Cyber security checklist

Use our Cyber Security Assessment Tool to see what your business is doing well and how you can make it more cyber secure. Answer some simple questions to find out how cyber secure your business is and get a list of resources to help you improve.

The Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) has information to help you protect your business and staff from cyber threats.

This includes:

• turning on multi-factor authentication
• using strong passwords or passphrases
• updating software
• backing up information
• protecting your business data
• educating employees.

You need to keep your customers' information safe. Losing or compromising their information will damage your business reputation and could have legal consequences.

Make sure your business:

• invests in and provides a secure online environment for transactions
• secures any personal customer information it stores.

If you take payments online, find out what your payment gateway provider can do to prevent online payment fraud.

There are laws about what you can do with any personal information you collect from your customers. Understand the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) and have a clear, up-to-date privacy policy. If your business is online, it’s a good idea to display your privacy policy on your website.

A cyber security policy helps your staff understand their responsibilities when they use or share:

• data
• computers and devices
• emails
• internet sites.

An emergency management plan can reduce the impact of a cyber-attack and provide an action plan if you need to respond to a cyber security incident.

When creating your emergency management plan, you will need to consider:

• the process to report a cyber security incident
• how you will communicate a cyber security incident to your employees or customers
• how to manage your business during a cyber security incident.

The cost of dealing with a cyber-attack can be much more than just repairing databases, strengthening security or replacing laptops.

Cyber liability insurance cover can help your business with the costs of recovering from an attack. Like all insurance policies, it is important to understand exactly what you are covered for.

It’s important you know where to seek support and advice on cyber security.

You can:

• call the Australian Cyber Security Hotline to talk to someone about support to prepare for and respond to cyber incidents
• get individual support through the Digital Solutions - Australian Small Business Advisory Services program. This program offers small businesses low-cost, high-quality advice on digital solutions, including online security
• search online for non-government IT service providers or cyber security professionals.

As a business owner, it’s important to keep up with the latest scams and security risks to your business.

You can:

• sign up for the ACSC Partnership Program for up-to-date information on cyber security issues and how to deal with them
• check the ACSC alerts for small to medium sized businesses regularly.