Protect your business from common cybersecurity threats this tax time.

With tax time in full swing, it’s important to keep your business secure online and put systems and processes in place to help reduce the risk of a cyber event. You should also plan for what you’ll do if a cyberattack occurs.

Every Australian business is a target for cyberattacks. In the 2022–23 financial year, the average cost of cybercrime for small businesses increased to $46,000. There are practical steps you can take to make your business more cybersecure. This includes safeguarding accounts, protecting devices and information, and preparing your staff to identify cyber threats. You can also follow these tips to reduce the risk of a cybersecurity breach:

• Run the latest software updates to ensure your operating systems’ security is current, including updating antivirus software.
• Always access online government services, like myGov, by typing the address into your internet browser yourself.
• If something does not seem genuine, don’t engage with it. Visit ato.gov.au/scams to verify or report the contact and see examples of the latest ATO Impersonation scams to help you spot a scam.
• Educate your staff on scam and cybersecurity awareness.
• Always be careful when clicking on links and providing personally identifiable information. We’ve removed hyperlinks from all outbound unsolicited SMS to make it easier to identify legitimate SMS messages from us.
• Never give out your personal information over social media – we will never ask you to do this, we also don’t use private messaging. Block the account and send a screenshot of the profile to ReportScams@ato.gov.au.
• Hang up on any suspicious phone calls claiming to be from the ATO. Always phone us back on a number you have looked up yourself to check if it was really the ATO talking to you.

Find out more

Visit the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD) resource hub for Small Business Cyber Security to:

• learn more about common cybersecurity threats affecting Australian businesses
• download guides on remote working, protecting websites and customer data.

The ASD is the Australian Government’s leading authority for cybersecurity advice and help.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask them in the comment section. We will be happy to answer all your queries.=-