Do you know the Essential Eight things you need to do to secure your client data when your staff are working from home?

The COVID-19 global pandemic has hit the world by surprise, forcing employers and employees into an extraordinary situation.

Carrying on with ‘business-as-usual’ whilst ensuring the health and safety of staff and customers, has meant adopting a work-from-home (WFH) strategy for many organisations. Although this arrangement keeps businesses running while implementing social distancing measures, it raises some major security concerns:

• Cyber criminals taking advantage of weakened IT infrastructures?
• Reduced IT security leaving businesses vulnerable to malicious malware and viruses?
• Compromise of corporate data due to employees lack of security compliance?

In this climate businesses that work with copious amounts of sensitive client data need to be well aware of the Essential Eight mitigation strategies set by the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC).

Do you know the Essential 8 actions you need to implement to protect your client data?

1. 1. Controlling all applications so that unauthorised apps (including malicious code) become virtually non-executable.

1. 1. Configuring the macro settings of MS Office to ensure that only vetted or certified macros are allowed.

1. 1. Mitigating units with high risk or security vulnerabilities to prevent the execution of malicious code.

1. 1. Hardening user apps by setting web browsers to block ads, Java, and Flash (popular platforms used to launch malicious attacks), as well as disabling unnecessary features.

1. 1. Limiting administrative access and privileges to prevent unscrupulous people from gaining full access to your system.

1. 1. Implementing multi-factor authentication to add layers of security to existing data and the entire system.

1. 1. Conducting operating systems patches to identify and mitigate system vulnerabilities.

1. 1. Requiring daily backups to ensure business information, data, documents and files remain accessible and current following a cybersecurity incident, such as ransomware.

Adhering to the above guidelines goes a long way in safeguarding confidential client information but if you’re unsure about how and where to start, FocusNet Technology is here to help.

We have the industry background and know-how to ensure your company is Essential Eight compliant, especially when your employees are working from home.

If you have any comments or queries regarding the Essential Eight or anything IT-related that can impact your business, please get in touch with us today on 1300 077 7777.