Emergence is partnering with Western Sydney University (WSU) under a $750,000 government initiative aimed at helping combat cyber crime for Australian small businesses.

Emergence and three other leading cyber security firms are to work with WSU to establish a new Cybersecurity Aid Centre in Parramatta which will provide training and incident response support for small businesses experiencing a cyber fraud event such as a data breach, ransomware attack or email compromise.

Emergence, which has been working with WSU for several years, will provide education with a focus on insurance for small business. It will also train the “next generation” of cyber security experts through an internship program for WSU students.

WSU allocated Emergence $100,000 of the overall grant, and Emergence Founder and CEO Troy Filipcevic says the initiative will help small businesses recognise the seriousness of being cyber wise.

“We see daily the devastating impact cyber-attacks and data breaches can have on business,” Mr Filipcevic said. “Educating and raising awareness within the community about the ramifications of cyber-attacks in our day-to-day lives is a positive step in the right direction to combat cybercrime”.

The collaboration is part of a Cyber Security Business Connect and Project Grants program to be led by WSU. The Federal Government investment is part of the Australian Government’s Cyber Security Strategy 2020.