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ACSC ESSENTIAL 8

At CISO Online™, we empower government agencies and departments to fortify their cyber maturity with the ACSC Essential Eight – an arsenal of mitigation strategies. Developed and meticulously maintained by the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC), these strategies are designed to obstruct the very threats that lie at the Endpoints and Servers as the heart of most cyber threats, intrusion events and unplanned outages.
Our experienced experts will guide you through implementation, ensuring seamless integration of Essential Eight. We tailor solutions to your unique needs, uplifting your cyber resilience.
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Unlock Cyber Resilience with the ACSC Essential 8: Protecting Your Online Environment

In the ever-evolving landscape of cyber threats, organisations face a relentless barrage of attacks – from ransomware to data breaches. The stakes are high, and complacency is not an option. That’s where CISO Online’s ACSC Essential eight steps in – a secure framework meticulously crafted by the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC). Let’s delve into why this strategy is your organisation’s lifeline:

Essential Eight: Your Eight Strategies to mitigate cyber incidents

Baseline Protection
The Essential Eight isn’t just a suggestion; it’s the minimum baseline recommended by the ACSC. These eight strategies form the foundation of your cyber defence, shielding you against the most common cyber attacks
But it doesn’t stop there. We encourage organisations to augment these strategies with additional sophisticated solutions. By doing so, you significantly mitigate the impact of cyberattacks.
The Australian federal government is taking a decisive step. The Essential Eight framework is now mandatory for all non-corporate Commonwealth entities (NCCEs). Compliance across all eight strategies is expected, ensuring a unified front against threats.
For Australian noncorporate Commonwealth entities subject to the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013, achieving Essential Eight (Maturity Level 2) is a mandatory requirement. It’s not just about ticking boxes; it’s about safeguarding critical assets.
At CISO Online, we don’t just hand you a playbook. Our experienced experts guide you through implementation, ensuring seamless integration. We tailor solutions to your unique needs, bolstering your cyber resilience.
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WHY CONSIDER ACSC ESSENTIAL Eight FOR YOUR ORGANISATION? TIME TO BOOST YOUR DEFENCE

Malicious cyber activity is on the rise, both in scale and sophistication. In Australia alone, the ACSC receives hundreds of thousands of cybercrime reports annually – that’s one report every 6 minutes! As the nation with the highest median wealth per adult, Australia is an attractive target for cybercriminals. The consequences of complacency can be dire: financial losses, data theft, reputational damage, and even legal repercussions.
What’s at Stake?
Millions in Penalties
The Australian government has significantly increased the maximum penalty for data breaches to $50 million!. Non-compliance can lead to hefty fines.
Government departments and organisations must not expose the public to unnecessary security risks when they transact online with government.
From ransom payments to lost revenue due to business disruption, the costs add up swiftly.
Sensitive information falling into the wrong hands can have severe financial and legal repercussions.
A cyber-attack erodes customer trust, impacting sales and long-term brand health.
Australia’s laws demand compliance; failure can result in license revocation for regulated businesses.
For Australian non-corporate Commonwealth entities, not adhering to the Essential 8 can result in non-compliance with the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act (PGPA Act). This could lead to legal and administrative consequences.
Downtime affects productivity, customer service, and deadlines.
As a private organisation you may be transacting with government departments and organisations that are required to comply with the essential 8, therefore suppliers who do not meet the compliance requirements will be replaced with a more secure organisation.
Our experienced experts guide you through implementation, ensuring seamless integration of Essential 8. We tailor solutions to your unique needs, bolstering your cyber resilience. Don’t wait – take the first step toward a fortified digital future.
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ACSC ESSENTIAL 8

SECURING YOU, YOUR ORGANISATION AND AUSTRALIA

Essential 8 is a set of mitigation strategies, developed and maintained by the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC), that are designed to help organisations of all sizes protect themselves from the online threats that are recognised as being the root cause of most intrusion events and unplanned outages.
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CYBER SECURITY FIRST!

Malicious cyber activity is increasing in frequency, scale, and sophistication in Australia and globally. According to the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) annual cyber threat report, the ACSC receive over hundreds of thousands cybercrime reports every year. This equates to one report every few minutes! Australia is very attractive for cybercriminals by having the highest median wealth per adult in the world.  
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KEY STATISTICS:
  • An increase to over $98 million in financial losses due to business email compromise! an average loss of $64,000 per report. ​
  • Thousands of calls to the cyber security hotline, an average of 69% per day and an increase of 15% from the previous financial year.
  • Fraud, online shopping and online banking were the top reported cybercrime types.​ ransomware and business email compromise remain the most destructive cybercrime.
HOW TO SECURE AUSTRALIAN’S GOVERNMENT AGENCIES AND DEPARTMENTS WITH ESSENTIAL 8 STRATEGIES
The ACSC and CISO Online™ recommend that organisations implement eight essential mitigation strategies as a baseline. This baseline, known as the ESSENTIAL EIGHT, makes it much harder for adversaries to compromise systems.

