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Cyber Security Statistics in Australia 2020: Beyond the Figures of Cyber Crime

Cyber Security Statistics in Australia 2020: Beyond the Figures of Cyber Crime

We’ve done the research for you after reading dozens of reports, statistics, and resources here in Australia and abroad. Here’s what you need to know about the state of Australian Cyber Security: where we are at now, and what threats to look out for.

The Latest Australian News and Statistics in Cyber Crime and Cyber Security

Essential Statistics on Australian Cyber Crime $29 Billion per year estimated cost to australian businesses due to cyber crimes $ 276, 323 per Business Average cost of a cyber crime to a business 53% of the cost being paid is detection and recovery 23-51 number of days to resolve an attack VIC, NSW,QLD MOST TARGETTED STATES FOR CYBER CRIMES Source: DEPARTMENT OF HOME AFFAIRS and STAY SMART ONLINE AUSTRALIA
Highlights of Australian Statistics Source: Department of Home Affairs and Smart Online Australia

Addressing the crowd at a Cyber Security Summit in Canberra last October 2019, Shadow Minister Jim Chalmers mentioned that the Department of Home Affairs a shocking report on the figures of Cyber Threats.

$29 Billion each year is the estimated cost of Cyber Crimes to Australian Businesses (regardless of size).

This is a small piece of the pie in comparison to the $6 trillion US dollar cyber losses that are expected on a global scale by 2021. However, for Small to Medium Business owners either one of the figures mentioned above could be a disaster for them and their business reputation.

$15,805,946 Losses due to cyber threats gaining personal information* 9.2 Million malware detection recorded by Australian businesses* Source: ACCC Scamwatch 2019 and cio magazine 2019

87% of SMBs believe that they are safe from attacks with Antivirus software alone, there is definitely a cause for concern. While it is part of an essential list of security assets, this is not the be-all-end-all tool against the threats.


Cyber Threats and Cyber Attacks to Look Out For

Top 5 Malware targetting SMALL TO MEDIUM businesses (SMBs) in the last 2 years (% of SMBs reported to have been attacked) #1 Ransomware 64% #2 Viruses 43% #3 Adware 33% #4 Phishing Emails 30% #5 Spyware 29% Source: Datto State of Channel Ransomware 2019
Top 5 Threats Targeting Small to Medium Businesses (SMBs) in the Last 2 years

Apart from the ones mentioned above, there are also these critical threats that Australian business owners overlook because they only focus on their computers, when in fact, the prevention should start at their organization. We recently wrote about the 6 biggest threats your MSP should prepare you to get you and your company’s mindset focused on preventing threats from exposing the vulnerabilities on every corner of your business: from the workspace to your employees and more.

The Greatest Risk for Cyber Security in Your Business: Human Error

THE GREATEST RISK IN DATA BREACH - HUMAN ERROR 83% of data breaches affect fewer than 1,000 people 55% health sector breaches due to human error 41% data breach due to human error in finance sector 39% data breach where contact information is released Source: OAIC NOTIFIABLE DATA BREACHES 12 months insights report 2019
Summary of Human Error Statistics in Cyber Security

Human error happens to the best of us, and whether that’s your highest-performing employee or the top executives in your firm or practice, everyone can be susceptible to something as simple as a missent email or opening an attachment from someone who you thought was critical to your business. Currently, the health sector and the finance sector of Australia reported above-average human error breaches compared to the all-sector average of 35%. These data breaches involve unintentionally revealing personal information to a third party of the loss of a data storage device (USBs, Hard Drives, CDs, etc.)

Some of the main disclosure that occurred based on the OAIC figures are as follows:

  • Contact Information – 39.42%
  • Finance Details – 20.49 %
  • Identity Documents – 15.52 %
  • Health Documents – 11.78%
  • Tax File Number (TFN) – 8.71%
  • Others – 4.07%

The Top Known Companies That Were Affected by Cyber Threats

The following are a list of businesses and known brands and the articles and reports of the time they were breached are on this page. It compiles all the known Companies and brands that were affected by a Data Breach in the last few years.