SYDNEY - AussieJournal -- As Australia marks Cyber Security Awareness Month this October, with the Australian Signals Directorate urging organisations to move from awareness to year-round action, Australian IT firm Defyn has made its free cyber security self-assessment, SecurityScore, available to every small and medium business in the country.

Small businesses remain the soft underbelly of Australia's cyber resilience. Many owners still believe they are too small to be a target, yet most attacks are automated and opportunistic, scanning the internet for the same handful of weaknesses regardless of a business's size. Smaller firms are also woven through the supply chains of larger organisations, which makes them an attractive way in.

SecurityScore is designed to close the first and most common gap: not knowing where you stand. The tool asks 27 plain-English questions about how a business handles passwords, backups, devices, email and data, then produces an instant, personalised PDF report. The report maps the business against the ACSC Essential Eight, ISO 27001 and SOC 2, and ranks what to fix first. It takes about five to ten minutes, requires no sign-up wall, and is completely free.

More on Aussie Journal

• America's Hometown Thanksgiving Parade in Plymouth, MA, on Saturday, November 21, 2026
• Navigating a Changing Market: How AIX Group Is Responding to a Challenging Year
• 450 Million Revenue Run Rate, Global Telecom Reach and a New Digital Growth Opportunity Take Center Stage: IQSTEL, Inc. (N A S D A Q: IQST)
• Wave Helicopters Takes FLIBS 2026 to New Heights
• Canada's First Data Lakehouse Goes Global in Banking: Nabil Bank Becomes Nepal's First Bank to Implement a True Agentic Lakehouse Platform, DataNature

"Awareness on its own does not stop an attack. Action does," said [Spokesperson name], [title] at Defyn. "Most small business owners we speak to want to do the right thing but have no idea where their gaps are. SecurityScore turns a vague worry into a clear, ranked list of what to do next, in about the time it takes to make a coffee."

The release of the tool coincides with a shifting landscape for Australian businesses. Under the Cyber Security Act 2024, businesses with annual turnover of three million dollars or more must report a ransomware payment to the Australian Signals Directorate within 72 hours, an obligation that commenced on 30 May 2025. A statutory tort for serious invasions of privacy also took effect in 2025, and it can apply to businesses regardless of size. Knowing where you stand has moved from good practice to sound risk management.

SecurityScore is free and available now at https://securityscore.com.au/. Businesses can complete the assessment and download their report immediately, then use it to prioritise improvements or to brief their IT provider.

More on Aussie Journal

• Hidden Stitch Supply Adds OKONKWO Hickory Stripe Work Shirt
• Turning Real-World Experience into Recognised Qualifications with 3CIR
• LCC Asia Pacific releases two valuation guides for defence, aerospace and space ventures
• Latin GRAMMY-Winning Cuban-American Conductor Dr Yalil Guerra to Lead Pepperdine's Oklahoma!
• Highsfield Showcases Earth Zoom Generator for Cinematic AI Videos

About Defyn

Defyn is an Australian IT and technology firm that helps small and medium businesses work securely and productively. It built SecurityScore to give Australian businesses a free, practical way to measure their cyber security posture against recognised standards. More information is available at https://defyn.com.au and https://securityscore.com.au.