One in five Australian businesses have already experienced a cyber attack according to research by GoDaddy and the majority of business owners are unprepared for cyber security threats.

GoDaddy’s research found two-thirds of small businesses haven’t added protections to their website, and only 15 per cent would know how to handle an attack. The research findings coincide with cybersecurity month and suggest that business owners need to be more proactive in protecting their businesses from online threats.

As more businesses moved online to survive the pandemic, cybercriminals had taken advantage. Recent data released by the Australian Cyber Security Centre confirms more than 67,500 cyber crimes were reported from June 2020 to July 2021 – a 13 per cent increase over the previous year.

Despite these findings GoDaddy’s research reveals two in three (66 per cent) of businesses still haven’t added cyber security protections to their websites. Yet almost eight in ten (76 per cent) of  Australian small businesses recognise their businesses may be at  risk of a cyber security attack,

Still, it’s not all bad news, while one in five (22 per cent) Australian small businesses surveyed have already experienced a security breach on their website, this is lower than every other country in the world apart from the US.

Cyberattacks can impact your business

“A cyber security incident can have numerous negative impacts on small businesses,” said Tamara Oppen, Managing Director of GoDaddy Australia. “Knowing the risks and, more importantly, how to protect your business is crucial, especially as we approach critical retail shopping periods like Black Friday and Christmas. Small businesses need to consider the security of their online presence, just as they do the security of their offline presence.”

Of the Australian businesses who had been compromised, 75 per cent reported having experienced website downtime – with 40 per cent experiencing an outage of over three days – while reputational damage (35 per cent) and financial loss (32 per cent) were other common impacts.

Education on cyber risks is essential

While most Australian business owners are aware of the risks of cyber attack, the majority have no real understanding of how to proactively protect their business or the danger of more complex threats. Australian businesses are aware of threats like malware, phishing and ransomware, but less than half said they were aware of other important threats such as DDoS attacks, SQL injection and man in the middle.

Of the two in three who reported that they are yet to add protections to their website, 40 per cent said a failure to do so is based on a lack of accessible and straightforward information online. Meanwhile, 45 per cent reported that they don’t feel they have the skills or backup to deal with a cyber-attack on their website.

“It’s reassuring that three-quarters of small businesses are aware of the risks posed by a cyber attack, but we can help turn awareness into action to help protect Australian businesses and their customers.

“Our research found that 40 per cent of small businesses haven’t added protections to their website because the information was unclear and confusing, leaving their business potentially vulnerable,” Oppen said.

Oppen suggests business owners would benefit from installing a suite of cyber protections such firewalls, malware scanners, backups of essential data and security certificates.

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