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- Why financial services organisations rely on Managed File Transfer solutions | GSA
< News Why financial services organisations rely on Managed File Transfer solutions 30 June 2025 Few sectors rely on secure data transfers quite as much as the financial services sector. That’s why so many banks, insurers, financiers and those who support them leverage the security and reliability of Managed File Transfer (MFT) solutions. MFT enables organisations to securely and reliably exchange electronic data between systems while complying with regulatory requirements. With MFT solutions, organisations can confidently facilitate internal and external enterprise data transfers, including sensitive, compliance-protected, and high-volume data. This is particularly important in the financial sector, among the most heavily regulated industries in the world. The sheer quantity of sensitive personal information financial institutions handle makes them a near-irresistible target for cybercriminals. MFT solutions play a critical role in helping financial institutions protect this priceless data in transit and at rest in five ways. 1. Secure Data Transfer Financial institutions handle and transfer highly sensitive financial and customer data. This data needs to be secured, especially when in transit. MFT solutions automate file transfer processes, enforcing policies which mitigate the risk of human error and subsequent cyber security incidents resulting from manual processes. Similarly, MFT’s automation capabilities continuously monitor file transfer activities and generate logs and audit trails, as well as process files through automated workflows. By providing system administrators with real-time alerts to critical events such as failed transfers, security breaches and policy violations, MFT solutions empower security teams to identify and respond to security threats as and when they occur. MFT solutions also support security protocols such as HTTPS, SFTP, and FTPS to encrypt data in transit and prevent unauthorised users from accessing or tampering with it. 2. Regulatory Compliance MFT helps enable financial institutions to meet their stringent industry regulatory requirements. This includes international Standards such as the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, and the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). MFT solutions ensure data integrity through checksums and cryptographic hashing algorithms to verify file integrity and ensure that data received matches data sent. Most regulatory standards require that data remains unaltered during transit - MFT makes sure that happens. There’s a productivity bonus, too. Compliance reporting can be highly time-consuming. However, MFT solutions streamline the task, enabling organisations to demonstrate regulatory compliance quickly and efficiently via detailed reports on file transfer activities. 3. Streamline Business Processes Beyond compliance, MFT solutions help streamline business processes in other useful ways. Through workflow orchestration, MFT solutions ensure file transfers follow a predefined sequence and adhere to business rules. Workflows typically involve multiple steps, including file conversion, data transformation, encryption, validation, and delivery to specific destinations. MFT solutions ensure this process runs smoothly and securely. The complex network infrastructures of modern organisations can make file transfers challenging to track and maintain. Through centralised management and control capabilities, MFT solutions enable security teams to define transfer settings, security policies, and user access controls from a single, browser-based interface. Centralised management and control allow for enhanced visibility and governance of file transfers and eradicate the need for security teams to trawl through disparate data siloes to track and secure data transfers. 4. Integrate with Financial Systems Financial institutions typically have very complex IT infrastructures comprising multiple disparate systems, applications, and platforms. The best MFT solutions offer integration capabilities that connect financial systems such as core banking, enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, treasury management systems, and trading platforms. These integrations ensure smooth, secure, and efficient data exchange between systems and facilitate financial operations and decision-making. 5. Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Business continuity and disaster recovery are crucial for financial institutions, where significant downtime can result in huge financial and reputational impacts. Via features such as data replication, failover mechanisms, and backup options, MFT enables organisations to respond to and mitigate the effects of cyber incidents, preventing data loss and ensuring business continuity. The Leading MFT GoAnywhere MFT , independently assessed to be the world’s leading MFT , helps the finance industry securely exchange data, comply with regulatory requirements, streamline business processes, integrate with financial systems, and ensure business continuity. Many financial institutions around the world use GoAnywhere as a foundational file transfer platform, helping them address and resolve their unique data security and compliance challenges. Australia’s and NZ’s Local MFT Experts Generic Systems Australia has decades of experience helping Australian and New Zealand financial organisations leverage the power of the world’s leading MFT solution. Our Migration Service makes the transition even easier for organisations who prefer to use their resources building their businesses rather than improving their IT plumbing. If you’d like a no-cost, no-obligation discussion about how we could help you simply and affordably adopt an advanced MFT solution, please feel welcome to get in touch with us. At Generic Systems Australia, we’re your local experts in Secure Managed File Transfer. Previous Next
- DATASHEET THREAT BRAIN | GSA
GoAnywhere MFT is the world’s leading Managed File Transfer solution. This datasheet summarises its key technical features. Review product datasheet below: RESOURCES HOME
- Privacy Policy | GSA
