Cyber attacks have hit most Australian companies: report

Australian organisations are firmly in hackers’ sights with 85 per cent reporting that they have been breached sometime in the past, well above the global average of 60 per cent, according to a new report.

The Vormetric Data Threat Report, compiled by 451 Research, also found that nearly one in three Australian companies were breached in the last year and almost all (94 per cent) felt somewhat or more vulnerable to data threats.

Also of concern was that only 50 per cent of the 100 local firms surveyed said they planned to increase security spending to protect their data. This was below every other region surveyed except for Japan at 32 per cent.

The research found that Australian businesses strongly associate compliance with security despite data breaches continuing to affect companies that have been certified as compliant.

“Compliance does not ensure security,” said the report’s author and senior analyst, information security at 451 Research, Garrett Bekker.

“As we learned from data theft incidents at companies that had reportedly met compliance mandates – such as Kmart Australia, Vodafone, David Jones, and Woolworths – being compliant doesn’t necessarily mean you won’t be breached and have your sensitive data stolen,” he said.

“Australian organisations don’t seem to fully appreciate this with more than half (51 per cent) rating compliance as a top reason for protecting data, and with compliance the top most IT security spending priority (52 per cent).”

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Follow Byron Connolly on Twitter: @ByronConnolly