INSURANCE DOESN’T HAVE TO BE COMPLICATED

AMC INSURANCE PTY LTD

CYBER ATTACK!

In 2017, what was being called one of the largest cyber attack in history at that time disabled businesses in 99 countries. Hospitals in Britain, and major corporations like Telefonica in Spain and FedEx in the US, were targeted by hackers in a massive extortion plot.

Since that time we have all no doubt become entagled in the breach of privacy and personally identifiable information following the Medibank (https://www.medibank.com.au/health-insurance/info/cyber-security/timeline/) and Latitude (https://www.latitudefinancial.com.au/latitude-cyber-incident/) data breaches.

Small businesses represent 95% of all business in Australia and are as at risk as major companies to cyber attack. It is imperative for you to understand how to protect your company.

HACKERS INTENTIONS

PAYMENT FRAUD

Internet banking scams have evolved. Businesses are being targeted with fake invoices generated by hackers, which often result in payments being made to criminals’ accounts.

RANSOMWARE

It only takes one accidental click, or an inattentive installation of an application, for criminals to gain access to your computer networks. Once they have control, you could be hit with ransomware demanding payment or face the threat of losing all of your computer files… forever!

…QUICK TIPS:

Staff Training

One of the best ways to bolster your business from the threat of cyber attacks and data breaches is investing in staff training.

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Backup & Recovery

Check that backups are running on your computer; if they’re not, put backups in place. Consider saving your data to a local hard drive as well as an offsite server. Most importantly, to test that your backup systems work! You don’t want to discover that your recovery systems aren’t setup correctly, and you’ve lost all your data.

Passwords

“password” is not a great password. Neither is “password1”.

Safe passwords are made up of:

alphanumeric combinations,
ten or more characters in total,
include capitals, and
symbols

Use your imagination and create a password that includes the above but is still meaningful enough for you to remember. Avoid using the same password for every computer, website, or application.

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Software Updates

That little annoying window that pops up at the bottom of your screen from Microsoft, Apple or Norton Security serves an important purpose. By accepting and installing the latest software updates you are protecting yourself against vulnerabilities within your computer software. If you don’t update your software, it makes it far easier for hackers to infiltrate your computer. IT specialists believe that this is one of the factors in last Friday’s massive cyber attack.

Antivirus Software

With antivirus software, you get what you pay for. If you are expecting the bare minimum in protection, then free software is an option.
For real protection, purchase a full antivirus software package to protect your business. There are evolving solutions for an all-inclusive security product called Unified Threat Management. We suggest speaking to your IT consultant for further advice.

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Payment Fraud

If a cybercriminal targets your business by generating fraudulent invoices for payment, you could lose a lot of money very quickly. Remain vigilant and put in place thorough checks and procedures when authorising payments.

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Wi-Fi & Free Internet

Free Wi-Fi is excellent. Unfortunately, free networks are accessible to anyone within range of the signal. Using your own mobile phone data or tethering your laptop may be inconvenient, but it greatly reduces the rink of outsiders accessing your device and data.

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Cyber Insurance

If you are still concerned with the potential losses, feel free to contact us for a cyber insurance quotation to help further mitigate your exposure and offer additional protection to your business.

WHO NEEDS CYBER INSURANCE?

Below is a fantastic video released by the National Insurance Brokers Association, which outlines more about Cyber Insurance.

Alex Conlon

Director | M: 0409 092 947 | E: alexc@abterrace.com.au

If you have any further questions on the above information, or feel that Cyber Insurance might be right for your business.