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Small business owners are being warned not to make use of young Gen Z-er’s (those born from 1997 to 2010) to manage their cyber security.
According to a survey by the Council of Small Business Organisations Australia (COSBOA) through 89 Degrees East, two out of three business owners relate general tech savviness with cyber-safety skills, leading them to hire young family and friends or young employees to manage their cyber security.
However, the survey also found that Gen Z was also the generation least likely to recognise the danger that cyber posed to their businesses and were rated among the least cyber-safe countrywide.
At the other end of the spectrum, the survey found that the generation to best trust a business’ cyber security is Gen X and older millennials.
COSBOA chairman Matthew Addison says that ensuring you have a competent cyber team is a key part of protecting against cyber attacks.
“A good first step is taking stock of who is responsible for your business’ cyber protection,” he said.
“Don’t just assume your kids or younger employees are the safest pair of hands when it comes to online activity.”
This comes at a time when small businesses are becoming increasingly lucrative targets for cyber criminals. Cyber scams and threats are estimated to cost the economy $29 million annually.
COSBOA found that roughly only one in five businesses and staff feel confident against cyber threats, with 23 per cent confident in preparing, and 21 per cent able to fight and recover.
In addition, according to the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC), 43 per cent of all cyber crime in Australia targets small businesses.
The COSBOA survey was launched as part of the organisation’s Cyber Wardens initiative, which was announced in October during the major attacks on Optus and Medibank.
The initiative, in partnership with Telstra, the Commonwealth Bank, and the ACSC, will provide small business owners with information on how to protect themselves, such as what the most common cyber threats are.
The program will invite participants to be trained on the ACSC’s Essential Eight and how to best implement them in their workplaces, improving their cyber-safety standards.
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