1300 136 102

SECURITY BREACHES COST 47% OF SMEs UP TO $20,000

Lack of security awareness is impacting on SME bottom lines

In May 2011, Southern Cross Protection released a research report into Australian SMEs, which revealed alarmingly low levels of knowledge and confidence around business security, putting many at risk from theft of physical assets, intellectual property and vandalism.

The independent survey, conducted by the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) reveals that 60% of small business owners had suffered a security breach, with losses of up to $20,000 reported by 47% of respondents. A further 10.1% had suffered losses between $20,000 - $100,000 and 3% had dealt with losses of more than $100,000.

Respondents identified the most common cause for financial loss as theft of physical assets, with 36.4% having experienced this type of security breach. Another 18.8% of respondent’s businesses had been victim to malicious damage, such as vandalism and 8.5% had experienced theft of intellectual property.

Despite this, SMEs do not rate security as a critical factor in the running of a business, with one third of small business owners stating that investing money in security is not important to them.

The research highlights a significant risk posed to SMEs nationwide due to inadequate levels of security awareness and knowledge. As many as 73% of small business owners confessed to possessing only average to low security knowledge levels.

Southern Cross Protection’s Managing Director, Patrick Bourke, views these results as a clear call to action for both the security industry and wider business community.

“It is alarming that such a large number of business owners and managers reported that they had security breaches or damage resulting in a financial loss in the last 12 months. In many instances, these losses and damage could be avoided through greater consultation with the security industry and stronger security measures deployed,” he said.

The new Index identifies four important next steps designed to guide the Security Industry, Government, Chambers of Commerce and the wider business community in raising awareness and providing effective information on business security to SMEs.

SETTING THE STANDARD: Providing SMEs with a high level of information and education around security issues is a crucial step to minimise security risks. The Australian security industry will need to work closely with Government and business leaders to shape policy that sets a clear standard of security provision for SMEs. 

GROUP PURCHASING: To avoid SMEs making a poor trade off between security and risk, there is an opportunity for Chambers of Commerce to offer group purchasing options and shared services, keeping costs affordable for any one small business. There also exists opportunities for Local Government to adopt similar strategies in defined CBD, industrial areas and "incubation" areas to encourage SMEs to grow and flourish. 

EDUCATION NATION: Improvements to the level of education SMEs receive around business security is essential - particularly preventative strategies that address opportunistic criminal activity. A collaborative effort, between Police, security providers and local business communities, will further heighten effective preventative security provision. 

READ ALL ABOUT IT!: Meaningful and accessible literature, outlining a range of security options at affordable costs, is needed to reinforce efforts in SME security provision.