Cyber crime threat to Australian economy, security | Cyber Crimes Unit

Australia is increasingly at risk from an onslaught of internet crooks, hackers and cyber-bullies, a new Government paper warns.

It says billions of dollars are being lost, confidence is being eroded and the threat is growing to the nation?s social wellbeing, economic prosperity and broader interests.

The paper has been released as part of the development of a cyber white paper to be completed next year.

It warns that Australia has to develop new means of dealing with cyberspace, with vulnerability growing as use of the internet mushrooms.

More than 10 million Australians now subscribe to the net ? most of them with high-speed connections ? with a doubling in the number of heavy users.

Last December alone they downloaded almost twice as much as they did during the 2009 June quarter, the paper says.

Online business is also booming. The Bureau of Statistics said almost A$143 billion ($179 billion) worth of internet orders were received by Australian businesses in 2009-2010 ? up 15 per cent on the previous year.

But the paper warns that with the availability of cheap cyber tools and the soaring value of information that individuals, businesses and governments store online, malicious cyber activity is a growth industry.

The paper says the overall risk of cyber crime to the economy is more than A$1 billion annually, and that last year major cyber intrusions cost Australian organisations an average of A$2 million each.

Reported online scam losses totalled more than A$63 million.

The personal toll is also growing.

The paper says more than 50 per cent of the nation?s teachers had at least one cyber-safety incident directly reported to them last year.

Bullying is now the most reported cyber incident in Australian schools and a 2009 study found more than 10 per cent of secondary school students had experienced some form of cyberbullying.

National security is also under threat: more than 200 cyber intrusions against the Department of Defence were investigated in 2009.

The paper further says that while the nation?s future prosperity is linked increasingly to confidence and trust in the digital economy, the internet?s global reach had opened vast new fields and provided ?enormous incentives? for organised crime.

?Cyber-crime can undermine consumer confidence in e-commerce, with research showing consumers? security concerns are a key impediment to further growth in the digital economy,? the paper says.

?Consumers are particularly concerned about registering personal details and using credit cards for online transactions, with [an Australian Bureau of Statistics] study finding that more than 1 million Australians were scared of buying online because of security or privacy concerns.

?Similarly, businesses in modern digital economies are increasingly becoming victims of financially motivated cyber crimes.?

The paper says almost 80 per cent of users surveyed do not expect cyber criminals to be brought to justice.

By Greg Ansley | Email Greg

Article source: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/connect/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501833&objectid=10752093

Source: http://www.cybercrimesunit.com/?p=2533

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