Australian cyber security issues are continuing to grow at an alarming rate. With 8 out of 10 Australians accessing the internet daily, the risk of online crime, stolen information and exploitation has grown.
Estimated at $1 billion annually, the national price of cybercrime is steep, placing increasing importance on the Australian government to develop a vigorous IT security sector which allows individuals and companies to safely conduct business online.
A survey from BeyondTrust found that Australian organisations are more concerned about cyberattacks than before the COVID-19 pandemic.
82% of respondents polled at the recent AusCERT conference on the Gold Coast and the Australian Information Security Association Cybercon Connect in Sydney have heightened security concerns due to remote working over the public internet.
Respondents recognise it is significantly more challenging to protect staff and resources when they are operating outside the firewall and connecting over public internet, as it is difficult to monitor what’s being accessed or downloaded.
In a recent study, 89% of respondents said they were facing security challenges with remote workforces. Additionally, 82% of respondents mentioned implementing a Zero Trust strategy as an effective way to protect both remote users and IT resources.
The number of cyber security issues in Australia is continuing to grow according to a recent survey that found three quarters of government organisations are aligning with the Federal Governments Essential Eight Security Controls.
Interestingly, 64% of private sector organisations are also looking to adopt these best practices. With cyber attacks becoming increasingly sophisticated, it’s critical that all Australians take steps to reduce the chances they fall victim to one.
A survey conducted by the Australian Cyber Security Alliance has found that most respondents believe their cybersecurity budget will increase in the coming year.
Encouragingly, 61% of respondents said they felt that spending would rise. This news is welcome as it shows that most organisations understand the importance of having robust security measures in place and are preparing for the future.
The Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) has reported that cyber security incidents are on the rise. They’re getting more frequent, bigger and more sophisticated, and they pose a threat to Australia’s economic prosperity and national interests.
Phishing and spear phishing are the most common methods employed by criminals to harvest personal information or user credentials to gain access to networks, or to distribute malware.
Other threats include malicious insiders and supply chain compromises. Any element of a supply chain can be targeted, including people, software and hardware.
Cybercrime on the Rise in 2022
With an increasingly digital world, information and data are more valuable than gold and oil. After 2 years of remote working, online vulnerabilities are escalating with cloud breaches, phishing, account takeover attacks and ransomware among the top concerns.
A major Australian cyber attack left 2.1 million Optus customers vulnerable
The September 22nd cyber attack on Optus affected an estimated 9.8 million individual records, with data now reportedly in the hands of hackers.
What is unclear is what information exactly was exposed during the attack, but it includes a broad swathe of personal information, including names and addresses of customers.
This new cyber breach underscores the need for increased cybersecurity measures in Australia as these issues continue to grow at an alarming rate.
IoT Attacks Expected to Double by 2025
As the reliance on IoT devices, along with virtual classrooms and online communications has given malicious hackers more ways to access data.
The sharp rise of cybercrime has targeted people who are working from home, with many people investing in their home office and using savings or personal loans to make it happen.
With the responsibility of protecting data from being accessed by unauthorised parties, new ways to protect against scams must be put into place.
The Australian government announced that the market for IoT security is expected to reach 18.6 billion in 2022, a significant increase from 15.8 billion in 2021. This is due to the increasing number of connected devices which will require serious protection.
In the next decade security firmware will be more important than ever because it’s the backbone of any cybersecurity strategy.
With the rapid growth of the internet of things (IoT), there is an ever-expanding network of devices that could be hacked. And with IoT attacks doubling by 2025, it’s clear that Australia’s cyber security issues are only going to get worse.
Small to medium business risk in increasing
It has been shown in recent research that cybercrime targets Australian businesses every 10 minutes.
In a study conducted by the Australian cybersecurity firm, Kaine Mathrick Tech, found that 43% of cyber-attacks target SME businesses. Small to medium businesses typically have less cybersecurity protection making them more vulnerable.
One of the top threats is Ransomware which locks down a company’s data and demands payment in order to get it back.
Businesses must have an extensive understanding of where their online threats are most likely to come from and also have action plans on the best way to handle them.
The problem is, many small and medium enterprises don’t have the budget for cybersecurity. and a quieter than expected economy could be to blame for the lack of spending, making business owners increasingly worried about the emerging threats.
Australia loses over $242M to Crypto scams in 2022
Scamwatch, enforcing the Australian Consumer Law and national Do Not Call Register, has predicted that Australians who invest in cryptocurrencies will lose at least $200 million this year.
They have said that there are 861 reports of losses totaling over $35 million in May alone, making it the second highest month since March.
Scamwatch says mobile apps, phones, and social media were the biggest areas where people lost money.
Scams include everything from romance-baiting pig slaughtering schemes to traditional Ponzi scams and crypto scams. Australia’s Cyber Security Issues are continuing to grow with new scams popping up every day
The cost of cybercrime in Australia
The latest statistics from Scamwatch show that Australians have lost $5.6 million to online shopping scams in the last six months. This includes false billing, investment scams and dating and romance scams which are all over $1 million each.
Investment scams have increased by 50% since January this year, with NSW and Victoria being the two states most impacted by these types of scams totalling over $21 million combined.
The most at-risk age group is those aged 65 years and older, who reported the greatest losses since January totalling over $17 million. Other age groups most at risk are 25 to 34 and 35 to 44
In 2022, the ransomware industry shot up to a colossal $20 billion and ransomware attacks were occuring every 11 seconds.
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