There has been an increase in malicious cyberattacks targeting Australian businesses over the last few years. As a result, these businesses are being advised to raise their standards when protecting customer information.
In a new report published by the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ASCS), it has been found sophisticated state and criminal actors are striking more frequently, with a cyber crime being reported every seven minutes, according to the paper.
In the wake of the "concerning" report that was released by the Department of Homeland Security, Cyber Security Minister Clare O'Neil put businesses on notice that they will need to handle the cyber data of their customers more securely and effectively.
During the past financial year, the Cyber Security Agency received over 76,000 reports from the community about cyber-related issues, which was a 13 percent increase from last year's number.
The number of publicly reported security holes also increased by 25 percent over the previous year.
An estimated $100 million has been lost by Australians with compromised email systems. This amounts to an average of $64,000 in compromised emails reported to the authorities, each time.
Fraudulent emails are sent by scammers who send emails purporting to be businesses to solicit payments. For example, a real estate agent will ask for a deposit on a property.
Richard Marles, the Deputy Prime Minister, has said that everyone needs to be more alert to possible threats.
"In comparison to cyberspace, the environment in which we live is much more challenging. Although there are many pickpockets around, this appears to be happening at an unprecedented level," he told ABC radio station.
Keeping yourself safe does not have to be complicated. There are several simple steps anyone can take to do so.
The measures include not clicking on links in text messages or emails that are not marked as such, ensuring that their software is up-to-date, and taking additional care when dealing with their data.
In a recent interview, Marles said the government was investing heavily in the cybersecurity sector. In response to this, the company updated its systems and considered a public education campaign.
There has been a study that suggests small businesses lose on average $39,000 as a result of cyberattacks, and the figure reaches $88,000 for medium-sized businesses as a result of these attacks.
It has been reported that the average loss was $112,000 in Western Australia and $26,000 in the Northern Territory, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
As per the NSW government, the average loss was almost $70,000, and the losses in all other states and territories were between $50,000 and $50,000 on average.
Cyber incidents affect about a third of the total number of computers in the state and Commonwealth of Australia, with the Commonwealth and state governments at risk.
As a result, the next big target was healthcare systems. This is mainly because cybercriminals are targeting vulnerable businesses that are more likely to pay a ransom when they want their data back. Therefore, health systems are the ideal next target.
Abigail Bradshaw, the agency's director, said that cyber threats are continually evolving and that they are more frequently targeting the country's critical infrastructure, which is becoming more widespread.
As a result of the program, more than 24 million malicious domain requests have been blocked. In addition, 29,000 attacks on Australian services have been taken down. Furthermore, 185 ransomware movements have been stopped, which represents an increase of 75 percent.
Besides this, the agency was also involved in five successful operations, which included the shutdown of online criminal marketplaces as well as foreign scam networks.
How to protect yourself
As part of its recommendations, the ACSC urges individuals to take steps to protect themselves from cybercrime.
- Information that is critical to the organization should be protected by updated devices
- Turn on multi-factor authentication to make the system more secure
- Make sure that you regularly back up your devices
- Passphrases should be set up to ensure their security
- You should report scams and keep an eye out for threats if you come across them
