The growing prevalence of cybercrime
Cybercrime in Australia and abroad is on the rise. Businesses are finding themselves the targets of a range of sophisticated cyber-threats, and there has been an evident increase in the number of reported cybersecurity attacks.
Mid-sized and large businesses and organisations, which store vast amounts of private and customer data, are natural targets for malicious hackers.
The recent Cisco 2019 Benchmark Study compared 11 countries in the Asia Pacific region, and found Australian businesses had suffered more data breaches – which cost Australian businesses more money – than any other country surveyed.
The cyber security watchdog, The Australian Cyber Security Centre (ASCS), estimates that Australians are reporting incidents of cybercrime approximately every ten minutes, and Australian businesses are losing up to $29 billion annually. The question of what can be done to protect Australian businesses and the sensitive data they store is a pressing one.
Upskilling in cybersecurity with Swinburne Online
To combat the rise of sophisticated cybersecurity threats in Australia, Swinburne Online has partnered with multinational cybersecurity company Palo Alto to deliver a new micro unit – Cybersecurity Strategy for Leaders.
The micro unit format is ideal, as it allows working professionals to upskill in 6 weeks of self-paced online study, to help meet the urgent demand for businesses to employ leaders with the skills to drive crucial improvements in cybersecurity infrastructure, working in collaboration with key cybersecurity stakeholders.
Associate Professor Chris Scanlon – Academic Director of Swinburne University of Technology’s Curriculum Accelerator – believes cybersecurity should be in everyone’s job description.
All industries need future-focused leaders who can ask the right questions, identify potential areas of risk and help defend against cybercriminals. This course will ensure participants are given the tools to do just that.
The rationale for the course is reinforced by Palo Alto’s chief security officer Sean Duca, who contends that while the methods of attack may change and evolve, the single biggest threat remains awareness and education.
Cybersecurity and the role of education
Education – particularly in the form of flexible online short courses that can be completed in a short time frame – has a key role to play in responding to the varied and evolving challenges of cybersecurity. Sean Duca, Chief Security Officer at Palo Alto, believes education is a crucial building block in protecting organisations and the data they are responsible for storing.
Not enough people really understand cybersecurity or the importance of being protected. Courses like this are crucial because they provide the education needed to ensure all staff can play their part in keeping an organisation safe.
One global business taking that step is Wipro, a multinational corporation that provides IT, consulting and business process services, which has enrolled 27 employees in a Swinburne Online program that includes the cybersecurity micro unit.
As Sanjiv Kulkani – a client solutions partner at Wipro – says, it was a compelling opportunity to help his staff better mitigate the risk of cyber attacks:
This micro unit is key to ensuring our staff understand what constitutes a threat, how to secure our assets and how to manage ourselves in the event of a hack. Wipro handles a large amount of customer data, [so] it’s crucial every team member understands how hackers operate to detect and strengthen any vulnerabilities in our systems.
Develop leadership expertise in the cybersecurity space and study the Graduate Certificate of Cybersecurity Management today.
Need more information? Our dedicated dedicated Course Consultants are available on 1300 069 765 to discuss your specific education requirements.
