According to the Australian Federal Police (AFP), the term ‘cybercrime’ is defined as:
- crimes directed at computers or other information communications technologies (ICTs) (such as computer intrusions and denial of service attacks), and
- crimes where computers or ICTs are an integral part of an offence (such as online fraud)
Criminals can commit crimes online, across multiple borders in an instant and target a large number of users simultaneously. Cyber criminals usually follow the money, which is why small and medium businesses are popular targets of cybercrimes.. Australian businesses’ relative wealth, online connectivity, and popularity of online delivery channels of services make them very attractive and profitable for cyber attackers.
According to Scamwatch, Australians lost over $634 million to scams in 2019. But that’s not the entire figure due to the number of scams and cyber crimes that go unreported.