Cyber crime is the fastest growing crime in the world.
We all know it’s no longer acceptable to use the same simple password, even if you change it occasionally. As technology evolves to be ever more sophisticated and fundamental to our lives, so too must the means by which we protect ourselves and our clients against hackers and cybercriminals.
We take our obligations seriously and understand how important it is that our client’s personal information is kept safe, this includes educating our clients on the importance of unique logins and secure passwords, as we work together to keep security top of mind.
Modern ways to step up your security
Cybercrime is everywhere and getting worse! Scams often infiltrate firms through non-invasive, non-obvious means, like a fake email from the firm’s chief executive.
As modern security measures become increasingly mandated, with wide-scale rollouts supported by government offices like the ATO, security will become a mainstream part of life and business.
Some easy-to-implement steps we encourage clients to take are;
- Activate Two Step Authentication (2SA) on your Xero account and all other available systems, like your bank and email accounts. The extra authorisation that 2SA requires at login means that cracking a password isn’t enough for a hacker to gain access. Read more information about 2SA in Xero here.
- Have secure unique passwords, that you use only once. A weak password is comparable to having a broken lock on your front door. Password-manager software can help create and manage strong passwords that are different for every site. Doing so will help stop a small compromise turning into one of many.
- Link your two-step authentication to a second verified email address. This provides an easy fallback option if the authenticator app on your smartphone is unavailable.
- Utilize cyber resilience resources such as;
Xero Introduction to Cloud Security small business guide
Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) resource hub
Handy Guide to Get Safe Online
You can also share these 10 steps with your team and clients to help protect yourself from cyber crime;
- Be observant
- Check social requests
- Improve you business process
- Call suppliers to confirm new invoices
- Use third-party security software
- Use multiple signatories for bank transfers
- Use multi-factor authentication
- Don’t rely on default protection
- Continuous validation through simulations
- Monitor staff behaviour changes
At Keeping Company we are committed to being responsible data custodians. Over the past twelve months, we have embraced Cloud Best Practice policy to demonstrate legal compliance as data custodians and reduce exposure and secure client privacy under the new legislation. You can read more about our firm-wide roll out here.
Lets work together to build a stronger, more secure online community together.
If you have any queries or concerns, please reach out to us at service@keepingcompany.com.au