ASD Essential 8
How did the ASD Essential 8 come about?
The ASD Essential Eight, developed by the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD), is a powerful set of cybersecurity controls designed to boost your organisation’s cyber resilience and security posture. This practical framework includes key measures such as application whitelisting, patching operating systems, and techniques to combat phishing and ransomware attacks.
By adopting the ASD Essential Eight, Australian businesses and government agencies can significantly enhance their defences against cyber threats, reducing the risk of cyber incidents. This comprehensive approach helps organisations focus on the most critical security areas, ensuring a strong and effective cybersecurity strategy.
At Teltech, we have reached the highest level of Maturity Level Three
What is The Essential Eight?
The ASD Essential Eight comprises eight critical cybersecurity strategies designed to enhance your organisation’s defense against cyber threats. Here’s a quick overview:
Application Control:
Prevent unauthorised and malicious applications from running.
Patch Applications:
Regularly update and patch applications to fix security vulnerabilities.
Configure Microsoft Office Macro Settings:
Restrict the use of macros to prevent malicious code execution.
User Application Hardening:
Harden applications by disabling or limiting features that can be exploited.
Restrict Administrative Privileges:
Minimise the number of users with admin privileges to reduce the risk of compromise.
Patch Operating Systems:
Keep operating systems updated with the latest security patches.
Multi-Factor Authentication:
Use multiple forms of verification to strengthen user authentication.
Regular Backups:
Perform regular backups of important data to ensure it can be restored in case of an incident.
The Essential 8 provides clear steps for Australian organizations to reduce cyber risk and manage breaches effectively. Plus, the ACSC offers the Essential 8 Maturity Model, a handy tool to gauge how well these defense strategies are implemented.
Maturity Levels
Four maturity levels, ranging from Level Zero to Level Three, have been defined to aid organisations in implementing the Essential Eight effectively. These levels correspond to increasing levels of tactics, techniques, and procedures utilised by threat actors. Malicious actors may vary their sophistication based on the target organisation, employing advanced tactics against some and simpler methods against others. Hence, organisations should prioritise mitigating the level of tactics and targeting they encounter, rather than solely focusing on the identity of the threat actors.
Maturity Level Zero
Starting out, organisations have noticeable gaps in their cybersecurity defences, making them vulnerable to common threats.
Maturity Level One
Progressing to this stage, organisations have basic safeguards in place, making it harder for cybercriminals to breach their systems using standard methods.
Maturity Level Two
Advancing further, organisations adopt sophisticated strategies to combat a range of advanced security attacks, targeting weaknesses like user privileges and credential theft.
Maturity Level Three
The pinnacle of maturity: Organisations implement advanced tools such as application controls and monitoring to swiftly detect and address any suspicious activity, ensuring rapid response to known vulnerabilities.
Here at Teltech we have achieved Maturity Level Three for the Essential Eight signifying the highest level of cybersecurity maturity within an organisation. As a business, Teltech has implemented advanced strategies and technologies to effectively mitigate cyber threats. This includes deploying specific application controls, implementing comprehensive logging and monitoring systems, and promptly addressing any detected anomalies or vulnerabilities. Maturity Level Three organisations are highly proactive in their approach to cybersecurity, continuously monitoring for potential threats and rapidly responding to incidents to ensure minimal impact.
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