IT Security Audits

In the age of the paperless office, data is being increasingly stored electronically on desktops, servers or in the Cloud. Such data includes email correspondence with customers, vendors and business associates; sensitive client and business information; and promotional material posted on websites and social media portals.

While all these activities are the normal and vital part of doing business in the modern age, are we opening up our businesses (and our sensitive data) to high-tech criminals?

• Hacking.
• Theft of client information.
• Theft of company intellectual property.
• Money laundering.
• Extortion.
• Identity theft and fraud.

While consumers, Small to Medium Business (SMB) and large enterprises are at risk, it turns out that the SMB are becoming the cyber criminal’s “sweet spot”. Why? Larger businesses tend to have more robust security systems and processes preventing most cybercriminal activities. Security for SMB are usually not as robust which is a serious point of concern. This means that SMB’s are at high risk of data theft, network spamming and virus attacks. Further, cybercrime can happen from within the organisation with a large percentage of data breaches being perpetrated by staff which often goes undetected. Read here for more

Under current Australian Privacy Laws, most small to medium businesses that hold personal information must take reasonable steps to protect information from (a) misuse, interference and loss; and (b) unauthorized access, modification or disclosure. Privacy considerations are also important when outsourcing to Cloud based services. The business needs to have appropriate policies, processes and
tools in place to respond to any breaches in the law.
According to recent updates of the law (2017), companies and organizations must report any eligible data breaches or lost data to the Privacy Commissioner as soon as they become aware of the situation.
Affected customers must also be notified by publishing a statement on the company website.
Penalties for breaches of the Australian Privacy Laws can result in fines up to $360,000 for an individual and $1.8 million for a business.

The first step is to do a security audit which will identify some of the highest risk vulnerabilities in your IT network. Fill in the DIY (Do It Yourself) 17 Point Basic IT Security Audit form below to make an assessment of IT security in your business. (This audit is aimed at small to medium size businesses)

As you can see in the Malware Trends graph below, in the past cybercriminals were focused on viruses, worms & spyware. These days they are focusing on hacking businesses targeted to get a direct source of payment.