The release of the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD) 2022 – 2023 report on cyber threats has revealed the cost of cybercrime to Australian businesses is rising.
In the last financial year, the average cost of cybercrime to small businesses was around $46,000, up 14% from the previous year.
Medium-sized businesses impacted were expected to lose an average of $97,200, while large businesses fell in between at an average of loss of $71,600.
The report, which presents a clear picture of the cyber threat landscape we face in Australia highlighted that email compromise and online banking fraud were among the top targets by cybercriminals.
According to ASD, responses to over 1,100 cybersecurity incidents were undertaken during the period, with more than 94,000 reports made to law enforcement through ReportCyber.
Interestingly, results of the The South Australian Business Chamber, William Buck Survey of Business Expectations released this week, found a reduction in concern about cybersecurity by business owners, at a time when rising costs, declining profits and skills shortages top the list of worries.
According to findings, 15.2% of businesses were concerned about cyber security, a fall from 23% in the June quarter, despite large-scale cyber-attacks on Australian companies reported through the media during the period.
As a minimum, the South Australian Business Chamber recommends organisations gain a greater awareness of the impacts of cyber threats and implement risk mitigation strategies to prevent an attack.
One of the best frameworks for mitigating cyber threats is called the‘Essential Eight’ — a set of practical guidelines developed by the Australian Cyber Security Centre.