THE ESSENTIAL 8 FOCUS AREAS 
LET’S SECURE OUR ONLINE WORLD TOGETHER 

The Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) has developed prioritised mitigation strategies to protect organisations against various cyber threats. While no single mitigation strategy is guaranteed to prevent cyber security incidents, the most effective of these mitigation strategies is The Essential Eight. The mitigation strategies that constitute the Essential Eight are:

Prevention

1
Application Control
2
Patch Application
3
configure Microsoft office macro setting
4
user application hardening

Containment

5
Restrict administrative privileges
6
Patch operating systems
7
Multi factor authentication
Recovery
8
Regular backup

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ESSENTIAL 8 MATURITY LEVELS

To assist organisations with their implementation of Essential Eight, FOUR MATURITY LEVELS have been defined (Maturity Level Zero through to Maturity Level Three).
Apart from Maturity Level Zero, the maturity levels are based on mitigating increasing levels of adversary counterintelligence. The Essential Eight Maturity Model is designed to assist organisations in implementing the Essential Eight in a graduated manner based upon diverse levels of adversary tradecraft and targeting. The different maturity levels can also be used to provide a high-level indication of an organisation’s cyber security maturity. 

Maturity level
zero (Ml0)

Not aligned with the intent of the mitigation strategy. This maturity level signifies that there are weaknesses in an organisation’s overall cyber security posture. When exploited, these weaknesses could facilitate the compromise of the confidentiality of their data, or the integrity or availability of their systems and data.

Maturity level
One (Ml1)

Partially aligned with the intent of the mitigation strategy. This maturity level signifies basic protections in place in an organisation’s overall cyber security posture. That help prevent cyber criminals and other threat actors, using common tools and methods, to break into systems.

Maturity level
two (Ml2)

Mostly aligned with the intent of the mitigation strategy. This maturity level signifies strategies in place to mitigate a variety of sophisticated security attack that help prevent cyber criminals and other threat actors, using advanced tools and methods.

Maturity level
three (Ml3)

Fully aligned with the intent of the mitigation strategy. This maturity level signifies that the organisations implement a range of enhanced strategies to ensure anomalous activity can be quickly detected, investigated and mitigated.
Maturity level zero (Ml0)
Not aligned with the intent of the mitigation strategy. This maturity level signifies that there are weaknesses in an organisation’s overall cyber security posture. When exploited, these weaknesses could facilitate the compromise of the confidentiality of their data, or the integrity or availability of their systems and data.
Maturity level One (Ml1)
Partially aligned with the intent of the mitigation strategy. This maturity level signifies basic protections in place in an organisation’s overall cyber security posture. That help prevent cyber criminals and other threat actors, using common tools and methods, to break into systems.
Maturity level two (Ml2)
Mostly aligned with the intent of the mitigation strategy. This maturity level signifies strategies in place to mitigate a variety of sophisticated security attack that help prevent cyber criminals and other threat actors, using advanced tools and methods.
Maturity level three (Ml3)
Fully aligned with the intent of the mitigation strategy. This maturity level signifies that the organisations implement a range of enhanced strategies to ensure anomalous activity can be quickly detected, investigated and mitigated.

WHAT MATURITY LEVEL SHOULD YOU AIM FOR? 

When implementing the Essential Eight, organisations should identify and plan for a target maturity level suitable for their environment. Generally, Maturity Level One may be suitable for small to medium enterprises, Maturity Level Two may be suitable for large enterprises, and Maturity Level Three may be suitable for critical infrastructure providers and other organisations that operate in high-threat environments. 
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ESSENTIAL 8 IMPLEMENTATION

Organisations should progressively implement each maturity level until that target is achieved. As the mitigation strategies that constitute the Essential Eight have been designed to complement each other and to provide coverage of various cyber threats, organisations should plan their implementation to achieve the same maturity level across all eight mitigation strategies before moving onto higher maturity levels. Organisations should seek to minimise any exceptions. While the Essential Eight can help to mitigate the majority of cyber threats, it will not mitigate all cyber threats. As such, additional mitigation strategies and security controls need to be considered, including those from ISM.
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ESSENTIAL 8 UPDATES

Adversaries continually evolve their tradecraft to defeat preventative measures that organisations put in place. The ACSC continually learns of advances in adversary tactics, techniques and procedures through its cyber threat intelligence and incident response functions. The ACSC is committed to providing cyber security advice that is contemporary, contestable and actionable. This includes regular updates to the Essential Eight Maturity Model. Essential Eight implementations may need to be assessed by an independent party if required by a government directive or policy, by a regulatory authority, or as part of contractual arrangements.

