There has been a significant increase in the sophistication, frequency, and severity of cybercrime attacks in Australia.
Ironically, as we enter Cybersecurity Awareness Month, Australia has had three of its biggest corporate enterprises fall victim to cybercrime. Optus, as well as Telstra and NAB (on a slightly smaller scale), have not only been impacted by crippling data breaches but also had their cybersecurity measures scrutinised by the Australian Federal Government.
Only last week, the Australian Government has had to update its telco regulations to help protect victims of this significant Optus breach. The regulations will be enacted for 12 months and will slot into the Telecommunication Regulations 2021.
For more than 10,000 Optus customers, the AFP and state and territory police have also set up Operation Guardian to supercharge the protection of those whose identification credentials have been unlawfully released online.
These Optus customers will receive multi-jurisdictional and multi-layered protection from identity crime and financial fraud. The 10,000 individuals, who potentially had 100 points of identification released online, will be prioritised.
The question is, “Could these attacks have been avoided?” And the answer is a resounding “Yes”.
So, what is Cybersecurity Awareness Month all about?
The theme for this year’s Cybersecurity Awareness Month is ‘See Yourself in Cyber’. The global Cybersecurity regulatory bodies promote that cyber security is all about people – the customers.
This awareness month has a goal to help individuals and organisations make smarter decisions and protect themselves online, as threats to technology and confidential data become more commonplace.
Importantly, Cybersecurity Awareness Month aims to remind Australian business owners of all company sizes recognising that cyberattacks are not just a problem for the top end of town.
Australians have lost $295 million to scams in just the first half of 2022, according to data from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s (ACCC) Scamwatch.
Recent Business Australia research found that almost half of Australian small businesses were vulnerable to cyberattacks, with two in five businesses admitting to spending no money on cyber security at all. It also revealed that 90 per cent of attacks were successful because of human error.
Here are four simple things your company can implement immediately, as part of Cybersecurity Awareness Month:
- Enable multi-factor authentication
- Use strong passwords
- Recognise and report phishing
- Update your software
Don’t let your business become yet another victim of cybercrime. We invite you to check your CyberSCORE today by completing this FREE online assessment CLICK HERE.
For more information on Cybersecurity, please call us on 1300 765 014.
Iain Enticott | T4 Group | www.t4group.com.au
