Small businesses aren’t targeted because they’re valuable. They’re targeted because they’re easier, and because attacks are automated and indiscriminate.
The good news is that most successful attacks rely on a handful of gaps, and closing them is neither complicated nor especially expensive. It just has to actually be done, and then checked periodically.
What we put in place
Endpoint protection. Proper business-grade protection across every machine, centrally managed so you can see what’s actually installed and up to date — rather than hoping.
Firewalls. Configured, maintained and kept current, rather than whatever came free with the internet connection.
Mail filtering. Most attacks arrive by email. Filtering removes a large share before anyone has the chance to click.
Multi-factor authentication. The single highest-value change most businesses can make. A stolen password stops being enough on its own.
Patching. Operating systems and applications kept current, because most successful attacks exploit something that was fixed months earlier.
Backup you’ve tested. Your last line of defence against ransomware is a backup that you know restores, because someone has actually restored from it.
Staff awareness. Practical, non-condescending guidance on what a scam actually looks like now. Your staff are the layer that catches what the technology misses.
Backed by Sophos
We’re a Sophos partner and use their products across our business clients. We also publish their security alerts on our site — the threats that genuinely affect Australian small businesses, the patches worth applying today, and what you can safely ignore.
Not set and forget
Security is not a product you buy once. Software lapses, staff change, laptops go home, new services get signed up for, and the threats change every few months.
We review what’s in place, tell you what’s drifted, and keep it current. For businesses on a managed support plan, that review is part of the arrangement rather than a separate project.
Where to start
If you don’t know your current position, start with an IT health check. It’ll tell you where the actual gaps are, in priority order, with costs — so you can fix the important things first instead of buying products in a panic.
Frequently asked
We're small. Are we really a target?
Yes, and being small is exactly why. Automated attacks don’t check your revenue first, and smaller businesses generally have fewer defences.
Isn't the free anti-virus enough?
For a home machine it can be a reasonable start. For a business with staff, customer data and a bank account attached, it isn’t.
What do we do first if something has already happened?
Disconnect affected machines from the network, don’t turn them off if you can avoid it, and ring us straight away.
Will security slow our staff down?
Done properly, barely at all. Multi-factor authentication adds a few seconds a day. Losing a week to ransomware costs rather more.