Vinayak Sreedhar | Australians prone to cyber attack as businesses cut costs

He'd found a way to exploit the currency used for international postage by purchasing it at a discounted rate in one country and exchanging it for a higher value in another. Those who invested were promised a return of 50 per cent.

The thing is, he never actually bought the international tokens. Ponzi used the funds from new investors to pay off the earlier ones, tricking 30,000 Americans out of more than USD $10 million.

You might be wondering what the grandfather of swindlers has to do with today's cyber climate. Well, Ponzi pioneered a lucrative trick, one that's still used today, as the United States was emerging from worldwide economic uncertainty.

In 2023, we find ourselves in similar waters. Locally, the Australian Bureau of Statistics claims the cost of living is at its highest ever level, which requires most Australians to spend more on necessities and less on goods and services to keep their heads above water.

We've already seen the after-effects for businesses, which, against a backdrop of rising costs, labour shortages and supply chain disruptions, have contracted every month over the last year.

As the prospect of a recession looms large, companies are scaling back spending in a range of areas to keep the lights on and stay competitive. But one area that needs to stay clear of the chopping block is cyber security.

In recent times, Australia has witnessed a string of data breaches against high profile companies. Locals have recently had a record S3.1 billion stolen from their bank accounts through the crafty antics of scammers.

Emphasising cyber education is increasingly important for organisations. The global cost of cybercrime continues to grow and is estimated to reach US$13.8 trillion worldwide by 2028. Both the private and public sectors have ramped up spending to keep threats at bay.

While there's been little evidence of cyber spend decreasing, we can't deny that the maelstrom of current business pressures have seen it slip incrementally from the collective consciousness. And history tells us that during times of elevated stress, criminals sharpen their claws and prime themselves for attack.

While company layoffs and AI currently dominate the technology zeitgeist, cyber threats have not disappeared or plateaued. In fact, they're evolving, despite the increased federal government budget allocation.

Minister for Cyber Security Clare O'Neil recently noted the current threat landscape "far outstrips the recent cases we've seen," pointing to the threats posed by the growing number of devices connected to the internet. According to Ms O'Neil, increasingly connected digital cities could be negatively impacted by real-world ramifications, such as surgery schedules being interrupted by criminals.

Threats have also evolved alongside the exploding popularity of generative AI. On the dark web, hackers have discussed the best ways to use ChatGPT - the fastest-growing application in history - to generate malware. If you ask ChatGPT, it will even tell you how it can be exploited to improve bot attacks.

For further evidence that Australia can't rest on its cyber laurels, a prominent hacker recently claimed Australians are among the most exploitable targets in the world due to their wealth and trusting nature.

Australia can't let its defences slip in the battle against cybercrime. As with a physical battle, a small lapse in judgment could spell long-term disaster. Organisations need to remain alert and constantly update their playbooks to stay protected.

A crucial part of this for business heads is ensuring cyber skills aren't concentrated within one department or team, especially given the technology sector is experiencing widespread and ongoing skills shortages.

Cyber security is an all-hands-on-deck endeavour, as every device, employee, and customer touchpoint is a potential entry point for criminals. Employees should have access to the tools needed to exercise proper cyber hygiene, rather than relying on under-resourced IT teams to assume the responsibility entirely.

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Organisational leaders should also be properly assessing and embedding new technologies, such as AI, to stave off cyber threats. These technologies can be used to identify ransomware by assessing incoming communication against large data sets, automatically detecting anomalies, and classifying threats by type.

The benefits of generative AI can be reaped while staying cybersafe, for instance, by using privacy filters to block the personally identifiable information flowing through your systems to external large language models.

A recent study by ManageEngine of business leaders found Australia and New Zealand lag behind the rest of the world when it comes to AI and ML adoption. Australian and New Zealand are also the least likely to use these technologies to combat cyberattacks. This is an alarming gap given the benefits of these technologies, especially when it comes to saving time and resources while improving protection measures.

Australia is navigating tough economic conditions alongside a rapidly changing threat landscape. While exploitative criminals might have swapped suave suits and smiles for cunning lines of text on a screen, the intent remains the same. They're poised and ready to strike when our guard is down.

Threats show no signs of abating. In fact, they're evolving, and organisations need to stay several steps ahead to beat them at their own game.