About four in 10 small businesses have no confidence in their own cybersecurity measures
Many small businesses in Australia are still vulnerable to cybercrime, according to a report by the Commonwealth Bank (CBA) in partnership with the Council of Small Business Organisations Australia (COSBOA) and Cyber Wardens.
According to the “Building a culture of cyber safety in Australian small businesses” report, about 45% of Australian small businesses think that they are unlikely targets of cybercrime. While 50% said that they believed that cybersecurity should be prioritized, about four in 10 small businesses admitted that they have little to no confidence when it comes to their ability to fend off a cyber threat.
“Some of the most common scams targeting businesses, such as business email compromise and remote access scams, depend on a business having low levels of cybersecurity measures in place and low levels of awareness among staff around how these attacks occur,” said Rebecca Warren, CBA executive general manager for small business banking.
Warren said that because small businesses have less time and fewer resources to invest in cyber protection, they can be easily targeted by cybercriminals.
About 86% of the respondents expressed interest in a program that could help them easily access and simplify cybersecurity. Warren asserted that people, processes, and technology all play a part in dealing with cybercriminals.
“We’re working hard to raise awareness among our customers about cyber threats, scams and fraud. We encourage our customers to stop, check and reject anything that may seem out of the ordinary, and the ability to spot those things is crucial,” said Warren.
“One of the ways we help our customers upskill in this area is through our partnership with COSBOA and the Cyber Wardens program, which is all about upskilling small businesses in cyber safety.”
Luke Achterstraat, CEO of COSBOA, said that the report showed that it was important for small businesses to reject the idea that they are too small to be targeted by cybercriminals. He said that small businesses should invest in both cybersecurity training and tools.
The data from the “Building a culture of cyber safety in Australian small businesses” report was gathered from a survey involving 2,098 small businesses owners and employees as well as 15 in-depth interviews from a wide range of industries.
