Cyber Ready? Australian Businesses Rise to The Challenge

Australian organisations face a perilous, rapidly evolving cyberthreat landscape. Over the last 12 months, the national discourse has shifted into hyperdrive in the wake of global geopolitical instability and a spate of high-profile attacks. Businesses are also subject to increased regulatory scrutiny as well as growing expectations from government, consumers and other stakeholders.

As a wealthy nation committed to digitalisation, Australia is a prime target for a new wave of cyberthreat actors. The consequences of cyber-attacks are soaring, along with their scale, frequency and sophistication. Encryption events can bring businesses to a standstill. Data breaches undermine consumer confidence and cause real harm through identity theft and financial loss. There is even the potential for operational shutdowns to bring vital infrastructure such as hospitals, airports and utilities to a halt. Compounding matters, our adversaries are continually adapting and looking to leverage new capabilities such as generative AI.

Historically, the task of coordinating cyber incident response fell to an organisation’s IT security team under the oversight of its Chief Information Officer (CIO) or Chief Information Security Officer (CISO). Today, the unmistakeable trend is that lawyers are joining them at the forefront of the response.