Over 76,000 cybercrimes were reported in Australia in the 2022-2023 financial year.
Cybersecurity experts from around Australia will meet on 28 and 29 May at the Pan Pacific Hotel in Perth for the annual CyberWest Summit, which is designed to provide practical, up-to-date insights to help organisations prepare for and respond to growing cyber threats.
This year the program will focus on both technical and strategic responses to cybersecurity risks, covering issues such as threat awareness, organisational resilience, and incident response.
"Knowing how to address cybersecurity can be a challenge for business leaders. The CyberWest Hub is on a mission to support Western Australian businesses in becoming cyber secure by educating all business leaders about cyber risk, and what they can do to ensure their business is prepared for a cyber incident, and able to recover and return to business with minimal loss," CyberWest Hub Director Ms Emma O'Neil said.
Over 76,000 cybercrimes were reported in Australia in the 2022-2023 financial year, translating to an average of one cybercrime report every seven minutes. And it is not just the major breaches that you hear about, like Optus and Medicare who are affected either, Ms O'Neil said.
"Businesses of all sizes and from any industry can be a target and potentially fall victim."
Cybercrime is costly
In 2024, cybercrime related costs to small businesses averaged $49,600, and $62,800 for medium-sized businesses. These costs included legal expenses, reputational damage, downtime, and ongoing recovery costs.
"Every organisation, regardless of size, is now a target for cybercrime. Leadership must ensure the organisation is adequately prepared," Ms O'Neil said.
The two-day CyberWest Summit will cover a range of topics, with discussions ranging from the true cost of a cyber-attack, navigating crisis communications in the event of an attack, and discussions around multinational cooperation and the challenges of policing cybercrime.
Registration for the Summit is now open.
