Essential Eight Assessment
Productiv can help you maintain IT security standards as per ACSC (Australian Cyber Security Centre)’s Essential Eight Compliance, which includes crucial mitigation strategies.
Our experts will partner with your team to evaluate your Essential Eight compliance. We establish a network based on the essential norms, and progress towards complying with the needed requirements.
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What is an essential eight assessment?
The Australian Cybersecurity Centre (ACSC) recently published a list of mitigation strategies. The organizations can use them as a foundation to increase their security against cyber threats. No single mitigation strategy is guaranteed to prevent cybersecurity incidents. ACSC identified eight essential mitigation strategies that should be implemented as a baseline where practicable.
The Australian Signals Directorate (ASD) revised top recommendations around cyber security in 2017 and they became the ASD Essential Eight. The Essential Eight was introduced to secure Microsoft Windows-based internet-connected networks. These cybersecurity advisory services can be used for a broad range of networks, systems, and applications. From local installations to cloud and other online services, Essential Eight Assessment lays the foundation of a successful cybersecurity strategy.
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What are the essential eight assessment strategies?
The Essential Eight is focused on a specific aspect of cybersecurity strategy. The eight essential elements are identified as the most common causes of cyber-security threats. The Essential Eight includes information and data management strategies. They provide guidelines on secure configuration to protect an organisation’s critical information and data’s security, integrity, and availability.
Organisations must cease viewing the Essential Eight as a task list. They must view it as a programme of continuous improvement. The tools and strategies used by threat actors to attack organisations are constantly evolving. After the organisation achieves the Essential Eight compliance; resources should be gathered to maintain the compliance.
Application Controls
Patch Applications
Configure Microsoft Office Macro Settings
User Application Hardening
Restrict Administrative Privileges
Patch Operating Systems
Multi-factor Authentication
Regular Backups
In particular, security and risk management are continuous operations. A server or application may be considered safe today. But regular patching is essential to guarantee that any discovered vulnerabilities are addressed as soon as possible. Similarly, ensuring that backups are securely stored and monitored is essential. Thus, ensuring that your data does not fall prey to ransomware attempts.
The Essential Eight provides guidance on what Australian organisations should do to reduce the risk of a cyber-attack. Also, they help to minimise the impact should a threat actor breach your defenses. The ACSC has also created the Essential Eight Maturity Model. In conclusion, it helps to assist organisations in assessing how well they are implementing mitigation strategies.
What is the Essential Eight Maturity Model?
The Essential Eight Maturity Model, which was initially published in June 2017. It is regularly updated and helps in the implementation of the Essential Eight. It is based on the ACSC’s expertise producing cyber threat intelligence, addressing cyber security breaches, conducting penetration testing, and supporting organisations with the implementation of the Essential Eight.
The Essential Eight framework includes four defined maturity levels (zero through three). These levels assist your business in determining your existing security level and any enhancements that can be implemented. Subsequently, you must fulfil a set of Security Controls outlined in the Information Security Manual (ISM). After doing this, you will reach a mitigation strategy’s maturity level.
Maturity Level Zero
At this level, organisations’ cybersecurity posture includes weaknesses that can be targeted by threat actors using common strategies and tools. The assessor needs to plan and prepare to achieve the maturity level one as the adversaries can also breach backups.
Maturity Level One
Organisations at this level have basic security measures in place. Using common tools and methods, they prevent cyber attackers and threat actors from breaking into systems. Depending on their intent, adversaries may also impact accounts with special privileges.
Maturity Level Two
Organisations that reach this level of maturity have implemented policies to prevent a broad range of advanced security threats. These threats aim to exploit elevated user privileges and other possible vulnerabilities, such as credential harvesting and backups.
Maturity Level Three
Organisations at this level use several methodologies, such as specific application controls, monitoring, and workstation logging. To sum up, this guarantees unusual behaviour is rapidly recognised and examined, and they fix known vulnerabilities fast.
