1 00:00:00,640 --> 00:00:09,760 Speaker 1: Today's episode is sponsored by cyber Wardens. My name is 2 00:00:09,840 --> 00:00:13,560 Speaker 1: doctor amanthe Immer. I'm an organizational psychologist and the founder 3 00:00:13,600 --> 00:00:18,080 Speaker 1: of behavioral science Consultancy Inventium, and this is how I work, 4 00:00:18,400 --> 00:00:21,360 Speaker 1: a show about how to help you do your best work. 5 00:00:22,440 --> 00:00:25,639 Speaker 1: If you're a longtime listener of this show, you'll know 6 00:00:25,760 --> 00:00:28,120 Speaker 1: that as well as being a podcast host, I am 7 00:00:28,120 --> 00:00:32,880 Speaker 1: a small business owner of Workplace Consultancy Inventium, and today 8 00:00:33,040 --> 00:00:35,400 Speaker 1: I want to talk about something that might make your 9 00:00:35,560 --> 00:00:41,040 Speaker 1: eyes glaze over. Cyber security. I know, I know it 10 00:00:41,240 --> 00:00:44,839 Speaker 1: sounds about as exciting as watching paint Drive, but trust me, 11 00:00:45,159 --> 00:00:49,200 Speaker 1: it's important and I promised to keep things interesting. You see, 12 00:00:49,240 --> 00:00:52,600 Speaker 1: whenever I used to think about cyber security, I had 13 00:00:52,640 --> 00:00:56,560 Speaker 1: one of two responses. First, I thought that only related 14 00:00:56,560 --> 00:00:59,760 Speaker 1: to big businesses, you know, the ones getting hacked and 15 00:01:00,040 --> 00:01:03,360 Speaker 1: hitting the front page of the Australian Financial Review. And 16 00:01:03,640 --> 00:01:07,479 Speaker 1: I remember reading about some of those data breaches that 17 00:01:07,600 --> 00:01:09,959 Speaker 1: have happened in the last year and thinking, wow, that's terrible, 18 00:01:10,000 --> 00:01:16,040 Speaker 1: but that could never happen to my little business. Sound familiar. Second, well, 19 00:01:16,200 --> 00:01:19,399 Speaker 1: my eyes would just glaze over because it all sounded 20 00:01:19,440 --> 00:01:22,280 Speaker 1: so boring and technical. I mean, who has time to 21 00:01:22,319 --> 00:01:26,080 Speaker 1: think about firewalls and encryption when you're trying to run 22 00:01:26,120 --> 00:01:30,680 Speaker 1: a business right. But here's the thing, I'm not alone. 23 00:01:31,360 --> 00:01:36,480 Speaker 1: Small businesses and especially small business owners, are notorious for 24 00:01:36,560 --> 00:01:40,480 Speaker 1: having bad habits when it comes to cybersecurity. In fact, 25 00:01:40,560 --> 00:01:44,399 Speaker 1: Cyberwarden's research has found that around eighty percent of small 26 00:01:44,440 --> 00:01:48,600 Speaker 1: business owners have observed everyday habits in their teams that 27 00:01:48,680 --> 00:01:52,720 Speaker 1: make them more vulnerable to cyber crime. That's a pretty 28 00:01:52,920 --> 00:01:58,120 Speaker 1: scary thought, So what can we do about it today? 29 00:01:58,200 --> 00:01:59,840 Speaker 1: I want to share five things that you can do 30 00:02:00,120 --> 00:02:03,480 Speaker 1: right now to protect your business from cyber attacks. And 31 00:02:03,520 --> 00:02:06,000 Speaker 1: don't worry, you don't need to be a tech genius 32 00:02:06,040 --> 00:02:11,080 Speaker 1: to implement these tips. First up, let's talk about your computer. 33 00:02:11,919 --> 00:02:15,839 Speaker 1: More than one enforced small business owners put their computers 34 00:02:15,919 --> 00:02:20,400 Speaker 1: in sleep mode rather than shutting them down, which increases 35 00:02:20,440 --> 00:02:23,200 Speaker 1: the risk of out of date software giving access to 36 00:02:23,320 --> 00:02:27,160 Speaker 1: cyber criminals. I used to be guilty of this myself. 