Essential 8. This is by the Australian Government - things to start with first.
https://www.cyber.gov.au/acsc/view-all-content/essential-eight/essential-eight-explained
https://www.cyber.gov.au/acsc/view-all-content/publications/essential-eight-maturity-model
5 Knows. This is a really good basic framework
Basics
Know about this stuff:
Passwords
Phishing
Data Storage
Sharing Data
PCI Compliance
Access restriction
Principle of least privilege
Alerts for data changes
eg Email employee if their bank details change on the payroll system
Visibility
Logs
Protecting emails - eg having rules in place for money transfers eg for Email hacking.
SPF / DMARC / DKIM
Pre-Steps
Don’t even start with these steps unless your Business Email and Document storage is in the cloud. I don’t care if it’s Microsoft 365 or GSuite, just get it.
If you don’t like OneDrive or Google Drive for all your documents (I use highly complex Word Documents and I don’t trust either cloud service to not stuff them up), then get Dropbox (Pro or Business) or Box.
First Steps
Get a Password Manager
1Password Business or LastPass Enterprise. I don’t care which one, just get it.
Use your Password Manager
Every single business login needs to be in there.
Anything shared with your team or outside your team is only shared via the app.
I have both so my clients can share passwords with me via their app of choice.
Turn on 2 Factor Authentication for everything.
DO THIS NOW!
Yes, every app your business touches.
Eg Xero (now mandatory), Microsoft365, GSuite, Salesforce, Unleashed, Quickbooks, Twitter, Facebook
I like Authy, but it’s probably easiest to use the token generator in 1Password or LastPass. I would not use Microsoft or Salesforce specific ones unless needed (eg Salesforce needs to use theirs for Lightning Login).
I use a Yubikey for my most sensitive accounts - eg my GSuite, my M365, my Windows laptop, and my Salesforce.
Ensure the basics of Virus Protection, Malware Protection and Ransomware protection are on your devices.
Yes, that includes your Macs. Don’t risk your business on the myth that “Macs don’t get viruses”.
I use Microsoft defender.
Your laptop does have a secure login doesn’t it?
I use Windows Hello but also have my Microsoft login behind MFA using a Yubikey device.
Your phone does have a secure login doesn’t it?
I use Android fingerprint login.
Next Steps
Getting Started with Microsoft 365 Business security features
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