In the last few years, cyber security has become a primary concern for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) – but it isn’t always easy to maintain. Limited resources, tight budgets, and nonexistent IT teams can make it almost impossible to protect your data from increasingly sophisticated attacks. With stricter regulations emerging that leave little room for error, it may feel like you’re being backed into a corner.
To solve this problem, government organisations across the world are introducing cyber security frameworks. These guidelines are designed to simplify data breach prevention, by providing a set of clear and actionable strategies that every business can use. One such framework is the Australian Essential 8.
The Rising Threat of Cyber-Attacks
In 2024, the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) received a cybercrime report every six minutes. Most of the victims were small businesses, and the average cost incurred was almost $50,000. Looking at these statistics, it’s not difficult to see why so many SMBs close after experiencing an attack.
Some of the most common threats you are likely to face include:
Ransomware
A ransomware attack is when threat actors obtain sensitive data, then hold it hostage while demanding payment. Those responsible will disrupt your operations or threaten to sell stolen information, hoping to extort you into handing over the ransom. Unfortunately, paying the fee does not guarantee the safe return of your data. Many threat actors receive the ransom and then carry out their threats anyway.
Phishing Scams
This is an umbrella term referring to a variety of scams cybercriminals use to gain access to sensitive data or accounts. They may use SMS messages, phone calls, emails, or other means of communication, but the goal is always the same: To extract information, or convince you to download malware onto company devices. This is achieved using emotional manipulation and fear tactics.
Malware
Malware refers to any software designed to cause harm. It might shut down company devices, steal critical data, or cause a variety of other negative effects. Often it sneaks into your network under the cover of a phishing scam or a supply chain attack, allowing it to work completely undetected.
Supply Chain Attacks
A supply chain attack is when threat actors breach a third-party company and then use them as a means of reaching your business. For example, they might send you a “software update” that is actually malware in disguise. These attacks take advantage of the relationship you have already built with vendors, and thus your hesitance to question them.
Any of these threats, along with a variety of others, can wreak havoc across your IT infrastructure if given the chance.
Why SMBs Need a Cyber Security Framework
SMBs face unique challenges while trying to secure their data, including:
- Budget Constraints: Smaller businesses have fewer financial resources to work with, making it difficult to implement and maintain effective security measures.
- Limited Expertise: Staffing is one of the most significant expenses any business can incur. As a result, many SMBs run on limited internal IT staffing. This lack of in-house expertise forces the business to rely on untrained employees to maintain secure practices, creating a dangerous situation.
- Outdated Systems: Legacy systems are common in SMBs, due to the difficulties involved with upgrading outdated technologies. These often aren’t built with modern cyber threats in mind, creating vulnerabilities that put the entire business at risk.
Cyber security frameworks are designed to address these challenges, by providing a set of actionable strategies that improve security at the foundational level. These tactics typically don’t require excessive resources or knowledge, making them far easier to implement. By following a framework, you can significantly reduce your risk of experiencing a cyber-attack without putting additional strain on finances, existing staff, or the rest of your IT infrastructure.
What are the Australian Essential 8?
The Australian Essential 8 is a set of mitigation strategies created and suggested by the ACSC. These security controls are built to maximise impact while minimising the investment involved, allowing businesses of all sizes and industries to manage risk more effectively. It is made up of eight key strategies tackling the most commonly exploited vulnerabilities that your business is likely to struggle with.
The Essential 8 Cyber Security Controls Explained
The Essential 8 cyber security controls are as follows:
1. Application Control
Applications are often used to deliver malware or other malicious code. The Essential 8 addresses this concern by outlining application control practices such as:
- Identifying approved applications
- Developing a set of rules that defines how and when applications can be executed
- Maintaining and reviewing these rules on a regular basis
2. Patch Applications
Threat actors target known vulnerabilities within third-party applications, using them as an entry point to the business as a whole. To prevent this, the ACSC recommends:
- A regular schedule for patches and updates, taking into account the unique factors of each application
- A system for identifying additional patches (for example, emergency security fixes) that need to be applied
- A method of handling unexpected faults
3. Patch Operating Systems
Just as applications must be patched, your operating system requires the same level of care. This is often neglected as an important component of cyber security, but the truth is that it can be exploited just as easily as any other part of your IT infrastructure. The Essential 8 recommends that all security controls applied to applications should also be implemented for operating systems.