37 00:02:27,680 --> 00:02:29,520 Speaker 1: At the end of the day, I would just close 38 00:02:29,560 --> 00:02:32,840 Speaker 1: my laptop and assume everything would be fine. But it 39 00:02:32,880 --> 00:02:38,000 Speaker 1: turns out that is not the case. So cyber safe 40 00:02:38,120 --> 00:02:43,400 Speaker 1: habit number one, shut down your computer. When we shut 41 00:02:43,440 --> 00:02:48,000 Speaker 1: down our computers, automatic software updates are installed that can 42 00:02:48,040 --> 00:02:51,640 Speaker 1: help protect us against a cyber break in. Try to 43 00:02:51,680 --> 00:02:54,360 Speaker 1: shut down your computer every night when you finish work. 44 00:02:54,800 --> 00:02:57,040 Speaker 1: It might take an extra minute or two. And yeah, 45 00:02:57,040 --> 00:02:59,040 Speaker 1: I know it's a little bit annoying, but it's worth 46 00:02:59,080 --> 00:03:03,320 Speaker 1: it for added secure already. Now, let's talk about passwords. 47 00:03:03,840 --> 00:03:06,720 Speaker 1: They're your first line of defense. Yet one in four 48 00:03:06,760 --> 00:03:12,000 Speaker 1: of us reuse the same passwords across multiple systems and platforms, 49 00:03:12,600 --> 00:03:17,080 Speaker 1: and sixteen percent of small businesses use short passwords, making 50 00:03:17,080 --> 00:03:20,240 Speaker 1: them easier to crack. And I'll admit I used to 51 00:03:20,320 --> 00:03:22,880 Speaker 1: use the same password for a bunch of different sites. 52 00:03:23,240 --> 00:03:26,239 Speaker 1: It was just easier to remember. But then I heard 53 00:03:26,280 --> 00:03:29,480 Speaker 1: about a small business owner who had their email hacked 54 00:03:29,720 --> 00:03:32,880 Speaker 1: and the hacker used that same password to hack their 55 00:03:32,919 --> 00:03:39,000 Speaker 1: bank account, which was pretty scary. So what can you do? Well, 56 00:03:39,040 --> 00:03:41,840 Speaker 1: here's what you can do. Upgrade your passwords to pass 57 00:03:41,920 --> 00:03:45,480 Speaker 1: phrases and protect them in a password manager. And if 58 00:03:45,480 --> 00:03:47,120 Speaker 1: you want to know what the difference is between a 59 00:03:47,120 --> 00:03:50,400 Speaker 1: password and a pass phrase, a password is a short 60 00:03:50,480 --> 00:03:54,240 Speaker 1: character set of mixed digits, whereas a pass phrase is 61 00:03:54,280 --> 00:03:57,040 Speaker 1: a longer string of text that makes up a phrase 62 00:03:57,160 --> 00:04:01,280 Speaker 1: or a sentence. When we use U unique and complex 63 00:04:01,360 --> 00:04:05,600 Speaker 1: passwords or ideally pass phrases. We stop cyber criminals from 64 00:04:05,640 --> 00:04:09,400 Speaker 1: accessing multiple programs and services if they crack just one 65 00:04:09,440 --> 00:04:14,440 Speaker 1: of them. So change your passwords, including for your company email, 66 00:04:14,560 --> 00:04:19,280 Speaker 1: financial services, business files, and any account storing your payment details, 67 00:04:19,320 --> 00:04:23,560 Speaker 1: and save them in a secure password manager like last 68 00:04:23,640 --> 00:04:27,000 Speaker 1: pass or one Password. It does take a bit of 69 00:04:27,080 --> 00:04:29,640 Speaker 1: time to set up, but it's a lot less painful 70 00:04:29,720 --> 00:04:33,880 Speaker 1: than dealing with a hack. Now, let's talk about scams. 71 00:04:34,400 --> 00:04:39,159 Speaker 1: More than one in five employees delete suspicious emails that 72 00:04:39,240 --> 00:04:42,480 Speaker 1: they think could be scams without alerting it or the 73 00:04:42,480 --> 00:04:46,679 Speaker 1: head of their business. And I have definitely been tempted 74 00:04:46,720 --> 00:04:49,600 Speaker 1: to do this myself, and well, let's be honest, I've 75 00:04:49,640 --> 00:04:52,279 Speaker 1: done it myself. I mean, who wants to bother someone 76 00:04:52,320 --> 00:04:55,839 Speaker 1: with every suspicious email? But it turns out that's not 77 00:04:55,920 --> 00:05:03,039 Speaker 1: the best approach. Instead, identify and port suspicious emails. Sharing 78 00:05:03,120 --> 00:05:06,680 Speaker 1: suspected scams with the right people helps to ensure the 79 00:05:06,760 --> 00:05:10,599 Speaker 1: senders can be investigated and blocked, and that other staff 80 00:05:10,640 --> 00:05:14,320 Speaker 1: can be warned about these attempts. You can also report 81 00:05:14,360 --> 00:05:17,960 Speaker 1: scams to the National Anti Scam Center scam Watch, or 82 00:05:18,160 --> 00:05:21,679 Speaker 1: the company being impersonated, such as your bank or phone company. 