Retailers face rising risk of cybercrime. Here’s how to lock your digital doors
Every six minutes a cybercrime is reported in Australia, with the average cost of an attack to a small business owner around $46,000.
Enter Cyber Wardens, a free online training program launched by the Council of Small Business Organisations Australia (COSBOA), supported by the Australian Government and an industry alliance led by Telstra, CommBank and the Australian Cyber Security Centre.
In less than an hour, the course can help retailers and other small businesses lock their digital doors, minimising the risk they will fall prey to cyber crooks.
Luke Achterstraat, COSBOA’s CEO, says 43 per cent of cyber criminals target small businesses.
“By their very nature, small businesses are extremely vulnerable to cyber attacks, but many owners and employees don’t believe they could be a target. The belief that being small makes you safe is a dangerous fallacy leading to complacency.
“Cyber criminals are increasingly targeting Australian small businesses, and their methods are getting more sophisticated. But knowing a problem exists isn’t enough to solve it. We need a cultural shift and targeted support,” he continues.
“Just as we physically protect ourselves by locking up our businesses and homes at night, small businesses need to understand how and why they should lock their digital doors.”
Achterstraat says Cyber Wardens is a nationwide initiative, developed after extensive consultation with the government on its cyber security strategy. Launched last November, the intention is to train at least 50,000 small business cyber wardens over three years.
“We wanted to leverage our grassroots infrastructure and reputation to change the behaviours of Australia’s 2.5 million small businesses.”
Online attacks can cost more than money
As Achterstraat explains, an online attack’s impact on a business goes beyond the financial damage. “It can result in your business closing down for days, weeks – or even forever. That is a gamble most small businesses cannot afford to make – particularly when you consider that the average business forks out $40,000 alone in their first year just to operate.
“And then there is the reputational damage that a cyber incident can cause. Trust is at the cornerstone of every business-customer relationship, and a cyber attack can quickly erode that.”
One serious threat from cyber criminals especially relevant to retailers is the misuse or theft of Bank Identification Numbers, which can expose a retailer to bank charges for every attempted transaction.
“This expense can multiply quickly if you are hit with a large attack,” says Achterstraat. “And there can be a serious reputational risk when victims start seeing your store charged on their credit card.”
Last year $677.5 million was stolen through fraudulent card transactions, according to data from the Australian Payments Network.
Everyday habits put retailers at risk
COSBOA’s research found that 78 per cent of small business owners have everyday habits that inadvertently make them more vulnerable to cybercrime, such as keeping their passwords written down somewhere or observing personal details added to out-of-office messages.
“Simple mistakes many businesses make include failing to install a software update in a timely manner, putting a computer in ‘sleep mode’ instead of shutting it down overnight – which may prevent software updates from installing, ‘snoozing’ software updates, and sharing passwords with team members.
“Our research found that one in four people reuse the same passwords across multiple systems and platforms and about 16 per cent of small businesses also use short passwords, making them easier to crack.”
Furthermore, retailers selling online are at even greater risk of cyber attacks than businesses without transactional commerce. One in four retailers have experienced an online marketplace scam, yet 41 per cent do not see cyber threats as a serious risk to their business and only 22 per cent identify cyber security threats as a high risk.
“We know an active culture of cyber safety is key to protecting small businesses from attack, but only 41 per cent of retailers are discussing cyber security monthly or more often,” says Achterstraat. “Two in 10 retailers cannot recall a time they have talked about it.
“Small businesses must remain aware of the increasingly acute risk of cyber attacks,” says Achterstraat. “Investing time in cyber security training and tools is essential to help protect your small business, staff and clients. Our Cyber Wardens program can help give small business owners the skills to help mitigate the risks, reducing one of their many worries.
“It takes just two minutes to enrol in Cyber Wardens. The course is self-paced and the content is jargon-free – you don’t need to be an IT wizard to complete the program”.
Among the key fundamentals of cyber security covered by the program:
- Multi-factor authentication.
- Strong password management.
- Automatic software updates.
- Ensuring effective backups to support recovery.
One retailer explains her Cyber Wardens experience
One graduate of the Cyber Wardens program is Kirsten Lynch, the owner of Hobart gift and bookstore Plato’s.
She has been watching the rise of cyber security attacks on big businesses and recognised their risk to small businesses. “We get suspicious texts all the time,” she explains in an online case study. I know somebody who accidentally paid an invoice that was not from the proper company.”
“If we had an attack and my customers’ data was stolen, it would be devastating to us and the customers.”
Lynch and her team enrolled in the Cyber Wardens program in December, well aware that the Christmas-New Year holiday season provided a peak opportunity for bad actors.
She walked away feeling more confident in spotting cyber threats and knowing the practical steps she could take to protect her business from cybercrime.
“I would definitely recommend Cyber Wardens to other small business owners. It’s a really good course – it’s quick, it’s easy and it’s really important to know at this time.”
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