What is the Essential Eight?

The Essential Eight is a platform provided for SMB’s by the Federal Government that includes eight strategies for businesses to implement in order to minimise cyber security incidents.

How to protect computer systems from cyber threats?

To improve your cyber security you should focus on improving application, network, cloud, and IoT security.

How much does cyber crimes cost?

Each year cyber crimes cost the Australian economy roughly $1 billion. Overall, it is estimated that the global economy has lost US$1 trillion thanks to cyber crimes over the last few decades.

What are common cyber scam strategies?

Email phising, weak passwords, ransomware, and DDoS attacks are common methods for scammers to breach businesses

What IT systems are most vulnerable to scammers?

The most targeted IT vulnerabilities include remote work, VPNs, and cloud technologies.

Strong Cyber Security Can Save Your Business

Cyber security is a growing concern for businesses. If your business is on the internet, it is vulnerable.

Fraudsters are becoming more sophisticated as cyber-defence tools improve. Putting in place security measures alone is not sufficient. With the shifting landscape, you need to be monitoring and updating them all the time.

So, businesses must understand the extreme importance, right now, of how implementing and adapting solid cyber security protocols helps them to protect their operations.

And, a major problem with cyber crime is it doesn’t just affect big business and government agencies. It’s more prevalent among smaller companies whose vulnerabilities are subtle.

The Federal Government recently announced a national initiative to raise awareness of the need for small and medium businesses to have effective security.

The platform being provided for SMB’s by the Federal Government for cyber security mitigation is based on what’s called the “Essential Eight”.

The Essential Eight Broken Down

Mitigation Strategies to Prevent Malware Delivery and Execution

Configure Microsoft Office Macro Setting
Application Control
Patch Applications
User Application Hardening

Mitigation Strategies to Limit the Extent of Cyber Security Incidents

Restrict Administrative Privileges
Multi-factor Authentication
Patch Operating Systems

Mitigation Strategies to Recover Data and System Availability

Daily Backups

At OneCloud IT Solutions, we are committed to delivering you these proven strategies to secure your business operations online as part of our security service.

With OneCloud IT Solutions, we understand businesses are looking for professionals with a combination of technical skills with expertise in data security along with the understanding of business risk.

When you use our cyber security service, you are leveraging the experience and proven expertise of a team across these valuable IT skills and disciplines:

Cyber Security Analysis	Cyber Security Consulting	Systems Engineering	Systems Administrating
Vulnerability Analysis	Computer Forensics Analysis	Ethical Hacking	Penetration Testing

To protect your computer systems from suspicious behaviour, strong security is necessary. Our full cyber security service for your business focuses on these key areas:

Application security
Network security
Cloud security
IoT security (internet of things) – e.g. printers, hardware, other peripherals

list of common cyber security weaknesses including application, network, cloud and IOT security

Why You Should Be Worried About Cyber Crime

Cyber crimes cost the Australian economy roughly $1 billion dollars a year.

A report by the Cyber Security Cooperative Research Centre estimated that cyber crime has cost the global economy US$1 trillion.

Among the recent ransomware attacks in Australia are:

February and May 2020 – Two attacks in a few months against logistics company Toll Holdings
March 2021 – An attack against Nine Entertainment that left the company struggling to televise news bulletins and produce newspapers
June 2021– An attack against JBS Foods, the world’s largest meat supplier, which affected 47 facilities in Australia

Rachel Noble, director-general of the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD) told a Senate committee in June that these attacks on JBS, Nine, and Toll Group have been “catastrophic” for the businesses affected. [source: ABC]

Interestingly, one-third of Australian organisations hit by ransomware attacks paid the ransom. That’s a lot of money to avoid embarrassment. There has been a 60 per cent increase in ransomware attacks against Australian entities in the past year, according to the government’s cyber security agency, the ACSC.

The Key Cyber Attacks

Email phishing – a growing threat to individuals and businesses as hackers utilise phishing to send malware.

The strengthening of passwords is one of the common problems companies face, specifically in B2B. Using the same password across multiple accounts causes the issue.

Ransomware – the name comes from the fact that malware is often used to lock a device, data or system until a hacker is paid a ransom.

Though DDoS attacks still tend to be the most expensive of the cyber claims, ransomware is now the most prominent threat and the most costly.

Because of the expansion of remote work arrangements during the COVID-19 pandemic, businesses have likely been exploited by malicious cyber actors through recently disclosed software flaws. Four of the most targeted vulnerabilities affected remote work, VPNs, or cloud technologies.

Among those highly exploited in 2021 are vulnerabilities in Microsoft, Pulse, Accellion, VMware, and Fortinet software. [source: Australian Cyber Security Centre]

“In cyber security, getting the basics right is often most important. Organisations that apply the best practices of cyber security, such as patching, can reduce their risk of cyber actors exploiting known vulnerabilities in their networks,” said Eric Goldstein, Executive Assistant Director for Cybersecurity, CISA.

Australians spent approximately $5.6 billion on cyber security in 2020, according to AustCyber. By the year 2024, this figure is predicted to amount to $7.6 billion.

list of common cyber security weaknesses including email phishing, passwords, ransomeware, DDOS attacks, remote work, VPNs and cloud technologies

OneCloud IT Solutions Is Your Trusted Cyber Security Team

Firms often have difficulty hiring trained cyber security professionals due to the difficulty of finding professionals with the right blend of technical and soft skills. That’s where we come in. We keep things simple. We won’t sugar coat things, or confuse you with techy jargon. We are down to earth, straight-shooters who work hard to protect your business.

OneCloud IT Solutions’ team of professionals offers:

A service which is enthusiastic, analytical, and adaptable with an understanding of vulnerabilities on the web
Business acumen, business risk awareness, and problem-solving abilities
The ability to communicate technical and nontechnical information in a manner that is clear and easy to understand
Excellent understanding of operation systems, networks, and visualisation systems, including architecture, administration, and management
Knowledge of programming languages, such as PHP, Python, Java, and C++.
Working within your business to develop your cyber security experience

To check the vulnerability of your business and to discuss your security strategy, please contact One Cloud IT Solutions today.

We are here for you.