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The Student and Small Business Cyber Risk Project partners cyber security students at Victorian TAFE with industry mentors and small businesses to conduct cyber risk assessments.
The program is supported by the Victorian government, Microsoft, NAB, and not-for-profit industry organisation Communications and Information Technology Training (CITT).
The program sees students mentored by professionals from NAB and Microsoft and leverage publicly available tools to conduct cyber risk assessments on small businesses.
The assessment will detail actionable insights to improve the cyber resilience of Victorian small businesses and provide hands-on experience for the state’s cyber students.
Now in its second year, 200 individuals are expected to enrol in the program.
Mark Anderson, national security officer at Microsoft Australia and New Zealand, detailed that the assessments will help detail some of the key vulnerabilities facing Victorian small businesses.
“A lot of smaller companies struggle with a lack of skills or understanding of where to start when it comes to cyber security,” he said.
“In many cases, taking a few simple steps can be enough to protect against 99 per cent of cyber threats. It’s been great to be involved in this unique and highly scalable program, which is contributing to strengthening our nation’s cyber security defences.
Program coordinators have an eye to rolling out the program national over the coming two years.
A spokesperson for the program explained that with only 15 per cent of small to medium sized businesses in Australia undertaking extensive training around online threats, the project will provide invaluable help for businesses.
Cyber crime has now become an unfortunate daily risk for businesses, Sandro Bucchianeri, chief security officer at NAB, said.
“They are a huge driver of economic growth, employing two in every three Australian workers. Yet, they remain one of the most vulnerable communities to cyber attack, as they continue to face increasing costs of goods, ongoing labour shortages, and rising rates of cyber crime.”
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