The Essential 8

The "Essential 8" is a set of cybersecurity strategies recommended by the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) for organizations to mitigate the most common cyber threats. Here are the Essential 8 strategies for protecting against cyber attacks:

Application Whitelisting

Implement application whitelisting to only allow approved and trusted programs to run on systems, thereby preventing the execution of malicious software.

Patching Applications

Keep all software and applications up to date with the latest security patches to address known vulnerabilities that attackers could exploit.

Restricting Administrative Privileges

Limit administrative privileges to authorized personnel only. Regular users should operate on standard user accounts to minimize the potential impact of successful cyber attacks.

Patching Operating Systems

Apply security patches and updates to operating systems to address known vulnerabilities and reduce the risk of unauthorized access and exploitation.

Disabling Unnecessary Macros

Disable or restrict the use of Microsoft Office macros to prevent malicious macros from being executed and spreading malware.

Using Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)

Implement multi-factor authentication for user accounts, requiring additional verification beyond just passwords. This adds an extra layer of security to prevent unauthorized access.

Backing Up Data Regularly

Regularly back up critical data and ensure that backups are tested and can be restored effectively. Backups provide a means of recovering data in the event of a cyber attack or data loss incident.

Monitoring and Responding to Intrusions

Implement monitoring systems, such as intrusion detection and prevention systems, to detect and respond to potential security incidents in real-time. This helps identify and mitigate cyber threats promptly.

By implementing the Essential 8 strategies, Help4IT can significantly enhance your company's cybersecurity posture and better protect against a wide range of cyber threats. It's important for us to regularly review and update these strategies to align with evolving cyber threats and organizational needs.

The Essential 8

Application Whitelisting

Patching Applications

Restricting Administrative Privileges

Patching Operating Systems

Disabling Unnecessary Macros

Using Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)

Backing Up Data Regularly

Monitoring and Responding to Intrusions

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The Essential 8

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