Company news and small biz tips
Welcome to the latest Reckon Review! October is Cybersecurity Month in Australia, so we thought we’d take a moment to spotlight this issue since it’s critical to small businesses.
In fact, according to the latest statistics from the Australian Signals Directorate, small businesses lost an average of $46,800 to cybercrime between 2022 and 2023 — and the average cost is up 14%.
It’s an eye-watering problem, but luckily, you can do plenty about it. We’ve rounded up the top tips and expert insights you need to get started in this special edition of the Reckon Review.
Let’s get into it, hey?
A simple small business cybersecurity checklist
The most common cyber threats small businesses face are data breaches and phishing attacks.
- A data breach occurs when cybercriminals access or steal sensitive data, such as data containing personally identifiable information like names, phone numbers, or email addresses. The hackers then use this data to try to scam other people.
- A phishing attack occurs when cybercriminals send malicious emails, messages, or texts to trick victims into revealing personal or financial information. These messages can include links to malware, such as a computer virus.
While the threat level is rising, it’s also completely possible to combat most cyber threats and mitigate your losses with good IT hygiene, best security practices, and awareness. The goal is to reduce the risk of falling victim to cybercrime — not eliminate the risk entirely.
To get started, check out our cybersecurity checklist.
How to spot a scam email
The spam filter is a pretty effective tool, but how do you spot the emails that slip through the cracks?
Cybercriminals use scam (or spam) emails to trick victims, either into giving away personal information, like addresses or credit card numbers, or clicking on a malicious link.
Usually you can spot a scam email by looking out for these red flags:
And if in doubt, don’t reply to the email or click on any links, but to reach out to the sender yourself via phone call or their contact information.
Check out our page for more tips on avoiding scam emails.
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Reckon’s CTO talks about boosting small business safety online
What do cybersecurity professionals reckon? We sat down with our Chief Technology Officer, Ed Blackman, to get his thoughts on cybersecurity and how small businesses can prepare themselves. After all, it’s part of his job to keep Reckon and its customers safe.
Get Blackman’s top tips — including why we should all have Cloud backups — in our latest cybersecurity blog.
Is your business protected? Get a free business insurance health check
Did you know some types of business insurance offer coverage for cybercrime? It depends on the policy and provider, of course, but it could be worth considering as the threat level rises.
Not sure if your policy can handle cyber threats? No worries. We’ve partnered with Aon to offer a free business insurance health check. It’s a quick and easy way to see if you’re fully covered, and if not, how you can get the right protection.
Get your free business insurance health check today!
Stream a Cybersecurity Webinar: Resilience in a time of uncertainty
For a small business, resilience to threats like cybercrime can mean a few things, like:
- Your ability to bounce back financially.
- Your ability to mitigate risks.
- Your ability to incorporate lessons learned from mistakes.
Aon’s Salman Khokhar and Stefi Whitchelo sat down in this webinar to discuss these topics and more, and how small businesses can enhance their resilience to bolts from the blue.
Stream our resilience webinar on-demand today!
Trending on the Reckon blog in October
This month, on the Reckon Blog…
- Payday super is coming! Here are your new super payment obligations.
- Get amongst it: The Reckon Community Manager Rav Singh talks shop.
- Notifications on silent: Do you have the right to disconnect after hours?
Award-winning Writer | Content & Social Media Manager @ Reckon
2moLove a good diagram 🙌