Industry
Cyber Security
Data & Cybersecurity for Robust Defense Against Cyber Attacks
Highlights
- In the age of AI, Metaverse and Web3, cyberattacks are becoming more sophisticated and frequent.
- The Australian Cybersecurity Centre received nearly 94,000 cybercrime reports in FY 2022-23.
- A tailored cybersecurity solution is the key. What works for one organisation may not work for another, even in the same industry.
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Rising cyber threats
Cyberattacks are increasingly posing a significant threat to Australian businesses, with many large corporations falling prey to information leaks and data hacks.
Cybersecurity risks are a growing concern as going digital is the new normal for enterprises of all sizes. In the age of AI, Metaverse and Web3, cyberattacks are becoming more sophisticated and frequent. Hackers are using advanced techniques and tools to breach security systems, and the potential impacts of these attacks range from financial and reputational loss to national security threats.
To combat such threats, organisations need a comprehensive cybersecurity plan that addresses potential vulnerabilities and threats. This article discusses how enterprises can discover, assess, and mitigate risks and be cyber resilient.
Cybercrime scene in Australia
According to the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC), there has been a significant increase in cyberattacks targeting Australian businesses and individuals in recent years.
In FY 2022-2023, on average, a cybercrime was reported every 6 minutes. Nearly 94,000 cybercrime reports were received by ACSC, an increase of 23% from the previous financial year. With expanding threat perimeters in the digital world, cybersecurity is no longer just about compliance and risk mitigation—it is a growth imperative.
Despite years of investment in cyber risk assessment and security tools, many chief information security officers and chief risk officers feel they need more support and resources to meet current and emerging cyber threats.
Protecting their organisations from a rising tide of cyber threats requires adopting innovative and advanced security technologies to protect data and the integrity of business operations. But just as important, it requires engaged leadership, strategically aligned stakeholders, and continuous employee cyber awareness and education programmes to fight off critical threats and recover quickly when such attacks occur.
Understanding contextual risks
Let’s explore some core principles and approaches to building an efficient, effective, durable, and resilient cybersecurity strategy.
Risk comes in many forms, but cybersecurity measures must account for local and industry-specific contexts. Some of the factors to consider are:
Geopolitical and geographical: Multinational organisations must assess cyber risks in each local market to identify and prioritise their cyber risks pertinent to such markets. It enables multinationals to plan investments and cybersecurity strategies to address risks arising from the unique cyber threat landscape in different countries and comply with their privacy and data protection laws.
Regulatory complexity: Legislation in Australia has resulted in increasingly stringent regulations around data security. Rules governing the response to cyberattacks and when to report a data breach can vary in each state and territory and are managed by local government agencies.
A tailored approach
Cybersecurity experts need to know what technologies and services to pick to combat various threats.
The effectiveness and efficiency of these technologies depend on what problem an organisation is trying to solve. Some organisations may require vulnerability detection and remediation, while others need a greater focus on vendor risk.
Depending on an organisation’s geography and industry, a focus on consumer privacy may be paramount. Either way, the solution often rests on using suitable security technologies.
While enterprises focus on protecting their e-commerce applications, they must also safeguard the related development ecosystems, such as cloud and its main delivery models—Infrastructure as a service, platform-as-a-service, and software-as-a-service. Having a tested and assured method for this requires systematic compliance and automation. Setting this up at scale and building it in the necessary repeatable level of capability is an ongoing exercise that often causes concerning gaps.
We believe the right solutions for one organisation won’t be the same for another—even in the same industry. The key is to work with a partner who offers a variety of horizontal products, platforms, and services backed by deep intellectual property and use cases. Cybersecurity depends on a two-fisted defence mindset in a threat environment defined by the new and never-seen-before.
