Page 35 - Australasian Paint & Panel magazine Jul-Aug 2021

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tions in place, paint and panel busi- nesses are risking their reputation, finances and livelihood.
Thankfully, there are a few simple steps that businesses can put in place to help better protect themselves from cy- ber-attacks. Firstly, get your passwords in check. Passwords should be rotated at the very least every 60 days, although every 30 days is even better. To make them even harder to guess, passwords should be at least eight to 10 characters long, have at least one number, one capi- tal letter, and one special character, such as one of the following: ‘!@#$)’.
Multi-factor authentication (MFA) is the next step up from mere passwords. MFA adds an extra layer of security by using two or more pieces of evidence to log in to a single location. Some common examples of MFA include an SMS message, phone call, or authenticator app to verify a browser login. Other verification factors could include personal questions, a physi- cal object such as a security token or bank card, or fingerprint, face, or iris scanning.
Instead, every staff
member should have their own accounts with
their own unique user ID and password.”
Changing passwords and implementing MFA is great, but it won’t help if those pass- words and special answers are being shared between multiple members of staff, with the potential for them to be leaked.
Instead, every staff member should have their own accounts with their own unique user ID and password, so that there is no need to share passwords between staff members. Any shared accounts should be removed and replaced with individual ac- counts, and each individual account should have its password updated regularly.
The same should be true of any exter- nal IT support staff, who should each have a unique ID and password with
WWW.PAINTANDPANEL.COM.AU
time someone accesses your network, you can log and track exactly when, where, and who it was accessed by. This will not only keep your own business re- cords safe, but will keep your customer’s sensitive information safe and secure too.
Installing a firewall or antivirus soft- ware is no longer enough for true cy- bersecurity. Weak spots must be identi- fied and eradicated before an attack occurs, especially for automotive busi- nesses that hold incredibly sensitive customer information. The time to in- crease your business’s cybersecurity is now - before it’s too late.
Ajay Unni is the founder of StickmanCyber, a business that helps companies mitigate their cybersecurity risk. He is part of the 2020 NSW Government Cyber Security Task Force, a group of experts tasked with accelerating the adoption of cybersecurity across Australia. https://www.stickman.com.au/
Nor_Winter_Ad-PnP0721_185x127mm_HR.pdf
MFA enabled.
This means that
every
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