February 25, 2013
Tips to Protect Against Cyber Crime
Today’s online environment and increasing sophistication of criminal groups and cyber crime require increasing awareness for business to protect key information.
Once these groups have your information, criminals can gain access to secure banking systems or even remotely using your own email system to send different payment instructions to debtors and other business partners. Ultimately, their aim is to transfer money out of businesses’ accounts by working from the inside with your security and personal information.
What can you do?
- Guard your information. Business account details should never be written down and only authorised personnel should be given access to conduct transactions. Details pertaining to your personal accounts should not be shared with anyone. At Tactica Partners we make sure that your Financials and Taxation Returns have all key information (Tax File Numbers, Account Details) removed.
- Up to date systems: Make sure computers have anti-virus software that regularly updates and that they’re regularly patched with software updates.
- Think before you click: Criminals send well-crafted, legitimate-looking emails purporting to be from legitimate entities such as banks, customs, police, tax office etc. They try to trick businesses into clicking on internet links that download malware onto their computers. If an email seems suspicious or out of the ordinary, think before you click and check with the person who is supposed to have sent it by calling them on a phone number that you find independently – not one that is included on the website or in the email.
- Dual authorisation: Configure your business internet banking account to require two people in the business to authorise transactions, making fraudulent activity more difficult.
Excerpt taken from NAB talking shop Summer 2012
