Your business’ security needs are no longer confined to an alarm system, deadlocks and padlocks and possible CCTV cameras. Now it’s about firewalls, VPNs and malware. While you might think your small business isn’t a worthy target for a cyber-attack, the evidence suggests otherwise.
According to the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC), the average financial loss per cybercrime report in 2021-22 was $39,000 for small business, $88,000 for medium-sized businesses. The ACSC receives a cyber-attack report every seven minutes.
What do hackers steal?
All businesses are at risk, not just office-based businesses or those that work with sensitive information. All data is valuable: it could be email contacts, supplier information or any details about your customers (names, addresses, phone numbers and emails), as well as your company’s bank and credit card details, your employees’ information including where you pay their salary and super.
By merging data from multiple sources, cybercriminals can build profiles of hacked account owners to enable other attacks, or increase the effectiveness of social engineering campaigns.
What could be the impact to your business if your data is hacked?
Repercussions can include:
- instant reputational loss of trust and credibility among customers and suppliers
- financial loss
- legal action - not just from impacted customers but possibly government if you can’t show you’ve taken sufficient steps to prevent an attack
- loss of valuable or historical data
- operational downtime - a cyber-attack can close a business temporarily or in some cases permanently.
How could you be hacked?
The most common cyber threats that cause the most significant impacts are:
