A NEW report from the Actuaries Institute warns that Australia's small-to-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are increasingly at risk of costly cyber attacks due to a widening gap in cyber preparedness compared to larger corporations.
The Cyber Protection Gap Widens for SMEs paper, co-authored by Win-Li Toh, Dr Michael Neary, and Sarah Wood, underscores the need for urgent action to bridge this "cyber protection gap" and calls for ongoing collaboration among government, insurers, tech providers, and SMEs.
A Pharmacy Guild of Australia spokesperson told PD, "we have been made aware of scams actively trying to target pharmacies".
"We urge pharmacists to get in touch with their bank before actioning any requests and they can find out more about scams by visiting www.scamwatch.gov.au".
Win-Li Toh, principal at Taylor Fry and incoming president of the Actuaries Institute for 2025, noted that recent high-profile cyber attacks had driven large Australian corporations to strengthen their defences, yet many SMEs still remain vulnerable.
"SMEs often haven't had the bandwidth or opportunity to really understand and tackle the risk," Toh told Pharmacy Daily.
"Many have put cyber into the 'too hard basket' because they're daunted by the technical jargon and don't know where to start with implementing cyber security measures," she said.
She highlighted that economic pressures and misconceptions - like the belief that being small makes them less of a target - compounds this challenge.
However, data highlights the urgent need for action: in 2022-23, cyber crimes reported in Australia surged by 23%, with small businesses facing average losses of $46,000 per incident.
According to Toh, 62% of SMEs have already reported a cyber attack, and more comprehensive efforts are essential.
Toh argued SMEs, which employ up to a third of Australia's workforce, should not rely on luck to protect against cyber threats, instead employing "knowledge, good cyber hygiene, and robust cyber defences".
She added, "SMEs are our real estate agents, our mortgage brokers, our doctors' practices, and our pharmacists".
"They often hold sensitive and personal information, and a cyber attack could have a big impact on any one of them and broader society," Toh explained.
Toh supports initiatives like the Cyber Wardens program from the 2023 Federal Budget and called for affordable cyber certifications to strengthen SMEs' defences.
A Guild spokesperson added, "anyone can be targeted by cyber criminals, which is why we offer members the free Cyber Wardens course which provides information about how small businesses can protect themselves". JG
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