Generic Systems Australia Privacy Policy Generic Systems Australia (“GSA”, “we” or “us) are committed to protecting the privacy of the BUSINESS information we collect. Our Privacy Policy describes how we collect and use your business information where we are acting as a data controller (i.e. where we decide how and why your information is used). This Policy does not apply to personal information we hold as an employer or data processor when acting on behalf of, and in accordance with the instructions of our customers through our customers’ use of GSA services and the software licenced via us. We may make changes to our Privacy Policy from time to time to take account of changes to our standard practices and procedures or where necessary to comply with new laws and regulations. If we make changes, we will update the “last updated” date in the following paragraph, and the latest version will always be available on our website. This Policy was last updated on 1 June 2024 . We encourage you to check our website from time to time to ensure that you are aware of our current Privacy Policy. Types of personal information we collect The types of personal information we collect will depend on the circumstances in which the information is collected. However, the types of personal information we collect and hold about you may include: identifying information, such as your name; contact information, such as your address, email address and telephone/mobile number; usernames and passwords that you create when registering for an account with us; your organisation and position, where your organisation has business dealing with us; information about your occupation and employer organisation; information about how you use the products or services we provide to you; records of our communications with you, such as telephone, email, SMS, online and in person communications; if you visit our offices, images of you which may be captured on CCTV; other information that you provide us during the course of business; and other information that is capable of identifying you. You are always welcome to provide us with comments, queries and feedback in relation to our products and services. We may record and monitor telephone calls and other communications between you and us for training, quality control and compliance purposes. When you communicate with us, we may collect additional information including the languages you speak, how best to manage communications with you, and information about your dealings with us. If you participate in a survey or competition, or respond to a feedback request, we will collect the information that you provide in doing so, and associated information such as when and how you submitted the response. We collect information about people who are our contractors, suppliers and business partners, or who are employed by our contractors, suppliers and business partners. When you do business with us, we may collect information about you from others, such as from others who do business with you. Our website may contain links to third party websites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of those third-party websites. The privacy practices applicable to those third-party websites may differ substantially from ours, so we advise you to read the privacy policy of those websites before using them. Log data, device and location information When using our products and services (including our website), we will collect information about you and about your use of our products and services, such as which services you use and how you use them. We will collect information such as: user name and password; device information, such as the model and ID of the device you use, operating system, telephone number and mobile phone network; server log information, such as details of how you used the products or service (including our website), IP address, hardware settings, browser type, browser language, the date and time of your use and referral URL; and your browser or your account using cookies (see below for further information about our use of cookies). Our products and services (including our website) may also detect and use your IP address or domain name for internal traffic monitoring and capacity management purposes or to otherwise administer the products and services. The patterns of usage of visitors to the online services may be tracked for the purposes of providing improved service and content based on aggregate or statistical review of user traffic patterns. How we collect personal information We may collect personal information about you in the following ways: when you order products or services from us; when you use our online services and other products and services (including our website); when you visit our sites or offices; when you submit a query or request to us; when you respond to a survey that we run or fill in forms on our website; by tracking your use of our products and services (including our website); from third parties who are entitled to disclose that information to us; from publicly available sources; from online sources (including social media platforms and providers like LinkedIn); suppliers of information products and services (e.g. companies that consolidate data from multiple public sources); or other lawful means. From time to time, we may use third-party online services to collect personal information such as your name and email address or telephone number to administer online competitions, customer feedback and surveys. If you provide us with personal information about someone else, you must only do so if that person has provided their permission for you to do so. Cookies We may also collect personal information about you and your use of our website, products and services using cookies. Amongst other things, we use cookies to monitor and observe your use of our website, products and services, compile aggregate data about that use, and provide you with a more effective service (which may include customising parts of our website based on your preferences and past activities on that website). How we use personal information and our legal basis for using your personal information We use personal information that we collect about you to: verify your identity when you are dealing with us; maintain our relationship with you; determine your eligibility for any of our products or services; answer your queries and requests; enable us to provide you or your organisation with our products and services; use in accordance with any request or instructions from you; make special offers related to our products or services that we think may be of interest to you; keep you informed about our activities and notify you of changes to our products or services; monitor use of our products and services (including our website); provide better products, services and information to our customers and to the community; assess, operate, maintain, upgrade and improve our products and services (including our website); maintain and update our records; carry out market analysis and research; carry out planning and forecasting activities and other internal business processes; manage and resolve any legal or commercial complaints or issues (including debt recovery); meet our obligations and perform our functions under applicable laws and agreements; comply with our legal and regulatory obligations; use as otherwise required or authorised by law or government agency. We may also use your personal information for any other purpose as authorised by you. Our legal basis for the above activities includes: consent; necessary for performance of a contract; necessary for our legitimate interests or the legitimate interests of a third party; necessary for compliance with our legal obligations. . When we have legitimate interests As set out above, in some cases we use your information where it is necessary for our legitimate interests or the legitimate interests of a third party. This includes where the use of your personal information is necessary to: administer our operations and business in an efficient and effective way including undertaking management planning and improving and developing our products and services; for our authorised third-party service providers or others to perform services on our behalf, such as payment processing and data analysis; understand and respond to queries, complaints and feedback; send direct marketing to business contacts; transfer personal information in relation to an actual or proposed sale, transfer or reorganisation of all or part of our business and the acquisition of the business; analyse and optimise our website's content by updating it in accordance with your preferences; ensure network and information security; and enforce our legal rights and manage any dispute and legal claims and take legal or other professional advice. Direct marketing and research If you have given us your consent or if we are otherwise legally entitled to do so, we may use and disclose your personal information for marketing purposes (but we will not sell your personal information to any third party) including contacting you about our products and services (including our website), the products and services of other people, or related special offers from our business partners, that we think may be of interest to you. This information may be sent to you by email, SMS or by other means. We may use your personal information to carry out consumer and market research, compile demographics and perform other research and analysis so that we can develop and implement initiatives to improve our services, improve the design, construction and operation of our products and identify people likely to be interested in our products and services. You can opt-out of receiving marketing communications from us at any time by following the “unsubscribe” link in any communication (or sending a return email with “un subscribe in the Subject line” from us or contacting us using the contact details below. Unsubscribing from marketing communications will not stop service-related communications from us, such as administrative alerts in relation to your account. De-identification We may de-identify information about you so that the information can no longer be used to identify you (anonymisation). We may use and disclose de-identified information in the course of our business (including in any promotional or marketing material). Aggregation We may aggregate information on the use of our products and services (including our website) in such a way that the information can no longer be related to identifiable individuals. We may use and disclose aggregated information in the course of our business (including in any promotional or marketing material). Who we disclose personal information to We may disclose your personal information to: your representatives, advisers and others you have authorised to interact with us on your behalf; controlled entities within our corporate group; our team members and third parties including business partners, consultants, contractors, suppliers, service providers, professional advisers and agents who need the information to assist us with conducting our business activities; prospective purchasers of all or part of our business or shares in our company or a related entity; government agencies or authorities, regulators, law enforcement agencies and other parties where authorised or required by law who ask us to disclose that information and to which we are legally required to disclose your personal information; parties identified at the time of collecting your personal information or as otherwise authorised by you. How we maintain and secure your personal information Security is a priority for us when it comes to your information. We take reasonable steps to ensure that any of your personal information which we hold is accurate, complete and up to date. These steps include promptly updating personal information when we are advised that personal information has changed, checking our contact lists for accuracy, and providing individuals with a simple means to update their personal information. On rare occasions, we also keep hard copy records of this personal information in physical storage facilities. We use a range of physical and technical security processes and procedures to protect the confidentiality and security of the information that we hold, and we update these from time to time. These measures include: implementing physical and technical access and security controls to our physical and electronic databases, such as security procedures for access to our business premises; and technological security procedures including password protection, network firewalls, encryption, intrusion detection and site monitoring where practicable to do so. We also take steps to monitor access to and modification of your information by our team members and contractors, and ensure that our team members and contractors are aware of and properly trained in their obligations for managing your privacy. However, the internet is not a secure environment and no matter what physical and technical security processes and procedures are used we cannot guarantee the security of your personal information. You also play an important role in keeping your information secure by maintaining the confidentiality of any usernames and passwords you use with our products and services (including our website). How long we store your personal information for Personal information is only retained for as long as it is needed for the purpose for which it was collected or as required by law. After the expiry of this period, we will take reasonable steps to make sure its de-identified or destroyed. The criteria used to determine appropriate retention periods for personal information include: the length of time we have an ongoing business relationship with you; the amount, nature and sensitivity of the personal