Cybersecurity Education - Answering the Questions that Smaller Businesses are Asking

Cybersecurity is a global contemporary issue concerning the management and utilization of information technology (IT) (Kelley, 2008). Cybersecurity supports social sustainability goals as it is a frequently used tool for data management to secure data and protect privacy (Piccarozzi, et al. 2023). Cybersecurity is integral in maintaining the freedom and dignity of the individual, and greater awareness and strong multi-stakeholder partnerships are crucial for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a hyper-connected and digitized world (Michael, et al. 2019). Cyber threats represent IT leaders’ biggest concern (Kappelman et al., 2019). While more big companies are hacked, smaller businesses are attacked more frequently, with one in five small to medium businesses being hacked yearly (Segal, 2022). Smaller businesses report affordability barriers preventing them from accessing technologies, trained cyber security staff, and external security services that can keep their organizations safe from cyber-attacks (Cynet, 2022). Access to the Standards and Framework may represent another barrier for smaller businesses. The Australian Government has committed to ensuring that small business support programs are easy to understand and accessible, and that businesses have strong incentives to participate (Department of Home Affairs, 2023). This research attempts to remove the barriers to accessing rich resources in cybersecurity Standards and Frameworks to improve the cybersecurity maturity of smaller Australian businesses. Hence, the research question addressed in this paper is, “How can the Standards and Frameworks be used to educate smaller businesses about cybersecurity?” This research provides a scholarly contribution to support the Australian’s Governments commitment to provide understandable and accessible Cybersecurity Standards and Frameworks to educate smaller business.