Whose whipper snipper gets pinched first?

You’re in your backyard mowing the lawn with your garage door shut. Your neighbour is doing the

same with his garage wide open

That’s how I explain basic cyber security. Close the doors, make yourself harder to rob, and have a

way to recover if something gets through.

With AI helping scammers work faster and making their messages more convincing, the basics of

good IT hygiene have never mattered more.

All five checks below are free. Fixing something you find might cost money, but finding out

where you stand is a good start

1. Keep control of your website and email

Imagine your web developer goes out of business. Your website and email stop working. You then

discover your domain is registered to them and you have no way to take control.

You’ve paid every invoice, but you’re still stuck.

Check who your domain is registered to using auDA for .com.au or ICANN for .com. If the details

are private, ask your domain provider to confirm them.

Make sure it’s registered correctly and you can recover control without relying on one person or

supplier. Also consider securing useful variations of your name so someone else has fewer opportunities to

impersonate your business. My domain recommender can help you check options such as .com,

.com.au, .au and common misspellings.

2. Protect the reputation attached to your email address

Just because you get a letter from the King doesn’t mean he posted it.

Email works the same way. A message can look like it came from your business without you ever

sending it.

Think about someone sending fake payment requests or malicious messages to your customers and suppliers using your name. You could be left explaining what happened and repairing

relationships you’ve spent years building.

Run my free email check and ask whoever manages your email to fix any gaps. Also switch on the extra login check called MFA to help protect your actual mailbox.

3. Your emails are not backed up just because you pay for Microsoft 365

The same applies to Google Workspace.

Accidentally delete an email? You can often get it back from Deleted Items or through your administrator.

Someone deliberately wipes your mailbox, or ransomware locks your files? Recovering from that depends on having a clean version you can still restore. The recovery options included with your email service have limits.

Ask: “What backs up our emails and files, how far back can we go, and can you show me that we can restore them?”

“We’re in the cloud” doesn’t answer that. Here’s Microsoft’s explanation and Google’s terms, section 7.3.1(c).

4. Make sure you can get back to work

A backup gives you a recoverable copy of your information. Business continuity is how you keep trading while your systems are repaired and your information is restored.

Say an AI tool changes hundreds of prices or customer details incorrectly. Your latest backup might simply copy all those mistakes. You need an earlier clean version, a way to fix what caused the problem, and proof that everything works after it’s restored.

Ask: “How long until we can operate again, and what do we do in the meantime?”

A backup that takes three days to restore still leaves you needing a plan for those three days.

5. Check which apps have the keys to your business

In October’s ConnectWise Cloud Backup incident, formerly SkyKick, attackers used compromised app credentials to access some customers’ Microsoft 365 systems. They used access those apps already had. Microsoft reported that AI helped speed up that activity.

You can lock your front door and still have a problem if someone steals the spare key you gave a

supplier.

Ask your IT provider: “Which apps can access our email and files? Do we still need

them? What can they change or delete?

Remove unused connections and limit the access each app gets. If you’re experimenting with AI, start with dummy information in a separate test area before connecting it to the business.

If you’re unsure about any of these, message us. Happy to explain it in plain English and help you work out what needs attention first.

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