 to 2022.<\/span><\/p> Now, more than ever, small businesses must consider their security. Blackman defines cybersecurity simply for small business owners.<\/span><\/p> Well, it's basically just protecting yourself, personally, and your business against threats in the cyber world that could harm or cause you and your business loses. <\/i><\/b><\/p><\/blockquote> Understanding how much you need to invest in your small business's security is important. But it\u2019s not as simple as it seems.<\/span><\/p> It really depends on the size of the business and its risk. So, there is certainly not a one-size-fits-all answer for all types of businesses.<\/i><\/b><\/p><\/blockquote> Your <\/span>cybersecurity policy<\/span><\/a> and protections need to be scalable to your means and realistic in response to your risk exposure.<\/span><\/p> Your policy should address the common threats cybercriminals pose to you and your small business.<\/span><\/p> The two most common threats are financial loss and data breach. They're probably the two biggest things businesses need to consider protecting themselves against.\u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/p><\/blockquote> When cybercriminals try to access your data, your <\/span>cybersecurity plan<\/span><\/a> should consider several things.<\/span><\/p> Turn on multi-factor authentication for all your accounts that contain valuable data, even those that don't, because people can attack those to access more valuable accounts.\u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/p><\/blockquote> Another policy to implement is passphrases instead of regular passwords.<\/span><\/p> A passphrase helps you think of a couple of completely unrelated words to create a long password that is difficult for an attacker to crack.<\/i><\/b><\/p> When cybercriminals try to crack a password, using a particular passphrase can be the difference between needing a <\/i><\/b>couple of days to break the password or 36 years<\/i><\/b>.<\/i><\/b><\/p><\/blockquote> Passwords and passphrases are a fact of life now. You need to protect yourself and your business. Having trouble remembering the never-ending list of passwords? No worries, Blackman has a solution.<\/p> The best place to start is with a password manager. This tool allows you to have unique passwords without constant individual maintenance. All it requires is for you to come up with your original password\/passphrase to get access, and you can let the service do the rest.<\/i><\/b><\/p><\/blockquote> Cybercriminals are after more than raw data. As we\u2019ve seen recently, attacks involve cybercriminals gaining access to personal information and important accounts related to either bank accounts or business systems.<\/span><\/p> They're trying to get PII (personally identifiable information) about you or your customers so that they can proceed with further attacks.\u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/p> They will also want to access your account and look at things like invoices. Cybercriminals will draft new copies using your invoices and the design and resend them with your spoofed email address. This is an everyday fraudulent financial activity that businesses experience.<\/i><\/b><\/p><\/blockquote> Cybercrime, while occurring virtually, resembles how theft is carried out physically. There are opportunistic attacks, where an attacker has, by chance, noticed a vulnerability and will exploit it, versus targeted attacks, which are pre-meditated. Think of a targeted attack like a thief casing a bank to plan their next heist.<\/span><\/p> Knowing the difference is key to a sound cybersecurity strategy, and a policy that mitigates these types of attacks is vital.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> The critical difference is that you basically need to put the key mitigations in place to prevent all threats.<\/i><\/b><\/p> The key difference between an opportunistic and a targeted attack is the level of the person they're going after or the type of person. A more targeted attack will be aimed at a senior leader in a business.\u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/p><\/blockquote> Ultimately, it comes down to people. Cybercriminals exploit knowledge gaps to gain access to sensitive information. By educating yourself and your staff, you can learn to spot phishing attempts or scams and mitigate or prevent critical losses.<\/span><\/p> Another key defence you must implement is regular training for yourself and your staff on recognising attacks. Ensure your staff, especially those in key positions, know basic fraudulent attacks, such as <\/i><\/b>phishing and spear phishing tactics<\/i><\/b><\/a>.<\/i><\/b><\/p><\/blockquote> Small businesses can be confused about where to turn after a breach or an attempted breach. When a breach occurs, you can\u2019t just call 000. That\u2019s where the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD) comes in.<\/span><\/p> If you don't think you\u2019re sufficiently skilled, the first thing to do is get help. The government has an excellent resource called <\/i><\/b>cyber.gov.au<\/i><\/b><\/a>. That is my advice; the first place you should go is there.\u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/p> There's a whole section on what to do when you've been breached; work through the advice and the steps that they suggest. If you have any breaches, attempted breaches, or are unsure, go there.<\/i><\/b><\/p><\/blockquote>Investing in your security<\/h2>\n
Methods of protection from cybercriminals<\/h2>\n
Train your staff against targeted and opportunistic cyberattacks<\/h2>\n
Cyber attack breaches and your business<\/h2>\n
Preventing cyber attacks<\/h2>\n
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<\/span>So, what is cybersecurity? And what can small businesses do to stay safe?<\/span><\/p>Defining Cybersecurity<\/b><\/h2>
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<\/p>Investing in your security<\/b><\/h2>
Cybercriminals, tools, and tactics<\/b><\/h2>
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.reckon.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Cyber-icon-2-300x182.png\"){kind=icon}
<\/p>Are cybercriminals looking for more than just data?<\/b><\/h3>
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.reckon.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Cyber-Icon-300x182.png\"){kind=icon}
<\/p>Opportunity vs. targeted cyber attacks<\/b><\/h2>
Cyber-breach aftermath\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>
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Ed Blackman