Cultivating cyber skills - the intersection of education and corporate responsibility

According to a 2024 Verizon report, 74% of cyber security breaches are due to human error. If that’s not enough of a staggering stat, 68% of breaches involved a non-malicious human element, like a person falling victim to a social engineering attack, or making an error.

As an industry, we need to do better. A shift needs to occur from thinking purely about risk and compliance to proactive, human-centric cyber security – now, and for later.

With that in mind, focusing on the right skills in future generations is key to securing Australia’s national cyber resilience. For that, we need to start early, and offer consistent and thorough access to, and pathways through, careers relating to cyber security. This is important to consider both from a technical perspective (creating sufficient and proficient cyber professionals) and a ‘regular’ perspective (uplifting the base knowledge and skills in the Australian population).

So… you are convinced. But how can your organisation make a difference?

Increasingly, over the past decade, industry has decided to contribute to cyber security education. However, this has been a sporadic effort, depending largely on organisations’ budgets and established partnerships with educational institutions; most of the effort currently focuses on tertiary education. There is currently no central organisation assisting in coordinating industry efforts. While the process may be slow, every contribution makes a difference to Australia’s present big picture, and is an investment in Australia’s future generations.

Change is always a big step, but hopefully one forward in this case.

A way to break this step into smaller ones would be to first sit down, carve some budget, do some research, and get thinking. You can then contemplate what you organisation would want to prioritise, looking at practical importance but also the long-term stance.

Next, consider partnering and/or aligning with like-minded organisations – the more, the merrier, and the better resourced. It is then time to decide what type of initiative suits you best: where you’d have the most to offer, before going ahead and investing time and money. Future generations will thank you…

Finally, make sure you become an advocate, solidifying and amplifying the mindset associated with the value of cyber security education and sharing with industry and the broader public alike.

We will explore a number of options to drive change in this space, setting you aside as a role model and encouraging other organisations (potentially non-cyber, even) to also engage:

- Work experience

- School speaking

- HDR scholarship funding

- Awareness comms

- Staff cyber pathways & training

- Consultation and involvement

- Mentoring

- Educational program

- Lobbying

- Design challenges

These all tackle different angles, and entail various amounts of individual/collective effort and financial commitment.

We will then review some success stories from organisations that kicked off with the simple idea of wanting to help, got involved, and made a tremendous difference. Some hands-on tips for getting started will also be shared, for you to take away and hopefully spark some initiatives of your own.