The 5-Step Cybersecurity Checklist for Hervey Bay Small Businesses

Let’s be honest. As a small business owner, “cybersecurity” is probably a word that makes you sigh. You hear about data breaches on the news, and the official advice from the government (like the “Essential Eight”) looks like an instruction manual for a rocket ship.

You just want to run your business, not become a security expert.

The good news? You don’t have to. Most cyber attacks aren’t super-advanced hacks. They’re like digital burglars checking for unlocked doors. You just need to lock a few key places to make yourself a much harder target.

Here is the “Made Easy” checklist to get you started.

Step 1: Fix Your Password Problem (For Good!)

We’ve all done it. We use the same password for a dozen sites. We just add 2026! to our pet’s name and hope for the best.

The hard truth is that if just one of those minor websites you signed up for gets breached, criminals now have the password they’ll use to try and access your email, your Xero account, and your bank.

The Problem: Your brain is not a hard drive. It can’t (and shouldn’t) remember 50 different, complex passwords like 8$k@bT!zP#5w.

The Solution: Stop trying. Get a password manager.

Think of it as a secure digital vault for your passwords. It creates, remembers, and auto-fills all your unique passwords for you. You just have to remember one single master password to unlock the vault.

Our Top Pick: Bitwarden.

We recommend Bitwarden because it’s built on an open-source foundation. This isn’t just tech-nerd talk; it means its code is public for security experts all over the world to inspect, test, and verify. That’s a level of trust and transparency you just don’t get with closed-source, proprietary software.

The free Bitwarden plan is incredibly powerful and perfect for getting started:

• Unlimited passwords across unlimited devices (your phone, your laptop, your office PC).
• A secure password generator to create un-guessable passwords.
• Secure 2FA/MFA to protect your vault, including support for authenticator apps and even hardware keys (like YubiKey via FIDO2).

Why Your Business Will Want to Pay (It’s Worth It)

This is where it gets really good for a business owner. For a few dollars a month, the paid plans (like ‘Teams’) give you a central command centre for your business’s security:

• Integrated 2FA: The Bitwarden app itself can generate your 6-digit codes (TOTP) for other sites. No more fumbling for a separate app.
• Secure Sharing: This is the big one. You can create shared folders (called “Collections”) for your team. Put the company credit card, the website login, or the Wi-Fi password in a collection, and only the staff you grant access can see it. No more emailing passwords.
• Vault Health Reports: This is like a check-up for your security. It scans your vault and flags any weak, reused, or (most importantly) leaked passwords that have shown up in a known data breach.
• Advanced MFA: Adds support for more business-focused 2FA, like Duo and YubiKey’s one-time-password (OTP) feature.
• Emergency Access: You can set up a trusted “in case of emergency” contact (like a business partner or family member) who can request access to your vault if you get locked out or something happens to you.

Your Action:

1. Sign up for a Bitwarden account (start with the free one to see how you like it, and make sure you setup 2FA for Bitwarden as well using Google or Microsoft Authenticator).
2. Install the browser extension and the phone app.
3. Start by saving your most important passwords first (email, banking, Xero).
4. Use the built-in generator to change those passwords to new, random, super-strong ones. You’ll never have to type them again.

A Quick Note: We are not affiliated with Bitwarden in any way. We don’t get kickbacks or commissions. We just genuinely love the product, use it ourselves, and recommend it to our clients because it’s a fantastic, secure, and affordable tool that fits our “Made Easy” philosophy perfectly.

Step 2: Get Your “Digital Security Key” (MFA)

Now that you have strong passwords, let’s add the next layer. This is the single most effective thing you can do to protect your accounts.

• What it is: Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA). It’s that 6-digit code on your phone app (like Google or Microsoft Authenticator) that you have to enter after your password.
• Why it’s a Game-Changer: Even if a hacker steals your password from a compromised website, they cannot log in because they don’t have your phone to get the code. It stops them cold.
• Your Action: Turn on MFA right now for all of your online accounts(examples below):
  1. Your Email (Microsoft 365 or Google)
  2. Your Banking
  3. Your Accounting Software (Xero/MYOB)
  4. Your Social Accounts(FB, Instagram, X, etc)

Step 3: Train Your Team to Spot a “Dodgy” Email

Here’s the deal: the most common way hackers get in isn’t by “hacking” at all. They just ask. They send a fake email—a “phishing” email—and trick you or an employee into clicking a bad link or paying a fake invoice.

Your team is your first, best, and most important line of defence. A single, 10-minute chat about what to look for can save you thousands of dollars and a world of pain.

The Solution: Teach Your Team These 7 Red Flags

1. 🚨 The “Act NOW!” Vibe (Urgency & Threats)

• The Trick: Creating panic so you don’t think. Hackers want you to react, not investigate.
• What to Look For: Phrases like “Account suspended,” “Immediate payment required,” or “Unusual login detected, click here to secure your account.”

2. 🤔 The “Who Is This Really?” Sender

• The Trick: Faking the “From” name to look like a trusted brand (e.g., Xero Support).
• What to Look For: Hover over the sender’s name. A real ato.gov.au address is fine. A ato-support@gmail.com or support@ato-billing.com is a major red flag.

3. 🖱️ The “Where Does This Really Go?” Link

• The Trick: Hiding a malicious URL behind innocent-looking link text (like “Click here to log in”).
• What to Look For: Hover (don’t click!) the link. Check the bottom corner of your browser. If the link text and the destination don’t match or the destination looks random, don’t click it.

