Latest News

Hot Issues
spacer
Record low invoice values ‘reveal inflation sting’
spacer
A 2023 Advent Calendar for our clients
spacer
Average refund plummets by $580, total payout down $5.4bn
spacer
FBT – Christmas Parties and Taxi Fare/Rideshare
spacer
Annual wage growth surges to 14-year high of 4%
spacer
Is My Organisation Exempt From the Spam Act?
spacer
Employee Christmas Parties and Gifts – Any FBT?
spacer
Most Expensive Wars In History
spacer
Australian Taxation Office (ATO) motor vehicle data matching program extended
spacer
Directors on the hook for cyber security, ASIC warns
spacer
I am making a profit but where does all the cash go?
spacer
Using the cents per kilometre method for claiming car expenses
spacer
Scams by numbers - 2022–23 scam data is now available
spacer
Completing the Sale of a Business
spacer
Business owners are seeking exits without a plan, survey finds
spacer
Most powerful countries throughout time.
spacer
Super tax concession changes: consultation
spacer
ATO interest charges soar to highest level since GFC
spacer
TOP 5 CHALLENGES FOR FAMILY BUSINESSES
spacer
ATO linking system takes giant stride into business
spacer
Cyber threats facing small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs)
spacer
Most powerful LEADERS of All Time
spacer
How Do I Respond to an Allegation of Trade Mark Infringement?
spacer
$20k instant asset write-off to get 1-year extension
spacer
Contractor payments (TPAR) are increasingly on the ATO’s radar
spacer
Superannuation and independent contractors: fresh Full Federal Court guidance
spacer
Intergenerational Report 2023
spacer
Property investors beware: new data matching program
spacer
When will we learn to protect ourselves from ourselves?
Article archive
spacer
Quarter 3 July - September 2023
spacer
Quarter 2 April - June 2023
spacer
Quarter 1 January - March 2023
spacer
Quarter 4 October - December 2022
spacer
Quarter 3 July - September 2022
spacer
Quarter 2 April - June 2022
spacer
Quarter 1 January - March 2022
spacer
Quarter 4 October - December 2021
spacer
Quarter 3 July - September 2021
spacer
Quarter 2 April - June 2021
spacer
Quarter 1 January - March 2021
spacer
Quarter 4 October - December 2020
spacer
Quarter 3 July - September 2020
spacer
Quarter 2 April - June 2020
spacer
Quarter 1 January - March 2020
spacer
Quarter 4 October - December 2019
spacer
Quarter 3 July - September 2019
spacer
Quarter 2 April - June 2019
spacer
Quarter 1 January - March 2019
spacer
Quarter 4 October - December 2018
spacer
Quarter 3 July - September 2018
spacer
Quarter 2 April - June 2018
spacer
Quarter 1 January - March 2018
spacer
Quarter 4 October - December 2017
spacer
Quarter 3 July - September 2017
spacer
Quarter 2 April - June 2017
spacer
Quarter 1 January - March 2017
spacer
Quarter 4 October - December 2016
spacer
Quarter 3 July - September 2016
spacer
Quarter 2 April - June 2016
spacer
Quarter 1 January - March 2016
spacer
Quarter 4 October - December 2015
spacer
Quarter 3 July - September 2015
spacer
Quarter 2 April - June 2015
spacer
Quarter 1 January - March 2015
spacer
Quarter 4 October - December 2014
Directors on the hook for cyber security, ASIC warns

Repelling attacks is just the start – businesses must demonstrate an ability to respond or the board will be held accountable, the regulator says.

.

Directors are duty-bound to ensure their company has “adequate” cyber security and the ability to recover from an attack or they could face action by ASIC, the chair of the regulator says.

Joe Longo said cyber readiness meant more than trying to engineer a bulletproof system but extended to building an ability to respond.

 

“Cyber preparedness is not simply a question of having impregnable systems. That’s not possible,” he said. “Instead, while preparedness must include security, it must also involve resilience, meaning the ability to respond and weather a significant cyber security incident.”

 

“This can only be built on thorough and comprehensive planning for significant cyber security incidents, and a clearly thought-out risk management strategy.”

 

Recovery plans on their own were also insufficient without regular testing and never-ending risk reassessment, including within supply chains.

Speaking at the Australian Financial Review Cyber Summit yesterday, Mr Longo said last year’s attacks against Optus and Medibank were a wake-up call but surveys showed most businesses lacked confidence in their organisation’s ability to remain resilient in a “worst-case” cyber event.

One important lesson was that relying on third-party providers always involved risk.

“None of us has control over the security of a third-party provider,” he said. “If we rely solely on the security measures those providers have in place, we leave a wide opening for a data breach if those measures are compromised.”

He said the Latitude Financial breach earlier this year originated from an outside provider and because Latitude was itself a service provider, millions more than its own customers were affected.

Initial findings from an ASIC survey still in progress revealed “that one of the weakest links in cyber preparedness is third-party suppliers, vendors, and managed service providers”.

Supply chain risks were a related issue, with almost one in two respondents saying they did not manage third-party or supply chain risk.

Mr Longo said ASIC had uncovered disconnects in the way various parts of a business handled the digital risks between:

  • Boards’ oversight of cyber risk.
  • Management reporting of cyber risk to boards.
  • Management identification and remediation of cyber risk.
  • Cyber risk assessments.
  • How cyber risk controls are implemented.

“This disconnect must be addressed,” he said. “Cyber security and resilience are not merely technical matters on the fringes of directors’ duties. ASIC expects directors to ensure their organisation’s risk management framework adequately addresses cyber security risk, and that controls are implemented to protect key assets and enhance cyber resilience.”
“Failing to do so could mean failing to meet your regulatory obligations.”

“Measures taken should be proportionate to the nature, scale and complexity of your organisation – and the criticality and sensitivity of the key assets held. This includes reassessment of cyber security risks on an ongoing basis, based on threat intelligence and vulnerability identification.”

“For all boards, cyber security and cyber resilience have got to be top priorities. “If boards do not give cyber security and cyber resilience sufficient priority, this creates a foreseeable risk of harm to the company and thereby exposes the directors to potential enforcement action by ASIC based on the directors not acting with reasonable care and diligence.”

He said boards and directors also had to consider how they would communicate with customers, regulators, and the market when things went wrong.

“Do they have a clear and comprehensive response and recovery plan? Has it been tested?

“How will the company detect if the system has been broken, or exploited? History shows that even robust defence systems can be circumvented, and resilience demands you be prepared for that possibility.”

He said two points needed to be emphasised: there was a need to act now, and third-party suppliers were a “clear vulnerability”.

“If you’re not evaluating your third-party cyber security risk, you’re deceiving yourself. And recent events show that you will suffer for it.”

“Don’t put yourself in that position.”

 

 

 

Philip King
19 September 2023
accountantsdaily.com.au

 

Liability limited by a Scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation.
© O'Brien and Partners 2022 - All Rights Reserved | 91 Station Street, Malvern VIC 3144 | Tel: 03 9509 3911 | Fax: 03 9509 3922. Site by Acctweb