Small businesses are beehives: abuzz with activity and filled with potentially sweet rewards. But busy bees can get stung if they’re not careful…

This is not an article about the lives of bees, although they are extremely vital to our ecosystem. Today, I bring you here to discuss something else that’s extremely vital to our ecosystem: small business safety.

Specifically, cyber safety. Yes, it feels big, but it’s not. In fact, getting to grips with cyber safety for your business is extremely doable. It can start with pouring yourself a coffee or tea and taking the short, self-paced online Cyber Wardens program.

What is Cyber Wardens?

Cyber Wardens is a free program for Australia’s two million small businesses, and the five million people who work for them. It’s designed to give anyone the skills and tools to help protect your business from cyber attacks, right now.

The course is an initiative from the Australian Government, supported by the Council of Small Business Organisations of Australia (COSBOA), Telstra, CommBank and the Australian Cyber Security Centre.

The premise is that anyone in any small business can become a Cyber Warden – you don’t need to be a techie.

Given that 43 per cent of cyber attacks were aimed at small businesses last year, and the average cost of cyber crimes against small businesses was $46,000, it’s worth taking a moment to think about.

But many businesses don’t know where to start or think it’ll be too complicated to implement.

So, I’m your guinea pig. I put my hand up to be a Cyber Warden at our own small business, Pinstripe Media, the publishers of Kochie’s Business Builders.

Here’s what I discovered:

1. You can ‘lock your doors’ on email and phone scams

From those fraudulent ATO invoices and automated phone calls to bank ‘verification’ requests, we’ve become too used to seeing email and phone scam attempts in our daily grinds.

Just like we take safety precautions to protect our homes, shops or offices – like locking the doors or installing security cameras – we should be doing the same for our businesses.

The analogy of ‘locking your digital doors’ comes up a few times in the course. It’s an effective metaphor that’s often delivered by an animated key named Cera. Think of the Windows Paperclip, 2024 version.

2. Cyber is a people issue, not a tech issue

In 19 out of 20 cases, cyber attackers target people within a business. Tech failure is rarely the only cause of the problem.

It doesn’t mean people are stupid. Human error happens – we get busy and distracted. And hackers have become mighty good at targeting people personally.

Cue me looking suspiciously around the office at my colleagues. Just kidding, I think they’re a smart bunch. But it’s dangerous to assume every single person is taking the same level of precautions.

For example, software updates are one of the simplest things anyone can do to prevent cyber attacks because they apply regular security fixes to your device. But does everyone have automatic updates switched on? Note to self: Check this.

Aside from taking my own notes, at the end of the course, I was given an email template with simple instructions to send my team on how to update their software and devices.

3. Your most important info could be hiding from you

A screenshot from the Cyber Wardens program showing businesses what data they have. Image: Cyber Wardens.

It doesn’t matter if you’re a hairdresser, a mechanic or a digital marketer – you store a lot more data than you know.

In the ‘Why you need to lock your digital doors’ module, there’s a worksheet that you’re invited to fill in called  ‘Where is My Data Hiding?’

Cyber Wardens makes it easy to understand what your data is. Is it customer payment details? Banking details? Social media accounts? Product stock lists? Sensitive information about staff or clients?

While you don’t need to fill it out exhaustively, the sheet prompts you to think about the impact on your business if that data was hacked or lost.

Then, they propose three action points you can take to secure that data better.

4. There’s a rule of three that will stick

I could spoil it all for you, but I want you to go learn yourself! But as a teaser, I can tell you that you’ll come away with a better understanding of how to implement automatic software updates, how to set multi-factor logins and passphrases, and how to securely back up your information.

Side note: if you don’t know what multi-factor authentication (MFA) or any other jargon is, don’t worry, it’s all explained simply.

5. You’ll get to forensically analyse scams

Cera, our trusty animated key, could use a friend. A magnifying glass, perhaps? Cyber Wardens is very visual, inviting you to zoom in on examples of scams and security breaches to identify red flags and action points.

It’s a gamified approach that works. You get to run through role plays of common scenarios, like receiving a text from the bank asking for verification. There’s even a mock invoice that helps you analyse a dodgy document.

Now, I may personally think I can spot a dodgy document a mile away, but again, you can never assume you or your staff will always have your radar on.

6. It’s brief, but you don’t have to rush it

It’s not an exam. If you’re really busy, you can just ‘Save and Exit’ and return anytime. But with a cyber attack reported every six minutes, it’s not something you want to put off until tomorrow when protecting your business can be this simple.

At the end of the course, you get a certificate (yay!) and access to a resource kit including posters, fliers, checklists and email templates to share around your workplace. They’re all little things that contribute to a positive cyber culture.

You can also use your Cyber Wardens status as a marketing tool. In this age where customers and suppliers want assurance that their data is safe with you, you can add a Cyber Wardens digital badge to add to your email signature and LinkedIn.

Final thoughts

Whether you read this thinking ‘tell me something I don’t know’ or are already signing up to become a Cyber Warden, I just want more small businesses to avoid getting hacked.

In our case, Cyber Wardens is a helpful reminder for practices we already implement at Kochie’s Business Builders as a digital outlet.

But that doesn’t mean there’s not room for improvement, and I’ve already identified some quick wins we can make to strengthen our cyber safety muscle even more.

Give it a go. Become a Cyber Warden at cyberwardens.com.au.

This article is brought to you by Kochie’s Business Builders in partnership with Cyber Wardens.