Cybersecurity for Northern Beaches & North Shore small business.
We design and run cybersecurity for 5 to 30-staff businesses across the Northern Beaches and Lower North Shore. The controls that actually make sense for a business your size: what insurers ask for, what the Privacy Act expects, and the everyday layers that stop fake-invoice scams and ransomware. You don’t need ASIO-level controls for a 12-person firm. You also don’t want a cardboard front door.
A security questionnaire has landed. Start here.
Send us the questionnaire before you try to answer it yourself. We separate what is already in place, what needs evidence and what needs fixing. You get a plain-English gap list, then decide whether you want us to implement the controls.
We can help with the technical requirements and the evidence behind them. We do not provide insurance advice.
The layers that stop a small-business breach.
Small layers, kept on, checked before they’re needed. Set up properly, reviewed each quarter so they don’t quietly drift.
Sign-in protection
Multi-factor authentication, the extra login step, on every important account, plus tighter administrator access.
Laptop and device protection
Security that watches for suspicious behaviour, with alerts reviewed by a real person.
Email security
Phishing and fake-invoice protection, with risky attachments opened safely before they reach a laptop.
Backups you can restore from
Tested monthly, stored offsite where ransomware can’t reach them, documented so anyone can find them.
Staff security training
Short, practical briefings and phishing drills so your team knows what a suspicious message looks like.
Safer business networks
Work laptops, payment terminals, cameras and connected devices separated so one problem cannot spread everywhere.
Incident response
A documented plan for ransomware, account takeover or a lost laptop, walked through once in plain English.
Security evidence
A clear record of the controls in place for a broker, customer or tender questionnaire.
Not nation-state hackers. A fake invoice at 4:55 on a Friday.
Most small-business breaches come from the ordinary stuff, and the controls that stop them aren’t exotic. They just need to be on, set up properly, and tested.
The fake invoice
A supplier email with changed bank details and a fresh invoice. Stopped by a phone check, email checks for addresses designed to look real, and the extra sign-in step.
The believable click
A notice one of your team clicks. Stopped by email defences and endpoint protection that watches behaviour.
The laptop on the train
A device left behind. A non-event with encryption, remote wipe and MFA in place.
The compromised vendor
A supplier breached months ago. Contained by network separation and tested, isolated backups.
Onsite across the Northern Beaches & Lower North Shore.
Based in Warriewood. Onsite across the Northern Beaches and Lower North Shore, with remote support when onsite isn’t needed. We focus on doing this corner of Sydney really well.
Cybersecurity, answered.
Do I have to comply with the Essential Eight?
Probably not, in the strict legal sense. The Essential Eight is the Australian Cyber Security Centre’s eight baseline cyber controls. Most small businesses aren’t legally required to have them all in place. But your cyber insurer will likely ask, and any larger client running tender vetting almost certainly will. We help small businesses put a practical baseline in place and document the evidence, without enterprise overhead.
How much does cybersecurity cost?
For most clients, it’s already included. Vaelis runs cybersecurity as part of the managed retainer. Managed support starts at $95 per person per month for Foundation, $150 for Strategic and $279 for Fortified, ex GST. Microsoft 365 is supplied separately. Published managed pricing assumes a 12-month agreement. There’s no separate “security project” with a six-figure price tag. If you’ve never been on a managed retainer before, the tier comparison lays it out.
What if we get hit with ransomware?
Look, prevention is much easier than recovery, and we’ll be straight about that. We work hard on the prevention layers (MFA, email security, endpoint protection, restricted admin rights, and backups stored where ransomware can’t reach them). If you do get hit, the difference between a one-day incident and a two-week catastrophe is whether the backups are properly isolated, tested, and documented. We test ours. The recovery plan exists before it’s needed, not after.
Do I really need cyber insurance?
We do not advise whether your business should buy cyber insurance or which policy is suitable. Ask your broker about that decision. We can help put the technical controls in place and document the evidence an insurer asks for.
Antivirus or managed endpoint security?
Antivirus is basically a list of known bad files. Managed endpoint security watches for suspicious behaviour, even from threats no one has seen before, and a real person reviews the alerts. For most small businesses in 2026, antivirus alone isn’t enough. We use modern endpoint protection that’s actively monitored, not installed and forgotten.
How fast can you respond to an incident?
For managed clients with incident response included, response targets depend on the incident priority and the coverage hours in the service agreement. We confirm those targets before the service starts. If you are not a managed client, call us and we will tell you immediately whether we can help.
Plain language. Straight answers.
Book a 15-minute IT chat.
We’ll talk through where your business is exposed, what proper controls would cost for a business your size, and tell you straight whether we’re the right fit.