Charles Sturt to offer free cyber health checks for SMEs

Charles Sturt University has commenced a NSW Government-sponsored program to provide free cybersecurity health checks to businesses in the Bathurst and Central West region.

The Charles Sturt School of Computing, Mathematics and Engineering will offer 40 free consultation places to businesses in the region through to the end of May.

The free consultations will be provided by trained Charles Sturt IT students, who will assess businesses’ overall risk and offer basic advice on how to improve their cybersecurity.

Charles Sturt Senior Lecturer in Computing Dr Jaso Howarth said the program will be open to SMEs in areas such as Lithgow, Bathurst, Orange, Mudgee and Cowra. He said the focus on SMEs is because organisations of this size may be less likely to have professional oversight of their security.

“It is important that SMEs engage because cyber attacks are on the increase in Australia. Many SMEs do not have the necessary — and often free — protections in place that will help them to secure their data and business processes,” he said.

“Moreover, the threat of cyber attacks has increased in recent times due to international conflict, so it is imperative that local business take steps to ensure they are protected.”

The NSW Government is sponsoring the initiative through Investment NSW.

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