4. 📎 The “Surprise” Attachment

• The Trick: Hiding malware (like ransomware) inside a file that looks like an “invoice” or “shipping form.”
• What to Look For: Any attachment you weren’t expecting. Especially .zip, .html, or any Word/Excel file that asks you to “Enable Macros.” That’s the button that lets the virus run.

5. 👋 The “Dear Valued Customer” Greeting

• The Trick: Using a generic greeting because they are blasting this email to thousands of people and don’t know your name.
• What to Look For: “Dear Account Holder,” “Hi [your email address],” or “Valued Customer.” Your real bank and the ATO will use your name.

6. 💸 The “Weird” Request (The Big One!)

• The Trick: Impersonating the boss or a supplier to steal money. This is called Business Email Compromise (BEC).
• What to Look For: Any unusual request, especially for gift cards (“I’m in a meeting, just buy $500 in iTunes cards”) or a change of bank details (“Please update our BSB for all future payments”).

7. 📝 The “Sloppy” Look

• The Trick: Rushing the scam. (Be careful, AI is making scammers much better at this!)
• What to Look For: Obvious spelling mistakes, weird grammar, or fuzzy, low-quality logos.

Your Action: The Unbreakable Golden Rule

Drill this one, single rule into your team:

“WHEN IN DOUBT, VERIFY IT A DIFFERENT WAY.”

• Get a weird email from a supplier changing their bank details? Pick up the phone and call them (using a number from your own records, not one from the email!).
• Get a text from the “bank”? Close the text and log in to your banking app yourself.
• Get an email from the “boss” asking for gift cards? Walk over to their office or call them on their mobile.

A 30-second phone call can prevent a $30,000 mistake.

Step 4: Back Up Your Stuff (Your “Undo” Button)

Imagine walking in tomorrow and everything is gone. Your customer lists, your invoices, your files… all encrypted by ransomware with a $20,000 demand.

The Solution: A good, automated backup. It’s your “Get Out of Jail Free” card. If you get hit by ransomware, you don’t pay. You just wipe the infected machine and restore your clean data from the night before.

The Pro-Tip (The 3-2-1 Rule):

• 3 copies of your important data.
• 2 different types of storage (e.g., on your server AND in the cloud).
• 1 copy is off-site (the cloud copy) and protected.

Your Action: Don’t just drag files to a USB stick once a month. Talk to a pro about setting up an automated cloud backup for your server or Microsoft 365/ Google Workspace data. A backup you don’t have to think about is one that actually gets done.

Step 5: Build Your Layered Security (Firewalls, Patching & Endpoint Protection)

This last step is all about “layered security,” and it’s where most DIY setups fall apart.

Think of it like securing your home. You wouldn’t just lock the front door; you’d also lock your windows, close the garage, and maybe even set an alarm. Technology is the same. You need a lock on your front gate (Firewall), locks on all your doors and windows (Patching), and a security guard inside the house (Endpoint Protection). You need all three to be truly secure.

Let’s break them down.

Update Your Software

What it is: We all know them. Those “update now” pop-ups on your computer, phone, and apps. When a company like Microsoft, Apple, or Google finds a security hole (a “vulnerability”) in their code, they release an update (a “patch”) to fix it and “patch” the hole.

Why it’s a “Made Easy” Non-Negotiable: Let’s be blunt: hackers aren’t (usually) geniuses. They’re opportunists. When Microsoft publicly announces a new security patch, they are also announcing the security hole to every hacker on earth.It becomes a race.Hackers immediately run automated scanners that crawl the internet, checking millions of businesses for that one specific, newly-announced hole. They’re just checking every car in the car park for an unlocked door. Your business is just an IP address on a list, and if you haven’t patched, you’re an easy target. This is how many ransomware attacks get their first foothold—not through a clever trick, but by walking through an open door you forgot to lock.

Your “Set It and Forget It” Action Plan:

• On all PCs & Macs: Go into your Settings (on Windows, it’s Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update) and ensure “automatic updates” are turned on. This is the absolute bare minimum.
• On all Phones: Go to your App Store and System settings and enable automatic updates. Set them to run overnight while your phone is charging.
• Check Your Web Browser: Chrome, Firefox, and Edge are usually good at updating themselves, but give them a restart every few days to make sure the update is applied.

Where “Automatic” Fails (The “Don’t Forget” List): This is the part that trips up most businesses. Automatic updates are great for your laptop, but what about the rest of your office?

• Your Server: You can’t have your main server auto-restarting in the middle of a workday. This needs to be managed and scheduled for after-hours.
• Your Firewall & Router: This is your front gate. It has software, too, and it’s the most exposed device you own. If it’s not patched, hackers can get in before they even reach your PCs.
• Your Printers: Yes, your printer. It’s a mini-computer sitting on your network. A hacked printer can be a launchpad for an attack on your server.
• Anything “Smart”: Your boardroom’s Smart TV, your security cameras, your network switches. If it connects to the internet, it needs patching.

It’s a Lot, We Know. Let’s Make It Easy.

Reading this, you might be thinking, “This is still a lot of stuff to do.” And you’re right. You’ve got a business to run.

At Made Easy IT, we specialise in helping Australian small businesses get this stuff sorted without the giant price tags. We love open-source tools like Bitwarden and finding solutions that fit your budget.

If you’d rather just have a friendly, no-obligation chat with me who can handle this for you, let’s talk.

Book a Free, 15-Minute Chat

We can talk about getting your team set up on a password manager, check if your backups are actually working, and give you simple, actionable advice. No sales pitch, just help.