Tag Archive for: Small

Naracoorte small business warns others to guard passwords after email hack attack

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A small business owner in South Australia’s south-east is warning others to manage their passwords better after his email account was hacked and a customer almost handed over more than $100,000 to a scammer.

A recent report found almost half of Australia’s small businesses have suffered a cyber attack.

A customer contacted South East Marine and Motorcycles owner Daniel James after receiving a suspicious email and phone calls demanding payment for a boat.

The scammer had guessed the business’s email account password and then edited an old sales order for the boat with the new bank account details on it.

The scammer claimed they were from the Naracoorte business and sent out a new invoice with different bank account details on it in the hope the customer would send the money to them rather than South East Marine and Motorcycles.

Fortunately, the customer realised it was a scam and contacted Mr James before handing over any money.

“He smelt a rat pretty quick,” he said.

Mr James is now using a computer program to manage the business’s account passwords and posted a message on the South East Marine and Motorcycles Facebook page warning of the scam.

He also called other customers with outstanding orders.

He is warning other small businesses to be vigilant.

“I think that most business owners should really be aware — a lot more aware — of your security in your own systems and making sure that you have good passwords,” Mr James said.

Mr James has reported the crime to SA Police.

Training available for small businesses

A survey of small business industry leaders conducted by the Council of Small Business Organisations Australia (COSBOA) last month found 44 per cent of Australian small businesses had experienced a cyber attack.

The organisation received $23 million in last month’s federal budget for its Cyber Wardens online course for small businesses.

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How Much Do Security Systems for Small Businesses Cost?

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Small business owners must protect company assets — such as sensitive data, computers, inventory and vehicles — against theft, vandalism and damage. A business security system is the best way to do this around the clock.

There’s a vast array of security systems, so it’s crucial to evaluate and select the business security system features you need to protect the assets you rely on most.

We’ll explore the four primary types of business security systems, along with their functions and costs, to help you decide on the best security solutions for your organization’s needs. 

Editor’s note: Looking for a video surveillance system for your business? Fill out the questionnaire below to receive more information from our vendor partners.

How much do business security systems cost?

Business security system costs can be divided into four general categories: hardware, installation and activation, business monitoring, and cybersecurity. Here’s a general breakdown of the expenses you’ll see. (We’ll go into more detail about equipment in the following section.) 

  • Hardware: Business security hardware is usually the most expensive part of the solution, costing $1,000 to $2,500. However, these costs represent only one business location. If you open new locations or already have multiple locations, costs will be higher.
  • Installation and activation: Your hardware will be installed and activated by fitters employed by your hardware supplier. You’ll likely pay $300 to $500 for this service.
  • Business monitoring: It costs between $40 and $120 per month to monitor individual security devices, like alarms and cameras. Landline monitoring prices are often around $10 less per month than cellular monitoring.
  • Cybersecurity: Your cybersecurity plan should include standard cybersecurity apps, which cost around $50 a year per device. However, technically sophisticated software can cost significantly more.

When you add all of the expenses, you can expect a business security system to cost around $1,390 in the first year with one device monitored and $170 a year after that — before any maintenance or repair charges.

The more you want to protect, the more it will cost. Consider checking if your…

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Philadelphians welcomed PhilTel’s first free public phone as a small way to resist big tech

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A group of about 20 tech-savvy engineers and programmers gathered Saturday afternoon at a Philadelphia bookstore to celebrate the installation of an old-fashioned public pay phone.

Organizers of the project hope the phone, which is free to use for calls in North America, is the first of many in the city and will help spur a restoration of the public communications infrastructure that has been eroded by cell phones carried by most Americans.

But there’s more to PhilTel, the project launched this year by Mike Dank, a 31-year-old software engineer who lives in Springfield, Delaware County, and Naveen Albert, 21, a senior computer engineering major at the University of Pennsylvania.

» READ MORE: The return of pay phones in Philly? One hacker wants to make it happen.

To PhilTel supporters interviewed at the installation, the effort to restore public phones represents resistance to society’s thoughtless adoption of technology they believe could be turned on a dime into a tool of oppression, economic growth for growth’s sake despite the environmental impact, and the planned obsolescence that induces many consumers to buy new cell phones every few years.

“There’s a lot of stuff sold to us and pushed to us that we don’t need,” said Michael Somkuti, a computer network engineer who lives in Philadelphia.

Somkuti, 25, is a regular at Iffy Books, which is on the third floor of a mixed-use building at 319 N. 11th St. and where the phone was installed in a hallway right outside the store. Iffy Books opened in July 2021 and specializes in books and events on hacking, gardening, and generally “empowering people to be less reliant on big tech companies,” its website says.

Steve McLaughlin, the owner of Iffy Books, where he hosts workshops on things like bleeding control basics, programming, and circuit-building, described the new phone as “an experiment with a shared resource.”

The inspiration of PhilTel came from a project in Portland, Ore., where an engineer named Karl Anderson installed the first Futel phone in 2014, according to the Oregonian newspaper. Futel now has eight phones in that city, and one each in four other cities, including one as far away as Detroit, according to…

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Only 34% of small and medium-sized business employees report receiving mandatory cyber security awareness training

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 New IBC report card shows there is room for improvement in cyber security awareness

TORONTO, Sept. 22, 2022 /CNW/ – New Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) research has found that small and medium-sized Canadian businesses have been slow to adapt to increasingly frequent and sophisticated cyber attacks. The results are featured in IBC’s first Cyber Savvy Report Card, which assigned Canadians a “C” letter-grade for cyber safety actions and knowledge.

IBC’s report card is informed by the results of a survey of 1,525 Canadians that work at small and medium-sized businesses (defined as businesses with fewer than 500 employees). The survey revealed a number of startling findings:

  • Two-in-five of employees surveyed (42%) say they have seen an increase in cyber scam attempts over the last year.
  • Only a third of surveyed employees (34%) report that their company provides mandatory cyber security awareness training.
  • Only half (50%) of employees surveyed report that their organization has introduced multi-factor authentication, a critical cyber security defence mechanism that requires a user to provide two or more verification factors to access a corporate network or application.
  • Only a quarter of employees surveyed (24%) report that their employer conducts phishing email simulations to help promote cyber vigilance.

“As cyber criminals get savvier, it’s our collective responsibility to stay one step ahead,” said Celyeste Power, Executive Vice-President, Strategic Initiatives and Advocacy, IBC. “That’s why IBC has launched cybersavvycanada.ca, a new cyber education initiative to help small business owners and their employees better understand the threat of cyber attacks and what they can do to reduce their risk.”

Employees’ actions increase their company’s cyber security risk

IBC’s survey also revealed that 7 in 10 employees of small and medium-sized businesses (72%) reported at least one behaviour that could allow a cyber criminal to gain access to their company’s computer systems. This strengthens the argument for more employers to take action to reduce cyber threats. According to survey respondents:

  • 27% use one password to access multiple websites they use for work;
  • 23% access public…

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