Cyber security and your business
Latest cyber security threats
Stay up-to-date on the latest cyber security threats and alerts relating to small and medium businesses on the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) website.
What is cyber security?
Cyber security is about protecting your technology and information from:
- accidental or illegal access
- corruption
- theft
- damage.
You need to protect any digital information that your business creates, collects, and stores. Providing a secure system is critical to protect your business from cybercrime and maintain customer trust.
Threats to your technology or data might come from:
- Criminals who want money or information and illegally access your hardware and data.
- Clients you do business with who want to compromise your information.
- Business competitors looking to gain an advantage over your business.
- Current or former employees who accidentally or intentionally compromise your information.
Cyber criminals look for access to information and data on your business, employees and customers.
They might do this by:
- theft or unauthorised access of hardware, computers and mobile devices
- infecting computers with malware (such as viruses, ransomware, and spyware)
- attacking your technology or website
- attacking third party systems
- spamming you with emails containing malware
- gaining access to your information through your employees or customers.
Cyber criminals look for access to information and data on your business, employees and customers.
They might do this by:
- theft or unauthorised access of hardware, computers and mobile devices
- infecting computers with malware (such as viruses, ransomware, and spyware)
- attacking your technology or website
- attacking third party systems
- spamming you with emails containing malware
- gaining access to your information through your employees or customers.
Your money, information, technology and reputation could be at risk. This could include the destruction, exposure or corruption of the following:
- customer records and personal information
- email records
- financial records
- business plans
- ·new business ideas
- marketing plans
- intellectual property
- product design
- patent applications
- employee information or records.
Types of online threats
Some common online threats to watch out for include:
- phishing emails and texts – fake messages to trick you into giving out your private personal, commercial or financial details. They may pretend to be from an organisation you trust, such as a large business or government agency.
- malware - malicious software is used by criminals to steal your confidential information, hold your system or device to ransom or install damaging programs onto your device without your knowledge.
- ransomware – a type of malicious software that makes your computer or files unusable unless you pay a fee to unlock them.
- data breach - sensitive or personal information is accessed, disclosed or exposed to unauthorised people.
- hacking - unauthorised access to your system or network, often to exploit a system’s data or manipulate its normal behaviour.
- identity theft - a cybercriminal gains access to your personal information to steal money or gain other benefits.
- scams - pretend to be from organisations, businesses or even individuals to trick you into giving the money or your personal details to steal your identity.
What to do if you’re a victim of cybercrime or scam
If your business is a victim of a cybercrime, you can use the ACSC resources to help you report and recover:
- use the Have you been hacked? tool to find out what you need to do if you think you’re a victim of a cyber incident
- find out how to get help and report a cybercrime
- call the Australian Cyber Security Centre 24/7 Hotline: 1300 CYBER1 (1300 292 371).
You will need to report a scam to the National Anti-Scam Centre.
Cyber security resources for small business
Check out the Cyber Wardens program to help educate you and your employees about cyber threats to protect your small business.
Check out the Small Business Cyber Security Guide.
Find a Digital Solutions adviser to help you to adopt digital tools in your business.
Read the Australian Taxation Office top cyber security tips for businesses.
Check how cyber secure your business is
Use our Cyber Security Assessment Tool to see what your business is doing well and what you can do to make it more cyber secure.
By answering some simple questions, the tool will let you know how cyber secure your business is and give you a list of resources to help you improve.
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