The Essential Eight is the Australian Cyber Security Centre's list of baseline mitigations. Insurers and larger clients increasingly ask about it, so it pays to know where you stand.
The eight controls
- Patch applications
- Patch operating systems
- Multi factor authentication
- Restrict administrative privileges
- Application control
- Restrict Microsoft Office macros
- User application hardening
- Regular backups
Where to start
Most small businesses get the biggest win from multi factor authentication, patching and tested backups. Get those three to Maturity Level 1 before worrying about the rest.
