Security | March 11, 2024
Reduce Cyber Risk with Essential Eight and Microsoft 365 Premium
Cybercrime Is Expensive
In today’s increasingly digital landscape, where cyber threats are constantly evolving, keeping your business secure and minimising cyber risk, (especially events that involve fraud and data breaches) is crucial, as the consequences of lost data, breaches of privacy and potential fraud – is expensive.
Cybercrime Losses
According to the ABS, the majority (92.6%) of reported cybercrime loss is from small businesses with a turn over less than $2 million. Businesses with under 100 employees are also the most targeted by cyber criminals. Small businesses, with less than 20 staff have an average loss of $45,965 and medium businesses (20-100 staff) suffer the highest average cost of $97,203. 22% of all businesses report having experienced a cyber security incident.
SMB’s are Top Targets
Though there has been a 16% drop in notifiable data breaches in 2023 from 2022, the majority of the affected business were SME, with less than 100 employees.
Guard Your Credentials
Additionally, the most common attacks (48%) suffered are due to stolen or compromised credentials.
Following a Cyber Security Framework
These stats show that criminals are actively targeting small to medium businesses, typically using a scatter gun approach (it’s a numbers game) to trick and or steal user credentials.
Fortunately, there are existing cyber security frameworks and solutions from Microsoft that make it easier and more affordable for SME to combat these and other common attacks.
Following a tried and proven framework to improving your businesses cyber security is much easier than going it alone and trying to figure it out yourself.
Essential Eight and Microsoft 365 Premium
Adopt the Australian Made Essential Eight Cyber Security Framework and achieve Maturity Level 1 by leveraging Microsoft 365 Premium’s security solutions.
This is a tried and tested pathway to truly securing your users, devices and data without introducing friction and high costs.
What is the Essential Eight?
What is essential Eight I hear you ask? Great question.
The Essential Eight is an Aussie Made set of eight essential cyber security strategies developed by the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC).
It was created as businesses need an easy to understand and implement framework, something simple but effective. The ACSC looked at what key cyber security measures are the most effective and best bang for buck and went with that, there just happened to be eight of them :-).
Keeping it simple stupid – kiss principals. The Essential Eight has maturity levels, which measures where your business is at with regard to the 8 controls. An Essential Eight assessment looks at these controls and figures out what needs to be remediated to meet that level of maturity, starting with Maturity level 1.
By adopting Essential Eight strategies, your business will be able to clearly prioritize the most effective and cost-efficient strategies to reduce cyber risks – aka focus on the best bang for buck.
Why Implement Essential Eight and Microsoft 365 Premium?
Implementing Essential Eight and leveraging Microsoft 365 Premium is the go-to Gold Standard for securing your business.
It will provides a cost-effective, long-term and robust cyber security solution that significantly reduces the risk of falling victim to cyber attacks.
Key Benefits for your business:
- Reduced likelihood of suffering a data breach
- Reduced likelihood of being targeted by criminals
- Reduction in Cyber Insurance Costs
- Reduction in Directors risk
- Improves compliance and meets privacy obligations
- Reduction of indirect costs caused by cyber attacks
- Business Interruption
- Information loss
- Revenue loss
- Productivity loss