Thousands of small businesses seek cyber security assistance

A fresh spike of over 20,000 struggling small businesses have sought cyber assistance this year alone, urgently needing to protect their livelihood from online criminal activity.

Business Australia has seen a surge in struggling small businesses searching for answers on how to protect themselves from cyber attacks, after receiving an influx of 20,000 applicants searching for assistance so far this year.

Small businesses providing some of the nation’s most essential services have been affected with professional services top of the list, followed by manufacturing, healthcare and retail.

One of the small business owners that was forced to deal with such a cyber attack was South Australia’s Kelly Noble, who was recently held ransom to thousands of dollars.

“It’s devastating,” says Kelly. “We lost access to ten years of work, thousands of hours and more than 21,000 posts promoting SA destinations and businesses.

“I started Adelaide’s first social media agency so I’m no newcomer to this, but they’re getting more sophisticated and believable each day.”

Research shows that business owners are aware of cyber-crime, but they are just not prepared – 90% of attacks are still successful due to human error.

The Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) estimated that a cyber attack was deployed every eight minutes over the past 12 months, and six in ten small businesses have been affected.

Business Australia general manager products Phil Parisis says Australian small businesses are now waking up to the fact that they are easy targets for cybercriminals.

“SMEs account for more than half of all cyber-crime incidents; and they are becoming increasingly aware of this, searching for the best tools to help them protect themselves.

“Cybercriminals are savvy, they are taking on smaller businesses who knowingly have less resources, time and budget to protect themselves, unlike bigger companies with sophisticated security systems.

“Malware, ransomware and scam emails are among the top three, and cyber criminals don’t have to be IT experts to deploy such scams, with TikTok videos showing exactly how this is done within minutes.”

Business Australia offer hope for small businesses saying while it can seem complex, some of the best protection comes in simple and consistent efforts, including training your staff who are your “best firewall.”

Mr Parisis adds: “Policies such as mandating difficult passwords for accounts, including where you store private data; and having a company policy of changing these every 3 to 6 months are simple and effective measures.

“Company policies and protocols such as avoiding public Wi-Fi for business are also essential, as is training employees on what suspicious emails look like, and what to do if you receive one.”

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business australia Cyber Security Kelly Noble