information; whether we have a legal obligation to retain personal information; and whether retaining the personal information is necessary to resolve legal disputes (including the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims). Your rights Depending on where you are located, you may have a right to: request a copy of your personal information. In relation to personal data you have supplied to us, and which is held by us for the purpose of entering into a contract between us or on the basis of your consent, you may be entitled to ask us for a copy of this information in a structured, commonly used and machine readable format so that you can reuse it or share it with other organisations; object to our processing of your data and ask us to restrict the use of your information and to delete it; or correct or rectify any personal information that is out-of-date, incorrect, incomplete or misleading. Such requests should be submitted to us in writing using the contact details below. We may ask you to verify your identity before responding to your request. We will respond to your request in a timely manner and action your request in accordance with applicable data protection laws. You have a right to withdraw your consent where you have previously given us consent to use your personal information (e.g. to receive marketing communications). You can do this by contacting the Privacy Officer using the contact details below or, where the consent relates to marketing, by unsubscribing using the link in any of our communications. Complaints If you have a concern about your privacy or how we have collected or handled your personal information, please contact our Privacy Officer using the contact details below. If you wish to make a complaint, you should forward a written complaint to our Privacy Officer using the contact details below. In the complaint, please include your contact details (such as email address, name, address and telephone number) so we can contact you for further information and clearly describe the complaint. We will respond to your query or complaint within a reasonable time and in accordance with applicable data protection laws. If you are not satisfied with our response, you may contact us to discuss your concerns or may raise a complaint with your local data protection authority through their official channels. In Australia it is the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, in New Zealand it is the Privacy Commissioner. Contact us If you require further information this Privacy Policy or Generic Systems Australia’s management of your personal information please contact us via the following contact details: Privacy Officer Phone: +61 2-9959-2239 Email: info@gensys.com.au
- Accountability Gap Creates Cyber Risk | GSA
< News Accountability Gap Creates Cyber Risk 22 Oct 2024 New research has revealed a concerning gap in accountability for cyber security in many Australian organisations. Security firm Trend Micro polled 100 Australian IT leaders to better understand their attitudes toward Attack Surface Risk Management. They found that most organisations lacked clear leadership buy-in and sufficient resources to measure and mitigate cyber risks. The top three gaps in cyber resilience were: Insufficient staffing for round-the-clock cybersecurity coverage. Inadequate techniques to measure and manage attack surface risks. Not using proven regulatory and other frameworks, such as the NIST Cybersecurity Framework. Only 37% of those surveyed said their organisation had satisfactorily closed each of these exposures. The buck stops… nowhere? Seeking root causes for unclosed gaps in organisational cyber resilience, Trend found that the failures could be traced back to a lack of leadership and accountability at the top of the organisation. More than a third of respondents claimed their leadership didn’t consider cybersecurity to be their responsibility. When asked who does or should hold responsibility for mitigating business risk, respondents gave a variety of answers, indicating a lack of clarity on reporting lines. Nearly a third (32%) said the buck stopped with organisational IT teams. Trend spokesperson, Srujan Talakokkula, said the “lack of clear leadership on cybersecurity, can have a paralysing effect on an organisation, leading to reactive, piecemeal and erratic decision making”. “A lot of that comes down to collaboration and communication across the business,” he said. “Companies need CISOs to clearly communicate in terms of business risk to engage their boards. “Ideally, they should have a single source of truth across the attack surface from which to share updates with the board, continually monitor risk, and automatically remediate issues for enhanced cyber-resilience,” he added. ASIC Cracking Down Trend’s warning comes on the heels of reports that Australia’s corporate regulator is preparing legal actions against some company directors for their lack of governance relating to cyberattacks. ASIC has previously cautioned directors that they need to prepare for hacks, and that sanctions would be applied to those who didn’t. They told The Australian Financial Review that companies wouldn’t get away with paying lip service to cyber defence and must provide evidence they had performed their duties if their organisation was breached by cybercriminals. “With one cyberattack reported every six minutes in Australia, ASIC’s message for directors is to make sure your organisations have appropriate cybersecurity measures in place – this is your responsibility,” a spokesperson said. Not just “an IT Issue” ASIC’s heightened investigations show that cyber security is no longer a fringe issue that can be relegated to technical staff. However, a survey of in-house lawyers by Herbert Smith Freehills recently found many boards are not yet engaged on the topic of cyber resilience. 58% said it would take an actual cyberattack to motivate their organisation to meaningfully improve their data risk management. Owning and managing the risk Rather than letting cyber resilience slip between the cracks in org charts, directors need to put cyber resilience at the top of their companies’ board agendas. Executive management should be requested to report on the measures and investments they’re making to keep cyber thieves at bay. A Managed File Transfer (MFT) solution such as the class-leading GoAnywhere MFT can encrypt data at rest and in transit, complying with the highest data security standards. It manages inbound and outbound file transfers across an organisation, using industry-standard file transfer protocols and encryption to protect data in transit and at rest. Advanced Threat Protection and Adaptive Loss Prevention add a further layer of defence. SFT Threat Protection enables safe collaboration with external parties, preventing malware from entering an organisation, and reducing the risk of employees losing or mishandling sensitive data. Local Experts On Hand Generic Systems Australia are local experts in Managed File Transfer and Advanced Threat Protection. We’ve assisted hundreds of organisations across the Asia-Pacific region to secure their data and keep cybercriminals at bay. If you’d like to discuss how we can help improve your company’s cybersecurity, please feel welcome to contact me , Bradley Copson. I’m always happy to have an obligation-free discussion, explain how simply we can transition you from outdated software and approaches, and offer you a zero-cost Proof of Concept. Previous Next
