Australia's small businesses are being encouraged to take advantage of support being delivered by the Albanese Labor Government to deal with cyber threats.
The Minister for Small Business, Julie Collins MP, today visited Renee, owner of The Barberhood in Sydney, to discuss the opportunity she has taken up to help protect her small business.
Many small businesses have rapidly digitalised, bringing new opportunities but also increasing their vulnerability to cyber incidents.
The average cost of a cybercrime to affected small businesses is around $46,000, with small business having limited ability to absorb these losses and the reputational damage they bring.
The Albanese Labor Government is helping small businesses to prevent digital threats through $23.4 million in support for the Cyber Wardens program.
This program is designed by small businesses, for small businesses.
Cyber Wardens is run by the Council of Small Business Organisations Australia (COSBOA) and provides small businesses with training for their staff to help them identify cyber safety practices that they can implement to better protect their business, employees and clients.
The latest figures from COSBOA show that more than 1,400 Cyber Wardens across the country have now been trained since the program launched late last year.
The Cyber Wardens program is just one way the Albanese Government is supporting Australia's 2.5 million small businesses on cyber security, with more than $60 million being invested to help small businesses uplift their cyber security and digital capabilities.
The Albanese Labor Government is investing $8.1 million over 3 years for a provider to deliver the Small Business Cyber Resilience Service to small businesses across Australia, in both metropolitan and regional locations.
This new program will help small businesses by providing free, tailored, person‑to‑person support to improve their cyber security and recover from a cyber attack.
The Small Business Cyber Resilience Service is a key part of the 2023-2030 Australian Cyber Security Strategy and will be a one‑stop‑shop for small businesses to build their cyber resilience and capability and provide support when impacted by a cyber incident.
This is in addition to the $7.2 million the Albanese Government is investing to establish a voluntary cyber health‑check program which will allow businesses to undertake a free, tailored self‑assessment of their cyber security maturity.
The Government has also established the National Anti‑Scams Centre to stop scammers from reaching potential victims and taken down thousands of scam and phishing websites to help keep online transactions safe from scammers.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Small Business, Julie Collins MP:
"The Albanese Government understands how flat‑out small business owners are running vital businesses all over the country, so we're providing significant new and easy support to help them step up their cyber security.
It's fantastic to see so many small businesses are already taking advantage of these new opportunities, including the Cyber Wardens program.
We know the impact of a cyber attack can be devastating for a small business which is why our Government's support is so critical.
I encourage people to look at the support that is available to them to help protect their business, employees and clients from an attack."
