A Day in the Life of a Cyber Attack on an Australian Small Business
It Started with a Single Click: How a Brisbane Accounting Firm Lost $120,000 in Hours
When a small, family-run accounting firm in Brisbane received what appeared to be a routine email from the Australian Taxation Office, no one thought twice. The branding looked official. The tone was familiar. The request seemed urgent but reasonable.
By mid-morning, the firm’s trust account had been drained of $120,000.
Like many small businesses, this 10-person firm had no formal cybersecurity training, no multi-factor authentication, and no incident response plan. Within hours, the attackers had not only compromised sensitive financial systems but also shaken client trust—costing the firm more than just money.
This wasn’t a sophisticated hack on a major corporation. It was a textbook phishing attack on a small business that thought it was too small to be targeted.
Business Profile:
- Name: (Anonymised) – Family-owned accounting firm.
- Location: Brisbane, QLD
- Employees: 10
- Annual Revenue: $1.5 million
- IT Setup: Basic antivirus, cloud-based accounting software, no formal cybersecurity training for staff
08:30 AM – The Phishing Email
The office manager receives an email that appears to be from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), requesting urgent updates to their business registration. The email includes a link to a website that looks identical to the ATO's official site. Trusting the source, the manager clicks the link and enters login credentials.
09:00 AM – Unauthorised Access
The attacker gains access to the firm's cloud-based accounting software using the stolen credentials. They begin transferring funds from the firm's trust account to an overseas bank account.
10:30 AM – Discovery
The firm's accountant notices discrepancies in the trust account and alerts the office manager. Upon reviewing the recent transactions, they realise unauthorised transfers have occurred. The firm immediately contacts their bank and the ATO.
11:00 AM – Incident Response
The firm engages a cybersecurity firm to assess the breach. They discover that the attacker had been monitoring the firm's email communications for several weeks, gathering information to execute the attack.
12:00 PM – Financial Impact
- Stolen Funds: $120,000
- Investigation Costs: $15,000
- Reputation Damage: Loss of several clients
- Legal and Compliance Costs: Ongoing
Lessons Learned from this Attack:
- Lack of Cybersecurity Training: Staff were not trained to recognise phishing attempts, which could have prevented this particular attack.
- No Strong Mail Security: Malicious links can be detected and disabled by a strong security system, helping to prevent phishing attacks like this one.
- Weak Authentication: Single-factor authentication was used for sensitive accounts.
- No Incident Response Plan: The firm had no predefined procedures for handling cyber incidents.
This incident highlights the vulnerabilities small businesses face and underscores the importance of proactive cybersecurity measures. Implementing multi-factor authentication, conducting regular staff training, and having an incident response plan can significantly reduce the risk of such attacks, as can a strong email security solution.