- with Inhouse Counsel
- with readers working within the Insurance and Law Firm industries
Statistics show a cybercrime incident can cost a business on average at least $56,000 to $202,700 depending on sizei. This is before quantifying the loss of customer trust, reputation and brand damage, and any regulatory fines.
Investing in improving your business' cybersecurity practices may reap future benefits and prevent substantial losses.
A mature cybersecurity practice is more than just technology investment. It is about taking reasonable steps to implement practices, procedures and systems to protect your business' data, and that of your customers and clients, from misuse, interference and loss.
3 Indicators of higher Cybersecurity Risk
1. Industry Sector
Business operating in these industry sectors are exposed to high cyber threat riskii:
- Finance and insurance services;
- Health services;
- Professional services (legal, accounting, management, etc); and
- Retail services.
The risks for these industries are well documented by various Australian authorities. Therefore, businesses operating in these industries are on notice of their heightened risk, which also increases the regulator's expectation on the implementation of appropriate mitigation steps.
2. Data Handling
Businesses involved in handling large volumes of data are a lucrative target for cybercriminals. These businesses are custodians of personal information or sensitive information, which can be exploited by cybercriminals for identity theft or cybercrime.
3. Business Operations
Publicly listed or large entities are prime targets for cybercriminals. However, cybercriminals can target entities operating in the high-risk industry sectors or handles a large volume of personal or sensitive information. These business operations increase the cyber threat risk.
Time To Take Action
If your business is in a high-risk cybersecurity environment, then you should ask yourself:
- When was the last time that your business reviewed its cybersecurity and privacy maturity?
- Do your business have practices, procedures and systems in place to mitigate its cyber threat risks?
It is expensive to do nothing.
Footnotes:
i Australian Cyber Security Centre, Annual Cyber Threat Report 2024-2025, https://www.cyber.gov.au/about-us/view-all-content/reports-and-statistics/annual-cyber-threat-report-2024-2025
ii Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, Notifiable Data Breach Report: July to December 2024, https://www.oaic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0021/251184/Notifiable-data-breaches-report-July-to-December-2024.pdf
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
