CSIRO opens applications for R&D program for small-to-medium sized cybersecurity firms

The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) has launched a research and development program aimed at small-to-medium sized Australian cybersecurity companies.

Named “Innovate to Grow”, the 10-week online program aims to provide cybersecurity companies with less than 200 staff with R&D support for their product ideas. The program will run from 1 December 2022 with a 4.5 hour workshop, and the subsequent weeks will be self-paced.

The program is open to businesses in the following subsectors - network security, application security, human centric security, data integrity and privacy, incident management and response, critical infrastructure security, quantum security, software security, security and privacy of AI/machine learning, AI/ML for security and privacy and supply chain security. It is also open to anyone working in other areas looking to offer new technology or solutions that could be applicable to the cybersecurity industry.

The 10-week program aims to help participants better understand what's involved with R&D and what needs to be considered at each step of the process.

CSIRO said upon completion, participants can access support to connect to research expertise nationally, along with dollar-matched R&D funding. They can also access CSIRO’s own cyber security expertise through its Data61 data and digital specialist arm.

In the announcement, CSIRO Data 61 group leader Surya Nepal said cyber security attacks were a growing threat across the world impacting many different types of sectors.

“Cyber criminals are constantly finding new ways to carry our cyber-attacks, which can have devastating impacts for companies and consumers,” he said.

Research from the Australian Cyber Security Centre found there was an annual increase of 13 percent of reports of cybercrime in the 2020-21 financial year.

CSIRO’s SME Connect deputy director George Feast said new solutions are required to stay ahead of these.

“Much of this can be driven by SMEs - who make up 99.8 percent of all businesses in Australia - developing new cyber products and services powered by R&D,” Feast said.

“However, R&D can be an expensive undertaking for businesses and risky for those without the right guidance and support.

“Through our Innovate to Grow program, we invite participants to come up with a specific cyber security commercial idea they’d like to explore. Over 10 weeks we’ll step businesses through how to refine their idea, to understand its research viability, and begin engaging a university or research institution to deliver a collaborative R&D project.”

Citing its own research from 2021, the CSIRO said despite collaboration being key to drive strong R&D outcomes, less than 15 per cent of Australian businesses engage universities or research institutions for their innovation activities. “Our goal is to up that percentage,” Feast said.