THE ESSENTIAL EIGHT
Prioritise Your Cyber Security with A Plan for Your Essential Eight Maturity Level
Protection is Paramount
The increased reliance on technology in business today, has opened the door to a host of cyber threats, making cybersecurity a paramount concern for individuals, businesses, and governments alike. Preventing cyber attackers from breaching your business is critical to not only safeguard your sensitive data, financial stability, and operational continuity, but maintaining trust and reputation amongst your team and customers.
Recognising the crucial need to fortify the digital defence of Australian businesses against ever-evolving cyber threats, the Australian Government is taking a proactive stance. By mandating adherence to the Essential Eight, the government aims to enhance cyber resilience in organisations across the nation.
How Can Tango IT Help?
The increased reliance on technology in business today, has opened the door to a host of cyber threats, making cybersecurity a paramount concern for individuals, businesses, and governments alike. Preventing cyber attackers from breaching your business is critical to not only safeguard your sensitive data, financial stability, and operational continuity, but maintaining trust and reputation amongst your team and customers.
Recognising the crucial need to fortify the digital defence of Australian businesses against ever-evolving cyber threats, the Australian Government is taking a proactive stance. By mandating adherence to the Essential Eight, the government aims to enhance cyber resilience in organisations across the nation.
The Tango Essential Eight Roadmap
When partnering with Tango IT, you’ll receive completely unbiased, tailored guidance when assessing the Essential Eight framework. Our team will:
- Understand your business goals and which maturity level you want/need to reach on the Essential Eight framework;
- Determine the current state of your existing infrastructure, including systems, processes, software, support, and governance and determine whether they abide with the Essential Eight compliance levels;
- Perform a gap analyse between these two states and provide you a thorough yet easily digestible report; and
- Develop a roadmap with the steps you can take to reach the level of compliance your business wants to achieve.
What Is The Essential Eight?
Developed by the Australian Signals Directorate, the Essential Eight framework and maturity model improves your cyber resilience.
Level One is the minimum criteria for many companies working in the federal government supply chain. The Essential Eight framework and maturity model is based around the following:
Restrict Administrative
Privileges
Restrict Microsoft
Office Macros
User Application
Hardening
Multi-Factor
Authentication
Patch Operating
Systems
Application
Control
Patch
Applications
Regular
Data Backups
Maturity Level Zero
At Level Zero, your business is at the weaknesses point in the Essential Eight framework and your overall cyber security is in a vulnerable state. When exploited, you compromise the confidentiality of your data, or the integrity or availability of your systems.
Maturity Level One
At Level One, your business is at risk from malicious actors who are opportunistically seeking weaknesses. These malicious actors will employ common social engineering techniques to trick users into weakening the security of a system and launch malicious applications. Depending on their intent, malicious actors may also destroy data (including backups).
Maturity Level Two
At Level Two, malicious actors will operate at a modest step-up in capability from Level One. They are willing to invest more time and tools to bypass the measures you’ve implemented and evade detection. This includes actively targeting credentials using phishing and employing technical and social engineering techniques to circumvent weak multi-factor authentication. Depending on their intent, they may also destroy all data (including backups) accessible to an account with special privileges.
Maturity Level Three
At Level Three, malicious actors are more adaptive and much less reliant on public tools and techniques. They’re able to exploit opportunities provided by weaknesses in your cyber security posture, such as the existence of older software or inadequate logging and monitoring. They do this to not only extend their access once initial access has been gained, but to evade detection and solidify their presence. Implementing the Essential Eight proactively can be more cost-effective in terms of time, money, and effort than having to respond to a large-scale cyber security incident.
Australian Signals Directorate (ASD) Cyber Security Partnership Program
The Australian Signals Directorate’s Cyber Security Partnership Program enables Australian organisations and individuals to engage with the ASD as well as fellow partners, drawing on collective experience, understanding, skills, and capability to lift cyber resilience across the Australian economy.
Tango IT is proudly a recognised partner of the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC), a division of the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD).
Who Needs to Be Compliant?
As of 2021, the federal government recommended the Essential Eight framework for all non-corporate Commonwealth entities (NCCEs).
To ensure the Essential Eight security controls are implemented and maintained, all NCCE’s should comply with the cybersecurity framework and, in addition, will undergo a comprehensive audit every five years.
- For State Governments Essential Eight Maturity Level One is suggested.
- For contractors and subcontractors of the Defence Force, the Essential Eight Maturity Level One is suggested.
- For Local Governments the Office of the Auditor General has already completed audits against Essential Eight and compliance is widely expected in the near future.
State Governments
State Government entities provide unique and essential services that increasingly rely on information and operational technology systems. Securing these systems is vital to protect the social and economic wellbeing of the people of this state and Australia’s national security interests. State Governments should comply with (at minimum) Maturity Level One of the Essential Eight Maturity framework.
State Governments have access to the Digital Capability Fund (DCF) to digitally transform with upgrades of legacy ICT systems, environments, and controls. This can include becoming Essential Eight compliant.
Local Governments
Alongside State Government, Local Governments should comply with good cyber controls. With their internet-facing systems compliance with (at minimum) Maturity Level Two of the Essential Eight framework is a prudent start. Essential Eight audits are completed by the Office of the Auditor General.
Defence Force Contractors
Defence force contractors providing services for security and weapons transport are required to be compliant with (at minimum) Maturity Level One for four of the Essential Eight Framework specifically application control, patch applications, restrict administrative privileges, and patch operating systems.
Let's Get Started
At Tango IT, we do not develop or sell technology, nor do we partner with technology providers. We simply help you find the best possible technology solutions to meet your business needs. Our absolute independence is not only our most valuable tool, but also your greatest ally in your technology journey. Get in touch with our team to discuss how we can help you on your journey to implementing the Essential Eight framework.