The Australian Government’s lead agency for cyber security, the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC), has released a new publication to help business leaders and senior executives secure their accounts and devices.

Practical Cyber Security Tips for Business Leaders includes advice to help business leaders secure their social media accounts and communication channels like emails and texts, as well as how to travel securely.

The top tips to improve cybersecurity include:

• Enable multi-factor authentication (MFA), where available: Enabling MFA prevents unauthorised access to your devices and accounts by requiring you to prove your identity in two or more ways before you can access your devices or accounts. Victorian Chamber tip: App-based authentication is stronger than SMS.
• Keep your device operating system up to date: Updates and patches to your operating systems (Windows, macOS, iOS and Android) protects your devices by adding new features, fixing critical vulnerabilities and introducing stronger security features. Victorian Chamber tip: Enable auto-patching.
• Update and patch your software and applications: Updating software and apps fixes vulnerabilities and adds security features. You should turn on automatic updates, wherever possible. Victorian Chamber tip: Enable auto-patching, and only consider using vendors that support this.
• Back up your important files: Backing up your files lets you recover your information if it is ever lost, stolen, compromised by malicious software or damaged in a fire, flood or other disaster. Victorian Chamber tip: Test your backups at least quarterly.

The full document contains a list of 33-point checklist that covers devices, accounts, social media, communications and travel security. It provides a brief explanation of each tip and why it is recommended.

Access the full document via Practical Cyber Security Tips for Business Leaders.

What to do if you have been compromised

The publication urges business leaders to speak to your IT support team immediately if you think you have been the victim of a cyber incident.

You can check the ACSC ‘Have you been hacked?’ tool and report incidents to the ACSC on 1300 CYBER1, which operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

How the Victorian Chamber can help

The ACSC’s advice aligns with that of the Victorian Chamber, which recognises the importance of, and has been an advocacy leader in, cybersecurity.

Last year we released a first-of-its-kind Cyber Security and Scams Policy Position with 24 pragmatic recommendations to protect small, medium and family businesses from cyber criminals, in a comprehensive cyber suite that included a Security Checklist and Self-Paced Training for businesses.

The Government fully or partially adopted 17 of our recommendations in its 2023-2030 Australian Cyber Security Strategy.

Businesses can also further their cyber learning with the Victorian Chamber’s series of cybersecurity tips videos and self-paced learning course, Cyber Security Essentials for Business.