Cyber security is big business, with a cyber attack happening every 6 seconds and 43% of those attacks targeting small to medium businesses. SMEs contribute 55% to our nation’s GDP, and with these attacks estimated to cost $46,000 for small business and $97,000 for medium business, not being cyber secure is expensive.
Luckily Canberra businesses and tertiary researchers are on the case, working together to solve this problem. Yesterday Ionize, along with Cybermerc and the University of Canberra presented Building Cyber Resilience in Business, a dive into the joint Project DFNDR, a Federal Government Grant through the Cooperative Research Centres Projects, aimed to uplift the cyber security of critical infrastructure and Defence SMEs.
The fantastic line up of presenters included Joe Smith, Assistant Secretary, Cyber Security Response Coordination Unit (CSRCU) who outlined the challenges facing SMEs.
Collaborative approaches to SME cyber uplift were highlighted with Andrew Slater from Ionize showcasing the challenges facing SMEs, and the cultural and confidence shift needed to ensure change. Paul Nevin from Cybermerc demonstrated how they were identifying the attack types impacting SMEs, through a series of honeypot businesses. And how they were using this information to feedback into the work Ionize is doing to uplift SMEs. Finally, Abu Barkat ullah spoke about the research the University of Canberra is conducting to identify the knowledge gap in the literature on the types of attacks experience by SMEs. The combination of cyber uplift of SMEs led by Ionize, and informed by research from Cybermerc and University of Canberra, is leading to tangible uplift of the SMEs in Project DFNDR.
A panel session followed facilitated by Andrew Muller, CEO of Ionize, and featuring:
- Joe Smith, Assistant Secretary, Cyber Security Response Coordination Unit (CSRCU)
- Brigadier Alison Creagh (rtd) AM CSC, President Paralympics Australia
- Air Vice Marshall Neil Hart (rtd), Board Member & Defence Industry Advocate
- Greg Harford, CEO, Canberra Business Chamber, Enterprise Professor
- Braden McGrath, University of Canberra
Covered a variety of topics, including the need to simplify cyber uplift for SMEs, programs to help SMEs become aware of the systems they’re connected to and what can be accessed, as well as knowledge of data they have collected and how this can be used by cyber criminals.
The panel expressed the hope that one day cyber will be seen as everyday as work, health and safety, where if you see it, you report it. Several resources to help SMEs start their cyber journey were highlighted, including:
- Cyber Wardens Program: https://cyberwardens.com.au/
- Cyber Resilience Scheme through IDCARE: https://www.idcare.org/latest-news/11-2-million-boost-for-small-business-cyber-resilience-service
- Cyber Health Check (note will no longer be supported past 31 Dec 2024): https://digitaltools.business.gov.au/jfe/form/SV_0dnd9cF15I8LnH8?ref=acsc
- ASD and ACSC Cyber for Small business: https://www.cyber.gov.au/learn-basics/explore-basics/small-business
It was great to see a collaborative approach to an expensive problem right here in Canberra. Canberra Cyber Hub is helping to connect SMEs to cyber uplift resources and opportunities which are relevant to them. If you’re a non-technical SME in ACT, please help us help you by answering our survey: https://forms.office.com/r/XtBLMEK64y