Be on guard for attacks

PROTECTING a business from cyber attack and data breaches can require physical solutions in addition to the technical ones.

A panel discussion in Geelong on Thursday reminded participants that physical security improvements and understanding risks associated with human behaviour were as important as having secure technical systems.

The leading cause of notifiable data breaches in the December quarter was malicious or criminal attack (168 notifications), followed by human error (85 notifications) and system error (nine notifications).

The panel discussion, presented by Harwood Andrews and Adroit Insurance, on the Five Steps to Cyber Security extolled the benefits of having a framework to work through the complex issues.

The forum introduced the Telstra Five Knows of Cyber Security, which are: Know the value of your data; Know who has access to your data; Know where your data is; Know who is protecting your data; and,

Know how well your data is protected.

But panellist Brett King, director of Unified Technology, said there were a number of frameworks to help businesses work through the issues in a structured and practical way.

Mr King said understanding what a business’s information assets were and their value helped prioritise security efforts.

“You can’t close off everything,” he said.

"You have to make a judgment call on where you focus your efforts.

“The best way to do that is by a structured framework to ensure you are focusing on the bits that can (A) harm you the most or (B) harm you the fastest.”

Panellist Ross Peachy, from Telstra, said the likelihood of a data breach was driven by its value.

“What does it represent to competitors, what does it represent to a hacker,” Mr Peachy said.

He also said human error and risk of a data breach from staff losing a USB stick or leaving information on a printer was a more likely problem than being hacked.

“The biggest risk of loss of information is by the front door, not the back,” he said.