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Small-to-medium businesses can now test their cyber resilience for free thanks to a new tool developed by the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC).
The new tool, “Exercise in a Box”, runs users through a series of questions on cyber security practices, before generating a report telling a business what it does well, and where it can better secure itself and protect itself from risks.
Exercise in a Box was developed by the ACSC alongside the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre as a way to ready businesses for cyber attacks.
As Stephanie Crowe, assistant director-general of the ACSC says, it’s often too late to bolster the cyber security capabilities of a business once it has been hit.
“It is very important for individuals and businesses to do the work now to stay secure online.
“This fantastic free tool allows you to practice your response to a cyber incident — whether it’s a data breach, ransomware attack, or a compromised system — in a safe environment at a time that works for you, your staff and your business.
“Our aim is to help make Australia the most secure place to connect online. Cyber security is everyone’s responsibility.”
The new tool comes at a time where Australia has become a prime target for cyber crime.
The ACSC’s annual cyber threat report found that in 2022, a cyber crime is reported every seven minutes, up from last year’s eight minutes, and that in the last financial year, there were 76,000 reported crimes.
The report also said that “most compromises identified by the ACSC used relatively simple tradecraft which could have been prevented by enhanced cyber security,” making the new tool even more relevant.
Despite making up only 0.59 per cent of reported cyber crimes, the ACSC has maintained that ransomware is the most destructive cyber crime threat, due to the way it harms both businesses and individuals.
A total 447 ransomware incidents were reported in the financial year, with medium businesses being the most heavily targeted, with an average loss of $88,000. Small businesses had an average loss of $39,000.
As part of its move to clean up cyber crime in Australia, the Albanese government is looking to introduce reforms that would stop businesses paying ransom to hackers as a way to buy their way out of trouble.
“The idea that we’re going to trust these people to delete data that they have taken off and may have copied a million times is just frankly silly,” said Cyber Security Minister Clare O’Neil.
“We’re standing strong as a country against this, we don’t want to fuel the ransomware business model.”
The Exercise in a Box tool is available from today. Users will need to create an account with their email address, as the report with the results of the test will be sent via email.
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