SA businesses set to benefit from cybercrime crackdown

Posted on 30/06/2025

Crime Stoppers South Australia (CSSA) has announced a partnership with Operational Systems Australia (OpSys) – an industry leader in Cyber Security and Managed IT Services – to bolster cyber resilience across the state’s business sector and broader community.

This partnership comes at a time when cybercrime is rapidly evolving, with more than 94,000 cybercrime reports made to the Australian Cyber Security Centre in the last financial year – one report every six minutes.

Crime Stoppers South Australia CEO, Nigel Smart said with an estimated impact to Australian businesses, individuals and government valued at $33 billion annually, cyber threats are now one of the most serious risks facing the South Australian community.

“With small-to-medium businesses now prime targets for cybercriminals, and business email compromise costing Australian organisations more than $98 million in reported losses last year alone, this timely collaboration will deliver high-impact educational campaigns, thought leadership and community outreach to help prevent cyber-enabled crime,” Mr Smart said.

“We know that cybercriminals often see small and medium enterprises as soft targets due to limited security systems, under-resourced IT teams and a lack of awareness. This partnership with OpSys allows us to directly engage with the business sector and provide practical guidance and expert support to help organisations safeguard their operations, their data and their people,” he said.

The multi-year partnership will see CSSA and OpSys co-deliver a series of digital campaigns, business sector engagements and targeted educational initiatives designed to improve awareness of current cyber risks and promote anonymous reporting of cyber-enabled crime.

OpSys Managing Director, Matthew Fabri, said the partnership will play a vital role in closing the awareness gap for businesses.

“Cybercrime is not just a problem for IT departments – it’s a significant risk to an entire business and broader supply chain. From financial loss and reputational damage to legal liability, the stakes are high,” Mr Fabri said.

“Our team works every day to protect critical business infrastructure around the world, and we’re proud to now partner with Crime Stoppers South Australia to bring that expertise into the heart of our local businesses. This collaboration will help empower South Australians to be proactive rather than reactive in their cyber approach.”

The partnership will also generate flow-on benefits for the broader SA community. Many of the scams affecting individuals – such as phishing emails, SMS-based fraud and online identity theft – mirror the tactics used to target businesses, so by increasing awareness across all sectors, the initiative ultimately helps build a more digitally resilient South Australia.

The first campaign burst under the partnership, expected to launch in August 2025, will focus on helping businesses in regional and metropolitan areas prevent business email compromise and invoice fraud – two of the most prevalent and costly forms of cybercrime.

“This partnership is about building trust, encouraging action and creating safer online environments for South Australian businesses and the broader community,” Mr Smart said.

“Together, we can help close the gap between cyber risk and cyber readiness.”

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