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The Essential Eight in 15 minutes.
No jargon, no sales pitch.

The Australian Signals Directorate publishes a shortlist of eight controls every business should have in place. This is a 3-page checklist that tells you where you stand, on one page per side. Download, walk through it, bring it to your IT person.

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What's inside

  • All eight ACSC controls, one page per side
  • 32 yes/no checkpoints you can tick in 15 minutes
  • Scoring key that tells you how close you are to ML1
  • The three fixes every business should do first
  • Plain English, Australian standards, Australian context

Format

5-page PDF · A4 · ~165 KB · readable on any device

Written for Australian SMBs, not enterprise cyber teams

You'll get value from this if

  • Your insurer, client, or tender asked about Essential Eight and you are not sure where you stand
  • You have an IT person (internal or external) and want a structured conversation with them
  • You run a 20 to 200 staff business in law, accounting, childcare, construction, medical, property, or contracting
  • You want a pre-assessment before committing to a formal one

This is not

  • A formal ACSC maturity assessment (that is the CIO Tech IT Audit, fixed scope, fixed fee)
  • A sales pitch with a consultant email follow-up
  • Enterprise-grade, with 40 pages of theory
  • A substitute for a proper assessment if your industry requires ML2 or ML3
Sydney-based team
Aligned to ACSC Essential Eight
No sales call required

Cyber Posture Snapshot

Your details 1 / 10

How exposed is your business?

Six quick questions, two short ones to tailor the result, and you'll see where your business stands. About two minutes. Plain English, no jargon.

We'll use your email to send a copy of your result. No spam, no pushy sales calls.

Question 1 of 9

When your team logs in to email and business apps, do they need a code from their phone as well as a password?

Question 2 of 9

If a ransomware attack locked all your files tomorrow, could you restore them from a backup?

Question 3 of 9

When Microsoft or Apple release a critical security update, how fast does it land on your computers?

Question 4 of 9

How many people in your business can install software or change system settings on any work computer?

Question 5 of 9

If a staff member got a fake invoice or "urgent" email pretending to be from you right now, what would happen?

Question 6 of 9

When a staff member leaves, when does their access to email, files, and apps actually get cut off?

Question 7 of 9

How many people work in your business?

Question 8 of 9

Who looks after your IT today?

Question 9 of 9

What sort of business are you?

Tailoring your result...

Hi there, here's where your business stands.

Your Cyber Posture
Critical gaps Critical
Notable exposure Notable
Mixed picture Mixed
On the right track On track

Notable exposure

Your two biggest gaps

  1. 1
  2. 2

Where this leaves you on Essential Eight

  • MFA Multi-factor authentication
  • Backups Regular backups
  • Patching Covers 2 of 8: Patch applications + Patch operating systems
  • Admin access Restrict administrative privileges

This snapshot covers 5 of the 8 Essential Eight controls. The full IT Maturity Assessment covers all 8, plus Microsoft 365 hardening, device management, and staff training.