There’s no question that Australian businesses are under threat online. According to Accenture, security breaches have increased by 11% since 2018 and 67% since 2014. In addition, more than two-thirds of business leaders believe their cybersecurity is at risk.
Late last year, the Government showed us how seriously it takes cybercrime by launching an official Australian Cyber Security Centre. The national cybersecurity campaign urges Australians to strengthen their cyber defences and be alert to online threats. So, is your data safe and secure?
Cyber Threats – the facts
Minister for Defence, Senator Linda Reynolds, launched the ACSC campaign in December 2020, saying: “Cybercriminals are relentless, operating around the clock and around the world, in a bid to steal the data and money from Australian businesses and families. Australians are reporting more than one cybercrime every 10 minutes, making it more important than ever that we all remain alert to the threat of cybercrime.”
The Morrison Government’s $1.67 billion investment in the Cyber Security Strategy 2020 complements the “act now and stay secure online” national campaign.
Minister for Home Affairs Peter Dutton said having a strategy as a country to deal effectively with online threats is essential to keeping Australians safe from cybercriminals. “Even with these measures in place, all Australians need to know how to safeguard themselves against cybersecurity threats.”
For a business, even the smallest cybersecurity incident can have devastating impacts. Losing data equals losing money. When your data gets attacked it takes time to recover – valuable time when you can’t operate your business. Lost time will result in lost income. This is why the ACSC is telling business owners and organisations about the three most common types of cyber threats:
1. Malicious software (malware) designed to do harm. You can protect against malware by:
- Automatically updating your operating system
- Automatically updating your software applications
- Regularly backing up your data
2. Scam (phishing) emails designed to trick recipients out of money and data. Be cautious of:
- Requests for money, especially if urgent or overdue
- Bank account changes
- Attachments
- Requests to check or confirm login details
3. Ransomware that locks down your computer and files until a ransom is paid. Ransomware attacks are carried out via a malicious but legitimate looking email link or attachment. You can prevent and recover from ransomware by:
- Updating operating systems
- Updating software
- Backing up your business
Cyber Security Checklist
The ACSC provides the following summary checklist:
Software Considerations
- Turn on automatic updates for your operating system
- Set up a convenient time for these to occur
- Back up your business
- Enable multi-factor authentication wherever possible
People and Procedures
- Establish an access control system to determine who should have access to what
- Restrict administrator privileges to an ‘as-required’ basis
- Do not share passwords, for example, individual logins
- Remember to revoke accounts when employees leave the business
- Use strong passwords
- Use with multi-factor authentication
- Incorporate, update and regularly repeat cybersecurity training and awareness amongst your employees
- Create a cybersecurity incident response plan
- Reward employees who find threats
- Create a cybersecurity culture and encourage regular discussions
- Always be cautious of emails with unusual requests
As well as virtual security, physical data security should also be taken into consideration. Is your data safe from fire, water, vandals and dust? Natural disasters are unlikely, but certainly not impossible!
How Zella DC protects your data
Our Zella Pros are secure from unwanted entry in the physical and cyber dimensions.
We offer the following physical protection for your data:
- Keypad/card and PDView access control (standard)
- Vandal proof and waterproof
- IP based biometric access with proximity card (fingerprint/card)
- Ethernet interface for TCP/IP communication
- Maglocks front and rear door
Our Zella DC units also protect you from cyber threats:
- Encryptions. We only enable secure encrypted communication by default (HTTPS and SSH). We use the strongest encryption in the industry.
- Password policies. Password expiration ensures passwords getting refreshed periodically, preventing hackers from accessing the Zella DC from any known security breaches.
- Firewalls. IP-Based Access control Lists (IP ACL) and Role-Based Access Control (RBAC)
- Defences in Depth. Blocking access after repeated failed logins, timing out inactive sessions, limiting use of same login, restricted service agreement warnings.
- Certificates. CA Certificates and Self-Signed Certificates.
By focusing only on achieving excellence in design and by learning from its customers, Zella DC has grown into a world-leading supplier of stand-alone, energy-efficient, secure, modular micro data centres. We understand the vital importance of keeping data safe and ensure our micro data centres offer the ultimate in physical and cyber security. Is your data safe and secure? It is with Zella DC.
Get in touch if you’d like to find out how we keep your data safe and secure.
