There are a number of reports emerging that predicts e-scams are likely to increase in the coming weeks and months. The Australian Cyber Security Centre have encouraged everyone to remain alert and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission have received over 140 reports from individuals and businesses across Australia about coronavirus-related scams.
The latest Notifiable Data breaches report (July – December 2019) shows an increase in notifications by 19% on the previous 6 months. With Legal, accounting and management services listed in the top five industry sectors to experience reported data breaches
Certainly accountants are a high target for cyber criminals due to the personal information they hold on their clients (TFN, financial details).
We have received a lot of calls from our clients regarding their staff working from home in response to the self-isolation rules identified by State and Federal Governments and health organisations for containment of the spread of the Covid-19 virus.
The health and safety of your staff is a key priority but working remotely brings about its own challenges for businesses. Working remotely can create exposure to cyber crime and it’s important to ensure that your team’s home networks are as secure as possible.
What can you do?
Protection is important and there are a few simple steps you can take to ensure you are protected:
- Talk to your IT security specialist about installing a virtual private network (VPN) to mitigate risks by creating a secure channel for work-related data.
- Regularly back up data and use complex passwords.
- Browse secure sites and avoid opening attachments from unknown senders.
- Implement comprehensive cyber insurance, such as Cyber Shield.
If you are worried about your cyber exposure, our cyber insurance solution; Cyber Shield, covers your company, employees and senior executives using personal computers, smartphones, and tablets whilst working from home in the normal course of the company’s business operations.
So if the company’s network is breached, it is covered regardless of whether it comes through an office computer or someone’s personal device connected to that network. Cover ranges from data recovery to privacy regulatory defence costs, plus much more. If this is relevant to you click here to find out more
Know you and your team have the right cyber protection when working from home.
If you are interested in finding out more, please click on the link below:
For more information, download a copy of our brochure or contact the Professional Risks team on 1300 552 867.
