No matter what industry you’re in or the size of your business, remaining diligent and completely prepared for cyberattacks is paramount. Failing to implement necessary security measures can severely impact not only your business, but potentially your clients, personnel, and even your community.
Throughout this blog, we’ll discuss the ins and outs of the ‘Essential Eight’, a mitigation strategy developed by the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD), and highlight the importance of why your business needs to implement these vital security measures.
What is the Essential Eight?
With a dramatic rise in cyber threats over the last few years (and in many cases, cyber breaches), businesses are urged to prioritise the implementation of the ‘Essential Eight’, a mitigation strategy designed by The Australian Signals Directorate (ASD).
The ‘Essential Eight’ initiative has been designed to enhance cybersecurity resilience across Australian organisations to protect their data and other valuable digital assets.
The Essential Eight is a set of baseline strategies that, when implemented effectively, can mitigate cyber risks significantly. These strategies are practical, actionable, and designed to be adaptable within various business environments. They focus on essential security controls that help to prevent cyber breaches and minimise the impact in situations where a breach does occur.
What Are the Eight Essential Items?
The Essential Eight Maturity Model, was developed by the ASD and first published in 2017. Since then, it has received regular updates to ensure it remains up-to-date and relevant with the right strategies to safeguard against cyberthreats today.
It is based on ASD’s experience in producing cyber threat intelligence, responding to cybersecurity incidents, conducting penetration testing, and assisting organisations to implement the Essential Eight. The eight items include:
- Patch Applications – Ensuring all applications are up-to-date with the latest security patches to minimise vulnerabilities.
- Patch Operating Systems – Ensuring operating systems are up-to-date with the latest security patches.
- Multifactor Authentication – Adding an extra layer of security to protect against unauthorised access to sensitive information.
- Restrict Administrative Privileges – Limiting administrative privileges to essential users to reduce the impact of successful cyberattacks.
- Application Control – Managing what software is allowed to run on systems to prevent malicious applications.
- Restrict Microsoft Office Macros – Restricting macro content to prevent malicious macros from executing.
- User Application Hardening – Configuring web browsers and email clients to block malicious content.
- Regular Backups – Regularly backing up important data to prevent loss due to cyber incidents or other emergencies.
Why You Need to Implement the Essential Eight in Your Business
Risk Mitigation
Implementation of the Essential Eight ultimately aims to help small to medium enterprises (SME’s) mitigate the most common cyber threats. These measures are designed to address the fundamental vulnerabilities that malicious actors are seeking to exploit.
Cost-Effective Security
For SMEs with limited budgets, the Essential Eight provides a cost-effective approach to cybersecurity. By focusing on essential controls, businesses can maximise their security investments and protect digital data.
Compliance and Assurance
Adopting these guidelines demonstrates a commitment to cybersecurity best practices, which can enhance trust and credibility with your customers, partners, and personnel.
Scalability
The Essential Eight framework is scalable, making it suitable for your business as you grow and evolve your cybersecurity needs. You can adapt these measures as they expand or face new threats.
Cyber Resilience
Building resilience against cyber threats is crucial. The Essential Eight helps you to recover quickly from cyber incidents if they do occur, and help to minimise downtime and/or significant financial losses.
Educational Value
Following the Essential Eight encourages a proactive approach to cybersecurity. It promotes awareness of the threats which are actively out there and empowers your employees to recognise and respond to potential threats.
Do You Know if Your Business Has the Right Measures in Place?
While no cybersecurity measure can guarantee absolute protection, the Essential Eight provides you with a robust foundation to enhance your cyber defences. By prioritising these strategies, you can reduce their risk exposure, safeguard sensitive information, and maintain operations continuity.
Embracing the Essential Eight not only strengthens cybersecurity posture but fosters a culture of vigilance and resilience within your organisation. Adoption of the Essential Eight is a proactive step towards safeguarding your digital assets and reputation in an increasingly connected world.
Need Help?
At IQPC, we are network partners of the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC), the Australian Government’s lead agency for cybersecurity. This partnership provides our team with the vital knowledge necessary to help you maintain your cybersecurity requirements.
Get in touch with our friendly team who can help you discover your current security measures through an in-depth IQPC security audit, or discuss any other questions you may have about protecting your business in today’s digital landscape.
