Essential Eight is a baseline security strategy recommended by the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD) to protect businesses against cyber threats. It is composed of eight strategies:

1. Application Whitelisting – prevents execution of malicious programs from automatically running by having a set of pre-approved apps.
2. Application Patching – helps mitigate vulnerabilities on apps that need patching.
3. Operating System Patching – allow you to mitigate vulnerabilities on operating systems that need patching.
4. Restriction of Administrative Privileges – review admin privileges on specific IT systems and provide necessary permissions only for those who need them.
5. Configuration of Office Macros – review Office macros and current policies to prevent untrusted macros with malware from automatically running.
6. Application Hardening – ensure that unauthorised applications such as Adobe Flash Player or Java applets will not be utilised in browsers that have been known to deliver malware. 
7. Multi-Factor Authentication – use a second factor such as a physical token or mobile device to authenticate user access.
8. Review Backups – ensure regular backups of data so you can get it back in case you suffer a cyber-attack.

These eight strategies, when implemented correctly, can greatly assist in defending against common cyber threats. 

Understand further what is Essential Eight, why it's important and its maturity levels in this video.

Other resources you might be interested in: 

• Essential Eight Gap Assessment
• Our Essential Eight Consulting Services
• On-Demand Webinar: Essential Eight Cybersecurity from the Server Room to the Boardroom