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Leading university, Deakin University, has paired with Melbourne-based startup, Cynch Security, to secure $100,000 in government funding from the AustCyber Project Fund. The funding will directly contribute to their project which is aimed at researching and supporting Australian small business owners with their cybersecurity challenges.
“AustCyber and the Minister for Industry, Science and Technology, The Hon Karen Andrews MP continue to act as strong supporters of the importance of cyber security across every Australian industry,” said Adam Selwood, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer of Cynch Security.
“We’re truly honoured to be receiving support as part of the latest round of AustCyber project funding and are excited for direct impact this will have on the cyber fitness of Australian small business.”
The project will build on the success of Cynch’s 6-week Cyber Boot Camp program, automating aspects of the program to unlock scalability in their business. The Cynch cyber boot camp program has already been successfully delivered to small businesses throughout metro and regional Australia.
By partnering with Deakin University’s Centre for Cyber Security Research and Innovation, the consortium will be able to produce valuable data and research into the challenges faced by the backbone of the Australian economy.
“It is wonderful that Australian start-ups, and universities can work together to help protect Australian small businesses against Cyber Threats, it is an example of how we can all work together to help project Australia and AustCyber provides the mechanism for this to happen,” said Professor Matt Warren, Deputy Director Of The Deakin University Centre For Cyber Security Research And Innovation
The project, commencing now, will continue throughout 2020, and small business owners who are interested in participating in the research and gain support with their challenges should reach out by emailing hello@cynch.com.au.
About Cynch
Cynch, a small-business focused cyber security provider, recognises that small business owners need cyber risk solutions that are cognisant of their budget, time and resource constraints. Their cyber fitness annual memberships and 6-week cyber boot camps don’t require any technical expertise and are designed to facilitate gradual improvement at a price small businesses can afford.
Cynch Sec Pty Ltd (Cynch) was formed in October 2018 after 18 months of development.
Features include continuous cyber risk assessment, plain language cyber advice, bundled products, goal setting and tracking, compliance mapping and collaboration capabilities.
View more details about Cynch’s memberships at https://cynch.com.au
Cyber security continues to be one of the most rapidly expanding sectors worldwide. Global spending on cyber security products and services is projected to increase by 88 per cent over the next eight years, from around US$145 billion today to almost US$270 billion in 2026.
In 2018, Australia’s external spending on cyber security products and services grew by eight per cent to A$3.9 billion (compared to six per cent growth in 2017).
While Australia’s cyber security sector is still developing, there is emerging evidence the sector can capture a significant share of the growing global cyber security market. With the second-highest ‘cyber maturity’ in the Indo-Pacific region and strengths in core skill areas such as quantum computation, wireless technology and high-value niche hardware, Australia is the ideal growth environment for cyber security businesses.
New statistics have been published in the 2019 update to Australia’s Cyber Security Sector Competitiveness Plan (the Plan).
The 2019 update was authored by AustCyber – the Australian Cyber Security Growth Network, part of the Australian Government’s Industry Growth Centres Initiative, which also released the original Plan in 2017 and an update last year.
The Plan draws on extensive industry consultation and research to provide an updated picture of the global outlook, challenges, opportunities and priority actions needed to grow a vibrant and globally competitive cyber security sector that enhances Australia’s future economic growth.
CEO of AustCyber, Michelle Price said, “The aim of the Cyber Security Sector Competitiveness Plan is to provide the economic evidence base for the cyber security industry across business, research and consumer segments to drive growth in the ecosystem, increase exports of Australian solutions, and support Australia to become the leading global centre for cyber security education. The 2019 update indicates strong growth against the data outlined in the first iteration, released in April 2017, reflecting the rapid evolution of this dynamic sector.”
Last year’s update provided a ‘deep dive’ on the skills and workforce gap – one of three key issues holding back the sector’s growth. This year’s deep dive explores the underlying structural challenges of having an inadequate measurement of the sector’s development, and its impact and contribution to economic prosperity.
“A clear view of the maturity and size of Australia’s cyber security sector is essential for strategic growth. Good policy and future investments are contingent upon policymakers, entrepreneurs and investors having a strong picture of the sector on which to make informed decisions,” said Ms. Price.
Cyber security as a business activity, as well as an economic pursuit, cuts across all industries. It includes providers of cyber security capability who comprise the cyber security sector, and organisations in other sectors that employ cyber security specialists. Furthermore, cyber security products and services assist to protect and enable infrastructure, supply chains and value chains of the digital aspects of the global economy, however the benefits of cyber security have not been studied to the extent necessary.
“The measurement of fundamental economic metrics such as the size of the sector and its value added to the economy can serve as a foundation to more sophisticated analysis, such as the broader impacts of cyber innovation across the economy, including its role as an enabler of growth and its contribution to overall prosperity,” said Ms. Price.
The Australian Cyber Security Industry Roadmap (the Roadmap) continues to be a companion document to the Sector Competitiveness Plan to enable growth opportunities for Australia. The Roadmap brings together the expertise and networks of CSIRO Futures, Data61 and AustCyber to identify a common vision and map out the road to success in the cyber security sector and the application of cyber resilience across other growth sectors as case studies for the economy. World-class scientific and technological expertise is applied to steer business, government and society through the challenges we must navigate over the medium to long term, to seize opportunities across all Australian industries.
This year, a second companion document has been released – The CISO Lens Benchmark 2019. CISO Lens is a forum for Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) of large Australian and New Zealand organisations. This report aims to enable evidence-based decision making around strategy and resource allocation and is founded on benchmarking completed by CISO Lens founder, James Turner, with cyber security executives to assess how their organisations respond to cyber risks.
“The leading security executives of Australia and New Zealand are keen collaborators because they recognise that they all face the same risks and threat. Their encouragement to publish this benchmark is a demonstration of their desire to make a difference for all organisations in the local ecosystem,” said Mr Turner. “The CISO Lens Benchmark 2019 supports many of the issues raised in AustCyber’s Sector Competitiveness Plan, not least of which is the need for further and ongoing talent development.”
All documents are available online: