57% of Australians blame national infrastructure for potential cyber attacks: report

Mimecast’s 2022 State of Ransomware Readiness report suggests that more than half of Australian cyber security professionals would feel personally responsible for a ransomware attack, with 3 out of 10 considering leaving their job in the next two years.

The report also said that 57% in Australia and 55% globally, have taken issue with the national infrastructure, believing that it will lead to a critical cyber attack.

The report also suggested that 57% australians personally feel responsible for the ransomware/malware attack if it happens in the Australian shore, a number which has risen 3% from 54% in last year.

Mimecast’s APAC Chief CTO Garrett O’Hara said, “Compounded by Australia’s cyber skills shortage and the number of cyberattacks occurring on our shores, it’s no wonder cyber security professionals are facing increasing stress and burnout."

Interestingly, 46% of respondents believe the most effective measures to reduce ransomware attacks is to train employees on how to recognise email threats. This highlights the need for company-wide awareness and accountability.

The London-based company has worked with and supports Cybermindz, a global organisation supporting the mental health of cyber professionals, which has also helped in the creation of the survey, which saw 1,100 cybersecurity decision makers responding. 

Peter Coroneos, Founder, Cybermindz.org says: “These numbers validate what we are seeing globally as we talk to CISOs about the stresses of working in cyber. The factors that drive stress and burnout are well understood within cyber but poorly appreciated outside of it, largely because much of the work is unseen — that is, until a breach occurs, then invariably the cyber team is called to account. It’s an unforgiving, thankless role and one where mental health support has become a critical piece of sustaining our defenders. Our shared challenge is how quickly we can bring relief and restoration before more of our peers succumb to the pressure.

Other findings include:

• 40% of organisations have experienced significant downtime because of ransomware attacks, up from 33% last year.
• 30% say it would take 1-2 days to return to normal business after an attack. Yet 33% said they could only withhold 2-5 days before sustaining significant financial loss and reputational damage.
• 41% of organisations have experienced a loss in revenue due to a ransomware attack in the last twelve months
• 20% said the cost of an attack was between $50K – 100K
• 53% are concerned that their cyber insurance will refuse to pay out for ransoms in the future. This shows that insurance is the safety net everything thinks it is – given the recent ruling around Lloyd’s in the UK and Chubb in Australia.