One in five Aussie businesses hit by cyber attacks: ABS

Businesses have long been identified as frequent targets for scammers, hackers and digital malcontents wanting to steal money, secrets and identities.

But the extent to which hacking has increased in recent years is clearer thanks to data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

The figures show that 22% of businesses experienced a cybersecurity attack during the 2021-22 financial year.

That represents at least one in five businesses getting stung by digital attackers — a jump from what the ABS data says was about one in 10 businesses in 2019-20.

“[The] characteristics of Australian business data release is important because it gives governments and researchers information about the prevalence, impacts and nature of cyber attacks,” said Robert Ewing, ABS head of business statistics.

“This helps them understand who they need to support and what strategies they need to use.”

Most businesses suffered scams or fraudulent activity (16%). Malicious software wreaking havoc on systems was second at 5% and unauthorised access or use was 3%.

“In 2021-22, 34% of businesses reported a loss of time in managing cybersecurity attacks, 18% reported downtime of service, while 17% reported a loss of staff productivity,” Ewing said.

Seven in 10 businesses surveyed said they had to organise some kind of protection against hackers and potential cyber attacks.

“Over 60% of businesses reported regular updates to virus protection software,” Ewing said.

“Around 37% of businesses regularly backed up operations-critical data, while 20% had identity access management and 13% gave staff cybersecurity awareness training.”

This article was first published by The Mandarin.