Cyber Security for SMEs: Why You’re a Target

• Adroit Insurance and Risk
• - July 9, 2026

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Cyber criminals are looking to small businesses for easy money, with losses of $56,600 on average reported to the Cyber Incident Hotline, an increase of 14% from 2025.

Cybercriminals commonly target Australian businesses for financial gain, through scams or on-selling of personally identifiable information, usernames or passwords to other criminals.

Cyber criminals view small businesses as softer targets:

• the latest system updates and patches may not be installed,

• Passwords might be weak or reused.

• staff may not have extensive training in spotting phishing emails.

Add these together and SME businesses are appealing.

Phishing emails remain the most common weakness: a single employee clicks a malicious link, potentially compromising your systems.

Unpatched software is another major risk. Developers release security patches regularly, but many businesses delay installation.

Weak or reused passwords make credential theft straightforward.

The good news is these entry points are preventable: staff training on phishing, regular software patches, strong passwords with multi-factor authentication, and offline backups tested regularly.

Cyber insurance assists with the financial cost of the cybercrime and provides access to experts to assist with the attack, as well as identifying and removing malware. Depending on the cover, policies can pay for:

• Forensic investigation typically costs AUD 15,000 to 40,000.

• Notifying customers is legally required and costs money.

• Additional or extra costs and some policies cover lost income;

• Repayment of the value of stolen money.

What insurance doesn’t cover is the technical breach itself. It can’t prevent ransomware from infecting your systems. And insurers will often refuse cover if you failed to have standard risk management practices in places such as backups, dual signatures for payments or multi-factor authentication.

A cyber breach can cost your business money, reputation and time.

Having cyber defences in place is not a nice to have it’s an essential for businesses.

Cyber insurance is key to minimising the financial and reputation impact, as well as time taken to get systems back up and running.

Talk to your insurance adviser, they can discuss your key risks and recommend solutions to meet your needs and budget.