The Cisco Kid, one of Wayne’s favourite shows from the 1960’s.
Vulnerability of SME’s
Small businesses frequently feel immune to cyber threats. They believe their relative obscurity keeps them beneath the radar of malign criminals. Unfortunately, this is not the case. A recent study by Cisco found that more than 50 per cent of Australian SMEs had been victims of a cyber incident.
Small businesses become targets because they lack sophisticated cyber security protection, and are easy to attack. While ransomware payments and the value of the data may be lower than that of a larger corporation, small businesses give cyber criminals a playground to practice.
Additionally, while SMEs may not be an attractive target on their own, the relationships they have with larger companies can open a backdoor.
The Australian Cyber Security Centre needs to prioritise cyber education for these businesses. By creating a series of educational programs, short videos, webinars, and brochures, it can use SMEs to raise the floor of cyber protection and mitigation across the country.
