With tax time in full swing, it’s important to be cyber aware and put systems and processes in place to help you and your business clients reduce the risk of a cyber event, and plan for what to do if one occurs
Every Australian business is a target for cyber attack. In the 2022–23 financial year, the average cost of cybercrime for small businesses increased to $46,000; for medium businesses, it increased to $97,000.
But you and your clients can take practical steps to be more cyber secure by safeguarding accounts, protecting devices and information, and preparing staff. Follow these tips to reduce the risk of a cyber security breach:
- run the latest software updates to ensure operating systems security is current
- update antivirus software
- always access online government services such as myGov by doing a manual search for them yourself – never access them via links in emails and SMS
- if in doubt about an interaction, phone us on an independently sourced number to verify the interaction
- educate staff on scam and cyber security awareness
- always be careful when clicking on links and providing personally identifiable information. We've removed hyperlinks from all ATO outbound unsolicited SMS to make it easier for you to identify legitimate SMS messages.
To learn more about common cyber security threats to Australian businesses and to download guides on remote working, protecting websites and customer data visit the Australian Signals Directorate's (ASD) resource hub for Small Business Cyber SecurityExternal Link. The ASD is the Australian Government’s leading authority for cyber security advice and assistance.
We also provide advice on how to stay safe online and explain what we do to protect your information to avoid a data breach at ato.gov.au/onlinesecurity.