From selling dried seed pods at five to starting a business at 21, Tionne Young has always been a self-starter. And she’s now helping other young people reach their potential through the Brisbane-based business she co-founded.
Key Takeaways:
- The emails felt personal and believable. One red flag was the overly formal tone, that's not how we usually communicate.
- Cyber security can sound scary and overwhelming. But break it down into simple, bite‑sized steps
- The ASE Group believes strongly that cyber safety is essential, not optional, for small organisations.
The ASE Group delivers life skills education and entrepreneurship and employment programs across Australia, empowering people of all ages to turn challenges into opportunities.
“Starting a business can feel like trying to go through a maze blindfolded,” she recently told Smart Company.
She says their participation in the Cyber Wardens program helped them realise that cyber security doesn’t need to be the domain of IT experts alone.
“We learned that small business cyber safety doesn’t always need to be complicated ‑ and it’s not just for IT teams!” she says.
“Cyber security can sound scary and overwhelming. But breaking it down into simple, bite‑sized steps like setting up strong passwords, enabling multi‑factor authentication and installing software updates makes it achievable for anyone.”
Now, when ASE staff members sense something is off – an email that feels slightly off, a request that doesn’t match their usual style – they don’t ignore it.
“It’s always a bit unsettling, but you need to turn that concern into action. Because of the types of programs we run, we handle sensitive information, so cyber security is a priority for our team. We also review who has access to what, and keep practical safeguards like multi‑factor authentication in place. Cyber threats are getting more sophisticated so we treat every suspicious incident seriously and use it as a learning opportunity.”
The ASE Group believes strongly that cyber safety is essential, not optional, for small organisations.
“Cyber Wardens research shows us that more than 80 per cent of small businesses in Australia have experienced a cyber threat, yet almost half still haven’t set up something as basic as multi‑factor authentication. For us, keeping our systems safe protects the sensitive data of our staff, our partners and the thousands of young people we work with every year. It also helps us build trust with funders and ensures we can keep operating without interruptions,” says Tionne.
For more advice on shoring up your cyber security, enrol in one of our free courses at cyberwardens.com.au/courses/.
