Source: Unsplash/Dan Nelson
With a cybercrime reported every six minutes in Australia, the Australian government has declared cybersecurity an urgent national issue, as the country’s small and medium-sized businesses emerge as one of the Sectors less prepared to defend themselves. against a cyber attack according to research by the National Australia Bank.
In a bid to help its small business clients confront ransomware, data breaches and cyber threats and protect themselves for the long term, NAB announced Wednesday that it would partner with global cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike.
Thanks to the partnership, eligible NAB small business customers will receive free cybersecurity protection for 12 months through an annual subscription to CrowdStrike ‘Falcon Go’. NAB will cover the $450 annual cost of the cybersecurity software product for one year.
Last year, NAB research confirmed that, while Australian small and medium-sized businesses are one of the least prepared sectors to protect themselves against cyber attacks, only 15% of SMEs receive extensive scam training. and cybersecurity risks, and four in 10 had “not much training at all.”
The partnership announcement comes as the Australian Government also continues to strengthen cybersecurity across the country by confirming in its Australian Cyber Security Strategy 2023-2030which was launched in November 2023, which would build six ‘Cyber shields’ to defend Australians and businesses of threats.
In January this year, NAB announced it had partnered with Microsoft to provide Australian small businesses with a free cyber assessment tool, asking businesses questions related to their security, data and IT environment.
Since small business customers can apply for the offer on the NAB app, internet banking or through their banker, Smart Company Naturally, I dug deeper into the terms and conditions to find out more about the eligibility criteria.
The offer is exclusive to NAB small business owners with a trading account who accept the offer by March 31, 2026 and do not already have a CrowdStrike account.
Customers receive 12 months of free access to security software, with a maximum of 150 free licenses per enterprise customer, and CrowdStrike’s offer is limited to the first 11,000 devices registered by eligible NAB customers.
NAB chief security officer Sandro Bucchianeri said that as the number of cyber attacks increases, more needs to be done to help protect small and medium-sized businesses.
“The number of Cyberattacks continue to grow year after yearand it is concerning that small and medium-sized businesses, which represent 97% of all Australian businesses, are one of the least cyber-ready sectors,” Bucchianeri said.
“As Australia’s leading business bank, we have a key role to play in helping to educate and support small and medium-sized businesses to ensure they are safe. That’s why NAB is doing everything we can to help increase the cybersecurity resilience of our customers.
“It can take years for companies to recover from a cyber attack due to its cost and complexity. “By working with CrowdStrike, we aim to connect and educate businesses so they can help stop attacks before they stop business.”
Ransomware alone causes up to $3 billion in damage to the Australian economy each year, according to the Australian Signals Directorate. ASD Cyber Threat Report 2022-2023which also found that the top types of cybercrime for businesses are email breach, business email breach (BEC) fraud, and online banking fraud.
The report also revealed that the average cost of cybercrime for small businesses was $46,000 and $97,200 for medium-sized businesses, with $71,600 for large businesses.
Small and medium-sized businesses across Australia not only experience financial costs when it comes to cybercrime, with the Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC) Cybercrime in Australia Report 2023 confirming that cybercrime remains underreported in Australia and that businesses have been affected by legal and personal health issues.