4. Configure Microsoft Office Macro Settings
Macros are embedded code designed to automate certain tasks or provide additional functionality. While useful, the problem is that these are easily compromised. Under the Essential 8, your business is encouraged to:
- Only allow macros when absolutely necessary
- Verify who created a given macro
- Scan macros for malicious code
5. User Application Hardening
Legitimate application functionality can be hijacked and used for cyber-attacks. User application hardening reduces the risk of this occurring, by:
- Removing unnecessary applications
- Disabling non-essential features of trusted applications
- Placing additional restrictions on particularly sensitive functions
6. Restrict Administrative Privileges
Administrative accounts serve as a direct line to a large amount of sensitive information, potentially introducing a lot of risk. They can easily be misused or accessed without authorisation, resulting in data breaches. The Essential 8 addresses this by recommending:
- Limiting administrative privileges to only those necessary
- Regularly re-evaluating which permissions are necessary and which should be removed
- Creating a clear set of requirements outlining who can have admin privileges
7. Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
MFA requires multiple forms of verification before granting access to accounts or data, minimising the risk associated with compromised login credentials. It can take a variety of forms, including:
- A secondary device (e.g. a passcode sent to a mobile phone)
- A physical security token (such as a YubiKey)
- Biometric data (for example, a fingerprint or facial scan)
8. Regular Backups
Strong data backup processes enable better continuity and faster recovery after a cyber-attack, by preserving the integrity, availability, and continued security of critical information. The ACSC recommends:
- Clear identification of which data should be backed up
- A plan to ensure that backups will be created regularly and stored carefully
- Regular audits to verify that all backups are functional and accessible
How the Essential 8 Controls Protect Your Business
Each of the Essential 8 cyber security controls targets a common attack vector used by cybercriminals. Combined, they build a layered defence that protects your business from:
- Malware (including ransomware)
- Unauthorised access to sensitive data and accounts
- Legacy system vulnerabilities
- Extended downtime during an incident
By targeting these crucial areas, you can build an incredibly strong cyber security posture with very little investment or IT knowledge. Fewer attacks will penetrate your business, and those that do will cause significantly less damage. Over time this not only protects your data – it increases productivity, builds trust, and mitigates financial risk.
What is the Australian Essential 8 Maturity Model?
The aforementioned security controls only represent one part of the Essential 8. The ACSC also provides a Maturity Model to help your business identify any existing gaps, allowing you to address them quickly and efficiently. The Essential 8 Maturity Model is based upon the security measures currently in place, and the types of attacks you are able to withstand. It is broken into four levels:
Level Zero
Maturity Level Zero indicates significant weaknesses within your security posture. Essential controls are either poorly implemented or entirely absent. At this level, your business is extremely vulnerable to attack, and any breach is likely to result in severe consequences.
Level One
Level One represents the presence of basic cyber security measures. Malicious actors attacking your business will likely use simple, widely available techniques, and will be casting a wide net rather than targeting any one specific victim. Generic social engineering tactics are a common concern.
Level Two
At Maturity Level Two, threat actors are using more advanced techniques. They are now putting more thought into who they wish to target, but will still be careful about how much time and effort they dedicate to any one victim. Targeted social engineering attacks become more common than generic ones, as cybercriminals start to do more research about your company. Threat actors may also employ basic evasion tactics to get past your security measures.
Level Three
This is the highest Maturity Level your business can reach. At this stage, your main concern is highly-targeted attacks that rely less on publicly available tools and more on custom-built strategies. Threat actors at Level Three are adaptive, focused, and willing to spend a lot of time on their targets. They will exploit new vulnerabilities as fast as possible, rather than simply relying on known weaknesses.
Which Maturity Level Should Your Business Aim For?
While the ideal Maturity Level is always the highest, this may not be realistic for every business. Generally speaking, you should aim for no lower than Level Two as a baseline. Level Two provides a strong foundation without requiring an overabundance of effort, making it a good middle ground for SMBs. If your sector handles particularly sensitive data, is subject to strict regulations, or has the resources to spare, you should always aim for Maturity Level Three.
How to Identify Your Current Maturity Level
There are two ways to find your business’ current Essential 8 Maturity Level. The first is a manual assessment, comparing your security posture against the guidelines given by the ACSC. This is an exhausting, time-consuming process, and it is very easy to make mistakes if you don’t have the correct foundational knowledge.
