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Australian cybercrime survey

The Australian Institute of Criminology is contacting more than 10,000 businesses across all industry sectors in Australia to collect information about their experiences of computer crime. Project ABACUS, is the first representative study of its kind and is taking place across February and March 2008.

Project ABACUS is collecting information on a variety of issues including the type and extent of computer security incidents experienced by Australian businesses, such as malicious software, theft of computer hardware and theft of proprietary or confidential information. Information is also being collected on prevention methods and tools used by businesses such as security policies, use of firewalls, anti-virus software and physical security measures. The project also examines the reporting of computer security incidents, budget allocations for prevention as well as the use of insurance against computer security incidents.

The overall project objective is to assist businesses in achieving a more secure working environment through the identification of problems and the development of effective responses. It is expected that the findings from ABACUS will improve our understanding of computer security issues facing Australian businesses today which will help in the development of future risk management strategies. The findings from this study will be made available to businesses enabling them to effectively prioritise relevant computer security issues and allocate resources to minimise the risk of harm.

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