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THE PROTECTION ISSUE
CYBERCRIME:
UNMASKED
EACH YEAR, 60% OF SMALL BUSINESSES WILL BE THE VICTIM OF AN
ATTACK FROM A CYBER CRIMINAL. OF THAT NUMBER, 40% WILL GO
OUT OF BUSINESS AS A RESULT. IF YOU’VE NOT THOUGHT SERIOUSLY
ABOUT CYBERSECURITY BEFORE, YOU’D BETTER START NOW.
ello friend! I have some bad news for
you. Your files have been encrypted!”
If you or your business has ever
been on the receiving end of a message like this,
you’ve probably felt a number of emotions and
had many thoughts.
First, your blood runs cold. Then you think
it’s got to be a hoax, and then you check your
files to find that, yes, they’re encrypted. Blind
panic ensues, and you feel sick in the pit of
your stomach.
If you’ve been in this situation, you’re
definitely not alone – cybercrime is a
fast-growing, complex problem that costs
the Australian economy more than $1bn
annually, and affects more than 500,000
small businesses.
At its most basic level, cybercrime involves
using computers and the internet to break the
law, and common occurrences include identity
theft and fraud, online scams and attacks on
your computer systems or websites.
Regardless of the form of the attack, one thing
is certain: Australians are losing huge sums of
money to cyber criminals.
In 2018, almost half a billion dollars ($489 m)
“H
in losses was reported to the ACCC, the
Australian Cybercrime Online Reporting
Network (ACORN), and other state and
territory government agencies.
Worryingly, these losses are up 44% on the
$340m reported in 2017, hammering home the
ever-growing impact of scams on the Australian
public – and business community.
SMALL BUSINESS: THE BIGGEST
OPPORTUNITY FOR CYBER CRIMS
Online security is a major concern for most
Australian organisations, but there’s a widely
held misconception that cybercrime only affects
big companies.
In reality, small businesses represent
big opportunities for hackers, as these
businesses typically have lower budgets
and less resources they can invest into their
online security.
According to the 2018 Verizon Data Breach
Investigations Report, 58% of cyber attack
victims worldwide were small businesses.
Here in Australia, small businesses are aware
of the threat of cybercrime yet remain largely
unprotected and unprepared.
A recent survey found that more than
half (56%) of Australian small businesses either
don’t have cybercrime protection or assume it is
covered through their business insurance.
“Roughly, 60% of small businesses every year
will experience a cyber attack,” says Roger
Smith, cybersecurity industry veteran and
author of Cybercrime, a Clear and Present
Danger, who, alongside running his own ICT
consultancy, delivers the Australian Defence
Force Academy’s compulsory undergraduate
course in cybersecurity.
He details the importance of small businesses
waking up to this ‘clear and present danger’ or
risk having to shut their doors.
“We’ve worked with clients who have
been devastated – they’ve lost their entire
database and not had backup, which takes a
thriving business to one that is severely
struggling,” he says.
After a cybercrime event, businesses will
often have to suspend their operations and many
never restart, with the lost revenue due to
downtime, the cash spent attempting to
remediate the breach and the reputational
damage creating an insurmountable challenge.
AUG – SEPT 2019 GEMCELL.COM.AU
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