More than a quarter of New Zealand businesses faced a cyber attack in the past year, according to Grant Thornton’s International Business Report survey.

Number and diversity of cyber-attacks on the rise (external link) — Grant Thornton

Check and improve your cyber security to protect yourself, your business and your customers. Government, internet providers, technology companies and organisations like Digital Journey can do their bit to help, but you need to step up too:

1. Think about where your risks lie.
2. Take protective steps.
3. Tell any staff what they need to do.

Protective steps can be as simple as switching on two-step verification on your email. But if you rely on sensitive data or store personal information about staff and customers, you’ll need to do more.

Types of cyber security threats (external link) — CERT NZ

Make sure you’re not making these simple cyber security mistakes.

Forgetting to back up data

Develop a long-term plan about how you’ll collect, keep and back up data. This will save you time and protect you from losing important data if you’re hit by a cyber attack.

Not having an acceptable use policy

This policy outlines what an employee can and can’t do when using IT equipment or the internet at work. Use our Workplace Policy Builder to create yours. It will help staff understand the rules — and reduce the risk of someone accidentally letting a cyber attacker into your system.

Keeping staff in the dark

To reduce your chances of being hit by scams, frauds and hack attacks, everyone in your business needs to be aware of current risks and commit to safe practices. Set aside time to educate yourself and your staff on new threats. Update your policies and procedures with new protection practices.

Training your staff on cyber security (external link) – Digital Journey

Relying on old passwords

Passwords must be kept safe and secure, and changed frequently. If you have trouble remembering them, use a password manager app. Use two-step verification — also called two-factor authentication — to provide even stronger protection against unauthorized access to your data and accounts.

Password managers (external link) — Digital Journey

Two-factor authentication (external link) – CERT NZ

Procrastinating on updates

Running old operating systems or software leaves you vulnerable to cyber criminals who have figured out how to hack old systems. Every time your operating system or software asks if you want to run an update, do it.