There have been frequent reports in the media recently in relation to personal information held by businesses being compromised by cyber-criminals. The companies involved have primarily been larger businesses, such as Optus, Medibank, Telstra, National Australia Bank (via third-party employee benefits provider), and Woolworths-owned My Deal to name a few. It is important to consider the fact that it is generally only breaches of larger organisations that make the news, the true number of cyber-security incidents in Australia would make most business owners extremely nervous.
A summary of the severity of risk to businesses was well highlighted in the following online news article yesterday: Aussies hit harder by major cyber attacks. One of the most pertinent points made in the article quoting cyber security expert Tony Velleca is that “Ransomware and phishing attacks have been around for years … it’s not a matter of ‘if’ you get attacked, it’s ‘when’.”
Our team at Evisent continue to be surprised by the number of businesses who are not taking these risks seriously, with a large proportion appearing to think ‘it will never happen to us’. To reference a quote from Tony Velleca once again: “You can expect some to be severe, or minor, but every company can expect one attack in the next three years.”
Recent events highlight the fact that every business is vulnerable to cyber-crime, those who hold large volumes of customer personal information are at even greater risk. It is imperative that businesses are proactive in ensuring system security, and the best place to start is understanding your current security posture. We are offering a FREE Cyber Risk Review, along with a consultation to discuss our findings and highlight any concerns. Please click on this link, complete your details, then we will contact you to explain the process: Cyber Risk Review – Evisent
