Cyber security — the numbers you need to know

1. $33b the financial losses reported due to cyber crime in Australia

Australian businesses self-reported losses in excess of $33b in the latest ACSC Annual Cyber Threat Report, with middle market businesses experiencing the highest average loss per cyber crime incident reported. The actual number is likely far higher due to a lack of mandatory security incident reporting and the Australian government is currently proposing mandatory ransomware reporting and making directors personally liable for cyber attacks.

2. $13.5 million: the reported amount Australian businesses paid in fake invoices.

Once a business email account is compromised scammers love to use it to send or accept fake invoices, which are then paid by the business in the belief the service or goods are real. The ACCC saw a huge increase in these false billing scams in 2020, with conditions exacerbated by remote working and the pandemic. More than 1,300 cases were reported with losses worth $13.5m, up from 900 reports and $5 million in losses reported in 2019. As reporting is voluntary these losses are likely only a fraction of the actual losses.

3. 100+ years: the combined experience of Pitcher Partners cyber security team

The Pitcher Partners cyber security team has a combined experience of over 100 years. We help our clients understand and manage their cyber security risk, meet their legal and regulatory requirements and respond to cyber incidents. We provide our clients “cyber security peace of mind”.

For more insights see our previous articles on causes and costs of data breaches and the impact of ransomware.

All businesses regardless of size or industry should be focused on cyber security.  It is a business risk, not an IT problem, and it’s important to have preventative measures in place and an incident management plan ready to follow in the unfortunate circumstance that a breach happens.

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