Cybersecurity budgets within Australian businesses have largely remained stagnant in recent years, even as instances of cyber-attacks continue to increase globally.
Executive teams often fail to recognise the level of damage cyber-threats pose to organisations until it’s too late. In Australia, there was a marked increase in data breaches in 2020: 52% of organisations in the country reported suffering a data breach, which was up from 36% in 2019.
The Australian Government handed down its 2021/22 budget in mid-2021, building on their previously announced $1.67 billion Cyber Security Strategy. They have invested $1.2 billion in a digital economy strategy, noting that building and protecting digital infrastructure will increase economic competitiveness and fuel growth.
As part of this strategy, the Australian Government will spend $200 million to improve the myGov website and $301 million on the My Health Record online platform. $111.3 million will be allocated to the Consumer Data Rights rollout.
Also receiving funding are initiatives to make it easier for foreign nationals and companies to prove their identity and do business in Australia.
Increasing Budgets
With cybersecurity budgets increasing, it’s important for organisations to understand in what areas they need to invest. A good general guide is to look at investing in the following:
- Improving Cyber Security Awareness: Improving organisational awareness and knowledge about cyber security is a crucial factor, to ensure that individual businesses are held accountable for their own security.
- Governance, Risk and Compliance: New regulations often require a specialist to make sure that requirements are met, and the impact of non-compliance may be costly.
- Security Tools/Measures: Having the right security tools in place is an essential budget spend area. Factors to examine include cloud, application and endpoint security, as well as Identity & Access Management (IAM).
- Cyber Insurance: If your business was to be infected with ransomware, having cyber insurance would help. Cyber insurance typically covers losses from IT system damage and loss of information from IT systems and networks.
To find out more information on where to spend your cybersecurity budget, contact us at Agilient.
Author: Mahdi Kobeissi, Agilient Consultant