- Data Tsunami as Black Friday Sales Surge | GSA
< News Data Tsunami as Black Friday Sales Surge 10 Nov 2025 Data transfer traffic has already begun to surge across Australia ahead of this month’s highly-anticipated Black Friday sales event. Now the biggest sales splurge by Australians annually, Black Friday bargains are expected to generate a record $6.8B before they wind up on December 1. Adding to the momentum this year is consumer confusion over the start date (technically, November 28, the Friday after the American Thanksgiving holiday) and savvy retailers who are getting in early offering bargains. Data Transfer Tsunami The surge in sales will in turn create a tsunami of data transfers, as businesses transact, process orders, and share e-commerce files with their supply chain partners. For some businesses – those still using outdated file sharing technologies like email and FTP – this will be a hugely stressful period. They’ll need to be hyper vigilant for lost orders, failed file transfers, and man-in-the-middle hack attacks. Other businesses - those taking advantage of modern, automated file transfer technologies such as Managed File Transfer (MFT) - will weather the data tsunami with ease. MFT will comprehensively address the risks and challenges of moving information, both within their organisation, and with external suppliers, partners and customers. Through centralised control, encryption, automation and auditing, MFT will provide the security, efficiency, reliability and scalability that FTP and email never could. “Cyber Trust” Consumer trust in retailers’ e-commerce transactions will be an even more important factor in eventual sales numbers this year. High profile hacks of consumer data over the past 12 months are leading consumers to question the security of a company’s systems before handing over credit card and other information. Companies will need to be able to provide reassurance – and proof – that transactions and personal data will be secure. Companies with MFT will be better able to provide that reassurance, keeping a clean history as responsible guardians of customer data. Surf the Tsunami At Generic Systems Australia , we’re Australia’s and New Zealand’s experts in deploying MFT solutions. We routinely help retailers and their supply chain partners effortlessly stay on top of their file transfers, seamlessly scaling up to meet the heightened demands of sales surges like Black Friday, Boxing Day and the like. If you’d like to discuss how we can help you, please feel welcome to contact me . I’m always happy to have an obligation-free chat and explain how simply we can level up your file transfer approaches. I can even arrange a simple, zero-cost Proof of Concept. Previous Next
- Don’t Let Your Data Be Lost in Cyber Space | GSA
< News Don’t Let Your Data Be Lost in Cyber Space 2 Sept 2025 In this digital age, our businesses depend on the seamless movement of files to operate efficiently. From financial reports and customer data to product designs and legal documents, files are the lifeblood of a modern organisation. However, despite sophisticated networks and cloud-based tools, files still vanish into cyberspace, leading to business disruption, unhappy customers and confused suppliers. The reasons files go missing are often quite mundane. Perhaps they were intercepted, having been sent via unsecured email. Perhaps their transfer failed silently and unknown, due to a network glitch. Maybe an employee uploaded the document to the wrong folder, or worse, to the wrong server. Legacy systems, manual processes, and ad hoc workarounds compound the problem. Without proper oversight, files can be lost, duplicated, corrupted, or exposed—leading to compliance violations, reputational damage, and costly delays. Avoid Data Danger, Will Robinson! This is where Managed File Transfer (MFT) technology steps in—not as a patchwork fix, but as a strategic upgrade. MFT provides a secure, automated framework for transferring files across internal systems, external partners, and cloud environments. It replaces risky methods like FTP, email attachments, and consumer-grade sharing apps with encrypted, policy-driven workflows. Security and Reliability MFT platforms use robust encryption protocols (like SFTP, FTPS, HTTPS) to protect data in transit. Authentication mechanisms ensure only authorised users can initiate or receive transfers. Files are tracked from origin to destination, with detailed logs and alerts for failures or anomalies. This means no more blind spots—every movement is visible, verifiable, and recoverable. Compliance and Control For industries bound by regulations (finance, healthcare, government), MFT offers built-in compliance features. Audit trails, role-based access, and data retention policies help meet demanding standards like GDPR, HIPAA, and ISO 27001. Administrators can monitor activity in real time, enforce file naming conventions, and prevent unauthorised access or data leakage. Automation and Integration Beyond security, MFT streamlines operations. It integrates with ERP systems, cloud storage, and APIs to automate recurring transfers—like nightly batch jobs or supplier updates. This reduces human error and frees up IT teams to focus on higher-value tasks. Some platforms even support conditional logic, retry mechanisms, and load balancing to ensure mission-critical transfers never fail silently. Scalability and Visibility As organisations grow, so does the complexity of their data flows. MFT scales effortlessly, handling thousands of transfers per day across geographies and departments. Dashboards provide a centralised view of all activity, making it easy to spot bottlenecks, troubleshoot issues, and optimise performance. In short, Managed File Transfer transforms chaotic, error-prone file sharing into a disciplined, auditable process. It’s not just a tool—it’s a safeguard against digital entropy. For organisations juggling sensitive data across borders and platforms, MFT ensures that files don’t just travel—they arrive, intact and accounted for. From “Lost in Space” to “Found, Locally” At Generic Systems Australia we’re Australia’s and NZ’s experts in deploying Managed File Transfer solutions. We’ve assisted businesses of all sizes to protect their customer data and secure their file transfers, while keeping their operations running smoothly. If you’d like to discuss how we can help you, please feel welcome to contact me . I’m always happy to have an obligation-free chat and explain how simply we can help you maintain your customers’ trust. Previous Next
