Western Sydney University has tapped Sydney-based cybersecurity providers Secolve, Emergence, Gridware and DCEncompass as partners for its Cybersecurity Aid Centre.
The centre will provide training and support services for small businesses with Cyber Incident Response, including support during a data breach, ransomware or email business compromise.
Secolve, Emergence, Gridware and DCEncompass will support the centre in setting up the internal structures with the university and helping with training, including co-developing the teaching materials and playbooks for students.
The university and the companies will also work together to develop a Cyber Suite and Toolkit for Small Businesses, a hotline for assistance with cybersecurity incidents. It will integrate applied support with learning and skills development for Western Sydney University students.
Cynch Security co-founder and CEO Susie Jones.
Cybersecurity initiatives for small business were conspicuously absent from the government’s $1.2 billion digital strategy, unveiled yesterday.
The suite of measures, announced ahead of the federal budget next week, pledged ‘over $50 million’ to improve cybersecurity in the government, as well as investment in data centres and telecommunications networks.
But, despite funding designed to boost small business digitisation, none of the cyber spending is heading to SMEs. Experts say this is a blind spot that could leave them more vulnerable than they already are.
Cynch Security co-founder Susie Jones notes that any business operating over the past year has “come to terms with the need to be digital”.
Source: Unsplash/Jefferson Santos.
A wave of government funding is on its way to help support small businesses particularly those in regional Australia upskill in cybersecurity and better protect themselves in an increasingly digital world.
The federal government has announced the recipients of its Cyber Security Business Connect and Protect Program, with a total of $6.9 million in grant funding distributed between 14 organisations.
It will fund projects helping small businesses identify security risks and take steps to secure their systems.
In a statement, new Minister for Industry, Science and Technology Christian Porter suggested that improving cybersecurity for small businesses is a priority for the Morrison government.
A number of Australian channel partners have received Government grants to help small and medium-sized enterprises improve their cybersecurity capabilities.
IT Connexion, Loyal IT Solutions, CyberCX, Real World Technology Solutions, First Focus IT and Concept Data each received grants ranging from $188,000 to $750,000.
The grants are part of the Department of Industry’s Cyber Security Business Connect and Protect Program, which provided $6.9 million in funding to 14 organisations that would work directly with SMEs to identify security risks and help secure their systems.
The other organisations receiving grants include charities, universities, business organisations and small business consulting firms to service SMEs in both regional and metropolitan areas in every state and territory.