DON'T LET CYCYBER CRIMINALS INVADE AUSTRALIA

CISO Online™ is the right pick for your organisation when uplifting your cyber security with Essential 8 because:
Expertise in Government Compliance
CISO Online™ has a proven track record in assisting government organisations to achieve and maintain compliance with the Essential 8 framework. Our experienced team is adept at guiding entities to meet Level 2 and Level 3 maturity levels, ensuring adherence to the stringent standards set by the Australian Cyber Security Centre.

We extend our expertise to private sector organisations, particularly those seeking or retaining government contracts. Understanding the compliance requirements for these contracts, CISO Online helps these organisations align with the Essential 8 mandates, which is often a prerequisite for government collaborations.

Leveraging our comprehensive understanding of the Essential 8 framework, we tailor our solutions to each organisation’s specific needs, avoiding unnecessary expenditures on irrelevant or redundant security measures.

Find out how CISO Online™ can secure your organisation and make your life easier.
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To get exclusive access to our strategies and solutions, download our essential 8 eBook.
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FAQ

ABOUT ‘’ACSC Essential 8’’
ciso online’s EXPERT ANSWERS

What is the Essential 8? 
The Essential 8 is a set of cybersecurity strategies developed by the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) to help organisations mitigate cybersecurity risks. It focuses on implementing eight key mitigation strategies to prevent malware delivery and execution, limit the extent of cybersecurity incidents, and improve overall security posture.
The Essential 8 provides a practical framework to improve an organisation’s cybersecurity defenses. By implementing these strategies, organisations can significantly reduce their vulnerability to cyber threats, such as ransomware, data breaches, and other malicious activities.

The Essential 8 strategies are:
1. Application Control: Prevent the execution of unapproved/malicious applications.

2. Patch Applications: Patch applications, such as Flash, web browsers, Microsoft Office, Java, and PDF viewers.

3. Configure Microsoft Office Macro Settings: Block macros from the internet and only allow vetted macros in your environment.

4. User Application Hardening: Harden user applications by blocking or limiting functionality, like Flash, ads, and Java.

5. Restrict Administrative Privileges: Restrict administrative privileges to operating systems and applications based on user duties.

6. Patch Operating Systems: Patch or mitigate OS vulnerabilities.

7. Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): Implement MFA for all remote access and privileged accounts.

8. Daily Backups: Ensure data is backed up regularly and securely.

The Essential 8 framework works by categorising each strategy into three maturity levels (Maturity Level 1, 2, and 3). These levels help organisations assess their current cybersecurity posture and provide a roadmap for improving it. Each level builds upon the previous one, enhancing the organisation’s defenses progressively.

* Maturity Level 1: Basic cyber hygiene; mitigates common cyber threats.

* Maturity Level 2: Focuses on better standards; mitigates more sophisticated threats.

* Maturity Level 3: Provides strong protections against sophisticated cyber threats, ensuring robust cyber defenses.

Organisations can use the ACSC’s self-assessment tool to evaluate their current cybersecurity measures against the Essential 8 strategies. This assessment helps identify gaps and areas for improvement to achieve higher maturity levels.

Higher maturity levels offer stronger protection against sophisticated cyber threats. By progressing through the maturity levels, organisations can enhance their resilience to cyberattacks, ensuring more robust protection of their systems and data.

Organisations can implement the Essential 8 by:

1. Assessing Current Security Posture: Evaluate existing cybersecurity measures.

2. Planning and Prioritizing: Develop a roadmap to address gaps, starting with the most critical areas.

3. Implementing Changes: Apply the necessary changes to align with the Essential 8 strategies.

4. Regular Monitoring and Updating: Continuously monitor and update security measures to adapt to new threats and vulnerabilities.

* Resource Constraints: Limited budget and personnel.

* Technical Complexity: Difficulty integrating new security measures with existing systems.

* Resistance to Change: Resistance from staff to adopt new practices.

* Maintaining Compliance: Keeping up with regulatory requirements and industry standards.

Yes, the Essential 8 is designed to be industry-agnostic and can be applied to any sector. While the strategies provide general best practices, organisations can tailor the implementation to address specific industry needs and regulatory requirements.