Australian small biz to be educated in Net security - News - Security

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This story was printed from ZDNet Australia.
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Australian small biz to be educated in Net security

By James Pearce, ZDNet Australia
February 18, 2002
URL: http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/security/soa/Australian-small-biz-to-be-educated-in-Net-security/0,130061744,120263525,00.htm

Australia's Internet Industry Association is looking for government funding to develop a security education package for small business and homeowners.

Talking to ZDNet Australia today, Justin Milne, CEO of local ISP OzEmail and newly elected chairman of the Internet Industry Association (IIA), said: -We are currently talking with the government in relation to a fairly wide-ranging program, which we wish to put out with government assistance."

-We think we are a good candidate for government funding through our membership base. We can probably put our arms around 90-95 percent of Internet users in Australia," Milne added.

-We can use our channels, so for example we can say to OzEmail 'we have some very important information, can you include it in your next newsletter?' and they'll say 'sure'. And we can say to NineMSN 'we have some very important information can you put a link to it on your Web site?' and they'll say 'sure'."

Milne envisages the program being more than just telling people to get a firewall and virus scanner, though he agrees this would go a long way.

-We might want to put together a list of best firewalls and best virus scanners, with instructions on how to use them, for the punters out there. Also, there are business processes small businesses need to be aware of, for example, not just getting a virus protection program but keeping it updated," he said.

-There needs to be a culture of security. People need to understand that securing their computer is an important thing. Their computer is hooked up to a network and is therefore vulnerable to attack by the forces of darkness."

At the IIA Gala Dinner last week, Milne stressed the importance of the IIA's role in educating small business and home users about security, and ensuring the availability of security options.

The dinner followed a three-day meeting of the OECD expert group on global information security, the last day of which was spent liasing with the IIA and the US-based IIA and discussing how the new security environment will impact Australia.