As EOFY approaches, South Australian small businesses are busy wrapping up accounts, chasing invoices, and preparing for the new financial year. But there’s one critical area that’s easy to overlook: Cybersecurity!
Tax time is a great opportunity for scammers to target busy owners with fake invoices, phishing emails, and ransomware.
For small teams in retail, hospitality, or services, one breach can mean lost data, downtime, thousands in costs and quite possibly their entire business.
The good news? You don’t need a big IT budget to make your business much safer. Here are 10 practical tasks you can tackle in the next couple of weeks to keep on track and in control of your risks.
1. Update All Devices and Software
Ensure your computers, phones, tablets, routers and business software are fully updated as software updates often contain important security fixes.
2. Remove Old User Accounts
Review staff access to your systems, email accounts and applications. Identify and remove access for former employees, contractors or suppliers who no longer need it.
3. Turn On Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
Enable MFA on email, banking, accounting software and cloud systems, providing you with one of the simplest and most effective security measures available.
4. Review Your Passwords
Avoid reusing passwords across systems. Use strong passwords and consider a password manager for your business.
5. Test Your Backups
Confirm your important business data is being backed up properly and that backups can actually be restored if needed.
6. Train Staff on Scam Emails
Phishing emails remain one of the biggest risks for small businesses. Remind staff to be cautious with unexpected invoices, payment changes and links.
7. Audit Business Devices
Make a list of all devices connected to your business. Remove unused devices and ensure work devices are protected with passwords and screen locks.
8. Review Payment and Invoice Procedures
Introduce a simple verification process before changing bank account details or making unusual payments.
9. Review Customer Data Storage
Ensure your customer/client data is securely stored and with appropriate access controls in place. Check where your data is held and delete information that is no longer required or covered by retention rules.
10. Create a Simple Incident Plan
If your systems were hacked tomorrow, what would you do first? Even a one-page response plan can save you valuable time during an incident.
Before 30 June, ask yourself:
✔ Are all systems updated?
✔ Is MFA enabled?
✔ Have old accounts been removed?
✔ Are backups working?
✔ Have staff been reminded about scams?
✔ Do we know what to do if something goes wrong?
Cybersecurity does not need to be complicated or expensive. For most small businesses, consistent basic practices make the biggest difference.
These small steps can dramatically reduce your risk without big costs or complexity. Protecting your business is part of good EOFY housekeeping.
To help South Australian businesses strengthen their cybersecurity heading into the new financial year, CyberSolveIQ has prepared a free practical guide:
“7 Things Every Business Should Know About Cybersecurity”
A practical guide for small and micro business owners.
The guide outlines simple, practical steps businesses can take to reduce cyber risk, improve staff awareness, and better protect business operations without needing in-house IT expertise.
Download the free guide today and use EOFY as an opportunity to strengthen your business before the new financial year begins.
CyberSolveIQ is also offering SA Business Chamber members an exclusive 20% EOFY discount on both the CyberDIY® and CyberIN-DEPTH® cybersecurity assessment programs.
This special EOFY offer is only available for a limited time.
Visit www.cybersolveiq.com/sabusinesschamber and enter promotion code SABC20 to secure your member discount.
Take action before 30 June and start the new financial year with greater cybersecurity confidence.
CyberSolveIQ
Contact: Patrick Baker
Email: patrick@cybersolveiq.com
Mobile: 0419 806 671
Website: www.cybersolveiq.com/sabusinesschamber
