Essential Eight uplift for small and medium businesses
Work towards the Australian Cyber Security Centre’s Essential Eight with a clear gap assessment, a realistic roadmap and controls built into your everyday IT.
The challenge
Know where you stand against the Essential Eight
The Essential Eight is a set of eight mitigation strategies from the Australian Cyber Security Centre, designed to make it much harder for attackers to compromise your systems.
Many businesses already have some of these controls in place, but don’t know which gaps matter most or what maturity level is realistic for their size and risk.
The eight strategies
- Patch applications
- Patch operating systems
- Multi-factor authentication
- Restrict administrative privileges
- Application control
- Restrict Microsoft Office macros
- User application hardening
- Regular backups
What’s included
Essential Eight services
Every arrangement is scoped around your business, but most include:
Gap assessment
A review of your current controls against each strategy, with clear findings on where you sit today.
Maturity roadmap
A prioritised plan towards the maturity level that suits your business, with realistic timeframes and costs.
Patch management
Timely updates for operating systems and applications, with reporting on what is and isn’t up to date.
MFA & admin controls
Multi-factor authentication for users and admins, plus separate privileged accounts with only the access they need.
Application control & hardening
Only approved software runs, Office macros are restricted and browsers are hardened against common attacks.
Backups & restore testing
Regular backups of important data and settings, kept separate from everyday systems and tested by restoring them.
How we work
Our process
Assess
Measure your current maturity against each strategy.
Plan
Agree a target level and the order of work.
Implement
Roll out controls in stages and explain changes to staff.
Review & report
Re-check maturity and report progress in plain English.
Why Zenvia
Why choose Zenvia for the Essential Eight?
We treat the Essential Eight as part of how your IT is run, not a one-off audit. Controls are configured in the tools you already use, such as Microsoft 365 and Intune, and kept current.
- Aligned to the current Essential Eight Maturity Model
- Realistic targets based on your size and risk
- Controls built into everyday IT management
- Plain-English progress reporting
- Honest about what each maturity level does and doesn’t cover
FAQs
Frequently asked questions
Is the Essential Eight mandatory for my business?
It’s mandatory for non-corporate Commonwealth entities and recommended for all other Australian organisations. Customers, insurers and government contracts increasingly ask about it, so it’s a useful baseline either way.
What maturity level should a small business aim for?
Maturity Level One is a sensible starting point for many small businesses. Higher levels suit organisations with greater risk or contractual requirements. We’ll help you choose a target that fits.
Does Microsoft 365 Business Premium help?
Yes. Business Premium includes Intune, Defender for Business and Conditional Access, which support several of the strategies. Some controls still need additional configuration or tools.
Can you certify us as Essential Eight compliant?
There’s no formal certification for the Essential Eight. We assess and improve your controls and give you a clear record of your current maturity, which you can use when insurers or customers ask.
Related services
You might also need
Cybersecurity
Practical protection for accounts, devices, email and data, based on Australian Cyber Security Centre guidance.
Device Management
Microsoft Intune for setup, updates, encryption and remote wipe across laptops and phones.
Backup & Recovery
Monitored backups for Microsoft 365, computers and servers, with recovery that is planned and tested.
Ready to get started?
Find out where you stand today. We’ll suggest a practical first step towards the Essential Eight.
Using Microsoft 365? See how the Zenvia 365 Secure Baseline maps to the Essential Eight.