The other option is hiring an external security expert who specialises in Essential 8 compliance. These dedicated professionals have an in-depth understanding of the Maturity Model, as well as a vast amount of staff and resources available to them. They can determine where your business currently stands, and provide you with actionable strategies to improve your Maturity Level. If you have limited funds and internal expertise, this may be the best path forward.
Implementing the Essential 8: Actionable Strategies
While the Essential 8 may sound complicated, achieving compliance is fairly simple. This is by design – these controls are built from the ground up with easy implementation in mind. Follow this guide to ensure success:
Your Checklist for Cyber Security: Essential 8 Edition
- Assess: Conduct a thorough audit of your IT infrastructure and existing security measures. Pay particular attention to the Essential 8 cyber security controls – does your business currently utilise each of them? Note that if hiring an external security team, they will handle this part for you, significantly reducing the amount of time this process requires.
- Prioritise: Locate any gaps within your Essential 8 compliance, and prioritise them by the level of risk involved. For example, if login credentials have been stolen before or your staff receive many phishing emails, MFA will be of particular importance.
- Plan: Develop a roadmap outlining how you will implement missing Essential 8 controls and improve existing ones. The strategies listed below can give you an idea of where to start.
- Implement: Carry out your plan slowly and methodically, leaving plenty of room to address any issues that pop up. Have a strategy in place to solve problems as they arise.
- Support: Provide staff training and support during and immediately after implementation. Teach employees about the new processes in place, why they matter, and what to do if a breach is suspected.
- Monitor: Closely monitor your Maturity Level over time, particularly as the business grows. Improve Essential 8 cyber security controls as needed, supporting them with more advanced defences.
How to Implement the Essential 8 Cyber Security Controls
A foundational understanding of the Essential 8 will not help you if you don’t know how to practically apply what you’ve learned. Here are some easy ways to achieve compliance:
- Use whitelist tools that automatically restrict applications, permitting only those specifically approved.
- Enable automatic updates for applications and operating systems.
- Block macros that come from the internet by default. Only allow macros that are digitally signed (a process that verifies the macro’s origin and signals authenticity).
- Configure browsers to block ads, and disallow Java on untrusted sites.
- Use the 3-2-1 rule for data backup: Three copies, on two different mediums, one of which must be off-site or in the cloud.
- Apply the principle of least privilege across all accounts and systems. Staff should only be able to access the information directly needed for their role.
- Continuously monitor account activity, or hire a managed service provider (MSP) to do this for you.
Additional Strategies to Mitigate Cyber Security Incidents
The Essential 8 is valuable, but does not represent a complete cyber security strategy on its own. Beyond these basics, consider the following:
- Leverage AI-powered threat detection and response to catch potential attacks early
- Conduct regular penetration testing to evaluate how your defences hold up against a real attack
- Establish a thorough incident response plan, explaining how staff should react during a breach or disaster
- Run security drills (such as fake phishing attacks) to test staff knowledge
- Perform regular cyber awareness training sessions
- Consider fully-managed security services, which can help cover staffing gaps and provide much stronger protection
Essential 8 FAQs
Who Are the ACSC?
The Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) is part of the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD). They lead the Australian government’s efforts to improve cyber security and reduce the number of attacks that occur.
Does Every Business Need the Essential 8?
Yes. The Essential 8 refers to a series of security controls that are utterly critical for a strong defensive posture.
What is Essential 8 Certification?
The ACSC has collaborated with TAFEcyber to create an Essential 8 certification course. Note that it is not aimed at business owners, but at IT professionals. If you have an in-house team, it may help cover any gaps in their knowledge.
How long does it take to implement the Essential 8?
This will depend on your current Maturity Level, available resources, and internal expertise. If you have concerns, it may be best to outsource this task to an MSP.
Prevent 2025’s Most Devastating Attacks With the Essential 8
As time passes and techniques become more advanced, the threat presented by cyber-attacks will only grow. But that doesn’t mean you have to give up. The Essential 8 cyber security framework provides a solid starting point, improving your defences no matter how small or unprepared your business is. Whether you’re just starting out or refining your security strategy, the Essential 8 is the perfect place to start.
What is the most important part of a strong cyber security posture? Before you do anything else, you must understand the threats your business faces. Start by studying 2024’s biggest attacks, and learn how to defend yourself in 2025.
