Secure your business with a proactive approach to cybersecurity

data privacy, cyber threats, best practices
Secured Mobile Device. Tablet Computer with Security Concept on the Screen. Closed Padlock Concept. Mobile Technology Security.

The 2020 cyberattack boom was a huge wake-up call for Australian businesses across the nation, with an average of one cybercrime being reported every 10 minutes between July 2019 and June 2020, according to the Australian Cyber Security Centre.

A quick transition to remote work as a result of the global pandemic has accelerated the risk of threats and attacks, with organisations of all sizes and sectors being targeted. In particular, cybercriminals continue to target small-to-medium businesses, many unaware of risks or lacking the expertise, time and budget to effectively prevent cyberattacks and threats from negatively impacting their business. 

According to Check Point Research, Australian SMEs experience an average of 50 cyber incidents each month, with 63 per cent having accessed a malicious website in the last three months.

Making just a few changes in your company’s infrastructure can go a long way and presents a unique opportunity to assess your security investments. Are you really getting what you need and are your point solutions protecting the right things?

If you haven’t already, now is the time to consider taking a proactive approach to cybersecurity. Here are a couple of solutions you can apply:

Beware of malware

In the last three months, 12 per cent of Aussie businesses have had a malicious file downloaded to their network. With many businesses adopting remote work, hackers have also ramped up on ‘thread hijacking’ attacks, a phishing technique that uses an employee’s emails to infiltrate an organisation’s security networks and steal data.

Once a user is infected, the attackers leverage their old email conversations for malware distribution, forwarding the last email of the thread and adding malicious files as attachments. This makes it easier to trick new victims that are within the user’s social and professional domain since from their perspective they are receiving an email from a trusted colleague concerning a known subject.

Unprotected endpoints put an entire business at risk to threats, data loss, and unauthorised access. To mitigate these risks, businesses – at a minimum – should carry out cybersecurity awareness training for their employees. They should also implement anti-malware solutions and regularly update these to ensure all endpoint devices are protected from sophisticated attacks and zero-day threats.

Increasing cybersecurity awareness training within your company can also help teams work together to secure remote devices and networks. This should include an extensive list of do’s and don’ts in a corporate environment.

Set and forget

Small businesses are experiencing the same types of advanced, stealthy cyber-threats as large enterprises and don’t often have the resources or security knowledge to fully protect themselves without large IT and security teams. The truth is it is possible for SMEs can take advantage of their size to quickly adapt to vulnerabilities.

Special plug-and-play tools such as Check Point’s Quantum Spark SME can be an affordable, all-in-one solution to help protect your business from latest security threats. For example, you may need an efficient way to protect all employee laptops and PCs against threats such as malware, ransomware and phishing.

The easy management allows companies with already lean teams and resources to integrate and automate their security protocols, and in turn, secure all devices and prevent cyberthreats and attacks in real-time.

By taking a proactive approach to cybersecurity, you are taking a huge leap forward to closing the security gap and protecting your IT infrastructure against the rapidly evolving and expanding threat landscape.

Ian Raper, Managing Director – Australia and New Zealand, Check Point Software Technologies