Chartered Accountants, Australia, and New Zealand update
There has been an observation of increases in reported ransomware attacks with tax agents, aligning with the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) recorded 15% increase in ransomware cybercrime reports.
The ACSC website has additional information and practical guides on how to protect yourself and your business from RansomwareExternal Link.
ATO updates
The ATO provided members updates on the following:
- the Strengthening Cyber strategic initiative and related program of work
- ATO impersonation scam and client identity compromise intelligence reports
- the latest cyber threat and intelligence report including the tax time cyber threat review.
ACSC
The ACSC has recently launched new cyber safety resources including targeted resources for Australian small business, which have been translated into five different languages.
The online learning resources offer simple-to-follow cyber security advice for all Australian businesses and individuals, available at Learn cyber securityExternal Link.
The updated Small Business Cyber Security GuideExternal Link is available to assist small businesses protect themselves from common cyber security incidents.
The ACSC’s 24/7 Cyber Hotline 1300 292 371 (1300 CYBER1) has also been revamped to help and support all the community in providing an instant response over the phone in the result of a cyber incident. This includes referring matters to law enforcement agencies, for example IDCare.
The ACSC Annual Cyber Threat Report 2020–21External Link was released in September. The report highlights the increase in cybercrime reporting which equates to one report of a cyber-attack every 8 minutes with fraud, online shopping scams and online banking scams being the top reported cybercrime types.
Key topics discussed at the Cyber Security Stakeholder Group meeting 9 December 2021.