Wagga information technology Adrian Wallace said we need to address the skills shortfall in cyber security

Recent attacks on Optus and Medibank are the tip of the iceberg of an emerging trend of high-level cyber assaults, according to Wagga information technology expert and TAFE teacher Adrian Wallace, who has been surprised by the recent escalation in attacks.

"The recent instability following COVID and some of the stuff going on in Ukraine with Russia has really pushed things up a notch," he said.

"We're really seeing escalated cyber activity basically everywhere."

Mr Wallace said not only are the attacks becoming more frequent, they're becoming far more sophisticated, making life increasingly difficult for businesses.

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He said hacking has suddenly become a very lucrative trade as some large corporations pay cyber ransoms to avoid long-term pain and all of this is not helped by a skills shortage in the sector.

Data from the National Skills Commission predicts another 30,000 cyber professionals are needed by 2024. Due to that demand, TAFE Wagga will now be embedding cyber security modules in all information technology classes, Mr Wallace said.

Wagga IT consultant Dylan Comerford said five years ago nobody considered cyber security as a necessary skill to have and we're now playing catch up in a fast paced environment.

"These days with people working from home with staff being remote and stuff like that. It's got to be accessible 24/7 and when a solution or a software is available 24/7 there's immediately a risk that anyone from overseas or anyone within Australia can also try to connect to that business software," he said.

Mr Comerford believes the industry will never be able to keep up with demand for cyber security professionals.

"I honestly think that the next five years or so the common job for a business at the moment called an IT officer or an IT support technician, these roles will change drastically into cyber security officer," he said.

"I don't think we're ever going to be able to keep up with the demands. With the amount that cyber security is growing and how fast the landscape is progressing in terms of attacks and data breaches."

Cyber crime is estimated to currently cost the economy about $42 billion a year.

"Security is never convenient, it costs money," Mr Wallace said.

"But I think some of these recent breaches are telling us something.

"Corporations are not managing their data effectively and small to medium businesses just don't have the manpower. So, we need to get these cyber security experts into IT departments."

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