Essential 8 Compliance - Why you should care
Your business has no insurance, your premise has no locks, your banking passwords are written on every sticky note you can get your hands on. You decided today that you are going to go to the casino and put it all on black.
The risk appetite of someone who does this is huge—and you might be thinking to yourself, how can someone live with so much risk? Well, many businesses here in Western Australia are in the same boat. There's been an alarming increase in cyber attacks on WA businesses over the last 5 years, with ransomware, data breaches, and credential theft leading to major disruptions—some companies failing to meet payroll or even closing up shop entirely.
It's a huge risk, and while many businesses know they should keep backups, there's often a lack of awareness about what actually works against today's threats—from kids using ChatGPT to whip up malicious scripts, right through to professional cybercriminals who make a living ransoming data and extorting payments.
But here's the good news: you don't have to figure it out alone. The Australian Signals Directorate (ASD), in partnership with the government, has released the Essential Eight framework—a straightforward, prioritized set of mitigation strategies that dramatically reduces your exposure to the most common attack techniques.
The Essential Eight gets businesses protected fast and effectively, and the neat part? Biz365 is already rolling out many of these controls in the background for our clients, handling the heavy lifting so you can focus on running your business.
That said, some of the most impactful controls—like application control (which blocks unauthorized software and executables from running) and disabling or restricting Microsoft Office macros (to stop hidden malicious code in documents)—can feel disruptive at first. They might block certain legacy processes or require whitelisting approved apps/macros, which is exactly why we want to work closely with you.
We'd love to jump on a quick call to discuss your specific setup, understand any potential friction points, and help tailor these controls so they protect you without grinding operations to a halt. Many clients find that once implemented properly (with our guidance), these measures become seamless—and they sleep a lot better knowing they're aligned with ASD's recommended baseline.
Ready to chat about getting these protections in place? Let's schedule a time—your peace of mind (and your business's future) is worth it.