83 00:05:22,920 --> 00:05:26,080 Speaker 1: It might feel like an extra step, but it could 84 00:05:26,120 --> 00:05:29,200 Speaker 1: save you and your colleagues a lot of hassle down 85 00:05:29,279 --> 00:05:36,000 Speaker 1: the line. Speaking of sharing, let's talk about logins. One 86 00:05:36,200 --> 00:05:41,120 Speaker 1: in five small businesses share passwords between team members. I 87 00:05:41,240 --> 00:05:44,239 Speaker 1: know it can be very tempting to do this, especially 88 00:05:44,240 --> 00:05:46,440 Speaker 1: if you're working on a project together and need access 89 00:05:46,440 --> 00:05:50,600 Speaker 1: to the same files, but it's a big no no. Instead, 90 00:05:51,080 --> 00:05:54,919 Speaker 1: make sure each team member has their own unique log in. 91 00:05:55,720 --> 00:05:58,280 Speaker 1: When each team member has their own unique log in, 92 00:05:58,440 --> 00:06:01,600 Speaker 1: it means that if one staff member password is compromised, 93 00:06:02,040 --> 00:06:06,479 Speaker 1: multiple accounts aren't compromised. You're also better protect it from 94 00:06:06,640 --> 00:06:10,800 Speaker 1: insider threats. It might mean a bit more admin work 95 00:06:10,880 --> 00:06:16,600 Speaker 1: for you, but it's worth it for the added security. Finally, 96 00:06:16,800 --> 00:06:20,919 Speaker 1: let's talk about updates. About one in five small business 97 00:06:20,960 --> 00:06:25,680 Speaker 1: owners snooze software updates, and I totally get that they 98 00:06:25,800 --> 00:06:28,200 Speaker 1: always seem to pop up when you're in the middle 99 00:06:28,200 --> 00:06:32,320 Speaker 1: of something important right, but putting off updates can leave 100 00:06:32,360 --> 00:06:37,679 Speaker 1: you vulnerable to cyber attacks. Making updates a priority means 101 00:06:37,720 --> 00:06:42,040 Speaker 1: you'll deliver important bug and security fixes as soon as 102 00:06:42,080 --> 00:06:46,680 Speaker 1: they become available. Hackers use these security weaknesses to attack 103 00:06:46,720 --> 00:06:50,000 Speaker 1: your systems. So the sooner you action updates, the sooner 104 00:06:50,000 --> 00:06:55,039 Speaker 1: you'll be protected. Set your devices to automatically update software 105 00:06:55,120 --> 00:06:57,720 Speaker 1: and you'll be all good to go. And if an 106 00:06:57,760 --> 00:07:00,680 Speaker 1: update pops up while you're working, try to schedule it 107 00:07:00,720 --> 00:07:03,000 Speaker 1: for your lunch break or the end of the day. 108 00:07:04,720 --> 00:07:08,400 Speaker 1: So there you have it, folks. Five easy things you 109 00:07:08,440 --> 00:07:11,920 Speaker 1: can do right now to protect your small business from 110 00:07:12,000 --> 00:07:15,920 Speaker 1: cyber attacks. I know it can be overwhelming to think 111 00:07:15,920 --> 00:07:18,720 Speaker 1: about cybersecurity on top of everything else you have to 112 00:07:18,720 --> 00:07:21,840 Speaker 1: do as a small business owner, but trust me, taking 113 00:07:21,920 --> 00:07:26,520 Speaker 1: these small steps can make a big difference. Thank you 114 00:07:26,600 --> 00:07:28,920 Speaker 1: for sharing part of your day with me by listening 115 00:07:28,960 --> 00:07:31,800 Speaker 1: to how I work. If you're keen for more tips 116 00:07:31,840 --> 00:07:34,720 Speaker 1: on how to work better, connect with me via LinkedIn 117 00:07:35,000 --> 00:07:38,440 Speaker 1: or Instagram. I'm very easy to find. Just search for 118 00:07:38,600 --> 00:07:39,680 Speaker 1: Amantha Imba.