- The Hardest Question About Your Organisation’s Cybersecurity | GSA
< News The Hardest Question About Your Organisation’s Cybersecurity 18 June 2024 It’s the question every IT manager dreads. “How did you let this happen?!” And the worst time to be asked it is after your organisation has become the latest victim of a cybercrime. Here’s how to avoid it ever being asked… Anxiety Rising Boardroom anxiety about the protection of customer data has been growing across the country. High profile incidents such as the ransomware attacks on Optus and Medibank Private have sensitised the senior leaders to both the risks and costs of negligence. CEOs and CIOs are being quizzed: “Is our organisation doing enough to avoid becoming the next negative headline?” Incidents Rising The most recent report by the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD) showed that cyber attacks are happening far more frequently. On average, a new report is received every six minutes - a 23% increase year on year. One in 5 critical vulnerabilities was exploited within a mere 48 hours. The ASD warned that cybercriminals are constantly evolving their operations against Australian organisations, fuelled by a global industry of access brokers and extortionists. Thousands of businesses failed to fulfil their obligation to protect sensitive customer data, and millions of Australians had their information leaked on the dark web. Costs Rising Also troubling the C-suite is that the costs to businesses of “cyber negligence” are escalating rapidly. The ASD says the cost of cybercrime to businesses has increased by 14% compared to the previous financial year. However, direct financial losses are just one part of the broader costs of “cyber negligence”. For example, Medibank Private’s share price plunged more than 20% in the weeks following its loss of the personal information of 9.7m Australians. The company is facing class actions by both shareholders and consumers alleging breaches of the company’s duty of care to protect consumer information, manage risks and make timely disclosures to shareholders. Optus Communications saw its customer growth halved after its systems were breached. A class action by Slater and Gordon alleges that “Optus failed to protect, or take reasonable steps to protect, the personal information of its current and former customers”. In response to rising consumer concerns, Australia’s Attorney-General, Mark Dreyfus, has flagged “better laws to regulate how companies manage the huge amount of data they collect, and bigger penalties to incentivise better behaviour”. Reflecting the growing risks and costs of cybercrime, cyber insurance premiums are also rising. Email: the Critical Vulnerability According to the Australian Signals Directorate, Business Email Compromise (BEC) remains a key vector for conducting cybercrime. A form of email fraud, cybercriminals target organisations and scam them out of money or goods by tricking employees into revealing important business information, often by impersonating trusted senders. BEC can also involve a cybercriminal gaining access to a business email address and then sending out spear phishing emails to clients and customers for information or payment. IT Managers Stepping Up Responding to these trends, responsible IT Managers are increasingly focussed on preventing their organisations from becoming the next headline victim of cybercrime. In a survey conducted recently by Tenable, IT leaders said that, while the ability to respond to and recover from cyber incidents remained essential, they’re now focusing more on preventing such incidents altogether. The Best Answer to the Hard Question A proactive and layered strategy for storing, transferring and securing data is essential for keeping cyberthieves at bay. Secure managed file transfer, secure content engines, secure digital rights management, and employee education combine to create the optimal way to prevent data theft and cyber breaches. At Generic Systems Australia , we recommend the class-leading secure managed file transfer solution, GoAnywhere MFT , to keep data safe - at rest, and in transit. Coupled with our Advanced Threat Protection Bundle , we enable organisations to safely collaborate without exposing their systems to the risk of malware gaining a foothold within their IT systems. Seamless integration between GoAnywhere MFT and the Clearswift Secure ICAP Gateway provides anti-virus and malware protection, deep inspection of the content inspection, adaptive data loss prevention, and media type protection. Together, they provide three key defences. 1. Prevents file containing malware from being shared. GoAnywhere provides easy anti-virus protection through the Secure ICAP Gateway to scan all inbound file transfers. It can also detect and automatically strip out active content like embedded malware, triggered executables, scripts, or macros used to extract or hold sensitive data hostage. Advanced Threat Protection “sanitises” files and emails without delaying delivery, guarding against today's leading malware and ransomware (e.g. CryptoLocker, CryptoWall, TorrentLocker, Dridex Dyre, BlackEnergy, etc.) and tomorrow's even more sophisticated threat variants. 2. Blocks sensitive data from being shared. Files with Personal Identifiable Information or other sensitive data can be prevented from being transferred. GoAnywhere Threat Protection can inspect file contents, then stop and block files from being shared, based on policies you define. 3. Redacts sensitive information from files before transfer. Advanced Threat Protection can ensure sensitive data is neither transmitted nor received, detecting and/or removing geotags, document properties, email addresses, and other metadata from documents, and replacing sensitive text with asterisks. Using Optical Character Recognition, it can even remove text contained in scanned images. No question: 'Prevention' is Better than 'Cure' Cyber attacks are inevitable . However, falling victim to them is optional . If you’d like to learn more, and be able to comprehensively reassure your Board about the steps you’ve taken to protect your business’s data, reputation and bottom line, please feel welcome to get in touch with me, Bradley Copson ( mailto:bradley@gensys.com.au ). I’m always happy to have an obligation-free discussion, and even offer you a zero-cost Proof of Concept. At Generic Systems Australia , we’re your Local Experts in Secure Managed File Transfer. Previous Next
