Cyber security leaders have issued an urgent warning that all Australian organisations are now targets for hackers. Ahead of the NextGen Cyber Forum in Sydney, experts say most businesses aren’t properly prepared for their operation to withstand an attack.

Council of the City of Sydney

Australian businesses are facing a surge in cyber threats, with recent incidents seeing millions of customer details leaked on the dark web. Experts highlight that every organisation is now a potential target, and many lack the necessary knowledge and preparation to defend against attacks.

Industry leaders, including NextGen and former Defence Australia IT head Murray Thompson, are advocating for increased cyber security training and the integration of IT expertise into boardroom decisions. An upcoming cyber forum in Sydney aims to provide businesses with the tools and knowledge needed to enhance their cyber resilience and protect against financial, legal, and reputational risks.

Businesses ‘unprepared’ amid surge in cyber threats

Some of our biggest businesses under siege. Millions of customers' details were posted on the dark web by hackers. But cyber security experts warn every organisation in Australia is now a target. The hackers are out there wanting to get our data. John Walters is CEO of technology distributor NextGen. It is fearful because not everyone's got the knowledge required. Organisations have got to make sure that they're training their individuals around the threat and how to prevent the threat. Now in the face of escalating threats, NextGen is bringing together some of the country's leading cyber security experts and technology providers at a major gathering in Sydney to help Australian businesses build their cyber resilience. The importance of your information technology networks these days is absolutely critical. Murray Thompson is the former head of IT operations at Defence Australia. Threats might be somewhat different and occasionally they might be more sophisticated but state based actors are interested in your business and your IP. Ahead of his keynote speech at the NextGen cyber forum, the retired major general is calling on more businesses to involve their IT departments in boardroom decision making. Once upon a time we used to just sort of park it in the corner as part of the business and enable it. But your IT networks now, that is the core of your business. It connects to your customers, it's how you get your message out there, it runs all your point of sale machines. What are the consequences of mishandling cyber security? Financial is obviously the obvious one and the big one. But then the legal ramifications, the public relations ramifications and also the crisis management ramifications. NextGen's cyber forum will be held in Sydney on November 6th. Registrations are open now. Information, knowledge, due diligence is the key. Of course there's going to be nervousness, you're always fearful, no one wants to be hacked. We urge everyone to come along to the NextGen cyber forum and clearly understand what are some of the solutions and planning tools that they can use to make sure that their organisations are looked after.

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