Why should your business conduct this assessment?
Cyber-crime is on the rise. Every organisation faces a variety of threats. These range from highly disruptive and destructive ransomware attacks to online fraud and the theft of data. The Australian Government recommends the Essential Eight to all enterprises, regardless of sector, size, or location.
Avoid Common Cyber Threats
The Essential Eight adopts a multi-layered approach to cyber security. Each method protects your company or business in a unique way. This brings you extensive protection against common attacks.
Reduce the severity of potential attacks
If a security breach or incident happens, implementing the Essential Eight assures that the impact is limited and controlled. This enables your company to recover quickly and continue operations.
Framework for assessing security risk
The Essential Eight gives a reliable, quantitative foundation for benchmarking your company’s cyber security risk. This also guarantees that your company complies with ASD security recommendations.
Effective in terms of cost
The costs of a cyber breach might be severe for your business. Implementing the low-cost, strong Essential 8 mitigation strategies will be considerably less expensive than the cost of a breach. Thus, this makes it a reasonable investment for your business.
The Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) has published an article providing supplementary guidance on the eight essential mitigation strategies to mitigate cyber security incidents.
This article outlines the stages for conducting an assessment against the Essential Eight (November 2022 version). Also, the ways for assessing the implementation of each mitigation strategy.
Please click on the “Learn More” button to get redirected to the Essential Eight Assessment Process Guide published by the ACSC.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What are Managed IT Services?
Managed Services is a type of IT outsourcing in which your company hires a third-party company. They handle some or all of your IT needs. Managed IT Services typically change from one merchant to another. However, the essential obligation is network monitoring, management, and problem resolution for your organisation’s IT frameworks.
What does a manage service provider do?
A managed service provider or MSP is a third-party company that provides IT services and support to your company. A managed service provider (MSP) proactively keeps up with your company’s innovation. It provides remote IT assistance, develops IT disaster recovery plans, and develops business coherence agreements. Productiv is a premier Managed IT Service Provider in Brisbane, Queensland.
How does Managed Service Providers work?
An MSP assists in ensuring that your systems run smoothly, stay secure but also maintain the latest versions. For the fastest response to any issues, we assist remotely through our office. But we are also available for consultation in person. In addition, we will be available for site visits for highly skilled implementations.
How can Managed IT services help my business?
Managed IT services help businesses prevent costly downtime by proactively monitoring your network for issues and fixing them. Your risk of infection, breach and outage is reduced since your network is remotely monitored. Thus, compared to the high cost of break-fix IT services, the flat charge can save hundreds or thousands of dollars.
Why use Managed IT Services?
The goal of an MSP is to provide contractual services, measuring, reporting, analyzing and optimizing IT service operations. This aspires to become a crucial enabler for business growth. To sum up, a managed service provider offers business owners and overworked internal IT staff with affordable IT support. This comes with remote monitoring of critical networking devices like servers and firewalls. Also, data backup and disaster recovery, network security, customized software solutions, and technology evaluation and planning.
How much does Managed IT Services cost?
The majority of MSPs will charge a fixed monthly subscription fee. But the process by which this fee is calculated can vary. Not all MSPs charge the same for their services. The cost of an MSP’s service will fluctuate depending on the size of your business, the specific services you require. Also, whether the solution offers per-device, per-user, tiered pricing packages, or perhaps, a combination of these.
What if my problem can't be resolved remotely?
At Productiv, we do our best to solve problems remotely, but we also provide onsite technical assistance when needed. Also, depending on the plan you choose, this may or may not be included in your monthly invoice. Please contact us for a discussion, and we can surely arrange a site visit by our technical support.
Who can get benefit of having Managed IT Services?
For small businesses, managed IT service providers often act as outsourced IT staff or complement small internal teams. Large companies and organisations often work with managed IT service providers. In order to close gaps, increase internal IT staff, complete projects, and perform migrations.