- Increased 3rd Party Data Sharing Increases Data Theft Risk | GSA
< News Increased 3rd Party Data Sharing Increases Data Theft Risk 29 July 2024 The inability to track, control and report sensitive content shared with external contacts is a substantial risk for modern enterprises. And that risk appears to be rapidly escalating, as two-thirds of organisations each exchange sensitive data with more than a thousand third parties. These are some of the key findings from a survey conducted recently by Kiteworks, a US-based data security firm. Sensitive Content Kiteworks defines “sensitive content” as the wide variety of content commonly targeted by cyberthieves. It’s content which poses a significant threat to an organisation once bad actors get their hands on it. Sensitive content includes the data of customers and employees — personally identifiable information (PII), protected health information (PHI), and payment card industry (PCI) data. It also includes an organisation’s intellectual property (IP), legal communications and documents, financials, mergers and acquisitions data, and other types of private and confidential information. Kiteworks says that the key problem with sensitive content is how it does not stay in one place. During daily operations, it is shared not only among employees, but also with partners, suppliers, contractors, legal counsel, accountants, auditors, and more. More Comms Channels = More Risk Efficient organisations are always searching for more “frictionless” ways to move their data. However, as their number of communication channels with external parties grows, so too does the potential opportunity for bad actors to intercept and steal the data. That escalating risk is borne out by Kiteworks’ analysis. They found that organisations with more than seven communication tools experience ten plus data breaches, which is 3.5 times higher than the aggregate of those experiencing one to ten breaches. File Size Limits Exacerbate Risks The file size limits imposed by many content communication tools are a key contributor to the risks of moving data. Frustrated employees simply trying to do their jobs will sometimes use insecure and unauthorised consumer-grade file sharing services to bypass organisational limitations. Even for those employees who always follow the rules, the resulting workarounds can trigger significant waste of staff time. More than 30% of organisations surveyed by Kiteworks needed to implement workarounds due to file size limits for email, file sharing, and managed file transfers over 50 times per month. Around 10% said they must do so over 100 times per month. IT Teams Stepping Up Switched-on IT teams are increasingly focused on addressing their organisation’s need to protect sensitive content. A popular solution is to unify communication tools and channels to secure sensitive content communications. Their primary drivers for change may vary – from protecting intellectual property and corporate secrets to mitigating litigation, avoiding regulatory violations and protecting their brand reputation – but the way they are addressing these risks is similar… Control Through Consolidation Consolidating communication tools onto a single platform needs to be a foundational element of an organisation’s cyber defences. By reducing the number of disparate tools used for content communication, they can significantly lower the risk of data breaches and improve operational efficiency. Kiteworks’ survey shows that organisations with fewer communication tools experience fewer breaches. Tool consolidation significantly enhances security. MFT Consolidates, Automates, Improves Efficiency Managed File Transfer (MFT) software is a powerful technology which comprehensively addresses the risks and challenges of moving information within an organisation, and with external suppliers, partners and customers. MFT simplifies the complexities of data transfer by offering centralised control, encryption, and auditing capabilities. A significant advance on traditional approaches, MFT provides enhanced security protocols, ensuring data privacy during transmission and storage. And it does so via a user-friendly interface, which is easy to use for even non-technical employees. In addition to consolidating the plethora of disparate data exchange channels employees create during an organisation’s evolution, MFT technology provides an array of organisation advantages: Security: MFT employs robust encryption algorithms, reducing the risk of data breaches during transit. Features like Access Controls, and Multi-factor Authentication, safeguard sensitive information from unauthorised access. No Size Limit Straitjacket: The best MFT solutions enable organisations to set file size limits appropriate to their teams’ needs. They also offer “persistence protocols” which ensure large files are fully transmitted to their intended destinations. Efficiency: MFT automates repetitive tasks. This not only reduces human error, it saves significant staff time. Through scheduling of file transfers, monitoring of progress, and automatic error-handling, it enables a significant boost to operational efficiency. Compliance: In industries with strict regulatory requirements, MFT helps companies meet compliance standards (e.g. HIPAA and GDPR) by automatically maintaining detailed logs and audit trails. Scalability: Through its ability to handle large file transfers and an ever-growing number of users, MFT is able to grow in sync with an organisation's needs, while maintaining superior performance. Collaboration: In addition to improving business processes within an organisation, MFT facilitates seamless collaboration with external partners, suppliers, and customers, fostering strong relationships built on shared trust and reliability. The Best MFT At Generic Systems Australia, we recommend the industry’s class-leading MFT solution, GoAnywhere MFT . GoAnywhere is consistently declared by independent experts to be the best-in-class MFT solution. Besides achieving the highest overall score in the MFT category, GoAnywhere is also ranked highest for Vendor Capability Satisfaction, including the key dimensions of: • Business Value Created • Breadth of Features • Quality of Features • Product Strategy and Rate of Improvement • Useability and Intuitiveness • Vendor Support • Ease of Data Integration • Ease of Customisation • Availability and Quality of Training, and • Ease of Implementation GoAnywhere MFT's combination of versatility, security, ease of use, and budget-friendliness has propelled it to the top of the MFT market. Gain Expert Local Advice At Generic Systems Australia , we’re Australia’s and the Asia-Pacific region’s experts on MFT in general, and GoAnywhere in particular. If you’d like an obligation-free discussion about how we could help you keep your organisation’s sensitive content safe, please feel welcome to get in touch . We’re always happy to have an obligation-free discussion, and even offer a free Proof of Concept. Previous Next
