Career options for the morally
challenged
Security breaches down under have caused small to medium
businesses to fork out more than $600 million last year.
According to a
report from the Australian Institute of Criminology, 13 per cent of small
businesses, 20 per cent of medium businesses and 30 per cent of large
organisations had been affected by a security breach. The survey estimates
the cost of security incidents on Australian businesses was between $595
million to $649 million.
Most hacks are virus attacks and with hackers using
malicious software such as spyware and keylogging, which captures a user's
keystrokes. More than 44 per cent of businesses were hit by malware last
year. Phishing attacks were also common with a quarter of Aussie businesses
suffering from such attacks.
More than nine per cent of businesses
experienced actual theft of hardware such as notebooks and mobile phones,
the report said.