Your data is the centre of your business, a bullseye for cyber-criminals. But that’s not the only threat. Misuse and loss of personal information are also contenders.
How safe is your data? If you’re not being kept awake at night worrying about a cyber-attack or the new intern mistakenly sharing a password, perhaps you should be.
In fact, between April and June this year there were 245 mandatory data breaches reported to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC).
More alarming is that, while 62% were due to malicious or criminal attack, an astounding 34% were caused by human error. These errors include sending valuable personal information to the wrong person, losing a device full of data and the unintended release of information. Easy mistakes with very serious consequences for businesses and their clients, which can lead to huge reputational damage, financial costs and hefty penalties.
Alarming facts such as these were shared at a recent webinar on privacy, data and cyber security compliance obligations hosted by Thomson Reuters. Connor Dilleen, Director of the Dispute Resolution Branch at the OAIC and Greg Lewis, member of the Tax Practitioners Board and Drew Fenton, Managing Director of Fenton Green spoke of the increase in data and compliance breaches, and discussed strategies to tackle the growing risk.
With accounting and finance scoring in the top three of the sectors suffering the most breaches, just behind the health sector, the valuable personal information stored in your business is the clear target.
The regulators stressed the need for vigilance in the workplace to prevent or mitigate the risk of human error. Among many tips, such as ensuring passwords are strong, they also reinforced the importance of using multi-factor authentication (MFA) and encryption where possible.
MFA is one of the security measures applied to cloud-based software including Onvio, to keep your access to confidential data and documents secure and to avoid breaches. With Onvio, certified to meet strict ISO standards, your content is stored safely in the cloud, rather than potentially exposed on your desktop.
Taking on the job of automatically backing up all your data, Onvio replaces the need for you to maintain a range of servers. While also taking on the job of automatically updating your protective software, Onvio will help you sleep well at night.
Find out more about Onvio Practice.
