Forty percent of Australia’s small and medium businesses vying to win defense contracts are being rejected because of lax cybersecurity practices, prompting a new joint campaign to lift standards across the industry.
Warning that some firms have already been targeted, the Defence Department and Australian Industry Group will release a new guidebook for SMEs to help them gain a greater understanding of government requirements across cybersecurity, securing their premises and hiring personnel to handle classified information.
The guide identifies three major threats facing businesses: foreign government and state-sponsored espionage, cybercrime, and human error and insider threats.