- Why has Managed File Transfer become a “Must-Have”? | GSA
< News Why has Managed File Transfer become a “Must-Have”? 29 Apr 2025 The rise and rise of interconnected business and cloud data storage has made it more challenging than ever for organisations to secure their electronic perimeters. It’s no longer enough to monitor on-premise systems and internal networks. For the value of data to be unlocked, it must be active. However, the very act of transmitting your valued data exposes it to increased risk of interception, hijack and exploitation. Any electronic exchange with business partners, suppliers and customers is at risk. Storing and retrieving data with cloud providers further exacerbates that risk. Cyber Crime Wave In 2024, cybercrime cost Australian organisations an average $4.2M per breach, a significant increase from previous years. Small businesses reported an average cost of $49,600 per cybercrime incident, while individuals reported losses averaging $30,700. The Australian Signals Directorate (ASD) received over 87,000 cybercrime reports during the year. It’s generally easier to build cyber security defences around static, on-premise data. However, that leaves the majority of business data interactions vulnerable. This is where a Managed File Transfer (MFT) solution – enabling more secure and more efficient data sharing – plays a crucial role. MFT in the Defensive Line MFT protects the movement of messages, data and files inside and outside of an organisation. And as a bonus, it also makes that movement more efficient and reliable, outpacing and outperforming applications such as file transfer protocol (FTP), hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP), and secure file transfer protocol (SFTP). When you consider the advantages MFT offers modern, data-driven enterprises, it’s unsurprising that its popularity continues to surge past its 2024 estimated global value of $12.6B. Encryption : MFT employs robust encryption algorithms, reducing the risk of data breaches during transit. Features like Access Controls, and Multi-factor Authentication, safeguard sensitive information from unauthorised access. Efficiency : MFT automates repetitive tasks. This not only reduces human error, it saves significant employee time. Through scheduling of file transfers, monitoring of progress, and automatic error-handling, it enables a significant boost to operational efficiency. Compliance : In industries with strict regulatory requirements, MFT helps companies meet compliance standards (e.g. HIPAA and GDPR) by automatically maintaining detailed logs and audit trails. Scalability : Through its ability to handle large file transfers and an ever-growing number of users, MFT is able to grow in sync with an organisation's needs, while maintaining superior performance. Collaboration : In addition to improving business processes within an organisation, MFT facilitates seamless collaboration with external partners, suppliers, and customers, fostering strong relationships built on shared trust and reliability. Local MFT Experts At Generic Systems Australia we have decades of experience installing and customising MFT solutions to suit the needs of Australian and New Zealand businesses. If you’d like to explore how MFT can boost your organisation’s security and efficiency, please feel welcome to get in touch . I’m always ready to have a broad-ranging, no-obligation discussion. If you’d like, I can even organise a quick proof-of-concept to demonstrate how MFT can be easily tailored to your organisation’s specific needs. At Generic Systems Australia, we’re your local experts in Managed File Transfer. Previous Next
- ‘Cyber Trust’ needed to tap EOFY splurge | GSA
< News ‘Cyber Trust’ needed to tap EOFY splurge 25 June 2024 Australians are shifting their End of Financial Year (EOFY) shopping focus to online deals and security, as they spend an estimated $10.1B in EOFY sales this month. New research from PayPal indicates that 38% of Australians plan to participate in EOFY sales this year. 42% of those say they will primarily shop online. Despite the growing trend of online shopping, almost all Australians (93%) are concerned about online security. Fake retail sites have begun to use generative AI to appear more convincing, and 40% of Australians are more concerned about their online security now than they were a year ago. Implications for Retailers Growing customer anxiety about e-commerce makes it more important than ever before for companies to establish trust in the security of their systems. With customers beginning to question the security of a company’s systems before handing over credit card and other information, companies need to be able to provide reassurance - and proof – that their transactions and personal data will indeed be secure. In fact, actively promoting the security of company systems may even become a point of positive marketing differentiation for companies that get ahead of these concerns. Earning Customer Trust A proactive and layered strategy for storing, transferring and securing data is essential for storing customer data, and effecting online transactions. Secure managed file transfer, secure content engines, secure digital rights management, and employee education combine to create the optimal way to prevent data theft and cyber breaches. At Generic Systems Australia , we recommend the class-leading secure managed file transfer solution, GoAnywhere MFT , to keep data safe - at rest, and in transit. Coupled with our Advanced Threat Protection Bundle , we enable organisations to safely store and transmit only the customer data they intend, without exposing their systems to malware. If you’d like to learn more about how to earn potential customers’ trust in your data handling practices through layered cyber defences, please feel welcome to get in touch with me, Bradley Copson ( mailto:bradley@gensys.com.au ). I’m always happy to have an obligation-free discussion, and even offer you a zero-cost Proof of Concept. At Generic Systems Australia , we’re your Local Experts in Secure Managed File Transfer. Previous Next
