Australian businesses feel unprepared for cyberattacks and aren’t investing enough in cybersecurity, according to a new report from JumpCloud, a unified identity, device and access management platform.
These are amongst the findings in JumpCloud’s From Chaos to Control: Simplifying IT in the Fast Lane of Change research, which was carried out in November 2024 with 300 respondents in Australia and found:
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A high incidence of data breaches and cyberattacks;
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Insufficient investment in cybersecurity;
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AI and its deployment is a headache;
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A desire for simpler, unified security platforms; and
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Remote working and layoffs present key challenges
Over half (59%) of Australian businesses are more concerned about their organisations’ security than they were six months ago. This comes as more than one in two businesses experienced a cyberattack in 2024, higher than both the US (41%) and the UK (45%).
Australian and UK businesses are currently spending less than their US counterparts on cybersecurity, but most expect spending to increase over the next 12 months, with one in four anticipating a significant increase.
AI is a particular headache for Australian organisations as it increases the complexity of cyber risk. 70% of organisations say AI is outpacing their ability to protect against threats (compared with 60% in the UK and 70% in the US), and 36% of organisations faced AI-generated attacks (compared with 29% in the UK and 33% in the US). Nearly one in five businesses believe they’re still moving too slowly around AI, but an equal number believe they’re moving too fast.
Organisations are also split on employee access to AI: While 42% are encouraging staff to use AI tools like ChatGPT, 33% are blocking them from access – this conservatism is higher in Australia than in the US and UK.
Australian businesses are struggling with complexity as they scale, and have a desire for more unified solutions. After security (56%), new services/application rollouts and managing multiple types of devices were the top IT challenges for Australian businesses (47% and 42% respectively).
An overwhelming majority (84%) expressed a wish for a single platform to manage identity, access, and security. It comes as 68% report using five to 10 tools or more to manage the employee lifecycle, including device management and security, with 11% using over 15 different tools.
Remote work is clearly adding to the pain, both in terms of the cost of solutions involved in managing remote workers (42%) and the challenges of ongoing management of remote workers (38%). It’s not easy for employees either, with one in four having to manage over 10 different passwords to access IT resources.
Over half (61%) of businesses have experienced layoffs, and 54% anticipate more layoffs to come. In Australia, 48% are worried about the impact of AI on their job, compared with 27% in the UK and 35% in the US.
“Australian businesses urgently need better security and are prepared to increase spending on defence,” said JumpCloud CEO Rajat Bhargava. “But they’re struggling with the sheer number and complexity of solutions available and navigating the opportunities and potential threats that AI represents.”
“According to the data, Australian businesses are less likely to use a managed service provider (MSP) to support their IT needs, mostly due to cost, though many anticipate boosting their investment,” he added. “There’s an opportunity for MSPs to offer a more prominent role in cybersecurity, particularly when it comes to managing cybersecurity tools and SaaS.”
You can read the full report here.
